building my Savannah-S in germany

[rankamateur]

Indeed...and there seems to be some sort of primer/sealant/coating? on the fibreglass cowlings that we didn't get.And what's this about flush fuel caps???

Looks like they have gone back to the Gel Coat fiberglass finish. Embarrassed as I am to admit it, my unfinished kit had that in mid 2013, The raw finish causes some more headaches to achieve a smooth finish to paint but saves a little weight.

 

 

[IBob]

Looks like they have gone back to the Gel Coat fiberglass finish. Embarrassed as I am to admit it, my unfinished kit had that in mid 2013, The raw finish causes some more headaches to achieve a smooth finish to paint but saves a little weight.

Okay...yes, I know of a builder here who is 'enjoying' an involuntary education in bunging up ICP fibreglass...

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Its called pinhole delight

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

I have asked Reg to chase ICP about whether we can buy the new fuel tank filler fittings as spare parts

 

 

[IBob]

Hmm...there's also some sort of port or duct (?) in the upper cowling that I don't recognise...

 

 

[MajorTom]

Stupid Me! Or how do you say in english?

 

As I wrote, I started to check of ( mark in list ) all parts that I unpack and sorted them into boxes.

 

So far so good. BUT I used the summary list in the sparepart catalog. WRONG, this catalog has 13 capters only!!!

 

So I had to redo it. This time I used the building manual to just sort things into boxes per chapter. Unfortunally the building manual doesn't give a good part list. Some chapters have a list at starting page, some don't. Some parts are used in different quateties in differet chapters. So no list to check!!!

 

THANK YOU Skee for the excel-list. That was exactly what I was looking for! Did you make the list by yourself, or was it provided by ICP?

 

Next Step... while further unpacking the box, check against the excel list and think about rechecking the already sorted boxes or not.

 

What is this talk about flush tank covers? The don't seam very flush to me? Flush means nothing sticks out, right? Or was this ironic and I failed to grasp it?

 

 

 

[IBob]

Well, they look very flush compared with what we've got, hence the comments...and the new-kit-voyeurism....)

 

 

[MajorTom]

Wait, I have a picture of the cowling.

 

My fist impression on the fiberglass parts where not the best. I don't want to complain (at least not to much). But when you are used to hightech, seamless, finished out of the mould RC-plane fuselages, you feel like 1960 seeing the parts in the box. The materials are the cheapest you can get. And the work seams a little unskilled or unmotivated. Could explain further, but lack the vocabulay. It is a little like the cleco pliers, which don't fit to the rest of the excelent crafted aluminium parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MajorTom]

Well, they look very flush compared with what we've got

You are right. Just checked it. I had to put the words into google and got pictures of motorcycle tank covers.... sorry my fault.

 

 

[MajorTom]

new-kit-voyeurism

Can' stop smiling.... ;-) funny

 

 

[IBob]

Yes, well, nobody seems to understand the 'cleco pliers'. Maybe they are a little ICP inside joke? Or maybe they thought they were doing well getting a whole container load so cheaply, and now the only way they can get rid of them is by sending them out with kits???

 

 

[rankamateur]

The "duct" on the upper cowling is standard to take the air into the air box. The amateur fiberglass parts look much better after a sanding, it is itchy stuff to sand and wear a respirator to keep the glass out of your lungs.

 

 

[perrynz]

You should be in bed by now IBob!

 

 

[rankamateur]

My fist impression on the fiberglass parts where not the best.

Your Gel coat is much more amateur than mine was, it will definitely need more than just sanding to make it ready to paint. Your wing tips are the same finish that the cowling was delivered in for some time previously.

 

 

[rankamateur]

You should be in bed by now IBob!

Is that your wife Bob?

 

 

[MajorTom]

I dont' worry much about the fiberglass parts. It will work out just fine. Sure, you could make them 20% lighter and/or 20% stronger. But for what? The parts are good enough and not to forget affordable. I don't think it would be worth it to redo the parts using carbon and other hightech. To much work for to little output. There are just 2 pair of parts that I might, just might reproduce in fiberglass. That are the the tips oft the elevator/stabiliser. They seem quite thick and heavy for there size, esp. compared to the superlight alloy skin. I have the stuff to do it lying around, so no extra costs.

 

Or is the weight needed? Could think of weight in the back to balance the plane, if noseheavy. Or to counter vibrations.

 

 

[MajorTom]

Not affraid of sanding fiberglass...

 

 

[rmorton]

I dont' worry much about the fiberglass parts. It will work out just fine. Sure, you could make them 20% lighter and/or 20% stronger. But for what? The parts are good enough and not to forget affordable. I don't think it would be worth it to redo the parts using carbon and other hightech. To much work for to little output. There are just 2 pair of parts that I might, just might reproduce in fiberglass. That are the the tips oft the elevator/stabiliser. They seem quite thick and heavy for there size, esp. compared to the superlight alloy skin. I have the stuff to do it lying around, so no extra costs.Or is the weight needed? Could think of weight in the back to balance the plane, if noseheavy. Or to counter vibrations.

I thought the same about the all the thick black plastic end caps when I picked them up, but when I weighed them they were only about 850 grammes so you wouldn't save much compared to the effort needed. For now I have decided to do pretty much everything as standard and work on modifications later, that way I get in the air sooner. I do think that eventually the cowl would be a good weight saver and as you have seen you could do much to enhance the quality of the finish.

 

 

[IBob]

Can' stop smiling.... ;-) funny

Indeed.....on this site, when they say 'show us ya gear' they mean they want to look at your undercarriage....

 

 

[Savannah58]

Hey guys,I don't want to hijack your threads any longer to ask stupid questions. It ist time to start my own.

 

My kit should have arrived some days ago, but didn't. Next estimate is this Thusday. Right now I'm a little itchy.

 

I cleand up my garage and workshop for 8 weeks now. And it is enough. First I put everything from left to right and back. Later I really started to get rid of some stuff. Guess I will miss ist soon, even though I didn't used it for years.

 

A couple of months ago flying a plane, let alone building one, was a very, very distant dream. O.K. I was an aviation addict for all my life. Built rubber driven planes when I was a boy. Age 13 I saved up all money from birthday and chrismas for 2 years to buy a rc-control, but was denied by the officials in the former estern germany. Did it and doing it still, when the wall came down. Have two great boy, who are flying whit me. First with a student-teacher-cable, since last year both fly all by themselves.

 

October I met a cuban born builder from EAA Chapter 66. He showed me his scratch built plane and we had a long talk. He sad: "When I see you literally crawling into my plane, I know something for sure. You will start building sooner than you imagine. What are you waiting for?" Well, here I am, attending flightschool and starting to built my Savannah.

 

There is no german blog about building the savannah. So I thought I might start one. Everybody who can read german is invited to have a look. I'm planing on taking photos daily and counting hours and stuff.

 

www.savannah-blog.de

 

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Very nice shop Tom! Having lots of room is a bonus!

 

 

[Savannah58]

Ladies and Gents. I have a question. We recently began fitting our upper and lower cowl halves. At 2cm between spinner back plate my cowl just barely fits under the skin on top. Also, the air scoop rubs my left carb at about the 1 o'clock position looking from the side. Any tips would be appreciated. I know of no other Savannah to have that issue. I'm worried to bring the cowl farther aft to clear the carb would cause a much larger gap between cowl and spinner. Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

Jim

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Quite a lot of us have mounted the cowls externally not like how ICP does it. Its a bit of a jiggle but it can be done. I did have to shave a little off my top cowl to stip the carb rubbing and also had to pull the radiator back a bit. Also you need to cut a hole either side of the cowl for the exhaust pipes or the cowl will blister

 

 

 

 

 

[rmorton]

How far back has that gone Mark? do you have a big gap behind the spinner?

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

The gap isnt too big..maybe 20mm I will see if I can find a pic of it or I will take one

 

 

[Kyle Communications]

Ok the all completed pic is when I took the plane for its first flight. The other pics are when I had to replace the cowl after the dreaded noseleg incident. Is the only weak point of the Sav. A lot of people have ripped off the noseleg so much so the local agent here keeps heaps of spares for the parts required to repair it