Europa
	N55XS
	August, 2004

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Europa A-055

August 1st

Sanded out tail section tapes.  Installed master cylinder mount tray and laid up 2 ply BID to top side.  Laid up 2 ply BID to rear of firewall...

  
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Time: 2 hours
Total: 418 hours

August 2nd

Finished bonding the firewall.  Laid up more BID to brake master cylinder support.  Fashioned break levers...

     
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Time: 2 hours
Total: 420 hours

August 3rd

Made up and installed cables for com and transponder antenna.  Wired and installed both grips.  Fitted and installed brake lever knobs.  Mounted 2nd main tire to wheel...

     
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Time: 3 hours
Total: 423 hours

August 4th

Finished lay up to brake master cylinder mount tray.  Continued all grip wiring into the central tunnel.  Trimmed lay up of firewall.  Did rough fabrication of central tunnel cover plate...

  
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Time: 3 hours
Total: 426 hours

August 5th

Installed brake master cylinder and attached reservoir line and fitting.  Drilled tunnel cover plate and installed plate nuts in console.  Penetrated firewall with fuel lines and brake line.  Drilled console and panel to bring wiring up from console.  Replaced one of the fittings on the fuel selector for a better angle and reinstalled the valve.  Strapped up the fuel sight gauge, using P clips.  Fabricated, painted and installed graphics on fuel selector valve placard.  Fabricated base for fuel selector placard...

     
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Time: 4 hours
Total: 430 hours

August 6th

Installed wiring quick disconnects in PTT and trim harness.  Applied filler around console cover opening and tail section.  Cut cardboard templates for panel and started laying out various switches...

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Time: 2 hours
Total: 432 hours

August 7th

Bonded fuel selector placard mount to console.  Laid up 4 ply tapes to port and starboard fuselage sides and peel plied.  Installed and sealed firewall hi-temp material with hi-temp silicon sealer.  Sealed rudder peddle, cross rods, through firewall.  Filled empennage.  Riveted in last of rudder plate nuts...

     

     
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Time: 5 hours
Total: 437 hours

August 8th

Sanded out tail section.  Applied filler to rest of fuselage seam tape area.  Laid up 2 ply BID to main gear outer skin area and peel plied...

  
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Time: 2 hours
Total: 439 hours

August 9th

Sanded filler, on fuselage and refilled empennage...

Time: 2 hours
Total: 441 hours

August 10th

Sanded out tail section, again.  Made up and wired overhead power buss and installed it in overhead.  Anchored overhead switches to keep them from rotating...

        
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Time: 3 hours
Total: 444 hours

August 11th

Mounted nose tire to rim.  Worked on overhead wiring...

Time: 1 hour
Total: 445 hours

August 12th

Bonded in #3 & 4 main gear support ribs.  Finished sanding the sternpost...

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Time: 1 hour
Total: 446 hours

August 13th

Removed peel ply from main gear ribs and cleaned up bonded area.  Cut all BID for laying up around ribs...

Time: 1 hour
Total: 447 hours

August 14th

Started laying up BID on the main strut tube ribs.  Finished the port side and peel plied, then ran out of hardener.

Time: 1 hour
Total: 448 hours

August 15th

Cleaned up and prepped port main gear ribs for final glass.  Fitted aileron to starboard wing and adjusted push rods.  Fitted, trimmed and attached flap to starboard wing.  Installed lift/drag pins to starboard wing and drilled flap for flap pin...

           
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Time: 5 hours
Total: 453 hours

August 16th

Finished drilling, then tapped hole for flap drive pin.  Installed pin.  Wired in a couple of fuse holders in upper console.  Made shims for starboard wing close out and fitted the closeout to the wing and marked it for sanding.  Sanded all ribs, flanges and braces on the wing...

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Time: 3 hours
Total: 456 hours

August 17th

Finished sanding starboard wing closeout and the flanges on the port closeout.  Double checked everything in the starboard wing and bonded the closeout to it.

  
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Time: 4 hours
Total: 460 hours

August 18th

Removed weights from starboard wing and rough sanded the closeout seam.  Cleaned up the flap and aileron areas and fitted.  Checked and then took more material off the edges to assure proper clearance.  Finally got it right and reattached flap and aileron.  Opened aileron bellcrank access to check all fittings and found a washer missing from the short pushrod.  Installed the washer and checked it over.  All is well.  Applied upper and lower wing root reinforcement plies of UNI.  That's it for the starboard wing, until time to do filling and fitting of the clear wingtip.

        
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Time: 5 hours
Total: 465 hours

August 19th

Removed peel ply from starboard wing and set wing in rack.  Started work on port wing.  Relocated closeout reinforcement to proper position and glassed it in place.  Finished sanding closeout.  Installed remaining lift/drag pins and flap drive pin.  Cut loose the aileron mass balance boxes to accommodate truing the wing.  Began sanding the wing flanges and ribs.  Finished glass work on port main gear ribs...

Time: 4 hours
Total: 469 hours

August 20th

Trimmed port wing closeout to proper length.  Aligned wing trailing edge and glass in aileron mass balance boxes.  Glassed remaining main gear support ribs on starboard side and peel plied.  Cleaned up port side ribs.  Pulled shielded wiring for headsets, into upper console.  Started rigging port flap.

     
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Time: 5 hours
Total: 474 hours

August 21st

Finished rigging port flap and installed aileron.  Adjusted all pushrods and bellcranks for proper throw.  Double checked everything inside the wing and bonded top skin.  Cleaned up glass work on starboard main gear ribs and laid up final glass to top of ribs.  Did more fill work on tail section.  Started fitting doors...

        
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Time: 5 hours
Total: 479 hours

August 22nd

Cleaned up port wing, removed aileron and flap and trimmed trailing edge for proper clearance.  Laid up 3 ply UNI, reinforcement, to wing root, top and bottom.   Remounted aileron and set proper throw.  Reinstalled flap.  Port wing is ready to fit to fuselage.  Finished sanding the tail section.  Fitted hinges and installed both doors.  Performed Mod 66 - Lift piston repositioned.  Cleaned up final layup on the starboard main gear ribs...

     

     
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Time: 8 hours
Total: 487 hours

August 24th

Started setting up for mounting the wings.  Fuselage is level, wings have been set and then pulled back, reinforcement to the fuse is in place and feel plied and mounting brackets are located and ready for installation...

        
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Time: 5 hours
Total: 492 hours

August 25th

Worked with wings, setting them up.  Still making fine adjustments.  This is going to take a while...

Time: 2 hours
Total: 494 hours

August 26th

Did some more grinding, sanding and fitting on the wings and fuselage.  Finally got everything lined up perfectly.  Bonded in a tufnol guide for the starboard wing.  Fabricated and bonded the rear pin spacers, port and starboard...

     
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Time: 4 hours
Total: 498 hours

August 27th

Mounted wings to check for clearances.  Prepped rear spacers and laid up 4 ply BID over them, then peel plied.  Once the epoxy was hard, I removed the peel ply and remounted the wings to check for fit.  Made a couple of minor adjustments, then bonded the wing sockets in place.  Made several checks to be sure that everything was as it should be and left it to cure, undisturbed...

        
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Time: 4 hours
Total: 502 hours

August 28th

Checked all wing angles, carefully, before disassembling.  Nothing moved.  What a relief!  Drilled forward pin sockets and installed bolts.  Drilled rear sockets and started fabricating the crosstie bar.  Trimmed up the main gear ribs to clear the inner crosstie mount.  Fabricated and bonded in, the gussets, then laid up 4 ply BID over them and peel plied both. Cut out top of tunnel to clear the crosstie and prepped it for layup.  Painted metal, crosstie parts with zinc chromate.  Fabricated and floxed in vertical stiffners for front pin sockets.  Fabricated and bonded in tufnol guide for port wing.

        

     
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Time: 6 hours
Total: 508 hours

August 29th

Fabricated and fitted crosstie and installed, filling the ends with epoxy/flox for support.  Closed tunnel, where crosstie passes through.  Laid up 3 ply BID over the vertical stiffeners, at the front lift pin sockets.  Fabricated and bonded in starboard spar pin safety, then laid 2 ply BID over it.  Laid up 4 ply BID behind the door frames, where the shoot bolt sockets will pass through...

           
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Time: 5 hours
Total: 513 hours

August 30th

Cleaned up the glass layup for the starboard spar pin safety latch and fabricated the strap, then installed same.  Did a little touchup work on the crosstie and sprayed with zinc chromate.  Drilled and installed retaining screws in fuel selector valve placard plate.  Laid up wing spar strap...

  
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Time: 2 hours
Total: 515 hours

August 31st

Prepped wing root and fairings and bonded fairings to wing...

  
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Time: 2 hours
Total: 517 hours

 

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