I Have a Serial Number!
I just found out that TAF has assigned serial # 180k to my kit! I’m guessing the ‘k’ indicates kit-build, as opposed to factory-build. It’s good to know that there are about 179 other Sling 4’s that are already built or in the process of being built! It’s a...
Wing Top Skins Riveting
Last weekend I riveted the upper skins on the left wing. As I did when clecoing the skins in place, I started riveting onto the strongest parts first (4mm rivets into the main spar cap), then ribs, then stringers. When pulling these blind rivets, it leaves an open hole...
Left Fuel tank started
I created a jig for assembling the fuel tank using the templates included with the plans. After transferring the profiles to a sheet of 1/2″ MDF, I cut the shape by hand with a rotozip-style tool, then filed and sanded as needed to smooth it out. Next I followed...
3d Printed Wedge
I ordered the little close quarters wedge from Cleaveland Aircraft Tools last weekend, but I’m still waiting for it to arrive. Meanwhile, I thought I’d try making a temporary one out of plastic. Pretty quick work to design the part in Fusion 360 and then send it to my...
Left Wing Wiring Installed
Time spent: 6.3 hours Busy day doing various tasks on the left wing. First, I ran the pitot & AoA lines and built the little standoffs per the manual. Since it was nice outside, I built a little fixture so that I could prime the inside of the wing...
Assorted Bits Arriving
I’ve been busy again with a few other things (planning for a wedding is surprisingly complex!) but that allowed time for some parts to arrive. First, I realized I needed to buy a pitot tube, since wing skin close-up comes very soon! I have a Garmin GAP 26 on...
Prepping More Wing Ribs
I spent about 4 hours over the last 2 days preparing a bunch more ribs for the wings. You can see page 9 of the manual in this picture, which is where all these ribs (and more) are required. I still need to prime the edges. We’ve had an...
Left Wing Spar Assembly started
Got started on the aux wing spar late last week and into the weekend, it’s coming along pretty well. I ran out of the primer that I was using (SEM), so I had to use some backup primer (Rustoleum) for the wing skin support bracket – it’s not as...
Painting by the Garden
I have some artistic friends who would tell me that my version of “painting by the garden at night” is a little too literal … nonetheless, my left auxiliary wing spar is now primed 😬...
New Sling TSi @ Oshkosh 2018
I had an exciting week at Airventure 2018! I decided to return after a 10-year hiatus – figured I was overdue, especially since I started building my own plane this year! It was a fantastic event, with lots of beautiful home builds and exciting air shows – I’ll have...