Wheel Pants

 I purchased "modified Defiant wheel pants" from Aerocomposites.  I didn't get any instructions with them so pinged Scott Fish and he sent me some photos and his process of how he assembled them since there's a fair amount of cutting, glassing and fairing involved.  Russ Meyerriecks also has these same wheel pants.

Last night (8/22/2022), I bondoed some small 1" sticks inside the outer shell and then mated the inboard  shell to the outboard shell.  Then applied 1.75" BID tape to the longer edges that mated evenly, then peel plied the tapes.

Next I'll cut the opening for the wheels and mating area for the inboard component that mounts to the leg/4 axle bolts.  

Van's axle nuts for Matco axles that has the nut plate mounted in it were purchased.  An RV builder/friend (Jay Pratt) had some cad plated steel washers that were 2" OD and 1.75" ID (need to verify this measurement)  I was unable to find any other source for these.  Other builders had posted they had to machine the axle nut to capture the washer that holds the wheel bearing in.  I think these washers ID will not require the axle nut to be machined except possible for the cotter pin holes enlarged.

Update  (9/29/2022) - I'd glassed the provided cuffs to the leg fairings but they seemed rather large to have on if I flew with the wheel pants off.  So I glassed the original cuffs to the inner and outer wheel pant halves with the wheel pants in place.  I trimmed the tops of the original cuffs and cut separating lines to enable removal of the inner and outer parts.  Using a centerline as a reference, fixed the wheel pants so that the centerlines of the wheel pants were parallel with the centerline.  The forward and aft centerlines of the wheel pants were set to just under 8" measured to the floor.   The rim of the wheels were just at the bottom of the wheel pants.   Then I glassed new smaller cuffs in place with the wheel pants aligned.  After cure,  I cut some 1" round stock aluminum for spacers, three for each side.

Work remaining will be to glass the spacers in place along with reinforcement for the hard points.   Also install nut plates or camlocs to make checking tire pressure easier.

9/19/2022

The Dynon manual (p53) has information on  the little tics on the bank angle indicate 10, 20, 30 and 60 degrees and the triangles indicate 0 and 45 degrees.   Good to know for Flight test 7.  :-)

I flew another flight, got fuel at XBP and returned to T67.   A C150 student in the pattern at T67 did a two mile downwind and still wasn't off the runway when I was on final (doing 85 KIAS in the pattern) so went around.  Usually I would have done a right 360 for spacing on the downwind but another aircraft was coming from the East to join the downwind.  A cub also appeared that I didn't hear on the radio or see on ADSB (obviously).  It is tempting to do a short approach when they're doing that.  I'll chat with the airport safety manager.  

The left brake pedal feels solid but isn't as effective as the right brake.  I suspect the either the caliper is hanging up a little, the pads may have gotten some axle grease flung on them and contaminated or maybe the rotor is glazed.  I'll pull the wheel off and check.   It doesn't seem like either wheel is dragging while taxiing.

The oil level after changing drops after filling the filter and the oil cooler.  I'd added one quart and the level was staying right under the 8 qt. mark.  There's some oil mist on the cowl near the breather tube exhaust.  Some people only run 6 quarts but with a new engine, I want to make sure the cam is getting lubricated well so don't mind adding oil for now.

A few tasks before the next flight are to complete wheel pant installation and stiffen the trim spring.

9/18/2022 Update

 Several more test flights were made.  I'll have to go back through notes to see what to add....

Got the engine balanced after having an prop extension insert replaced.   I wanted to reclock the prop and got 5 of the prop bolts out but one froze up and wouldn't budge.   The insert was turning in the extension.  I used a grinder and cut the head off to get the prop off.  I called Saber Mfg and Sam answered, said they could take care of me so I got down there right before lunch.  He replaced the insert and suggested that before removing the bolts to clean the threads.  I replied that I'd blown them off with an air chuck but that one still froze up.  He looked at the face of the extension and said it looked like maybe the Belleville washers were allowing the prop to flex up and down.   After some discussion he offered that I could try running with no Belleville washers, just be diligent in retorquing the prop as necessary (when the weather changes, going from one climate to another etc.   Also using wax on the prop bolt threads and reduce the dry torque value from 40 .lbs to 35 .lbs   He mentioned a few other users of Belleville washers had had the same problem with threads getting damaged.  I'm wondering if the combination of using 4 washers and a higher horsepower engine with high compression pistons is a factor.

The fuel pump had been making a growling/gravelly sound.  I replaced the filter screen and it sounds normal again.  Appears some dirt, fiberglass and tiny bits of strake foam are still finding their way to the filter.  I ordered a couple new screens for the 100 gph/40 micron filter.

I tweaked the aileron adjustment slightly to improve right roll by turning one of the rods out a turn.

Saturday, flew to RPH Graham TX for $4.80 fuel.  It was hot and bumpy.  Not many other planes on ADSB.  Wind gusting 20 knots at KAFW.

Sunday morning started Flight test 7.

Update 9/15/2022 Flight test 6 continued.

 The right roll issue was mitigated by correcting the slop in the right aileron torque tube.  The AP was slightly pitching up/down at about 125 KIAS @ 8000'.   

Completed the power on and power off stall testing.  Power off, gear down, canard bob was at 60.5 KIAS, vertical descent was 780 fpm.

The canard would not stall with full power on.   Probably will later with more weight and forward CG.

I went for a second flight in the afternoon to confirm the right roll issue was mitigated and it was much better.  The autopilot was wanting to climb at higher speeds.   I disconnected the AP and manually flew and trimmed and it seemed to be okay.

Flightradar is picking up my flights now if you use Chrome...doesn't seem to work with Brave and maybe other browsers.  Previously Flightaware and adsbexchange were the only sources picking up flights.

Update 9/13/2022 Flight test 6 and squawks

 The right axle nut appears to be a little to tight causing a tendency to turn right when taxiing.  Also a right roll that wouldn't trim out has developed.  Initially I thought the only thing that changed was the amount of fuel on board and tweaking on the brake heat shields.  The autopilot wasn't working well either.  During maintenance later I found the right aileron torque tube connection to the universal joint had a little bit of play in it.   I tightened it and put some Loctite 680 in it.  

Green Loctite 680 test on aileron joint and torque tube.

I only completed part of Flight test 6 due to turbulence.  Nose bob seemed high at about 67 knots, 10,000 DA/8000 MSL.  

The oil pressure during flight climbed above 50 psi occasionally.  

I changed the oil again and refilled with Aeroshell 100 Mineral oil.   Oil usage appears to be stabilizing.

Update 09/12/2022 Flight test 6/squawk tests

 

I took off from T67 on RWY 32 for the first time with a slight crosswind from the east at almost 1700 .lbs with nearly 40 gallons of fuel.  Was airborne near midfield.

Regarding testing, there was a cloud layer right at 8000' today near my test area and it was bumpy.   I wanted to burn off some fuel so played with the autopilot and tried some of the tests but getting the canard to bob at 60 KIAS in turbulence just wasn't a lot of fun so I practiced using AP controls.   I completed a portion of the test.  Looks like the fuel pulses need to be tweaked.  1.7 hours on the tach and only 11 gallons used.

The right brake seems less effective than the left brake despite bleeding it.

I'd replaced the Nordlocks on the brake discs which causes the Allen screw heads to  protrude slightly and they're contacting the brake heat shields, making an unusual noise.  I suspect the wind may be bending the shields back towards the discs.

Kevin Walsh's suggestion to use the rudders more assertively to loose energy has helped.   I did find the throttle blip to add energy back resulted in the landing brake automatically retracting, so will need to keep that in mind using this procedure in the future.

I started checking for cabin air leaks and found some around the canopy (which has no weather stripping yet).

Update 9/11/2022 New main tires and tubes installed

 The tires that I robbed from a project looked new but I'd found the tubes were dated 2013 and appears the retreads were 12/12.  The sidewalls looked like they were weather checking.   I chatted with Russ and he said he'd put on the Air Hawks and liked them quite a bit better (like landing on pillows) than the Desser Monster Retreads.  Aeroperformance (ACS) in Fort Worth had these in stock:

 XA1AC 500x5 tube w/90 stem

XA1AB Airtrac Tube Stem 90 3.50x4.10-4

AB3D4 Air Hawk 500-5 6 ply tire

Back ordered the 1V1650 Aero Classic Tire 10-350-4

It was difficult getting one of the tires off the rim.  I finally put it on a hydraulic press and got it popped off.  

Getting Dyna Beads installed in the tubes was time consuming and required frequent tapping on the valve stem to keep the beads flowing.  One of the charts I found indicated 1 or 2 ounces of beads for a 10 inch diameter wheel, so I put two ounces in.

9/10/2022 Update (Flight Test Card 5 Main Wing Stall)

 First flight after replacing the axle nuts, putting Dyna Beads in the nose tire.  During preflight I put the brake lock on and applied the brakes.  The left brake was mushy so I bled it and got some bubbles out.   Tested when I got back and it still seems okay.

Flight testing went as expected except for the power on stall KIAS @ 60 knots.  With full aft stick the plane still wanted to climb at about 400 fpm, 64.5 KIAS.  I posted a question to the group if I should add weight, change the CG and retest or if this was good enough.   The CG testing starts on the 14th test card.

I'm hearing a metal "ting ting" occasionally.  Not sure if its seat harness hardware, the gas cap retainers in the tanks or maybe some of the tools I have stowed in the passenger area.

Found some usual oil leakage.  A couple drips were on the lower oil cooler hose.   Oil level was just under 8 quarts.  Apparently some of the oil bleed back out of the cooler after shutting down as I took off with it showing 7.5 qts and it should have been a little lower than that unless the oil  consumption is stabilizing.

The auto pilot seems to be working but the operator needs more training.  

Returning to Hicks I tried Kevin Walsh's recommendation: "So, here's a trick that was taught to me by my CFI / test pilot for my first flight: 

On final you should have your aim point not translating up or down in the canopy, and your airspeed should be on target. 

If you need to add energy to the system, push the throttle smoothly all the way in, and then just as smoothly pull it back to idle. The whole sweep should take you maybe 3-4 seconds. 

Then reevaluate your airspeed and the aim point. If you are too fast or high, step on both rudders to remove energy from the system. 

If you're really high or fast, add top rudder to your turn from base to final. These planes are slippery, so adding energy to the system requires very little adjustment, taking it away you sometimes have to be a little more assertive."