23-06 & 07 Aileron Torque Tubes
Only one of the VA-162 Pushrod Ends had a slightly too big diameter to fit inside its aileron torque tube, so that one needed a bit of fettling. I used my vice clamp to secure…
Articles by Steve
23-03 to 05 Fabricating Pushrods & Aileron Bellcranks
CS-00012 Torque Tube to Bellcrank Pushrods The tubes for these pushrods are first cut to length. I hacksawed them slightly oversize & then fine tuned the length on my vertical sander. A template is provided,…
38-37 to 38 Canopy Guide Pins & Final Touches – Canopy Finished!!
Canopy Guide Pins One of the last jobs on the canopy is to install the Guide Pins. The manual suggests you rivet on the pins before drilling the holes in the canopy deck, but I…
38-32 to 33 Fans, Seal & Switch!
Canopy Microswitch A very pleasant few jobs attaching items to the canopy – and no sanding! The canopy microswitch is easily installed … but you’ll need a little spanner, or another cunning plan, to hold…
38-31 Sanding the Fairing
I hadn’t been looking forward at all to this job … but actually, it wasn’t too bad. First job was to remove the peel ply, which came off easily. Happily the resin had not soaked…
38-29 & 30 Fairing Layup
The first job is to cut out the fibreglass cloth strips. I had bought some 280g “Twill Weave” Cloth, and because of the weave style (over 2/under 2) I found it impossible to cut the…
38-28 Canopy Clips and Void Filler
Canopy Clips Although the front of my canopy seemed to lie down along the front quite well, I decided to attach more than the minimum 3 clips. I used a Dremel drum sander to make…
38-26 & 27 Canopy Side Skins, Seals & Wear Strips
Canopy Side Skins Now the glareshield is painted, it’s time to permanently install the precious canopy onto its frame. The match drilled holes along the top of the Side Skins are dimpled, but don’t forget…
38-25 Fairing Outline & Glareshield
Fairing Outline The “aft fairing line” is lightly scribed onto the canopy 7/8″ aft of the front edge. Since I don’t have any calipers, I made the equivalent from a compass & pencil : )…
38-23, 24 & 26 Drilling and Countersinking the Canopy
The next couple of days were due to be very warm here for the time of year, so there weren’t any excuses left … I had to start drilling the canopy! Deep breath …! I’ve…