Breathing is Good!
Installing Oxygen Cylinder Brackets Call me old fashioned, but when it comes to operating an aircraft, I have always maintained that it is important to remain conscious. A key requirement for most carbon-based lifeforms that respire is oxygen. Most people take it for granted but if you fly in a non-pressurized airplane, it’s something that…
I Just Gotta Vent
One of the earliest decisions I made on mods was to replace the standard rear seat vents with a ducted system supplying air to an overhead console. While quite a bit more complicated, it seemed like a more refined and upscale solution. Many other builders have gone down this road, which includes installing NACA vents…
All Tied Up (or Down)
One of the mods I decided to do on the baggage area was to install a set of cargo tiedowns. I had these in the Maule M7 I owned years ago and thought they would be a handy and inexpensive addition. Now I don’t have plans to haul an entire basecamp worth of outdoor gear,…
A Sparring Partner
With the unpackaging, inventorying and storing out of the way it was time to get down to building. I was particularly excited because, having purchased a mostly complete tail cone, I did not have much opportunity to assemble stuff. I gained a bunch of confidence by attending Troy Grover’s two-day class but it’s not the…
Finally Winging It!
Hello my dedicated readers, er, I mean reader (thanks, honey)! This week we’ve decamped to Telluride for our annual Memorial Day getaway. While there’s no actual work happening on the plane, the break is giving me time to catch up the build log and post some (hopefully) interesting content (in between margaritas and jigsaw puzzles).…
Let There Be Lights!
I have a problem. I’m impatient. And I have a short attention span. And, doc, when I lift my left arm really high I get this pain… Oh, right. The build. With the wing kit ordered (Happy New Year 2021 to me!) I got obsessed with planning out the exterior lighting since a good chunk…
Wait! Did I Buy A Cozy?
With the elevator debacle under control I decided to sweep up the metal shavings and switch gears to Section 12–empennage fairings–one of the few tasks left to do. Section 12 covers the installation of composite fairings to elevator, rudder, and stabilizer tips. The molded tips come as part of the empennage kit but some must…
Fixing the Elevators
NO, NOT THAT KIND… So after trying unsuccessfully to connect with my EAA Technical Counselor to come look at my elevator fiasco I decided to jump in the deep end and attempt a fix myself. After much thought and a few opinions from Van’s Air Force (including one that amounted to, “just give it a…
Elevator Pushrod
With the elevators themselves in limbo, I decided to move on to the elevator pushrod. In theory this is a straightforward step. You trim a piece of aluminum tube to length and then rivet in threaded inserts on each end. The aluminum tube is deceptively light and you wonder how it handles the stresses of…
Elevator Attach and…Whoa!
Many builders look forward to the moment when, after months of diligent and careful work assembling numerous subcomponents, you get to Section 11. The title of the this section is brief and to the point: Empennage Attach. Like all sections, it begins with an overview diagram that conveys what you will accomplish by the end.…
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Building N726AG 