Busy couple of weeks since the last blog update, but lots to share.

I continue to assemble the wing spars and gather the remaining materials and make parts for the wings.

​With the spar webs cut, it's time to layout the lightening hole locations along the web, and cut the spar cap angles.  These form the top and bottom of the spar.  It starts with a centre line along the length:

Measuring outboard from the root edge, I made a hatch mark for each of the lightening hole locations:

With the locations laid out, I stacked one spar web on top of the other, secured them with clamps and drilled pilot holes through both - this means all lightening holes in each spar are in exactly the same location.

Next up was cutting the bottom and top spar cap angles using the chop saw.  I left them a couple of mm long to allow for filing and sanding the ends smooth as the chop saw cuts fairly rough..

Here are the first pair, roughly laid out on the right spar web.  You can see in this picture I've marked up each of the webs with a Sharpie so that I keep everything straight as to which way is up/down/fore/aft and a rough idea of the lightening holes.  This is important as I want to use the factory edge on each of the spar webs on the bottom edge of the spar and as my reference for measuring the height of each assembly.   

With the lower spar cap lined up with the factory edge and clamped in place, I laid out the rivet lines on the spar cap angles.  These holes will eventually be filled by A5 solid rivets.  I measured and double/triple checked the layout to ensure everything matches the plans.  It's easy to be off a couple of millimetres at the beginning that translates to being off several millimetres at the other.  The rivet pitches also vary a bit near the middle of the spar too where the spar web doubler and strut pick-ups are located so those have to be carefully considered too.

Drilling all the A3 pilot holes in the spar caps left a LOT of swarf!

At the bottom of the spar at the root I only drilled one pilot hole to begin the process of lining up the spar cap angle.  There are several holes and bolts needed here in the spar cap angle, but I have more components to add including the spar root doubler and the spar root pickup.   It will be easier to back drill from the opposite side - pilot holes for spar root pickup will be laid out and drilled on the drill press for accuracy and ease.

To start the process of matching up the lower spar cap to the web, I used a straight steel block.  The web sits on a board to back up the drill bit, tight against the block and under the spar cap angle.  The spar cap angle is exactly even with the end of the web, forming a perfect corner.  Drill through the pilot hole to A3 size - this hole will eventually drilled out and filled with an AN bolt.

I secured the inboard end of the lower spar cap with a cleco, then used the same steel block to line up the web and lower spar cap again moving outboard.  A clamp kept everything straight as I drilled the next holes:

Every tenth pilot hole was drilled though the cap and web.  A long piece of HSS square tube confirms everything is remaining straight as I go:

With the spar cab and web confirmed as straight and true, I finished drilling the rest of the holes between, checking for straightness each time:

I left the section un-drilled between each end of the spar web doubler location (shown as red angled lines).    I'll wait to confirm fit of the doubler and the front strut pick up angle once they are made and fitted.  I may back drill these like the spar root depending on how the fit up goes.

With the lower cap in place, i started to layout where the top spar cap will be on the web and the associated rivet lines.  yes those are my red Crocs.... don't judge.

The upper spar cap is initially cut long enough to overhang the web where it tapers.  This will be trimmed off later to match the doubler which gets added here at the root (more on that later).  The rivet layout at this corner is non standard, so for my first hole, I chose the first standard rivet spaced on along the cap.  I used a ruler underneath everything to make the spar height exactly 209mm as per the plans and secured it:

Pro Tip:  Be careful your pilot hole isn't over top the ruler when you drill through the web!  Better that than a finger I suppose!

With the spacing between spar caps confirmed and triple checked, I used a carefully cut wooden spacer to make each of the subsequent holes along the upper spar cap exactly parallel to the bottom one.  I started with a wooden block close to the length needed to fit between the caps, squared the ends on the band saw, then slowly sanded each end until it fit snug but perfectly between the two.

I copied the process all the way along, doing every tenth rivet and double checking the spar height each time.  The caps are perfectly parallel and the spar height is bang on 209 mm.  I finished of the rest of the holes to A3, skipping over the section where the spar web doubler will be.  All the holes, top and bottom are A3, eventually will be up sized to A5 for solid rivets.  The whole spar assembly as it sits now is already very strong.

Flipping the whole assembly over, I checked the rivet lines and confirmed the spar height as correct.  I also started to formulate a plan for the spar root assemblies, spar web doublers and how to trim the upper cap angle taper effectively.

Next up is the spar tips.  Made from 025, I bent these a while back when I was working on some 025 sheet work.  They too have lightening holes, which I laid out and completed with the fly-cutter on the drill press.

Both tips with lightening holes cut and ready to be flanged.  These holes are exactly the same diameter as the ones that will be in the spar web, so I marked the cutter with a flag note stating it was already set.  Once I get the spar lightening holes cut, I'll flange them at the same time as these.

To ensure the spar tips are perfectly square and parallel to the spar, I flipped the spar back over and clamped a spare piece of angle to the bottom spar cap angle, measured exactly where the tip should overlap the spar end and marked it for pilot holes.

The red line on the left is the rivet line for the spar tip where it attaches to the spar web.  The red line on the right is the rivet line station for the outer wing and nose ribs.  It has a different rivet spacing, so I'm leaving that alone until the ribs are ready for installation.  This will allow a small adjustment to compensate for any variance on the pickups in the slats, which will be installed on the wings later.

Four A3 holes evenly spaced between the spar caps.  These will eventually be A5 pulled rivet holes.

Flip the spar back over.  Layout the rivet holes in the ends of the spar caps as per the plans.  Clamp it all together.  I found it helpful to extend the whole thing over the end of the bench for this.

Back drill through the spar caps through the spar tip and secure with clecos:

Extremely happy with everything so far.  The spar is dead straight, dead on 209mm tall throughout it's length and distance from root to tip is exactly as in the plans.  Straight and rigid enough to stand on it's own!  I'm waiting to pick up some aluminum sheet and flat stock later this coming week to make the spar pick-ups, the spar web doublers and front upper strut fittings..

I had a couple of hours for the shop one morning, so I decided to start modifying my wing rib templates.  I've had these made for many months and now that I'm ready to start forming wing ribs I wanted to re-visit their layout.  I'd experienced some issues forming the slat ribs and thought I could address this on the Wing ribs.  I marked the location of flute relief on both the left and right side templates.  This will eventually make forming the curves on the bottom and top of the ribs easier.

I started cutting the flutes using a small drum sander on the Dremel tool.  It worked really well (more on these later).

Back in the shop the next evening, I started to form up the 032 spar root doubler.  It was relatively easy to make as I had experience from installing a missing one on the 701 wing repair (click here for that part of my story).

It starts with bending a flange on the outboard end, then trimming the doubler to match the taper of the spar web, leaving enough width to bend a second flange to match the taper.

With the doubler bent correctly, I laid out the rivet lines for the upper perimeter and back drilled through the web out to A3, using the bottom spar cap angle as a guide to keep everything straight.  (it's hard to see it here as it is underneath the inboard spar web): 

Flip the spar over and lay out two rows of rivet lines, 5 rivets between spaced between the spar caps:  

With the spar doubler drilled, clecoed and and confirmed as correctly positioned as in the plans, I removed it again in order to better see where I need to trim the upper spar cap angle.  I marked a line on the angle using the web as my guide.

The next part was quite challenging - using the chop saw to make the accurate angle cut on such a long and un-wieldly piece of angle.  I managed to get it close enough, but boy the chop saw makes ugly work of the cut:

The black line represents everything actually left to trim back for a perfect match to the spar taper.  I used an angle grinder to gently remove more material using the spar doubler as a guide until it was perfect:

As I got close, I switched to a hand file, taking it down until it was perfectly level.  Some final sanding to round off the sharp edges and it is complete:

Putting it all back together, I began laying out the rest of the root doubler rivets and drilling them out to A3.  The plans here are kind of lacking about the spacing, but I believe I got it close to what is intended.  These will be A5 rivets and the spacing I've left between them it well withing tolerances.  I've written what I've used for measurements on my plans so it will be the same on the left spar.

I upsized these to A4 with the exception of the 3 at the tip.  I'll leave these as A3 until I can align the inboard root rib and nose rib.  This assembly will only get stronger with the addition of the root attachment plate.

As per the plans, I added two standard L angles on the back of the spar at the required location.  These add more torsional rigidity to the spar assembly as a whole.

​First I marked the centre line of where the angle attaches at each location on the spar:  

I cut and deburred two pieces of L to 209 mm long, then used the rivet holes in the spar tip as a guide as they are the same layout (4 rivets between the spar caps):

It doesn't show here, but I drilled pilot holes in each of the L pieces, then used the layout line on the web to align the L in each of the spots and drilled it out to A3.  They too will become A5 eventually. 

Ron had a look at the flutes I cut in my rib forms and suggested I widen and soften the edges a bit.  To do this I used a hand file.

The file was very effective but left the flutes a bit rough.

The four vertical lines measured laterally from the square end.  The tooling hole locations measured vertically up from the straight edge provided by the angle.  I drilled the four holes out to 15/64ths diameter, same as the bolts I will use to clamp the forms together when bending the blanks into ribs.  Left to right, the first 3 holes are also the centre of the lightening holes, the fourth is a tooling (bolt only) hole:

Flip the stack over, clamp the forms together straight and use the new holes to back drill though the other half of the forms, ensuring both left and right rib consistency.

With the forms and templates ready, I start to stack them and a blank together.  From top to bottom in the picture below - right side form, left side form and wing root rib blanks.  The blanks don't have holes yet and the stack is now pointing in the opposite direction (left to right - tooling hole, and 3 lightening hole centres).

Line up the root rib blank on one side of the form......

.... followed by the other form, lined up directly over top the other.  Normally this alignment is accomplished via the bolts and holes.  My blanks don't have tooling holes as I wanted the holes to first match on both forms otherwise what's the point?

With everything lined up exactly where it should be, I clamped the sandwich to the table and using the form holes drilled pilot holes through the blank:

This results in perfectly located holes - all four will initially be bolt holes for forming the rib.

With both root rib blanks having their tooling holes complete, I can bolt it all together and put it in the vise for forming:

Gentle and firm blows with the dead blow hammer, bends the flange over the sides of the form.  A piece of hardwood dowel rod helps direct the forming blows, massaging the aluminum into the flutes, taking up the extra aluminum from the curve of the form and creating the desired shape across the top and bottom of the rib:

The flutes really help make the rib nice and straight, but it also make is tougher to remove the form.  Not bad enough to avoid the flute work!  Once out of the form, fluting pliers can be sued for final adjustment.  Once flat and out of the form, the 3 forward bolt holes become pilot holes for the fly cutter.

Knowing the procedure works as I intended with the root rib, I repeated the hole alignment procedure for the wing ribs and it turned out perfectly.  I'll get to pilot holing the rib banks soon in preparation to form the ribs..

The nose ribs of the 701 and 750 are close enough that I can use Ron's forms.  I remembered this while looking for my nose rib forms - that's why I didn't make them for myself!  Ron and two other builders were making their nose ribs at the same time, so they bolstered their form with a metal plate close to the nose.  This absorbs and backs the small tinsmith hammer blows required to get the thin nose flange rolled over much better than the wood alone.

Ron's forms are already drilled for tooling and lightening hole centre, so the process changes only slightly.  This time, I laid a nose rib blank on the drill backing board and centred the form on the blank.

With it clamped in place, I drilled out the holes, using the form as a guide.  Then I repeated this step 11 more times for a total of 6 left and 6 right rib blanks.

Ron's forms do not have flutes cut in them, but Ron says they had no issues forming their ribs without flutes.  I will need to know where the flutes need to be crimped using fluting pliers, so I marked out 6 left and 6 right for future forming:

A couple of parts I've yet to make are the front upper strut fitting and the spar root fitting (2 of each, one set for each wing).  These are substantially thick pieces of aluminum, each a 1/4 inch thick.

One challenge scratch builders have is a good reference of materials needed for a build.  Kits come with everything already cut and mostly bent.  To make scratch building affordable, one needs to purchase materials in complete sheets then cut them down to size.  Buying in bulk saves major bucks.

Thankfully, I received a really good spreadsheet from another scratch builder early on in my build process, which has been invaluable in giving me some idea of the materials needed.

I've been following along pretty closely to the spread sheet of material, but it sometimes has a bit discrepancy compared to the plans.  But as we all know, the plans are king.

My spreadsheet states the spar root fitting is 38mm wide by 240mm long - this coincides nicely with the spreadsheet and can be made from 1-1/2 inch x 12 thick aluminum bar stock perfectly (38mm is 1.49606 inches, close enough for me!)

My spreadsheet also states the front upper strut fitting is 40mm wide by 203mm long.  This means I'd need bar stock just over 1-1/2 inches wide (1.5748 inches). This sucks because the next width in bar stock is 2 inches, meaning a bunch of wasted material if I have to cut it to width.

I spent too many hours thinking about this and trying to figure out if maybe I'd be better to order some 1/4 inch plate and cut them all out from that, which means more work and chance for error.  It was then I looked again at the plans and realized the spreadsheet is wrong.  Both are 38 mm wide, meaning I can make all four from a single strip of 1-1/12 wide bar stock.  Cool! (I've adjusted my spreadsheet!)

Another consideration I've been pondering is fuel capacity and what that means for my build.  Will the standard size fuel tanks be adequate for my expected fuel burn and range?  I need to think about this as it affects how and where the fuel tanks get installed in the wing.

I reached out to William Wynne, the Corvair guy and he advises I can expect to flight plan for an average of 6 gallons per hour fuel burn at normal cruise speeds.  Looking at the specs from the Zenith website, standard dual wing tanks are 24 US Gallons (2 x 12 gal.) - meaning not including unusable fuel in the lines and any reserve I can expect about a 4 hour range on average.

The extended tank option from Zenith (plans sold separately?!) increases this to a total of 30 US Gallons (2 x 15 gal.) -  an increase of about an hour of endurance.  The tanks are essentially a little bigger but still fir in the same wing bay.

Some have added a second standard tank in each wing, meaning a total fuel capacity of 48 Gallons!

That sounds great, but there are some serious pros/cons to consider.  Extra range and fuel is always a good thing.  But how long do I want to a leg to be - i.e. will I need to stretch/pee/eat before 4 hours?  It also costs more to make larger or dual tanks, and it complicates the plumbing of the fuel quite substantially.  There is also the consideration it may decrease the usefull load (how much can I take in baggage and gear - fuel weighs a lot) and that it costs fuel to haul fuel.

I'm all for the extra range - it never hurts to have more fuel than I need.  I'm just not sure it meets my mission and if I eventually plan to put the plane on floats, then what?  That has impacts on gross/empty weight on it's own, without considering the extra weight of fuel.

I don't have to decide yet, but will have to soon.  Maybe I'll reach out to Jeff Moores in NewFoundland - he has a 705 Cruzer on floats and see what his experiences are.  I'm leaning towards the middle option for a slight increase in range without complicating the plumbing.

So.... long blog today.  I hope you are enjoying following along.  More to come soon including some decisions on fuel tank size.

Been away from the shop a bit.  Christmas with the family, shopping, work etc.  There are important things in life besides airplanes I suppose :)  That doesn't stop me from doing reasearch.  Okay, you can call it browsing if you like.

I wanted to share a website I found called experimentalavionics.com

One of the biggest decisions to be made with my build is what avionics I want in my panel.  This of course is guided by the three points of mission, cost and simplicity in that order, although they aren't mutually exclusive either.  Simplicity generally leads to lower cost.  Mission needs vs wants can also directly influence cost up or down.  With a bit of work, the following items can be built very inexpensively, with off the shelf parts and instructions found online.

My aircraft mission is simple enough.  I don't need to go fast or high (the Zenair 750 isn't pressurized nor is it a speed demon) and I won't be flying IFR (instrument flight rules).  I do want good communications (it's actually what I do for a living!) and the ability to navigate outside the normal ATC coverage areas to some of those good fishing/camping spots.

I'm using a converted Corvair automobile engine.  Instrumentation for this is simple too.

The idea of building my own EMS (Engine Monitoring System) from open source electronics/software fits both my budget and interests in learning.  I have learned enough electronics skills over the years to build it (thanks to Mom and Dad for starting my learning in basic electronics by buying me this when I was a kid).  Whether this becomes my primary engine instrumentation or a back up to the traditional analog engine guages will be decided later after I do some more research.  It might look something like this:

A nice, easy to read display suitable for the 6 cylinder Corvair engine.  The bonus is how much panel space I'd save and the ability to datalog the information for testing mods or diagnosing trends.  Alarm annunciators (flashing warning lights or audio) can easily be added for any parameter that goes out of range.  Cool!

The other panel items such as primary flight instruments (altimeter, VSI, etc) require more thought.  I like traditional instruments for their familiar simplicity.  For the same reasons as the EMS, a EFIS (Electronic Flight Information System) has an intriguing draw, but I'll likely have something like this as my backup instruments:

Again, easy to read, simple and space saving.  6 instruments and a clock all in one place.

A couple of cons that I'll need to consider are temperature operating range and failure modes.  It gets real cold where I'll be keeping the plane when it's built (unless I win the lottery, then it's heated floor hanger all the way!)  

As for failure modes, how comfortable am I putting all indicators in one place, where a single failure may result in losing everything at once.

The website that I linked above also includes preliminary discussions on intercoms for pilot/passenger communication and a WiFi based AHRS (Attitude Heading Reference System) that could link wirelessly to a tablet for navigation.  Perhaps someone will adapt the AHRS to be an inexpensive ADS-B out module!

Lots to think about...  

Happy New Year everyone :)

Had a real great afternoon today speaking with and working in the shop of my new friend Ron.  As I've stated before in my blog, the prime motivator of building my own airplane is about learning.

Ron is a long time builder and re-builder of aircraft, both certified and homebuilts.  He has a very deep knowledge of all things in recreational aviation and most importantly wants to teach me some of what he knows.

Ron's current projects include rebuilding a Cessna 170, a short wing Piper and several Zenair projects.  His thinking is to have me assist his group of builders repair a Zenair 701 as a very first step to learning metal aircraft construction.  Perfect!  What a fantastic way to get an introduction to building skills.

He gave me a quick tour of his workshop and we immediately went to work on removing the skins off a salvaged Zenair 701 wing that was badly damaged by a previous owner.  This wing is being rebuilt.

We started by assessing the wing to determine the best course of action.  We discussed what was salvageable as is, what could be patched and what would need to be cut away completely.  As you can see in this picture, the damage is substantial.

After making some marks on the wing of what needed to be removed and a quick demonstration of the procedure required, I was drilling out the rivets.  As you can see, there are a ton of them:

We also removed the lower wing skin closest to the wing root that was crinkled really badly.  Again, a ton of rivets to drill out:

I wish I took more pictures, but I was having too much fun drilling rivets.  Obviously today was just a tiny taste of what's to come for learning and building, but I'm hooked!

As we worked, Ron and I talked at length about my plans for building a Zenair 750 STOL.  I explained my plans to put a Corvair engine in it and he was very interested in the combination.

Use of Ron's shop and taping into his experience building Zenair aircraft definitely confirms for me that this 750 STOL airplane is a do-able project that I can accomplish, and that by making some of the parts myself from raw materials (called "scratch building", as in "from scratch") I have the opportunity to save a bunch of time and money.

So after some weeks of debate, tomorrow I'm sending in my order to Zenair for a complete set of builders plans for a 750 STOL aircraft.  Once I have them in hand, Ron and I are going to sit down and discuss a build plan.

Excited!!!

I haven't posted anything to my blog for a couple of weeks because I've been busy doing the other things in life that keep our family hopping at this time of year.  Vacation, two birthdays, two anniversaries, the end of the school year, fireworks shows for Canada Day (another hobby of mine) and some camping.  All this happens in the span of 14 days.  But it's over again for another year.

Of course my mind hasn't strayed too far from my project and I'm starting to narrow down my decision on what airframe I want to build.  In my post from last year "So Many Choices" I describe my thought process in this regard.

Just before I started vacation, I managed to meet up with Ron, a local home builder who has vast experience with building aircraft from scratch, from kits and rebuilding damaged airframes for others.  He is currently working on a Piper Pacer, but he has offered me a spot on his build team and more importantly, the opportunity to assist him and another guy in building a Zenair 701.  You can't ask for better chance to learn from someone that has "been-there-done-that".  Ron is also keen to see a Corvair installation process, perhaps for future build of his own.

So, after much debate and thinking out the pros and cons I've decided 99.9% that I'm going to begin the process of building a Zenair 750 STOL (Short Take Off Landing).  This aircraft has the best of everything I'm looking for:

Now, I'm not sure what my goofy smile was from; the fact I was actually going flying or how pleased I was to experience the visibility this cabin design provides (and I wasn't even in the air yet!) but I suspect it was a combination of both:

A short time later and we were airborne!  I was so wrapped up in the flight experience and speaking with Nicholas about the handling characteristics of this Cruzer model vs the STOL version, I didn't get any puictures, but I am really impressed with this aircraft.  Smooth, stable and comfortable.  The visibility is incredible in all directions and the bubble doors give that extra feel of roominess.  One thing I noticed when I had the controls and entered a turn was the really nice visibility through the clear panel cabin roof:

Jeff's wife Dale took some pictures and videos of my flight and when they get a chance will send them to me and I'll post them.  Here are a couple of more I took:

So things are starting to pick up speed.  I'm definitely in the arena and the game is about to really get started!

Previously on part one.....

Without the resistance of the blower fan and suction of the vacuum filter assembly, this motor spins way faster than what the label states.   So fast in fact it wants to tear itself apart while merrily dancing across the shop floor despite being mounted on springs (or maybe because it's mounted on springs?)

So, I need to figure out a way to slow the motor down or reduce the vibration component.

My first thought is to reduce the size of or modify the shape of the metal strip I added to the motor axle.

I think doing this only reduces the vibration.  The motor will still be spinning way too fast and determining the right size of strip may be hit and miss to get exactly right.

How about controlling the motor speed?  I think this will be the easier route.

Digging through my box of household electrical stuff, I found two incandescent dimmer switches that should work.  They are designed for AC power (as is the electric motor) and this would add the ability to fine tune the vibratory effect for best results.

Before that however, I need to finish creating the parts bowl.  First I inverted the bowl and traced a circle on a piece of spare lucite (plexiglass):

Cut the circle out using my bandsaw......  that's when I realized the centre section of the bowl sits above the rim:

To secure  the new lid, I used a piece of hollow threaded rod.  I screwed it into the top plate of the tumbler and l left it long enough to add a cap to hold it down tight to the bowl:

To hold the lid, I found an old powder scoop that fits perfectly over the bowl centre.  That and a washer and nut hold everything down nicely:

Now that everything is built, back to slowing down the motor.

I added in the rotary dimmer switch.  It has an off position when turned counter-clockwise all the way.  I'll tide up the wiring once I figure out if this is going to work as designed.  The picture was taken prior to creating the lid.  Using the dimmer works!

Time to test the machine....

First, add the tumbling media, in this case a couple of scoops of clean clay cat litter.  Then add some dirty, greasy and rusty test parts:

Close and fasten the lid..... all secure and "go for power-up!"  The vibrating of the tumbler makes it hard to get a clear picture, but the media very quickly envelops the parts.  As it tumbles, they occasionally come back up the top: 

The tumbler is NOISY!  I suspect the bolts between the levels of the tumbler are vibrating against the bowl.  That should be easy to fix.  Perhaps it might have to be run outside.  After letting it run for about five minutes, I decided to have a look at the progress.  Even after only 5 minutes, the parts are obviously cleaner and devoid of the grime they entered with:

Although the parts come out a bit dusty, clearly this method and machine I've built works very well, even at a short duration.  I'm planning on running a longer test this afternoon and will post more details.

So as I mentioned previously, I have a pail full of loose hardware (bolts, nuts, washers etc.) that are completely covered in dirt, grime and rust.  I pondered using my daughter's rotary rock tumbler, but learned that the interior of the drum can get destroyed by the tumbling medium and the metal parts.

A quick Google search led me to this post on how to make a Vibratory Tumbler:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Home-Made-Vibratory-Tumbler/ 

The tumbler described in the link above is for rocks, but the concept is simple enough, perhaps I can come up with something for cleaning my parts.  Another Google search led me to this You-Tube video:

Now that seems more like the type of task I'm trying to accomplish!  And the cleaning media is cat litter!

Shouldn't get much cheaper and easier than that!  Let's build one!

First, I obtained the following two items from the Value Village thrift store:

I tested the vacuum in the store before purchasing it to make sure it worked.  It was missing the nozzle extension, so as a vacuum it really was worthless.....  but it's the 9000 rpm electric motor that's inside I'm after.  Recycling at it's best!

Remove the filter section and split the main case open:

Remove the motor/blower assembly and filter gasket:​

​Pry off the outer housing with a small screwdriver and remove the blower fan:

I removed the plastic backing plate leaving just the motor assembly.  The mounting screws are quite short so I needed a thin board to mount the motor to.  I had an old poly cutting board (white one on the bottom of the picture below) that I wasn't using for anything.  I drilled out a large hole in it for the motor axle and two smaller holes for the mounting screws.  The upper board is where the bowl will sit, for this I used a piece of scrap laminate flooring I had kicking around.  I used 6 inch bolts with lock washers and nuts to space them apart enough to fit the motor in between.  This whole assembly will be the vibratory part:

Next, I mounted the vibratory assembly on compression springs I bought in the surplus aisle at Princess Auto.  Then the whole thing is mounted on a base of wood:

Next I mounted the motor.  In the vacuum, it was designed to spin at high speed and very smoothly.

In my application, I want the motor to continue to spin at a high speed, but to also vibrate at high frequency.  To accomplish this, I attached a small strip of scrap metal to the fan mounting bolt/axle of the electric motor:

So...  thinking all was good, I figured it was time to test it.  I very quickly learned that the motor was designed to power the blower fan with the added resistance of trying to move the air through the vacuum filter.  Although I did plug in the motor and tested it once I had it outside of the vacuum housing and disconnected from the blower I didn't think much of it.  However, without this resistance, I believe the motor spins much MUCH faster than it's rated RPM.  Adding the attached metal strip and the whole assembly almost jumped and bounced across the shop floor base and all when I applied power.  I should have tested this before mounting it, but it probably would have ripped my hand off in the process.

This obviously won't do.

More to think about..... stay tuned for part two.

​

I'm almost ready to share some pictures from the re-organized shop, but not quite.  Here is a sneak peak of my re-organized tool board.  I bought a new set of pliers today on sale at Canadian Tire.  I never seem to lose screwdrivers, but for some reason I can't hold onto pliers...​

Brenda says she is thankful because now she doesn't need to go digging around to find a tool that she might need.  Power tools are in the bin under the workbench.

The other tool I picked up today was a dial indicator ($15 at the local hardware store).  They actually told me the other day I was the first person to ask in many years for one and when I went in today to buy it they knocked $5 off the price.... sometimes it pays to shop local.

This simple tool will be invaluable in measuring some of the running gear of my engine turns straight and true.  It will also be helpful in determining the suitability of the salvage parts (crankshaft, cam, etc) being sent for rebuild.

Hopefully the shop muck out will be "complete" this week and I can start actively purchasing a core engine to work on. 

Storage and workshop solution building continues.  I finished attaching the top to my new rolling workshop table:

The top is recycled from an old office desk, sturdy and solid.  I left if overhanging the frame on all sides giving me plenty of space to clamp things to the table without giving up stability.  Frame is 2x4 lumber.  Locking casters on opposite corners prevent it from rolling away while working.

Still to come:

• slide out power tool storage bin (using recycled drawer slides seen on the bottom rails above) and old furniture panel pieces we bought years ago in the as-is section of IKEA that were taking up room begging to be used or thrown out
• mounting points on the workbench top - these will be anchor points for items like my bench vise, drill press, plunge router etc. for any time I need to use them, otherwise they will be stored underneath
• Power-strip

Progress.....

Haven't had a ton of time this week to work in the shop for more than a few minutes at a time, but I've been puttering around in there when I could.

As stated in an earlier post, I've been looking for a way to save space.  I discovered this link on Instructables.com for a fold down workbench.

I'm certainly no carpenter (sorry Grampa Sword), but I think my version turned out well enough:

Aside from a buying a couple of wood screws, it is made entirely out of scrap 2x4 lumber I already had and an old large cupboard door as the top.  Not heavy duty, but an excellent table to work on light weight projects.

I think I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel :)

Next up...  a rolling workbench for heavier items and a place to store some of my tools....

In today's world of recreational flying there are almost too many choices available to the new airplane owner.

You can pretty much buy or build anything you want, from powered parachutes (insane by my standards) to gliders, to personal helicopters to 4 seat speed machines to flying boats, even personal jets (yes, people have built their own jets, from scratch, it has been done) and everything in between.  I saw evidence of this at Oshkosh.

Capabilities such as different ranges, speed, load carrying capacity and  materials used all mix together to offer anything an owner could want or need.

Layer on top of this endless paint and colour schemes, avionics and powerplant choices.

The sky is the limit if you can excuse the horrible pun.  I'm not interested in just buying my way back into the air.  I want to create something and be the master of my aircraft.

Everything one decides they want in an aircraft is a compromise of choices.  The goal is to get the best balance of options which gets you closest to the mission your aircraft is designed for.

So what is the mission?  That's is what needs to be defined within the scope of what one wishes to invest (and let's be honest it most times comes down to $$$). 

The best thing is to make a list of priorities of what I want the aircraft to do, use those priorities to guide the choices that get me there.  It's a lot to think about and anyone has to be realistic in expectations.

For my example, I'm going to work this logic somewhat backwards and talk about my "mission" first, then try to mesh priorities and choices together.

As you can see from my previous posts, my overriding mission is to get flying again.  It's where my heart is.

Okay so I need a licence (check, already got that) and an airplane.    Next in my definition of the mission: What do I plan on doing with an airplane?

The airplane will be for recreational use with the possibility of eventually instructing in it.  So it logically follows it must have 2 or more seats.

I hate government red tape.  I need to find a way that has the least government involvement as possible.

I want the ability to take someone with me - I get great joy sharing flight with anyone.

I don't need to go fast or do a thousand mile leg all at once, but I would like something with decent speed and range for those occasional longer trips.

Eventually I'd like to put it on floats.  I don't need to haul 500 pounds of gear, but it sure would be nice to pack an overnight bag or fishing gear or both.

I have a night rating, would sure be nice to use it.

I need this to be economical.  Nobody can expect any hobby to cost nothing, but I don't have access to an endless pool of cash either. Fixing mechanical issues myself (within the scope of my abilities) is appealing for this reason.  So is being able to use normal automotive fuel vs 100LL aviation fuel.  The price spread between the two is worth investigating.  Government red tape usually is a big drain on economics as well.

So my mission is fairly well defined.  Now to prioritize, in order of importance.  Here is where compromise is considered:

1. Economical
2. Two seats (side by side)
3. High wing (visibility from cockpit and future installation of floats/skis for year round use)
4. Range
5. Payload

Fortunately, my priorities fall reasonably well into what the average person would call a standard light airplane.  Still the options are many, but there are a number of ultralights available in today's marketplace that meet at the intersection of personal priorities and mission.

Now to stop window shopping and start looking for just that match.