Marty d's CH-701 build log

[IBob]

Great stuff, Marty. Is the cowl going inside or outside of the metalwork?

[Marty_d]

It goes outside, Bob.  It's a bit strange in that the upper cowl actually goes inside the lower one, but it just fits better that way.

Pleased that the dzus are nice and tight on the 2 layers of cowl, so I guess I'll have to pack out the springs for the ones that go on to the aluminium.

[Marty_d]

Cowl is on, held with dzus.  I did the "Bob's check pilot" test and yanked side to side on the cowl, it's solid and just moved the whole plane.

 

 

[Picrway]

Hi Marty_d

Great to see your progress on the 701. I am up northern Tas in Launceston and have completer about 80%, now working on completing engine installation & all that entails plus finishing off cockpit.

Cheers Picrway

[Marty_d]

Hi Picrway!

 

She looks really good.   Kit or plans building?

 

Don't know if you need/want a mould for the cowling, but if you do, I dropped one back to Andrew at Midlands Flying School a couple of weeks ago.  I don't reckon he'd have given it back to the owner yet.  If you want his details just PM me.  Yours may be a little different because of the bed mount, is the muffler going under that or somewhere else?

 

Have you sourced the cooling system bits yet?  I haven't yet ordered the 912 radiator or hoses, reading with interest what other people are using as hoses.

 

Just realised I asked a lot of questions.  Excited to see another 701 in Tassie I guess!  

 

[Picrway]

Hi Marty D

The cowling mould could be very handy so I will follow up & contact Andrew. I am not sure what way I will go re exhaust & radiator etc, still a WIP.

I have a boat moored at Margate so down that way a bit so may be able to catch up some time & discuss progress and problems to be solved  etc

 

Cheers Picrway

 

[Marty_d]

Just goes to show - sometimes you have to bite the bullet and try it.

 

I've been dithering about fitting gas struts to the doors because I thought it'd be complicated to work out how much they had to lift etc.  However I'd bought a couple to hold open a little vertically-opening cupboard door in the shedroom, and I only ended up using one.

So I tried the other one on the plane.  It works!  All of $4.58 from Bunnings (down to $4.50 with PowerPass!)  

 

 

[onetrack]

Marty, if you keep adding all these extra, luxury, fancy accessories - you'll soon need a power upgrade, and a MTOW upwards adjustment! 

[Marty_d]

Firstly happy Father's Day to all the dads out there - pretty much most of us I guess, not to mention Granddads and in at least one case (Spacey) Great-Granddads!

 

So while this is not exactly a plane update, it is a shed update which involves the plane, 'cos I can't move the plane until I finish the shed and I can't really work on the plane until I move it.

 

Started the weekend at 6am Saturday, by 8am I had the entire end wall removed, by 9:30 I had the new bay window section in (I had pre-built that over the last few weeks), by the end of Saturday the wall was framed up and mostly rough-sarked to protect the inside from any rain.  Today I put the foil on properly and taped the joins then placed the window and screwed the reveal to the frame.

Still have to fill and properly seal around the window, then I can put the little roof over the top (got the material for that), then batten out over the sarking and put on the EcoPly cladding.

 

Photos tell the story...

 

[IBob]

Marty, that must feel good!

Round here, every single Sav build has involved building a complete new workshop, extending a workshop to clear sufficient space, or erecting a hangar.

 

Long time ago an author called Gail Sheehy wrote a book called Passages, where she looked at people who had made major transitions in their lives. The passage is the transition, and what I recall from the book was that many said had they known how long the passage would take, and what was involved, they may not have had the courage to begin. Building your own aircraft is, I guess, less dramatic than that......but it seems to me there are parallels.......)

[Marty_d]

With the shedroom finished (we moved in Boxing day) I've been clearing out stuff in the rest of the shed. 

Today with the help of my 12yo son, we performed a 60-point turn with the plane (along with some sideways lifting) to get it around the corner in the L shaped space. 

She's now backed up to the roller door and today for the first time,  her shapely behind got some sun! 😁

[onetrack]

Sun?? ... in Southern Tasmania??  What is Sun?  Please explain.

[old man emu]

According to the weather forecast, this week you'll get all the Sun and warmth you'll ever want. Welcome to Mainland weather!

[Marty_d]

Massive "Thank you!" today to @nomadpete who generously offered his time and expertise.  He spent the afternoon working out my instrument panel wiring.  Still a bit to go but a lot further than I would have got on my own.

Really appreciate the help Peter!

 

[Blueadventures]

Are you labelling?  One method is write label on strip of paper with fine pencil (biro ink fades) and use clear heat shrink to attach to wire.   I kept a sheet of paper, scissors and a very sharp pencil handy and wrote labels for wires, sometimes at both ends to enable later tracing.

[nomadpete]

The wiring loom was premade. It already has labels on the wires, but since it was premade for a different aircraft, mods must be made to suit a different layout, and some different items. It is messy at the moment, but eventually will be neat and secure.

[Marty_d]

The loom came with a set of steam instruments I bought. They'd come with a Savanah kit but the owner wanted a glass panel.

[Marty_d]

In the last week of my holidays I got a bit of fibreglassing done.  Think I've finished now (although there's always that last little divot you don't see)...

 

So the bits I needed to add were:

- Top cowl: 

a blister to give the port side carby and throttle body a bit of room, throttle was binding on the cowl.  This is because the engine is offset 3 degrees so the back end of it is closer to the cowl on the port side.

 

- Bottom cowl: 

- a shaped outlet which follows the curve of the exhaust pipe from the muffler

- a blister on the opposite side to accommodate the other side of the muffler.

 

[planedriver]

Looks good Marty. Not so, the leading edge ding in last photo?

[Marty_d]

You scared me there Planey, I went and checked. It's not a ding, just the rivet line in the skin.  Camera makes it look worse than it is.

[planedriver]

29 minutes ago, Marty_d said:

You scared me there Planey, I went and checked. It's not a ding, just the rivet line in the skin.  Camera makes it look worse than it is.

So glad the camera distorts the truth 

[Marty_d]

1 hour ago, planedriver said:

So glad the camera distorts the truth 

Always in the wrong way though,  never makes me look skinnier 

[Old Koreelah]

On 18/04/2022 at 7:53 PM, Marty_d said:

Good idea, thanks Mike.

The little buggers can work their way out when not fastened. I just discovered I’d lost a Dzuss fastener, so will have to search the whole plurry area.

[Marty_d]

Little doors!  I've been building inspection hatches.  4 so far, with a few to go.

 

Two are on the wing roots, near the trailing edge, to access the fuel quick-release attachments.  Top of the wing to access where the fuel return hits the tank, and lastly bottom of the elevator to access the trim tab servo.

 

I found the rest of the aluminium piano hinge I used for the doors, so I figured the easiest and lightest way to do the hatches is hinge at the upwind end and single nutplate at the downwind.

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Marty_d

[Old Koreelah]

Neat work Marty.
If security is an issue, is it possible to install a long pin to lock those inspection doors shut? A section of piano hinge can serve as a secure latch, with the release pin accessible from somewhere inside your (lockable) cabin.