Windshield, control horn, etc 2 hrs

Tonight I adjusted and modified my elevator control horn.  I also trimmed my bottom windshield retainers and did some trimming and cleaning of the edges. It felt like an unproductive night. I need to continue to focus on one thing at a time...

Windshield work continued 3 hours

Today I continued to work on my windshield. I am doing my windshield quite a bit different from what the plans show. First off, I am using 1/2" chromoly tubing as opposed to 3/8" aluminum tubing for my windshield and canopy bows.  I am doing this for two reasons. One, I want to add additional rollover protection in the event that my CX4 goes upside down on an off field landing. Two, i wanted to add some structural integrity to the bow so that I can use it to help pull myself out of the airplane by using the bow.  Another change I am making is the upper windshield retainers strip. The plans call for a retainer strip that is bolted into the bow through the plexiglass.  I wanted to eliminate as many holes through the glass as possible, so I added a flange to the aft side of the retainer strip that turns down the backside of the bow and rivets to the bow. It acts as a constant pressure clamp that clamps the windshield to the bow and uses a constant bead of sealant/adhesive to eliminate any movement. This eliminates a bunch of holes and potential for cracks in the windshield and canopy. 

     I finished cutting the retainer and did some filing and cleaning up edges and rounding corners on the notches. I got the entire piece drilled to the bows. 

Windshield 3 hrs

Today I worked on dressing up the forward windshield retainer bows and fitting them to the fuselage and the windshield. I also did the layout for th upper windshield retainer. I am doing mine different from the plans to avoid drilling holes in the windshield. 

Then I went flying in my Grumman!!

Tailwheel bolted on

Today I gotMy tailwheel in the mail. I bolted it on which only took a couple of minutes

Windshield. 5 hrs. 411 total hrs

Today I worked on my windshield. I bought the plexiglass from Home Depot. Once I got it home I did my layout and cut my windshield out with an angle grinder. Then I cleaned the edges up with a file, then 100 grit sand paper, then 320 grit sand paper to ensure that there were no stress risers.   The pattern fits almost perfectly. There will be some trimming once I get my retainer fabricated and in place securing the bottom part of the windshield. Once I do that I will trim the top around the bow. It seems to most have used fiberglass to make the lower retainer due to the difficulty in making it out of metal, so I saw that as a challenge and tried out of metal. I did it just as the plans indicated and I think it went pretty well. Other than some hammer marks which are understandable considering you beat the piss out of it to get the curve, I'm pretty happy with it. Now I just have to make the second half. I also painted my motor mount. 

Windshield and canopy bows 2 hrs

Today I worked on forming the radius of the windshield and canopy bows with a conduit bender. This was very monotonous and time consuming. The first one was hard, but getting the second one identical to the first was harder!  I've got the real close to where I want then except for some minor tweaking. I would guess you could spend as long as you want slightly adjust it to get it perfect. 

Adjust elevator control horns 1 hr

Last night I removed the elevator control horn so I could adjust the horn slightly to achieve my 22degrees up. 

Elevator counterweights. 1 hr

Tonight I worked in melting some lead and installing it on my counterweight ribs to balance my elevator

Interior inspection plate 3 hrs

Yesterday I worked on fabricating and installing the inspection plate that will be used for the comm antenna. These inspection plates take a lot of time. 

Elevator 3 hours

Today I worked on the elevators. I got everything fitted, drilled, deburred, clecoed and fitted to the fuselage. Instill have some tweaking to do to get the required angles of deflection. Productive day...

Elevator 1 hr

Tonight I worked on drilling the elevator I worked on last night and started layout on the second elevator. 

Elevator 2 hrs

Tonight I got back to work on my project after a break for oshkosh. I got one of my elevators trimmed and ready for drilling. My control horn is tacked together so once I get both of my elevators done, I will check the operation and travel of it and if correct I will weld the rest of the control horns.