Well, today was a momentous day. Richard and I planned to meet at the airport at 1PM in the afternoon. The day started gloomy, rainy, chilly but not cold. But by afternoon the sun was out and it eventually got up to the mid-80’s.
I knew we planned to try to get the Kawasaki to run, but I was concerned that the battery might have run down, so I went up a couple of hours early to hook up the charger and have a peaceful lunch. Richard arrived right on time at 1PM and we began the small items leading up to starting the engine. He got the fan belt off which was just an exercise since we didn’t have a replacement anyway, so we couldn’t remove it, just educate ourselves into how to get it on and off. We also worked on the throttle cable hook-up to the throttle lever, and that went together OK. The next step was to crank over the engine and get it started. I had one gallon of gas and 2-cycle oil, which I mixed as instructed. I turned on the ON switch and we both held our breaths and I pushed the starter button. After a couple of cranks, the engine fired up and ran very smoothly. Very exciting! After a half-minute or so, we saw gas pouring out of the carburetor overflow tube, so we shut it down and Richard took apart the carb and found a sticky valve which he fixed, and that solved that problem.
The last thing we did was to install the instrument panel (on that airplane the ”instrument panel” consists of a single piece of aluminum about 3 inches wide where the tachometer is mounted, along with a CHT and/or EGT, if I had them, which I don’t!). I do have a TinyTach, which we mounted, fired up the Kawasaki again, and saw it registering RPM’s like mad.
So the day went well. The next step is to order the 3-blade propeller, get the wing done, and think about flying the old bird.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011 Back to the Airport
Beautiful day today. Not hot or humid, but the gnats were awful, and the grasshoppers were everywhere. I went to the airport about sunup because Sandra needed to go to a Skype baby shower (new to me!), so I had to get back by 11AM. I needed to get an accurate measurement for the wing cables, and also check out the washout struts, since the left one was being attached to the leading-edge tube that I replaced. I wanted to ensure it would fit properly, at the proper angle, and I also wanted to replace the bungees. I found that the struts fit perfectly, and the new bungees tightened them up considerably. So all well and good so far.
I used an unusual procedure to establish the length of the wing cables. I installed the old cables (the ones with the splices), then inflated the wing, then adjusted the left cable to the length that would allow the wing to inflate. I left the right one alone. I found that the left cable had to be lengthened three inches to 110”, and since the right one was 107”, the net length of each cable is 108 ½”. So that’s what I’ll order from Aero Assemblies.
I can’t help but think about how much better I feel physically compared to when I originally started this project. It's been almost two years, so I guess it just takes awhile to recover from a crash and also a couple of heart attacks. I felt that my stamina was much better, and my back isn’t sore. So that’s really good.
I used an unusual procedure to establish the length of the wing cables. I installed the old cables (the ones with the splices), then inflated the wing, then adjusted the left cable to the length that would allow the wing to inflate. I left the right one alone. I found that the left cable had to be lengthened three inches to 110”, and since the right one was 107”, the net length of each cable is 108 ½”. So that’s what I’ll order from Aero Assemblies.
I can’t help but think about how much better I feel physically compared to when I originally started this project. It's been almost two years, so I guess it just takes awhile to recover from a crash and also a couple of heart attacks. I felt that my stamina was much better, and my back isn’t sore. So that’s really good.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Saturday, August 20, 2011 Next Trip to the Airport
Today was a beautiful day. Warm, not hot, and promise of success. I took the wing out and set it up to inflate. Knowing it would not fully inflate, I began to examine what I had. I checked out the aft flying wire, but did not see anything wrong with it. But the control wires looked like they were straining, which was not normal. I disconnected the fabric from the end of the leading-edge tubes and disconnected the control wires, and that allowed the wing to inflate. So it looks like since the control wires were cut by the EMT’s, and when I spliced them, the length apparently isn’t correct. I will have to get Larry to measure the length of the wires so I can have them re-fabricated by Aero Assemblies.
I had arranged with Richard to meet later at the airport in the afternoon because he was tied up in the morning. When he arrived at about 1PM, we started on the challenge of pulling the fan belt pulley so I can replace the fan belt, which showed wear. He thought he had a tool to facilitate that, but when we tried, we could not remove the pulley. So that project must be put off for later.
We next began to complete the basic wiring so the engine would turn over. We attached wires to the starter switch and the kill switch, mounted and wired up the new starter solenoid, attached the battery cables, pushed the starter button, and after some false starts, the engine turned over. Major success! Now we can proceed on to getting the engine to actually run!
Now I need to start thinking about ordering the propeller.
I had arranged with Richard to meet later at the airport in the afternoon because he was tied up in the morning. When he arrived at about 1PM, we started on the challenge of pulling the fan belt pulley so I can replace the fan belt, which showed wear. He thought he had a tool to facilitate that, but when we tried, we could not remove the pulley. So that project must be put off for later.
We next began to complete the basic wiring so the engine would turn over. We attached wires to the starter switch and the kill switch, mounted and wired up the new starter solenoid, attached the battery cables, pushed the starter button, and after some false starts, the engine turned over. Major success! Now we can proceed on to getting the engine to actually run!
Now I need to start thinking about ordering the propeller.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Thursday, August 10, 2011 Midweek Trip to the Airport
I had gone to Aero Assemblies and picked up the new cables and they looks like they did a good job. I wanted to go back to the airport ASAP and reattach the new control bar cables and see if that would solve the problem of the wing not inflating. But alas, it didn’t affect the situation—the tensioner still is within 4 inches or so of full inflation. One thing I discovered, if I don’t put the aft wing wire across the kingpost, the wing does inflate.
On the way home, I thought about the situation and concluded that either there’s something tangled with the wing wire that keeps the leading-edge tubes from extending fully, or possibly the control wires are too short to prevent full extension. I’ll have to check it out next time.
On the way home, I thought about the situation and concluded that either there’s something tangled with the wing wire that keeps the leading-edge tubes from extending fully, or possibly the control wires are too short to prevent full extension. I’ll have to check it out next time.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011 To the Airport
It’s been a long time since I have been at the airport. In the interim, I have been working on getting John’s Cessna 172 annualed, and when I arrived I saw that it was done and back in the hanger, all clean and shiny. It was tempting to jump in and take it for a spin (never say “spin” to a pilot!). But without insurance, a current BFR, and medical, it would be tempting fate, and very illegal. There has been many other things in my life that have gotten in the way of the Jetwing rebuild project, but this Saturday was the first day I could see my way clear to go there. I’m sure my Kawasaki engine friend, Richard, wonders to where I’ve disappeared. I need to call him and update him on the project status.
But there has been progress. I got the nosewheel assembly back from Herm’s Welding and it looks like the throttle cable I ordered will work well as a foot-feed. The plan is for the foot-feed to override the hand control, if all works well.
Today I spent time on the wing. I reattached the nose section, attached the hang bracket, and other miscellaneous stuff. I inspected the wing cable attachment to make sure they were fully engaged, which they were. One disappointment, though, was that I could not get the wing entirely inflated. I don’t know what’s hanging up the tensioner, but something is preventing it from full extension, and therefore I could not attach the tensioner to the keel bracket. Inflating the wing was not my primary objective for the day, so I’m not concerned about this since I have inflated the wing since replacing the damaged parts, so I know it’s a minor problem.
In the course of working on the wing, I noticed that the hang point bracket is slightly bent from the accident. I removed it and will take it to Herm’s Welding for straightening, along with the front downtube bracket that is also slightly bent and requires straightening. I also removed the control bar cables which were severed by the EMT’s but that I had spliced. It’s time to replace them rather than try to repair them. I don’t want to worry about them later, particularly when I'm at 1000 feet.
All in all, I am pleased with my accomplishments today, although as usual I didn’t get as much done as I had planned.
But there has been progress. I got the nosewheel assembly back from Herm’s Welding and it looks like the throttle cable I ordered will work well as a foot-feed. The plan is for the foot-feed to override the hand control, if all works well.
Today I spent time on the wing. I reattached the nose section, attached the hang bracket, and other miscellaneous stuff. I inspected the wing cable attachment to make sure they were fully engaged, which they were. One disappointment, though, was that I could not get the wing entirely inflated. I don’t know what’s hanging up the tensioner, but something is preventing it from full extension, and therefore I could not attach the tensioner to the keel bracket. Inflating the wing was not my primary objective for the day, so I’m not concerned about this since I have inflated the wing since replacing the damaged parts, so I know it’s a minor problem.
In the course of working on the wing, I noticed that the hang point bracket is slightly bent from the accident. I removed it and will take it to Herm’s Welding for straightening, along with the front downtube bracket that is also slightly bent and requires straightening. I also removed the control bar cables which were severed by the EMT’s but that I had spliced. It’s time to replace them rather than try to repair them. I don’t want to worry about them later, particularly when I'm at 1000 feet.
All in all, I am pleased with my accomplishments today, although as usual I didn’t get as much done as I had planned.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011 I Hit a Gold Mine
Some time ago, I had reached out to a guy who I found on the Homebuilt Aircraft web site that seemed to be expert with Kawasaki motors. He happened to live in Plymouth, MN, which was not far from the Crystal Airport where the Jetwing is hangered. He responded and eventually we agreed to meet at the airport today. His name is Richard Schmidt, a retired race care driver and mechanic, and now a student sport pilot, and seems willing to help. What a find! We met in the afternoon and he seems very knowledgeable (to my limited knowledge) and immediately dove in to the project. He sent me to find some carburetor cleaner and other stuff that would help him rebuild the carburetor. By the time I got back, he had it torn down and ready to clean all the small parts and reassemble it. I was impressed with his knowledge, thoroughness, and yet speedy way he approached working on the carburetor. I gave me some assignments to take home with me, such as to clean the air filter, get the throttle cable parts to enable connecting it to the hand control, replace the belt from the engine fan, get some fuel tubing to run from the gas tank to the fuel pump, straighten the instrument panel, charge the battery, etc.
After remounting the carburetor, we moved on to figuring out the wiring for the engine. The EMT’s had chopped up the wiring at the time of the accident, so we had to try to figure out what wire did what from the remains. We checked out the spark and found that there was good spark and decent compression. We found the on/off circuitry to connect eventually to the kill switch and planned the wiring for the starter and key switch.
We also unmounted the little tach (known as “Tiny Tach”) that was still mounted to the instrument panel to see if works at all. If it does work, that would save me having to buy a tach. The essential engine instrumentation for the Jetwing is, in addition to the tach, dual CHT’s and EGT’s, which could be clustered into a quad-style 3-inch round gauge which is available from Aircraft Spruce. Or some other configuration, but I do need CHT’s and EGT’s for both cylinders.
So I think I’ve taken a giant leap forward to getting this thing to run. I’ll get my assignments done and contact Richard for another session. I wouldn’t be surprised if we would get the Kawasaki running next time at the airport.
After remounting the carburetor, we moved on to figuring out the wiring for the engine. The EMT’s had chopped up the wiring at the time of the accident, so we had to try to figure out what wire did what from the remains. We checked out the spark and found that there was good spark and decent compression. We found the on/off circuitry to connect eventually to the kill switch and planned the wiring for the starter and key switch.
We also unmounted the little tach (known as “Tiny Tach”) that was still mounted to the instrument panel to see if works at all. If it does work, that would save me having to buy a tach. The essential engine instrumentation for the Jetwing is, in addition to the tach, dual CHT’s and EGT’s, which could be clustered into a quad-style 3-inch round gauge which is available from Aircraft Spruce. Or some other configuration, but I do need CHT’s and EGT’s for both cylinders.
So I think I’ve taken a giant leap forward to getting this thing to run. I’ll get my assignments done and contact Richard for another session. I wouldn’t be surprised if we would get the Kawasaki running next time at the airport.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011 Memorial Day at the Airport
A day off work and an opportunity to go to the airport. We experienced a heavy lightning storm last night and this morning we had heavy rain squalls. So glad to be indoors. The goal today was to work on the engine and engine components.
First, I worked on getting the muffler re-attached. That didn’t take too long, except that the attachment to the engine could not be completed since this is accomplished by two springs which keep the muffler in line with the engine manifold. These springs were too worn to re-use, so I brought one of them home so I could find replacements.
Last visit I had attached the seat belt and shoulder harness but was slightly confused how they hooked together. Today it was very apparent and I actually sat in the seat with the shoulder harness and seat belt attached, but saw that the shoulder harness attach points were too far apart to be usable, so will have to move them further inboard, a project for another time.
I attached the carburetor and traced the path of the fuel line to see how the tubing should be connected. It seemed pretty clear how to run the fuel line which had been chopped up by the overzealous jaws-of-life operator at the accident scene. In addition to the main line, there are three mysterious small tubes coming out of the carburetor that I can’t figure out, so will have to check them out.
The throttle cable will be a little more of a challenge to get reinstalled. The cable that runs to the hand control is intact, but the split cable that runs to the foot control was cut and will take some research. The foot control is part of the nosewheel assembly that was broken in the accident and re-welded, so it will be somewhat challenging to figure out how to get the throttle cable hooked up. Worse case I could get the engine running with the hand control only for now.
Finally, I got frustrated with the tangled web of electrical wires that had been apparently jury-rigged over time as components were added and taken off, so I disconnected most of the wires that I could see had nothing to do with the actual engine electrical system. I will add some of them back later, but for now I just want the wiring to support the engine function only. I do want to add at some point a kill switch, ignition and starter switch, and some engine instrumentation, such as tachometer, dual CHT, EGT, and hour meter. But for now, the engine wires are dangling down ready to be attached. The project for the next visit is clear; connecting the wiring and fuel line, charging the battery, and getting closer to starting the engine.
For today, I’m pleased with what was accomplished, mostly research into what should be done next.
First, I worked on getting the muffler re-attached. That didn’t take too long, except that the attachment to the engine could not be completed since this is accomplished by two springs which keep the muffler in line with the engine manifold. These springs were too worn to re-use, so I brought one of them home so I could find replacements.
Last visit I had attached the seat belt and shoulder harness but was slightly confused how they hooked together. Today it was very apparent and I actually sat in the seat with the shoulder harness and seat belt attached, but saw that the shoulder harness attach points were too far apart to be usable, so will have to move them further inboard, a project for another time.
I attached the carburetor and traced the path of the fuel line to see how the tubing should be connected. It seemed pretty clear how to run the fuel line which had been chopped up by the overzealous jaws-of-life operator at the accident scene. In addition to the main line, there are three mysterious small tubes coming out of the carburetor that I can’t figure out, so will have to check them out.
The throttle cable will be a little more of a challenge to get reinstalled. The cable that runs to the hand control is intact, but the split cable that runs to the foot control was cut and will take some research. The foot control is part of the nosewheel assembly that was broken in the accident and re-welded, so it will be somewhat challenging to figure out how to get the throttle cable hooked up. Worse case I could get the engine running with the hand control only for now.
Finally, I got frustrated with the tangled web of electrical wires that had been apparently jury-rigged over time as components were added and taken off, so I disconnected most of the wires that I could see had nothing to do with the actual engine electrical system. I will add some of them back later, but for now I just want the wiring to support the engine function only. I do want to add at some point a kill switch, ignition and starter switch, and some engine instrumentation, such as tachometer, dual CHT, EGT, and hour meter. But for now, the engine wires are dangling down ready to be attached. The project for the next visit is clear; connecting the wiring and fuel line, charging the battery, and getting closer to starting the engine.
For today, I’m pleased with what was accomplished, mostly research into what should be done next.
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