Welcome to my build log for a Velocity XL/RG-5. As I complete the steps in construction of the aircraft, I will try to post entries, with pictures, to this log. The postings will appear in reverse chronological order, but also be cross-referenced by aircraft subsystem. Feel free to comment or contact me.
Month: May 2016
Main landing gear and doors
(Assist from Cindy – Thanks!)
Side window mating faces were ground, and side windows were glued in place. MLG legs were reinstalled and over center linkage was installed and gear pockets were adjusted so that legs were spaced evenly with centerline. Cabo was filleted around gear sockets to adhere them to the gear pockets. The door latching mechanisms were installed in both the pilot and copilot doors.
Piling stuff into the fuselage for shipment to Georgetown!
Center wing spar and landing gear
Leveling and centering checked again, and then the center wing spar was glued into place with structural adhesive+flox+cabo and clamped. MLG legs were bolted into place and bushings glued on both ends. MLG were then removed again. Thick tapered layups of triax were applied to link MLG bulkhead, firewall, and center spar together.
Aft keel was cut down for -5 option, and carbon keel cap was placed in position (not glued). NLG linkage, shock absorber, and over center link was installed in keel. NLG swing check completed. NLG bushings and over-center hard points were mounted inset in keel skin, so careful cutting of outer skin and foam was needed.
Rudder pedals were positioned and attached to canard bulkhead and linkage was attached to see-saw.
Topside layups joining winglets to wings applied and curing. Strap layups at spar bolts applied – wings and winglets are completed (for now)!!!
Keel and center wing spar
Keel glued in place with structural epoxy + flox + cabo. Riveted in place to clamp. Lower cowling removed from fuselage, cowl flange is now in place. With cowling removed, holes for MLG bushings can be drilled into firewall and gear bulkhead. Multiple layups placed around forward area of keel, where it joins the canard bulkhead.
Lower fuselage was cut out for center spar just forward of firewall and from flange down to gear pocket. Also MLG cutouts were made in the lower fuselage. Center wing spar section sanded and wiped down with alcohol. Preliminary fitting, leveling, and shimming of center spar accomplished.
Winglets and main landing gear
(Matt and Elise assist – Thanks!!)
Right winglet exterior layup installed. Left winglet bottom fit on and clecoed in place.
Upper MLG legs wrapped with Al tape and waxed, ready to accept gear socket layups. Six-ply triax layup wetted out on plastic and then draped over MLG upper legs. MLG cable pullies installed in front of gear bulkhead. Note that pulleys were installed wrong – cable guide tabs should be aft, in the cutout.
Doors and Windows
Built door latch bushings from parts. Used hinge guide tool to register hinges in the right location on the doors. Some grinding of door flat was necessary to fit hinges. Drilled door, then drilled and tapped hinges, securing hinge to door.
Outer edge of windshield was ground down about 1/16″ in mating area to make its surface flush with outer fuselage skin. Windshield mounted in upper fuselage and glued into place with alphapoxy and micro. Clamped by inserting wooden wedges into foam.
Ducting, bulkhead work, and controls
NACA oil scoop was reinforced with 2-ply BID top and bottom of scoop. Additional strengtheners glassed to area of gear bulkhead around the gear pulley openings.
Rudder cable see-saw installed on canard bulkhead, and battery shelf positioned and clecoed in place. NLG actuator bolted into place on fuselage centerline.
Heat duct (pre-fab part) sawed in half and internal flange fabricated by using waxed Al tape on one half and bonding 2-ply BID across seam.
Iteratively cut lower cowling along cut line aft of firewall, holding it in place with hot glue and wooden sticks. Added a 2-ply BID layup to strengthen joint between firewall and fuselage in region of cowl flange.
Winglet join and final canard glassing
Multiple overlapping (and tapered) layers of glass used to hold winglet to wingtip. Canard was sanded and another layer of triax was draped on and wetted out. Fixture allows rotating canard to allow easy access to both top and bottom during wet-out.
Saturday work
Wings were put back on wing fixtures for fitting of winglets. Wing and winglet contours adjusted by sanding until the edges were within 1/8″along the join line. Foam was partially cut out of spar and both LE and TE blocks to accept the inner layups. BID layups placed on inner seam, and then dug-out foam was replaced with micro. A block of foam was then glued in place with micro, and after cure, was contoured with knife and sanding to blend lower wing and outer winglet surfaces.
NACA oil cooler scoop was cleaned up, with excess cabo ground away and outside lip of scoop sanded flush with fuselage skin.
MLG cable pulley holes were cut in gear bulkhead. Strips of 2-ply BID layups were placed along gear bulkhead and canard bulkhead for strengthening.
Rudder pedal and toe brake assembly was built up from parts.
Miscellaneous fuselage work
Used structural adhesive + cabo + flox to glue in gear pockets and rear bulkhead. Clecoed in place to clamp. NLG door hinge tabs cleaned up and drilled. NACA oil cooler scoop (pre-made part) fitted to side of fuselage, with opening contoured and shaped with a lot of filing. Foam removed from between fuselage skins to provide grip for epoxy. All surfaces were sanded, and the scoop was bonded into place with cabo+flox. Taped to hold scoop edges against fuselage. Multi-layer BID reinforcements placed over wooden hard points inside keel. Nose access panel hole cut out to leave a flange. Pre-fabricate nose access panel door sanded to fit flush on flange.
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