I got a long awaited phone call today. The folks at Mike’s Custom Upholstery in Wichita were finished with the V-77 seats. They really turned out nice! Debbie also gave her seal of approval. Mike is going to swing by in the next week or two and look at the sidewalls and also determine the best way to do the headliner.
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| The front seats have pockets on the back |
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| The welting is the same color as the seat pockets |
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| Need to add carpet and side panels to the look |
The elevator trim tab on the V-77 is made of phenolic. The hinge on ours had a severe bind so Wade replaced it. There were a few other miscellaneous repairs required. Other than adding paint, it is now ready to attach to the elevator. One more task complete.
I got a call this morning from Mike’s Custom Upholstery here in Wichita. They had a few questions that needed answered before they finish the V-77 seats….which should be later this week. So, Debbie and I dropped in over lunch. The seats still have a lot of chalk marks and chalk dust on them, which they will clean them up, but they look great so far.
I spent some time, paint stripper, and elbow grease on the right wing trailing edge this afternoon. I have a few more places to strip, but need to get more paint stripper and ScotchBrite pads first.
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| Trailing edge is the shiny part |
I finished the left elevator late this morning and put it back in safe storage under wraps until we are ready to start spraying paint. After lunch, I turned my attention to the right wing and prepping it for covering soon. I put epoxy varnish on the wood for the flap actuator inspection cover. I also stripped the paint from the root rib where the fabric will attach. My grandsons showed up around then, so work went on hold, but we did go for a Voyager flight. After they left this evening, I drilled out the rivets in the trailing edge cove fabric hold down strips. So, making progress. More paint to strip next.
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| Flap actuator inspection cover mount before |
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| After epoxy varnish |
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| Root rib before paint strip |
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| After |
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| Conrad at the controls.... always an exciting time |
I’ve been working off and on during the evenings this week and have the left elevator covering finished except for the drain grommets. I also have a few little things to correct Wade pointed out, so I’ll wrap that up tomorrow. Then I will get to work prepping the right wing for covering….maybe next weekend.
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| Finish tapes on |
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| Rib stitching complete |
I needed to redo part of the elevator covering where the trim tab attaches. I had not glued it correctly to the trailing edge cove which would inhibit movement of the tab. Our friends Steve and Kim were visiting for the weekend, so I gave a partial lesson on the PolyFiber method. Now on to the fun of rib stitching.
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| Glued down and tightened |
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| In the process of glueing |
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| Old fabric removed |
I drove to Moundridge, KS this morning to the local PolyFiber dealer. I got enough PolyBrush, PolySpray, and reducer to do the left and right V-77 wings. About 25 gallons of fluid. I also got some finish tapes and other items I was short on. So, maybe in the next few weeks we can start the covering process on the right wing. That will keep me busy for a while!
The new aileron cables for the left and right wings arrived today from McFarlane. Four cables in total. They look great. We’ll get those installed and then be ready to start covering the right wing.
Wade finished the installation of the shimmy dampener on the Voyager today. We loaded up the baggage area and back seat area with a bunch of weight and gave it a try, doing some high speed taxi tests. It seems to work well with no shimmy. Later in the afternoon I flew to El Dorado and got fuel….again no shimmy.
The kit/STC was pretty good, but we found a few issues. The biggest being the hole in the mounting plate and the bolt supplied were 7/16” but the hole in the tail wheel and leaf spring were 1/2”. We called the manufacturer and got permission to drill the hole out to 1/2”. The other issue was there is a device called a pawl inside the tailwheel that determines at what angle it breaks loose and swivels. The installation instructions called for a long pawl so the tailwheel will break loose earlier at less of an angle. Of course my tailwheel had a short pawl so we had to order one, which took about a week to get. Wade also noticed some of the safety wiring was not done correctly on the dampener, so he re-did that.
So, we should be good to go now shimmy free.
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| Top view |
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| The box looking item is the dampener |
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| Side view, good view of the linkage from the dampener to the steering arm |
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| Wade at work |
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| Long pawl on left |
It was a beautiful day with temperatures reaching 81 F. I took a few hours off in the afternoon and flew the Voyager to K64 south of Lawrence, KS, the location of McFarlane Aviation Products. I dropped off the old aileron control cables for the V-77 and they will make new ones for me in the next week or so. It was a nice day to fly, though a little bumpy on the way up. The return was later in the afternoon and smoother.
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| Still brown around here….we need some spring rains |
