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UltraFun AirSports |
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Wheel Pants. I had heard how they were difficult to do. Now I'm seeing why. At first, my caliper was mounted towards the top rear, but after sliding on the fairing, there wasn't any way the brake line would bend and not kink. The only way that works is to mount it like in the picture. There's still a little pressure on the line, but not near what it was before. | |
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The problem with mounting the caliper on the bottom is that it protrudes out the brake cover. I hadn't trimmed it yet because I want to make sure that's where I'm going to leave the caliper. | |
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On the other end, the plastic fairing doesn't fit too well against the fuselage. Looks like it's going to take some heat to get it where it should be. | |
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The underside is much worse than the top. The fuel drain is also visible in this picture. | |
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While I'm complaining.... What's the deal with the axle castle nuts? I never took a physics class, but when you try to replace the center nut with the one on the right, the cotter key simply isn't going to fit in the hole in the axle. 20 minutes on the grinder got the left nut down to the same height as the center one. There's got to be a better way. |
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Lastly (for today), the standoffs for the wheel pants were way too long. The wheel pants were far from centered, and it took this much off to bring them in line. | |
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4/20/03. A solid weeks worth of work, and the wheel pants are finished. I ran a string from the nose gear to the tail wheel to get a centerline for alignment. The right side ended up being 30 5/8" (front and rear) and the left side was 30 7/8". Close enough for me. I'm glad those are done. | |
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Next on the list of things I'd rather pass on the next time I build one, is the nose cone vents. Over a week's worth of work was needed to glass them in and make them look like they belong there. This picture is the door I made for the vent. I used a thicker piece of aluminum than the kit provides, and made an ear for the cable to connect to. | |
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4/29/03. 354 hours. The nose cone is finally done, and installed back on the fuselage. The instructions say to put the vents back 9" from the tip of the nose. My vent doors actually hit the fuselage, so they're only able to open 3/4 of the way. Coming forward a 1/2" would have helped, or putting them further back. Just make sure you trial fit everything. Another 1/2" off, and I wouldn't have been able to open the vents at all. Anyway, at over 100 mph, they'll work just fine, since the openings are larger than stock. Also visible in this picture is the VHF antenna behind the nose wheel. At this point, the fuselage is done, and I'll be taking it to the paint shop on 4/30. That's also my projected completion date, figuring 100 hours/month. Cold weather and other commitments dropped me down around 85 hours/month, so I'll be a few weeks late on the first flight. | |
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5/10/03. With the fuselage out of the way, and a lull in working on the wing, I turned my sights on the luggage pod. It only took a few hours to put the skins on. If it doesn't work, I can always use it as a toboggan. :>) 283 hrs. so far. | |
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My Warp Drive prop showed up, and I see that they've come out with a new finish for the hub. Nicely polished and engraved. | |
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