Firewall Forward
2018: Carb and Throttle Issues
Total Build Time: 1347 Hours When I came to the plane today, among other things, I did an engine test run and things seemed to be normal. A few hours later I was beginning to wrap things up at the hangar, and happened to do a random check of the freedom of the throttle lever … Continue reading
2017 Aerovee Turbo Service Bulletin ACV-SB-091616-1B
Total Build Time: 1296 Hours After nearly a year hiatus from working on my nearly-finished Waiex (primarily due to the procurement and arrival of a new member to my family!) I returned to the Hangar to start dusting off the project for the final push to completion. In doing so, I performed an engine test … Continue reading
2017 Engine Mount Bushing Issues
Total Build Time: 1290 Hours After about 2 years of having the engine and cowling fitted to the airframe, when I put the cowling on the airplane I noticed that the prop hub was rubbing on the cowling. What can be seen in the above photo is the top and bottom of the propeller hub … Continue reading
Hangar Completion #7 (Finalizing Firewall Forward.)
Total Build Time: 1198 Hours This post details most of the final details and preparations that allow me to say the following: the engine is ready to fly. To summarize, I’ve performed my initial ignition and fuel test runs, made my final cutouts and adjustments to the cowling and baffles, and made some small tweaks to … Continue reading
Hangar Competion #5 (Throttle and Air Filter)
Total Build Time: 1180 Hours I’ll start this post by just saying that as the aircraft build reaches its final stages, there are a plethora of details that have to be addressed. Some issues I’ve solved recently: -Both of the magnetrons provided in my engine kit were faulty, in the sense that they could not … Continue reading
Hangar Completion #4 (First start and taxi)
Total Build Time: 1150 Hours. This post marks a huge milestone in my build… the Aerovee engine kit which I assembled earlier this year actually started! I’ll post some videos and pictures of the event here, then follow up with my experience and lessons learned at the end of the post below. Video of first … Continue reading
Hangar Completion #3 (oil, throttle, mixture)
Total build time: 1140 Hours. One of my last tasks before cranking my engine for the first time was to install the oil lines to the turbocharger. This consisted of several lines of metal tubing along with some flexible hose lines. Once the oil lines were run, I filled the oil sump with oil and … Continue reading
Hangar Completion #2: (Engine Baffles)
Total Build Time: 1130 Hours. The engine baffles took me far more time to complete than I expected (about 30 hours.) My primary concern when installing the baffles was to get a very tight seal between baffles and cowling in order to maximize cooling airflow over the cylinders and cylinder heads to keep engine temperatures … Continue reading
Hangar Completion #1 (Exhaust and Turbo Installation)
Total Build Time: 1100 Hours. Installation of my exhaust mainfold and turbocharger began with “clocking” the turbo. Basically, orienting the 3 sections of the turbo housing correctly (the turbine section, center oil section, and the compressor section.) This required some heavy duty snap ring pliers. I had to file down the tips of the pliers … Continue reading
Time-lapse Video, 900 hours of work and move to airport.
This video includes all the time-lapse footage I have from January 2014 until August 2015. It’s essentially the entire build of the airframe. It’s missing the first 200 hours of the project because I didn’t have the camera setup for that portion of the build.
Engine Cowling #3 (Hinge Fitment, cutouts and final fit.)
Total Build Time: 1082 Hours. With my repairs/reshaping of the cowling complete, I could now focus on the full fitment of the cowling. I noticed that there was some slight interference between the top side of the cowling and the oil cooler in the Turbo Aerovee installation. Removal of the small flange on top of … Continue reading
Engine Cowling #2 (Reshaping the cowling)
Total Build Time: 1060 Hours. Continuing from my previous post on the cowling, I had to find a solution to the over-sized cowling provided in my airframe kit. The following sequence of pictures show how I marked a cut line on the side of the cowling, and proceeded to cut a relief line in the … Continue reading
Engine Cowling #1 (Preparation and fitting)
Total Build Time: 1044 Hours. The fiberglass engine cowling shrouds the engine compartment and becomes the nose of the airplane. This was the last large component of my airplane that I wanted to complete prior to moving it to the airport/hangar for final assembly. Following the assembly instructions provided by Sonex, I began by fabricating … Continue reading
Fuselage Completion #13 (Firewall preparation and battery box)
Total Build Time: 910 Hours. Once I had the engine, exhaust and intake mocked into place I could plan the firewall layout. First step was to identify the usable area on the firewall. I then (with help from Bill) made some cardboard cutouts to assist with planning the layout. The cutout below represents my … Continue reading
Aerovee #8 (Mounting the engine, oil cooler, exhaust manifold)
Total Build Time: 846 Hours. So I had an engine resting on a table next to the airframe, and I took these pictures while trying to decide how many people I should invite over to help me mount the engine to the airframe. Upon looking at those photos, a thought dawned on me, and I … Continue reading