Category: Design Changes

Heater System Preliminary Design

I’ve completed the preliminary design of my automatic heater system. I’ve been concentrating on this for the last few weeks, which is why I haven’t posted much progress on the plane itself. This system recovers the heat from the engine’s cylinder head water cooling loop, forces air over a...

Side Skin Install Part 2

I was only able to log about an hour on 14 July. I started to install the long side rail angle (CF-ANG-010-R-C) that runs the length of the side skin, as well as a number of gussets that connect this rail to the uprights. The gussets share a number...

Side Skin Install Part 1

I’ve been falling behind on regular posts, but I intend to return to a regular rhythm — if not daily, at least on the days when I work on the plane.. So, this post is a little longer as it captures work performed 8 – 13 July. I’ve started...

Rear Seat Belts Part 4

This weekend, I took a break from working on my heating system to complete the seat belt mods for the rear seat. Both seating positions now have a retractable 3-point belt. The second one went a little easier than the first, thanks to a few new tricks along the...

Custom Heating System

I’ve been busy designing a custom heating system for my plane, which is why I haven’t posted in a little while. My Sling 4 kit would normally include a cuff-style heater, which heats air by passing it over the exhaust pipe. It’s a basic system, but many small airplanes...

Rear Seat Belts Mod Part 3

When I first wrote about my rear seat belt modifications, I initially planned to mount the inertia reel below the floor, and then cut a slot in the floor to route the belt up to the shoulder anchor point. However, the more I thought about it, the more I...

Rear Seat Shoulder Anchors

I’ve been continuing with my rear seat belt modifications. The shoulder anchors attach to hat sections, which are attached to the rear fuselage beltframe and skin. I fabricated the hat sections from 0.080″ aluminum. The sheet stock is too thick to cut with shears, so I used a nibbler...

Rear Seat Belts Modification

I spent most of my Saturday pondering what to do about seat belts in the rear seat. My problem is that the Sling 4 kit was designed to use lap belts (only) for the rear seat. However, the likelihood of surviving a crash is greatly improved by having 3-point...

New Skill Acquired: Powder Coating

Just before this whole pandemic thing started happening, I had purchased a powder coating gun to experiment with. I knew it would be more work than spray paint, but the resulting finish is nicer and more durable. My first attempt was with the updated bearing plates in my previous...

Update to Rear Torque Tube Modification

In my last post, I documented a problem I found when joining the center and rear fuselages. The modifications I made to the rear torque tube didn’t account for the clearance needed for the rudder conduit fittings, which are mounted very near the torque tube, and were butting up...