3/9/2007

Here's my replacement root fairing taking shape. I rushed the first one, and ended up with something I wasn't happy with. This second attempt was harder, tthough, since I already match-drilled and dimpled the wing to match the first attempt. So there was a lot of reverse-engineering of the hole placement.

This one fits much better!

I trimmed both sides to a quarter-inch off the fuselage, then installed the rubber seal. Very tight fit but seems ok.

I was very careful to get all my brake fittings nice and tight before filling, but I missed one: where this T connection threads into the reservoir. If I recall correctly, I wasn't sure if I could get it around another full turn without stripping it out, so I erred on the loose side. And of course it leaks.

So that meant draining the reservoir through the right-side brake bleeder, opening up the fittings, turning the T another 360 degrees, reinstalling and refilling. Took several attempts to refill because I kept getting air bubbles and spongy brake feel.

Since my ailerons are travelling slightly more than the manual allows, I played around with an idea from VAF: a nylon bushing around the pushrod bolt and spacer. I had heard 1/2" was the right size (for an RV-7 perhaps?), but even 5/8" was too small. The idea is that this bushing will impact the aileron attach bracket before it hits the "real" metal stop. I'll need to look for something bigger.

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