Ross Posted October 8, 2007 Author Posted October 8, 2007 8-10-2007 Note the panel switches in previous days pics. The labels are marked the wrong way up for conventional aircraft panel installation. So have removed the labels and turned the switches so that UP is ON or CLOSED except for the two IGN switches on the far left of the panel. The IGN switches are set with UP as OPEN circuit i.e. not earthed. Down for the IGN switches is closed circuit therefore connected to EARTH which should stop the engine if both are closed. Drilled a hole for a Grommet under the GPS Caddy as it is a HAND held and not permanently wired in. This grommet allows the external 12/24 volt power supply cable to be plugged into a socket that is within the pilots eyesight range. Slotted the Caddy holes a bit on the RH side so that the caddy can be tilted slightly towards the pilot seat - about 4 mm. Could be tilted more by lowering the LH side of the caddy into the panel but this would entail more Aluminium panel cutting. A special bracket to tilt it more is available as an option. I am a bit worried about glare on the GPS especially after flying the J230c out of Narrandera on Sunday although it had a clear windscreen and my kit one is tinted. That should help. After hearing of the failure due to excessive heat of a GPS external aerial attached to the windscreen in one of the posts that I read on Sunday night I might paint mine white and attach it in the shade near the cabin roof. After all my old Magellan 320 will work almost anywhere in a Jabiru. Refitted all instruments (some of them twice:confused:) and wiring. Inserted extra switch on left of panel. Will do another tomorrow. [ATTACH]3930.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]3931.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]3932.vB[/ATTACH] I actually put lights in the instruments - so I could read the hourmeter & see something working. [ATTACH]3933.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]3934.vB[/ATTACH] Note blank time hours that you can read in a dim cabin[ATTACH]3935.vB[/ATTACH] Will have to check that circuit breakers are in the circuits. Panel was live in the photo with radio scanning traffic as far afield as Melbourne, Mildura, Dubbo and Mount Gambier. I don't sit in it and go brmm brmm! There is too much stuff on the seats and on the floor!
Ross Posted October 9, 2007 Author Posted October 9, 2007 9-10-2007 Put a couple of extra switches in the panel. Checked to ensure the circuit breakers are included in the circuits. See the switch order in the photo below. [ATTACH]3939.vB[/ATTACH]
BigPete Posted October 9, 2007 Posted October 9, 2007 G'day Ross - have you put lights in all of the instruments :;)5: I didn't think it was possible, my airspeed doesn't have a light built in. How do you get the light fitting out of the back of the smaller gauges :;)5: Mine seems to be stuck - tried everything except brute force but I'm worried I might break something. regards
Ross Posted October 9, 2007 Author Posted October 9, 2007 Hi Peter Not lights in all, only the engine gauges. Most of the engine gauge light holders can be removed by pushing vertically down on them near the end not close to the instrument and then pulling them out rather than trying to pull them out directly. Only one of them has to be pulled out. I think it was the CHT gauge. My flying instruments do not have lights. My reason for the lights is that I have a tinted windscreen and after experiencing trying to read the hours on the rev counter of the LSA55 Jab at Griffith with a clear windscreen I wanted a light on my hour meter and it gives me something to look at that works before I get to fly the J160. Also it makes it easier & quicker to to read the engine gauges. Probably eyes in daylight flying would have smaller apertures while looking out and then would have to open wide to compensate for less light in the cabin looking at the dark instruments with black faces white figures and red hands and would also have to change their focus more than they would if still operating on a smaller aperture. So changing focus and opening the iris more and then the opposite when you return to look outside all takes significant time some of which could be reduced just by lighting the gauges or better still make them look like my watch. Maybe they would be better off like the analogue watch battery powered watch that I wear. It has a white face with black numbers, a red second hand and a pale green black edged minute and hour hand (luminous). That particular watch was the only watch on display when I bought it that had a white face with black numbers. I also went to the VDO web site to get plastic nuts collars for one of the flying instruments and one or two of the engine gauges that were not supplied with them. If you do so you need to specify the diameter as there are two sizes available although only one was mentioned on their web site when I sourced mine. So now I only have one gauge that has a metal clamp on the back to hold it in the panel and I think it is the CHT gauge. It did not have provision for the large plastic nut option. Regards
Ross Posted October 10, 2007 Author Posted October 10, 2007 10-10-2007 Fitted Pitot tube to RH wing strut 300 mm from top end of the hollow part of the strut with plastic tube attached. Left about 100 mm protruding from bottom end. Fitted the SS tied-own eyelet to the second last bolt position on RH strut, the same end as the pitot tube. No tying ropes half way down the strut! Removed wing root covers from RH wing. Removed flaps from RH wing Disconnected RH wing from A/C. [ATTACH]3940.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]3941.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]3942.vB[/ATTACH] Cabin area next
Captain Posted October 13, 2007 Posted October 13, 2007 Ross, Am following your work with interest. Keep 'em coming. But on a slight diversion I noticed in one of your other posts that you have been flying the 230 a little. You gave us your impressions from your 1st time in it, but how are you finding it now that you have some more time in it, and how would you compare it with the 160? Best regards Geoff
Ross Posted October 13, 2007 Author Posted October 13, 2007 13-10-2007 Hi Geoff All my impressions are coloured by roughly 27 years of limited hours flying of mostly sailplanes almost exclusively at Leeton's Brobenah airstrip. I moved over to RAAust flying in August 2003 converting to the Jab LSA55 at Griffith with CFI Ben Jones. I was the first student in that particular Jabiru after a couple of years of no flying and Ben has now left Griffith and gone to REX. I only have a bit over half an hour in a J160. That was in the J160 of the two Geoffs from Red Cliffs (Mildura). There aren't any around here that I have access too as far as I know of. My impression of their J160 at this time is almost two years old now. My first impression compared to flying the previous model the LSA55 480 kg MTOW at Griffith with one person on board (I weigh about 75 Kg) was that a few more horses up front of the J160 would not go astray and would be more fun with Geoff and I on board. He pointed out the importance of keeping the air speed up on the climb out for engine longevity which results in a long flat climb. I was probably climbing out too steeply in the Griffith Jab. The next impression was of much improved pitch and roll stability over the older model but this was two up & probably about 50 litres left in the 80 litre cabin tank. They don't have wet wings in their J160. Rod did not like wet wings and mine was one of the first to have the optional wet wings at $4,500 extra at the time but I still have a six litre header tank under the passenger seat! I think their kit was #12 just two before mine. I still have very limited time in the Narrandera J230 only 4.4 hrs TT. I flew the J230c at Narrandera for an hour last weekend about 13 nm short of Carrathool one up and full tanks from 15:00 hrs till 16:00 hrs back at Narrandera. Went west at 2,500 AMSL and returned at 3,500 AMSL. I thought it would be smooth flying under a relatively solid cloud cover until I got near Carrathool. It was fairly uncomfortable going West collecting fairly strong thermals almost continuosly especially as I was trying to take a few photographs as well. I was passing over a succession of green and then brown hot paddocks along the river. I was having some trouble with the trim and it might need some tweaking but it is not my aeroplane. On landing from the return trip in one of those light variable winds I managed to do a light touch then a longish float. I may not have closed the throttle completly so I was not over-thrilled. It was a contrast to the previous flight in the same AC with a passenger on dusk in perfect conditions landing at about 45 degrees to a 5 knot steady wind. Probably the best landing of my life not counting sailplane landings. Any glider pilot who flys at a winch launch site gets plenty of landing practice if not flying time. I always feel in that J230 that I have got my legs tucked up with my knees almost touching the panel so I feel fairly uncomfortable there. I have made sure in my J160 that I can stretch out a bit. The main impression again is of adequate power loaded giving an good climb out and a more stable aeroplane but I think I would still like an auto pilot on a long trip as without transponders etc we are limited to below 5,000 AMSL which is going to have thermal activity generally whether summer or winter and the J230 is still light enough to be tossed around. But there is not the constant risk of exceeding the max rough airspeed as you do in the LSA55. The J230 and the J160 have a 10 knot increase in flap extension speed compared to the LSA55. Kit#14 Turned the aeroplane around to enable the wing root covers on the LH wing to be fitted and swept out the dust. Fitted the LH wing to the ac with inboard bolts only so far. Bought some SS worm drive hose clamps with rounded edges as the supplied clamps do not seem tight enough and are not worm drive. Narrandera barbecue tomorrow (Murrumbidgee Aero Club). Regards
Ross Posted October 15, 2007 Author Posted October 15, 2007 15-10-2007 Fitting cover strips to LH wing root area. Connect LH Strut to wing & fuselage & check fairings for clearance & adjust Cut top cover strip to fit & drill holes & fit self tappers Cut slot to fit flap arm & fit flap to LH wing Extend slot to suit flap rod connection. Fit & cut to match bottom cover strip' Drill & fit screws to match Check flap for full movement up & down Remove cover strips & remove flap Disconnect strut & disconnect wing from fuselage.
Ross Posted October 16, 2007 Author Posted October 16, 2007 16-10-2007 Rearranged a/c in carport for engine installation. Lift engine Jab 2200A from engine stand with engine crane. Attach engine to engine mounts with washers and spaces and rubber bushes arranged as per Jabiru drawing - note top & bottom mounts use the same parts but are arranged differently. Used a 7/16" socket with a nut in it to hold another nut in place while the bolt is turned by spanner in the compressed rubbers and engages the hidden nut. See the pic. Once the bolt has started in the nut the clamp can be removed and the bolt tightened normally with a socket and an open ender or an offset 7/16" ring spanner. Put more air in front tyre to increase ceiling clearance from about 50 mm to maybe 150 mm. One of the lessons from this exercise so far - build a shed first.
Ross Posted October 17, 2007 Author Posted October 17, 2007 17-10-2007 Had another look at the engine mounting bolts and the construction book- decided I had the bolts in the wrong way and should have had heat proof nuts on them. Rectified that. From the pics you can see that the clamp I am using to compress the engine mount rubbers could be modified so that the socket spanner will fit through a hole at the non screw side of the clamp so that the clamp could be kept straight while pulling it up. I will have to braze or weld a slightly thicker piece of steel on that end with a hole in it big enough for the socket and washer to fit through. Attached the oil overflow reservoir and fitted the hoses - still need a clamp underneath to locate the overflow hose. Sat the air ducting on top of the engine cylinders - need to be reinforeced at the join with a couple of layers of glass. Wiil do that once it all looks ok. Need to set up the spinner backing plate, spinner flange and aluminium backing plate & propeller so that the spinner can be fitted and then the Cowls can be fitted to match the propeller boss.
Ross Posted October 18, 2007 Author Posted October 18, 2007 18-10-2007 This was more in the mode of an exploratory episode today not being able to complete the job because the prop connection is one of the things that has been changed so I do not have the new kit for it yet. Short description: enlarged the pilot holes in the 2 spinnner flanges out to 5/32"; used a retained nut with a screw in it as a jig for drilling all the rivet holes for the 12 retained nuts; Countersunk all the rivet holes so no rivets are proud of the flanges; Enlarged the 5/32" holes to 3/16" to give clearance for the SS CSK screws; Fitted all 12 retained nuts in the spinner flanges with 3/32" rivets; Fitted prop guides (bushes) after cleaning the holes in prop flange; the large spinner flange had to be heated before pushing over the prop guides - slight interference fit; Prop fitted - flywheel magnets at 6 o'clock & 12 o'clock with prop at 11 am; the spinnner flange and then the Aluminium backing plate were fitted with the bolts inserted from the engine side of the prop; It is apparent that I have not got the right bolts and not enough belleville washes - should be 48 bellevilles for the new arrangement! Tried fitting the spinner - it will have to be filed a bit to prevent it fouling the prop. Possibly I will have to experiment more with the alignment of the five pieces which the prop bolts go through plus the spinner. I will probably pack the prop bolts with a piece of wood so that I can continue work on the cowls and the spinner. Some of the contents of the prop card is in the last pic with the retained nuts installed, the prop guides installed and the bolts in w/o nuts, flat washers or bellville washers installed. Need personal photos in the log occasionally as evidence that I was here - check the fibreglass in my clothes.
Ross Posted October 22, 2007 Author Posted October 22, 2007 22-10-2007 Pic 1: Fitted oil cooler adapter at oil filter. It has been installed with O ring side facing the engine otherwise filter oil flow could be shut down. There is a small bypass hole built into my adapter. Fitted the oil cooler hoses to adapter and oil cooler with fire retardant cover & clamps. Jabiru (prop bolt kit) packet arrived in mail today with;- 7 x Nyloc nuts AN4 49 x Bellville washers 9 x Flat washers 6 x Bolts AN4-37A with I think it was X 010 on the head. Removed superseded prop bolts. Fitted new prop bolt bolts each bolt with 8 Bellville washers, 1 flat washer and a Nyloc nut. Pic 2: Nuts tensioned to 6 pounds feet or 72 inch pounds in about three stages in order of #1 #4 #2 #5 #3 #6 and repeated as necessary. Pic3: Bolts are too short by about 1 size unless a Bellville washer pair can be removed see third photo. Pic 4: Need to check tracking not done yet - but spinner prefitted. Pic 5: Engine earth strap made up and fitted from battery to engine Pic 6: Engine earth strap at battery end. Removed spark plug leads from spark plugs. Added 2 litres of Shell Aero Oil to engine Removed 1 spark plug from each cylinder Removed exhaust pipe and carburettor covers Turned engine over clockwise a number of times. Spun engine on starter motor for 20 seconds or so a couple of times. Pic 7: Replaced spark plugs, but not spark plug leads, exhaust pipe & carburettor covers and turned on battery charger. Wiring of hoses and plugs yet to be completed
Ross Posted October 23, 2007 Author Posted October 23, 2007 23-10-2007 Jamie at jabiru suggested to remove a flat washer, not a Bellville washer pair, from the prop bolts to gain enough length for the Nyloc nuts to be safe. Pics: 1 - 7 Removed a spark plug from each cylinder to reduce loads when checking the prop tracking. Set up a stick on the front UC leg to test the tracking of the prop when bolts tensioned to 6 ft lbs = 72 inch pounds. Prop was out by about 4 mm variation from one blade to the other - first suggestion in construction manual made little difference. It was to torque an extra 2 ft lbs for three bolts on the high side of the prop. So I tried this in two stages increasing the torque each time. No joy. The high side of the prop appeared a little rough so I did a lite scrape on it. Hooked it up again and checked the tracking of the prop still more than 2 mm difference. Removed the prop again and sanded it litely on the high side of the wooden prop boss to level up the bumps. [ATTACH]4103.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4104.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4105.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4106.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]4107.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4108.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4109.vB[/ATTACH] Refitted the prop tried the tracking at 72 inch lbs torque on all bolts and it was less than the 2 mm limit at about 1.75 mm - OK. Spinner Tracking: Pics 8 - 11 Set up a pencil mounted on a stick to track & mark the spinner. Spinner was pushed around to optimise the tracking and the screw holes relieved accordingly. Needs a little more to be done after smoothing up spinner & painting. [ATTACH]4110.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4111.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4112.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4113.vB[/ATTACH] Pic 11: Earth lead from battery to earth post replaced cable. [ATTACH]4114.vB[/ATTACH] Pic 12: Spinner with SS screws and CSK washers fitted. [ATTACH]4115.vB[/ATTACH] Pic 13: Other side showing new earth strap fitted - need some black heat shrink tube on it. [ATTACH]4116.vB[/ATTACH] Replaced spark plugs & covers over exhausts and carburettor intake.
Ross Posted October 24, 2007 Author Posted October 24, 2007 24-10-2007 Looked for a non magnetic set of feeler gauges in our local engineering supplies shop for the second time; still no stock; so I ordered a set. Today was a mixed bag and I did not remember to take all the pics to show it. Fitted small Aluminium brackets to the ram air ducts and lock wired springs to #1 & #2 cylinders to hold down the ram air ducts onto the cylinders. The drilling for bolting to the tappet covers and fitting of the ducts had been done previously. Had to remove the ducts to get enough room for a hand inside the duct as it requires a 1/8" steel washer on the rivet inside the fibreglass duct to secure the loaded rivet. I still need to reinforce the join in the ducts with glass and epoxy and also to mount & epoxy the air cooling tubes for the two coils. I need to match the length of the ram air ducts to suit the cowls once they are fitted and also to fit the flat rubber (neoprene?) material on the front of the "ram air ducts". I rang Jabiru to establish that a 90 mm diameter hole was required not a 90 mm circumference hole??? in the front of the mated cowls. Myles also said that the engine with full power would pull to the right. So this has to be allowed for in setting up the cowls. I asked him for the desired clearance from the back edge of the prop spinner to the front of the cowls. He said 6 mm or a bit less but up to 8 mm was OK. The cowls were taped together with duct tape - some cleaning up of mating surfaces is required. They were drilled with 2 x 1/4" holes to take the quick couplings at the front inside the air holes. The centre of the joined cowls was found and a 90 mm diameter circle marked out and cut out using a jig saw. I decided to start with the top cowl. The oil cooler will make the bottom one impossible to fit without modifying the old style cowl #14 kit. Sat the top cowl on its rear mounting position to find that it is too long by a few mm and will need to be turned a bit to the right and lifted at the front to centralise the spinner in the cowl face and allow for engine movement under full power. This means that the back edge of the cowl has to be trimmed a variable amount from each side towards the centre top rear of the cowl which would be the biggest trim. It will also need more off the right hand side than the left to lean it to the right - how much to allow for moving under power ?? Once I get that cowl looking to be a good fit I will work on mating the bottom cowl to it. All this is assuming the engine is mounted in the right place with the correct alignment and clearances. I have no way of knowing more about that until the engine is fired up to full power and ultimately until the test flight. At the stage of the last two pics the top cowl still needs to come up at the front by 10 mm or more requiring more material to be dressed off the rear end of the cowl. The cowl in the last two pic is attached by 2 temporary SS self tappers, one on each side at the bottom rear edges of the top cowl and the front is sitting on the prop boss in both pics. The cowl had been trimmed by about 4 mm along the rear edge before I anchored the bottom left corner. After more trimming emphasising the RHS the RHS bottom was anchored with a self tapper before the lat two pics were taken. It still needs a bit mor trimming to finish it off. [ATTACH]4118.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4119.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4120.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4122.vB[/ATTACH] I am using a "Dremel" with a relatively wide wheel of coarse emery, maybe 10 mm wide tread, which is quite good for this job. I draw a pencil line along the edge as a limit for each pass and dress up any big bumps as I go before they get too big with each successive dressing of the edge. Will finish it off with a long hand held emery block.
Ross Posted October 25, 2007 Author Posted October 25, 2007 25-10-2007 The non magnetic (brass) feeler gauges arrived today @ $16-45. They actually phoned to say it had arrived! Continued to trim the top cowl until it fitted OK. Installed the cam locks as per the drawing on the top cowl - Not OK. They were in conflict with other parts of the aeroplane - I should have learnt by now. Removed cam locks. Reinstall cam locks for top cowl in different locations. Needed to relieve the installation location of the cam locks as the material was too thick to allow the camlocks to work by a couple of mm. Filled old cam lock holes with epoxy flock. Pics 1-3: New cam lock locations and filled holes Pic 4 : Duct retaining springs lock wired onto #1 & #2 cylinders. Battery Earth wire connection to engine. Pic 5: Glass over the extra holes in the top cowl - hope I have filled the right ones. [ATTACH]4123.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4124.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4125.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4126.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4127.vB[/ATTACH]
Ross Posted October 26, 2007 Author Posted October 26, 2007 29-10-2007 Had to reinstall two of the cam locks as they were still too tight after dressing the filled areas with a small emery wheel on the mains powered Dremel. The battery powered Dremel is fairly inadequate for most of the jobs I wanted to do with it in this build. Installed sensor wiring for oil pressure & oil temperature gauges. Installed aircraft electrical power for oil pressure & oil temperature gauges. Spun the motor using the starter motor. With mains switch ON & 2 litres of oil in the engine, oil pressure ran up to about 350 kPascals (middle of the green) with cold motor & disconnected plug leads with spark plugs installed. There were no obvious external oil leaks with the oil cooler in the circuit. The Oil temp gauge just moved off the low stop once the mains switch was turned on. It got about halfway to the lowest reading on the gauge. Carport temp at the time was about 25 degrees C. Eventually found & replaced the exhaust covers which I should have removed before spinning the motor. To be continued in November.
Guest Roger Posted October 27, 2007 Posted October 27, 2007 Getting closer now Ross! We will have to "kick" a few of those non Jabiru types out of the hangar to make room for the new hatchlings ;) Another J230 will arrive next month and with yours that will be four! I can feel a flyaway weekend coming on. After we do Echuca of course ;)
Ross Posted October 28, 2007 Author Posted October 28, 2007 Roger That sounds good to me. I hope that you are having a better flying day than Sydney is at the moment. Totally overcast here with big black things hanging over the ranges. Regards
Ross Posted November 27, 2007 Author Posted November 27, 2007 27-11-2007 Well after a month away from it actually did some work on the plane. Connected the CHT probe to #4 head and the CHT gauge. I had tested it previously in a jug of boiling water and the hot air gun. For RPM initially had to find the small Hall effect probe for the tachometer which I had put in a safe place - so looked where I thought I had put it months ago but could not find it on the first try. Eventually found it there after searching the rest of the workshop. As usual the 8 pin socket for the tacho was not supplied with a multi pin socket. So a visit with the tacho to the local auto electrician resulted in a socket with some spare contacts for $5-08. The tacho has 5 contacts in the 8 pin socket enclosure and has 4 of them in use according to the Jabiru wiring diagram. The Hall effect probe wiring was so fine that I had to solder the leads to the connectors to stop them falling out. The Hall effect probe uses two small tabs on the back of the flywheel to trigger a signal so I presume that means 2 pulses per revolution of the flywheel. So using the sunken button on the rear of the tacho I set it to "Pulse" and then 2.0 pulses per revolution. The motor was spun up on the starter motor but as there was no flicker on the tacho I presume (hope) the low voltage caused by the starter motor was not enough to operate the tacho circuitary assuming I have set it up correctly.
Ross Posted December 3, 2007 Author Posted December 3, 2007 28-11 to 03-12-200 Decided to install new style cowls top & bottom for J160 as my has a long oil cooler mounted across the sump. The new style cowl already has a lip on the bottom to improve air flow but still needed the oil cooling air intake to have a few cms removed from the inside edge to avoid fouling the oil cooler and to match the angle of the oil cooler. The aluminium piano hinges for the cowls were marked very carefully along their length with a carpenters marking tool - don't know the name- then at 95 mm centres using a steel compass they were marked off and then centre punched for drilling both sides of each hinge together with the hinge pin installed. This made it possible to use either half of the hinge as a template when marking and drilling the cowls for the rivets to hold the hinges. It was decided not to exit the hinge pins into the cabin area because of their alignment and the possible effect on the structure but to bend them over and cover them with the top edge of the bottom cowl. So the top couple of SS CSK screws need to be removed from the bottom cowl to facilitate removal of the hinge pins. This is necessary for removal of the top cowl. Once I started using the cable ties to tidy up the wiring in the engine compartment and behind the panel I found my self cutting more wires, cable ties and crimping more fittings onto wire. As each lot was tied it made it more obvious what had to be done. I shall take another wiring photo inside the engine compartment when the cowls come off again. All the scat hoses need fitting and the holes to be cut in the bottom cowl for air intakes. I am not going to fit the optional supplied fibreglass cabin heater but will eventually fit the one that Jabiru put in their certified A/C. at $A510 (Plus GST of $51 for Aussi customers) for parts. The wiring is a work in progress. [ATTACH]4423.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4424.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4425.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]4426.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4427.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4428.vB[/ATTACH] Holes drilled for temporary self tapping screws will be filled at the next epoxy session. [ATTACH]4429.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4430.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4431.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]4432.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4433.vB[/ATTACH] Added a green LED to indicate a live main bus - works fine. Added a red LED to indicate low alternator voltage voltage - so far it is on all the time once the main switch is on - won't know if it is OK until the engine runs! Set constant for Tachometer, Pulse mode & 2 pulses per revolution ( mentioned previously). Drilled the flange of the LH stub axle a couple of sizes larger to allow packing of the axle hub to improve wheel angles - currently I have three washers between the bottom two bolts and the fibreglass legs. It still needs adjusting for toe in or toe out. The wheels are so out of true that I will have to do it off the disk brakes rather than the Aluminium wheels or the tyres. The cast aluminium wheels have a distinct wobble when spun. I notice that on the latest J230C to arrive in Narrandera a week or two ago that the the bottom 300 mm or so of the main UC legs are more vertical than the two previous versions in the hanger so that the wheels are roughly vertical when on the ground. This should make it easier to check wheel alignment and reduce tyre damage. Jabiru in the J230C also has the strobe power supply in front of the firewall instead of inside the cabin luggage area like it is for my J160. I might move it depending on the balance of the AC after weighing hopefully reducing possible radio interference.
Ross Posted December 4, 2007 Author Posted December 4, 2007 4-12-2007 Removed the cowls. Secured the oil breather overflow hose and the fuel pump drain with a clamp & cable ties. Fitted scat hose & fitting from carburettor to air cleaner. Rearranged engine earth cable routing & cable ties in engine bay. Added a couple of saddles to carry wiring across the firewall. Removed #3 exhaust pipe for welding of EGT fitting to hold EGT sensor. Tried the extra terminal on the oil pressure sensor as a sender for low pressure warning light. As Jabiru say in the manual - not used. Noticed the carburettor needs to be earthed to the engine to help reduce any possible radio interference. Not done yet. Removed spark plugs and checked the gap. All within spec. Replaced with anti seize on thread. [ATTACH]4434.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4435.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4436.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4437.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4438.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4439.vB[/ATTACH] Still waiting on parts ordered from Melbourne by a firm using paymate on 28th Nov. They have already advised me by email twice that funds were debited against my mastercard account on 28th Nov. I have checked my MC account to see that it was debited on 28th Nov. Noticed on a Jabiru230C at Narrandera a bit over a weeks ago that their wheel axles have a spacer washer fitted on the axle effectively moving the wheel out by the thickness of the spacer washer further away from the brake pad if their axles are the same as my J160 axles. My unused brake pads just drag lightly on the the metal disk without the outer half being fitted yet. It would also give slightly more clearance for some of the bolt heads in the assembly.
Ross Posted December 5, 2007 Author Posted December 5, 2007 5-12-2007 Welder claimed the exhaust pipe was made of Titanium and the exhaust gas temp sensor mounting boss, 1/4" NPTF 18 tpi thick wall pipe socket like, is in SS which are not really compatible for welding. Will check with Jabiru. Longer bolts for the stub axle mounts arrived in mail this morning - they were waiting on their suppliers for 1 bolt before dispatching the order on Monday. Packed up both axles to stand straighter and reduced the toe in as measured at the front wheel across the straight edges. When I finished, with two straight edges sitting between a brake disk and its corresponding tyre they measured 1575 mm at the leading edge of the main wheels. In the pic the tape is a bit loose - should have used the tripod. [ATTACH]4457.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4459.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4458.vB[/ATTACH] They were about 1563 mm total at a point measured to the middle of the front UC wheel with both sides very close to being equal. The cast aluminium rims do not help the process as the wheels are obviously not true when spun freely. When I finished it was far easier to push the plane around but the tyres still squeal on the smooth concrete in the carport so they are not yet set to zero toe in. One washer difference between the stub axle base front and rear on each main wheel was enough to change the total toe-in measured at the front UC wheel by about 100 mm. If I persist with this exercise I think I shall have to get some brass shim material of various thicknesses so that I can make finer adjustments to the toe-in. In another life and another time and place at The Australian Iron & Steel Co at the Port Kembla works, we used brass shim in sheets it in similar applications for packing and lining up bearing blocks in line shafts etc. While one of the exhaust pipes is off it was an opportunity to tighten the hose clamps on the inlet manifold pipes (and the clamp screws on the remaining exhaust pipes). These hose clamps must have been fitted and tightened before the exhaust pipes were fitted. As a result some clamps could not be checked or tightened so I loosened the offenders off and rotated the clamps to make them accessible with the exhaust pipes fitted and tightened them again. During this process I managed to get one clamp that gave up on me and on inspection it appears to have a manufacturing fault. [ATTACH]4460.vB[/ATTACH] There appeared to be a slight miss-match between the clamp locating the worm drive and the length of the left hand recess in the edge of the clamp band resulting in failure when tightened. Another delay.
Guest brentc Posted December 5, 2007 Posted December 5, 2007 Hi Ross, don't be too concerned about the tires squeeling on the concrete. Mine do that all the time especially when they are new. I'd be happy with a bit of camber as like it or not the undercarriage will settle eventually a little when the aircraft is fully loaded. I'd aim for little if no toe-in. I find that if I lift a wing by hand and the undercarriage moves inwards that it's almost impossibe to push the aircraft when on shiny concrete with new tyres.
Ross Posted December 6, 2007 Author Posted December 6, 2007 6-12-2007 Hi Brent thanks for that. My aim was for zero toe in but my confidence in my measurements is quite low because of the irregularity of the wheels. I did expect it to sink as it has not even got its wings on at the moment let alone 135 litres of fuel, 2 POB and other odds & ends. We went to Wagga today 270 km round trip for my first annual check up after the cataract operation earlier in the year. All OK so far. He put drops in my eyes to open up the pupils which made it quite uncomfortable trying to see in bright sunshine and bright lights in some of the shops until the drops started to wear off. I could not have driven home without a good pair of sunglasses - into the setting sun as usual. I got a new set of wheels and a couple of axles at Bunnings. I already have some plywood and maybe enough bolts to build a billy cart for the two grandchildren boys, 3 yo & 5 yo, when they visit over Christmas. I hope the build doesn't eat into J160 time too much. I have delegated the decoration to "she who must be obeyed". I must tell her at a suitable moment! The boys are allowed to sit in the J160 but their father told me they were not allowed to fly in it. Maybe I should put wings on the billy cart. I also discovered a digital set of scales at Bunnings for $19-90c so bought two of them. I shall have to calibrate them as well. Three plastic jerry cans full of water would give me about 150 lbs or 68.2 Kg plus another 2 Kg or so for a piece of wood to sit them on. Does anyone know the approximate weight on each wheel for a fully rigged J160 with and without fuel? After we returned from Wagga, rang Jabiru re the exhaust pipe & EGT probe boss and was assured by Rod that both were made from SSteel. Also through Paul ordered some more wire 10# and 16# plus some spare inlet manifold hose clamps. Today I saw some Ryco Z386 oil filters in Wagga Kmart at a bit under $16 each (as supplied on the Jabiru 2200 motor). So I bought a couple of them. Let's hope I get to need them. Yesterday was not a good day for me. I had taken our second car down to get its air conditioner recharged to be told it was stuffed and needed a new compressor - $810 so then ordered it and drove the car home. However on the way home it was obvious there was a major problem in the front end appearing as though the RH front wheel bearing is about to seize solid. So tomorrow my garage man is coming to pick it up and fix it. My auto electrician told me the new compressor arrived today when I checked with him. I told him he was now second in line. Rang the welder to tell him about the SS & SS. So he will probably weld the boss onto the exhaust pipe tomorrow afternoon. I am getting confused, so changed my signature to Ross A. I note that it has changed on previous posts as well.
Ross Posted December 8, 2007 Author Posted December 8, 2007 8-12-2007 We had a blackout in Leeton this morning till about 6:15 am so my welder had not started when I turned up at 7 am at his workshop. By 8 am was able to pick up the newly welded exhaust pipe with SS boss for EGT probe. No mention of Titanium! My garage man was loading the other car on his trailer when I got back home! He got too busy the previous day. Jobs done during the day. Test the EGT with hot air blower. It went to about 230 degrees C, check the pic it had dropped as I removed the heat source. [ATTACH]4501.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4502.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4503.vB[/ATTACH] Installed the #3 exhaust pipe with sensor boss fitted. Installed the EGT sensor in the exhaust pipe. [ATTACH]4496.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4491.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4492.vB[/ATTACH] Fitted the muffler and attached the retaining springs. [ATTACH]4493.vB[/ATTACH] Modified wiring to suit alternator red LED warning light. I think it is OK now. Red LED showing here for low voltage plus Green LED for powered up Main bus (appears almost white in pic). [ATTACH]4505.vB[/ATTACH] The light 16 gauge positive wire of output alternator from from the regulator goes to the main bus (which is not activated until the key is turned on ). The other alternator 10 gauge heavier wire from the regulator goes straight to the battery positive. Note the factory fitted carburettor earth wire to help reduce radio interference. [ATTACH]4494.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4495.vB[/ATTACH] Did more cable ties in the engine compartment & behind the panel. Did lock wiring on oil cooler hoses & oil adapter hose connections. [ATTACH]4497.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4500.vB[/ATTACH] Lock wired the muffler retainer springs. [ATTACH]4498.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4499.vB[/ATTACH] Installed the scat hose from air cleaner to carburettor. Installed the carburettor heat scat hose from muffler heat muff to air cleaner. [ATTACH]4504.vB[/ATTACH] Ran out of scat hose for the connection to the cowl engine air. Connected the throttle cable to carburettor & set the stops approximately. Fitted a low throttle stop. Still need to flock in a maximum throttle stop in the cabin floor under the throttle lever. [ATTACH]4506.vB[/ATTACH][ATTACH]4507.vB[/ATTACH] Note if throttle cable disconnects from carburettor, the throttle goes to wide open - maximum setting! Connected the choke cable & set the stops.
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