Instrument Panel v1

I’ve been working on a 3D model of my instrument panel. Although I’m still several months away from needing to buy avionics, there are some good rebates right now from Garmin, so I think I’m going to start buying some components, even if it means it will sit on...

Nose Gear Assembly

I assembled the fork and wheel for the nose gear. The parts went together easily. I had to clean up the threads on the top of the gear leg, I was not able to get an AN4 bolt to thread in smoothly, and didn’t want to chew out the...

Rami AV-10 Comm Antenna

Per a comment on my previous post from Peter, here’s a few pictures showing what the antenna will look like on top of the rear fuselage....

Misc Rear Fuselage Tasks

While I wait for replacement rivets for the side skins, I worked on a few miscellaneous tasks. Finished assembly of one of the front seats Installed rivets into rear fuselage skins – I purposely left it cleco’d in a ready-to-close state in case I thought of any last-minute changes...

Side Skin Rivets

EDIT 8/5/2020: the AK51H rivets identified below won’t work. See my later post regarding countersunk rivets. In my part 2 post regarding the fuselage side skin install, I noted that the TSi instructs you to use 4.0mm rivets to attach the skin in the dimpled locations, rather than 3.2mm...

Color Samples for Instrument Panel

I found an online vendor, Prismatic Powders, that offers powder coat paint in a large variety of colors. My goal is to find a color that will complement the upholstery color, so in this case, something of a dark gray tone. This color will be applied to the throttle...

Side Skin Install Part 3

After working on a lot of small prep tasks the last week or so, I’ve been anxiously looking forward to riveting the side skin to the fuselage. Today, my patience was rewarded and I was finally able to pull some rivets! The last of the small tasks I had...

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...

SB 0017 Modification

Sling Aircraft issued Service Bulletin 0017 earlier this month, indicating that the elevator torque tube may have been incorrectly assembled at the factory. The issue is that the elevator control stop plates may have been incorrectly attached with aluminum rivets, whereas stainless steel rivets are required for the shear...