Static System Tested

The most important thing I had to do today was to complete the static hook-ups on the steam gauges and to test the static system. Having a low leak rate on the static system was the requirement to be able to close up the tail cone and to close up the tunnel.

The sealant on my suction cup system had cured over night and so I was ready to go and connect it.

With the help of a HF vacuum pump (which didn't work well for filling the brake system, because you need a push approach rather than a pull (vacuum) approach), the setup was pretty simple.

The pump itself loses the vacuum fairly quickly which is the reason for putting the shutoff valve in line. The first tests showed a very large leak and the suction cup would not stay on by itself. A bit of blue tape fixed that problem.

The leak was on the back of the altimeter. I had mistaken the nylon plug as a hook-up point for the static line when indeed it was covering a 1/8" NPT threaded hole. I had the right plug to put in and attach the line securely which fixed the leak problem perfectly. Unfortunately, I destroyed my fine German ASI from Winter in the process by forgetting to disconnect the static line from the ASI. Running the altitude up to 8000 ft also increases the airspeed to an astronomical value and the inner mechanics took a permanent hit. I will have to send it in for repair.

The static system had a leak rate of 2:37 minutes to get from 1000 feet AGL to 900. Overall it took 11:22 minutes to get down to 600 feet. The cheap Chinese altimeter has a quite significant leak rate all by itself (tried it by putting the vacuum on the altimeter alone) and it hardly changed when adding the rest of the system so I suppose a pure Dynon system should do much better than this but it is still 2.5 times better than required for the PAP.

While the vacuum tests were running I took care of finalizing the pitot protector.

And fixing some loose cable ties that we found during inspection.

Then I went for the Grande Finale and started the covering of the tunnel by putting the aft bulkhead in.

Isn't it looking nice! The floor panels followed.

At some point I felt like the number of screws was about to match the number of rivets I had put into the plane. But that was nothing compared to the realization that you actually have to pull at least the left wing to get the panel for the flap handle on!
I could not believe it but there was just no way to get the aft part of the cover over the flap handle and under the wing spars otherwise. I actually ended up pulling both wings as one screw did not want to start in the nutplate and I needed a clear view to figure out why.

Eventually I prevailed and the whole assembly came nicely together. However, thinking about taking all this out again in just a year is driving me somewhat insane right now, so I choose not to contemplate this further.
The rest was simple - just a lot of screws still.

I also had my POH reprinted in the latest revision and on card stock to make it a bit sturdier and longer lasting. Considering my luck I'd assume that Van's is going to come out with a new revision by the end of the month.

And concluded a very long work day in the hangar. I am making very good progress though and the next things are:
       - installing the big cover in the seat pan
       - installing the seat backs and cushions
       - installing the lower cowl
       - balancing the carbs
       - installing the top cowl
       - some more taxi tests and engine run up to maximum power

==> First Flight

How would that be for a Thanksgiving?