I have recently cut the stainless for the firewall (Ch 33) and am unsure of
how to install the nutplates to hold the lower panel since they seem to be
located in the footwell whose floor was glassed into place long ago per
chapter 23. My current plan is to substitute sheet metal screws and
lockwashers. Anyone else run into this?
There are other murky areas in the order of assembly. For example, when can
the rudder pedal assemblies be permanently fitted? I can't seem to get the
stbd side panel of the firewall into place unless the rear pedal shaft is slid
out of the way. Can this side panel be permanently fitted and left in place
while the engine is installed? What about painting, does one remove the pedal
assemblies to paint the footwells and fit carpeting? Or just bag them in
plastic? Can they be removed and installed with the engine installed?
What about the tunnel bulkhead? The manual implies that the flap drive rod is
removed and the bulkhead glassed in place followed by opening the slot. I
assume this means that one gets the drive rod fitted and adjusted, measures
its location and relative movement at the point where it will pass through the
bulkhead and then cuts an elongated hole with about 1/4" clearance prior to
glassing. Will this hole then be large enough to allow insertion of the flap
drive rod given all its kinks and bends or does the hole need to be larger to
allow assembly? Is the rod fitted by passing it from the rear forward or up
through the tunnel from the front with the gear removed? Can a plug be
attached to the rod such that it will stopper the opening around the flap rod
in the flaps-up position? Is this a good idea?
I've had the main gear on and off several times already, first to verify
clearance for the LA mod, then to allow moving the fuselage around, then to
allow access for installation of the gear switch. Now I need to attach the
gear again to move the fuselage around to allow bonding the wing pins in
place. Then remove the gear to ease glassing the tunnel bulkhead. Fortunately
I didn't install the bungee or brakes permanently yet. I remain reluctant to
install anything permanently for fear that it will require removal to allow
access to something else that I hadn't thought of.
Am I the victim of my own poor planning or is all this on-and-off of various
parts appropriate and necessary? Has anyone written an order of assembly to
minimize this aspect?
John A044 Newtown, CT
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