A new phase begins

It was kind funny, after working so long for so hard on mate, to be now working on other things. I got over it quick.


The elevator pushrod retaining ring/rubber boot is mounted in place with screws, Weldwood contact adhesive, and 3M 5200 Marine sealant. Nasty stuff that gets everywhere and sticks.

A little soap helps the pushrod oversleeve slide into place,

while a nylon bushing plugs the front and keeps the tube from being crushed in the next steps

A little grease helps the oversleeve/pushrod assembly slide in the push-pull giude under the bulkhead. 

 

 

I now pronounce you elevator control tube and pushrod. Note the pinned bolt, and remember the bushing previously inserted.Yes, I need to crimp the cotter pin.

Riveting the oversleeve into place took some gymnastics with the rivet gun.

And the pitch trim springs were attached. 

On the aft end, the pushrod attaches to the reversing horns. Note the bushings.

A final d'oh. I had all summer to get some Boiled Linseed Oil into the gear legs as an anti-corrosion device, I forgot. Gonna take a while to dry in the cold temperatures we're now getting.

Shamelessly copying from Dan Nickens, I've replaced the phenolic pulleys in the tailwheel retract mechanism with aluminum ones, and applied (everyone) par-al-ketone to the bolts. At least the ketone smells good. 

And that's all up to date, folks!!!!

Proper prior preperation....

Waiter, I'll have another order of bolts in Par-al-ketone, please.

Doors closed, I checked everything over one last time....

And carefully lowered....

snap, snap, snap.... placeholding bolts into the bulkhead channel brackets and reinforcing doublers.

Place holding bolts were gradually replaced with final, brand new bolts with rubber spacers or stainless steel fender washers taking up any slack in the front.

After struggling to fit the washers in the back of the side channel brackets I finally removed the support angle to allow my hand to fit in.

And it was time to remove the aft place holding bolts and replace them with the new bolts coated with par-al-ketone.

Soft dock.   

Now to the sides. Dremel out the hull and insert the bolts.

Hard dock.

Bellingham, we have a SeaRey.

As it happened, the QBs were having a meeting at the airport the night, I was invited to attend as a guest and brought OspRey along.

We stopped in and said Hi to Mike and his RV. He's got about 60 hours on it now after a very successful first flight earlier this summer.

Having Osp at the QBs was a bit poignant, many asked if she was the kind Richard had been flying and how he was doing.  

Back at the hangar at the end of the night, we took some time to be thankful, and think of what comes next.

Final fittings

One chronic problem with builders I know has been the fit of the turtledeck to the hull at the transom. I decided it would be easier to take some time with the frame out of the hull to take a look at the problem.

During the turtledeck/hull fitting the turtledeck is bound into place with ratchet straps, then riveted. I wasn't ready to do that yet, so good old duck tape served to pull in the sides of the hull and allow the turtledeck to sit in place. 

What I found was that on the transom and hull there is a "lip", and I theorized the turtledeck was cut shallow on this lip.

Using the aft boom tube cover showed my boom tube hole was the correct fit, and the theory was correct I was told this is the normal fit for the turtledeck/transom/hull, and extra rivet would be used in this area, but it just doesn't make sense to me. Overlaps are supposed to fit over the lip, not be shallow. I may add some glass to extend the turtledeck overlap in this area, but fortunately I don't have to do this for a while and have time to ask others and do more research on the fitting.

A little finish sanding and sealing of the holes in the back. Not much particle hazard from the little bit of dust I was taking off, I just don't like the taste.

The next thing was to (gulp) tackle the cluster bracket/aft root tub hole in the turtledeck again. First a string was ran from the root tube support forward to the fin, and a centerline established on the turtledeck.

If you're building a new LSX kit, pay particular attention to the end of the ridge going down the deck. Note that my turtledeck has a rounded end, page 6 of section 17 Turtledeck appears to show it now cut off square. This is IMPORTANT because the manual calls for a hole to be drilled 4 3/4" aft of the end of this ridge. If you have the rounded end like mine that is about 2" too far!!!!!!

With the turtledeck correctly mounted it was time to start slowly cutting out the hole again. At one point I scared the hell out of myself when I lowered the deck and found the aft end far misaligned.

Fortunately, the front edge of the deck had gotten hung up and after lifting it into place all was well.

Slowly, literally cutting millimeters at a time, the cluster bracket/aft root tube support mount emerged.

Until the aft end fell perfectly into place.

But again, it shows that the turtledeck is cut short. It just don't make sense....