Inspection cover nut plates
(Sept 14 & 21, 2025) Not sure why I didn’t do this earlier as part of the wings build, but I installed doublers and nut plates for each of the inspection covers that attach to the bottom of the wings. I have fellow Sling builder Pascal L. to thank...
Wings Transport
(Sept 7, 2025) I delayed transport of the wings by a few weeks to allow me time to catch up on a few tasks to complete on the wings – installation of my fancy LED lighting system, and a custom boost pump setup at the wing roots. With both...
Rosen Sun Visors
(Sept 14, 2025) I’ve had Rosen sun visors in my club C172 for years and I use them all the time, so naturally I had to install a set in my plane too. Rosen released a kit for the Sling TSi earlier this year and I bought a pair...
Moving Day!
(July 3, 2025) The beginning of July was my goal for getting the Shineliner over to the airport, and I hit that goal! For the next few months the plane will be at Fitchburg Municipal Airport in Massachusetts, which is about 25 mins away from my house. I used...
Canopy Door Pockets and Latch Switches
When I designed the overhead panel lights, I included an input to sense the state of the door latches. This is to allow the cabin lights to turn on when the door is opened, and also to display a waring message on the lighting control panel as a reminder...
Windshield Defrost Outlets
The custom climate system includes a pair of outlets facing the windshield to demist in cold or humid conditions. This design diverts sharply from the kit design; the original Sling 4 kit had no window defroster at all, and when the TSi debuted it included an outlet in front...
HVAC System and Panel Progress
This is a long overdue update on my project, but I’ve been quite busy on a few different aspects. First major update is that the custom HVAC system is about 90% complete. I’ve gone through so many iterations of the design over the last 3 years, but earlier this...
Oil Lines Part 2
I completed most of the engine oil lines in early November but when I started to build the oil radiator supply line I discovered that the fittings I had for the oil tank and for the oil pump were the wrong size. A visit to the illustrated parts manual...
Firewall Insulation Revisited
I was about to spray adhesive for the Thermotec insulation I chose for the firewall, when suddenly I questioned how well it would insulate the cabin from engine heat (and noise). So, I performed a short test using 4” square test pieces of 26 ga. galvanized steel: one bare...
Firewall Part 3 plus a Flame Test
This kit uses a sheet of galvanized steel as the firewall and is further covered by a heat barrier to insulate the cabin from the engine heat (and noise). The galvanized steel is good as a fire protectant (per FAR 23.1191), however, I have seen several other builders dismiss...