Europa
	N55XS
	July, 2004

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Europa A-055

July 1st

Finished door handles and mounted to doors.  Installed handle covers on inside of doors.  Laid up two layers of BID to inside of upper fuselage, where the filler neck will mount, to prevent imprinting on the outside of the fuselage.  Finished sanding inside of baggage area, where main gear supports will be built.  Sanded flange area all around the lower fuselage...

     
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Time: 3 hours
Total: 320 hours

July 2nd

Went to the paint shop and painted all base colors on the tail planes, trim tabs, control stick and ailerons.  Bonded in the rear, vertical, fresh air duct...

           
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Time: 4 hours
Total: 324 hours

July 3rd

Closed up gaps in the vertical fresh air duct...

  
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Time: 1 hour
Total: 325 hours

July 4th

Sanded baggage bay and fitted the vertical reinforcements, then glassed them in place.  Finished sanding the flaps and the fresh air NACA vent...

  
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Time: 4 hours
Total: 329 hours

July 5th

Trimmed and fitted the baggage bay support ribs and laid up supports to fuselage sides.  Laid out and cut aluminum faces for the instrument panel....

     
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Time: 4 hours
Total: 333 hours

July 6th

Laid up lower flanges for mounting the baggage bay support ribs to fuselage floor.  Prepped wire tie mounts for bonding to the rear of the baggage bay..

Time: 1 hour
Total: 334 hours

July 7th

Bonded wire tie mounts to rear of baggage bay bulkhead.  Finished out support rib flanges.  Installed nose gear mount...

  
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Time: 3 hours
Total: 337 hours

July 8th

Tightened up all nose gear mount fasteners.  Assembled one of the main gear tire/tube/wheels.  Bonded inside seat ribs to lower fuselage.  Retrieved stabilators, trim tabs, ailerons and control columns from the paint shop.  Man, Keith did an awesome job!  Installed trim tabs to stabilators and fitted assembly to the torque rod.  Balanced assembly by drilling mass balance counter weight and treated with zinc chromate.  Attached and secured all fittings in the tail section...

        
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Time: 3 hours
Total: 340 hours

July 9th

Installed carpet in the footwells and reinstalled the rudder pedals and linkage.  Cut tufnol spacers for rudder cables and trimmed rear firewall for installation...

  
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Time: 3 hours
Total: 343 hours

July 10th

Laid out a pattern for the control column boots and turned the task of sewing them up, over to my wife.  While she was busy at the machine, I bonded in the mounts for the boots, as well as a couple of hose fastener bases and rudder cable guides.  This just about finishes the lower fuselage.  Ready to bond on the top...

    

     
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Time: 2 hours
Total: 345 hours

July 11th

Installed the boots Mary made, yesterday.  They look great!  Bonded in a few more wire tie bases for the fuel lines, etc.  Fabricated and laid in a lateral stop for the trim tab pushrod.  Measured and drilled the holes for the main gear, then laid in reinforcements to both baggage bay gear areas.

     

     
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Time: 6 hours
Total: 351 hours

July 12th

Put the upper fuselage on the lower and started lining things up.  Everything looks like it's ready for bonding...

Time: 1 hour
Total: 352 hours

July 13th

Sanded upper fuselage flanges and cut out tail radius.  Collected together the family and, with a group effort, bonded on the top fuselage.  Used the extra redux to bond in the fuel filler neck.  Balanced the starboard aileron...

  
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Time: 5 hours
Total: 357 hours

July 14th

Cleaned up joint on fuselage and sanded, in preparation for tape.  Laid up BID to rear bulkhead and NACA vent/air duct.  Tied in upper and lower air duct and laid up flanges for the upper end of the mass balance/pitch rod containment bulkhead.  Positioned and Clecoed in the vertical stabilizer ribs.  Balanced port aileron...

           
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Time: 3 hours
Total: 360 hours

July 15th

Laid up 4 plies of BID to rear of firewall.  Scuff sanded all areas of tail fin, ribs and sternpost, where ribs and sternpost are to be bonded in.  Braced both sides of fin trailing edges, to insure they were straight, then bonded ribs and sternpost in place, running strobe wiring as the ribs were inserted...

        
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Time: 6 hours
Total: 366 hours

July 16th

Broke down all the clamps and braces on the sternpost and fitted the rudder to check for clearance.  After several trimmings (including trimming the top of the rudder) and on and offs of the rudder, the opening is right.  Fitted stabilators to check clearance.  Just enough room.  Readjusted the control sticks to a little more rearward position.  Fitted instrument panel and installed upper retaining screws and plate nuts...

  
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Time: 6 hours
Total: 372 hours

July 17th

Sanded out top of rudder after clearing it to the fin.  More fitting to fin.  Almost go it...

Time: 1 hour
Total: 373 hours

July 18th

Tweaked the rudder a little more.  Laid up internal flanges on the lower part of the panel.

Time: 1 hour
Total: 374 hours

July 19th

Mounted strobe pack to bulkhead support leg.  Started fitting the baggage bay to the fuselage...

  
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Time: 1 hour
Total: 375 hours

July 20th

Drilled fin ribs and pulled wiring for tail nav light.  Laid BID to the fuel filler neck.  Setup fin cap for tail strobe/nav light.  Secured tail nav light wiring in fuselage tunnel.  Removed mass balance bulkhead to trim upper flanges and facilitate access to empennage.  Set up COM and transponder antennas.  Laid up transponder antenna mount brackets...

     
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Time: 5 hours
Total: 380 hours

July 21st

Sanded inspection covers and applied filler.  Mounted strobe/nav light to fin tip and bonded tip to fin.  Closed out fin tip and laid up rudder reinforcement...

        
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Time: 2 hours
Total: 382 hours

July 22nd

Cleaned up sternpost closeout and fitted rudder.  Drilled holes for hinges and bolted rudder in place.  Set up a template to check rudder movement and installed stops.  Made up rudder cables and set pedals.  Checked function...

     

     
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Time: 4 hours
Total: 386 hours

July 23rd

Finished sanding access covers.  Installed plate nuts on rudder hinges.  Zinc chromated rudder control horn.  Started sanding empennage...

     
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Time: 4 hours
Total: 390 hours

July 24th

Prepped inside of fuselage and bonded in COM and transponder antenna.  Sanded all of upper and part of lower fuselage and started filling empennage...

        
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Time: 3 hours
Total: 393 hours

July 25th

Sanded fill on fin area and upper fuselage.  Another fill will be required to finish up the fin.  Bonded in a few more wire tie mounts to accommodate the antenna coax.  Reinstalled the mass balance/pushrod containment bulkhead, drilled the top holes and installed the top bolts.  Bonded in top mass balance stop.  Laid in final reinforcement BID to outside of lower fuselage, for landing gear struts.  Bonded in lower fuel "gauge" hose...

        
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Time: 3 hours
Total: 396 hours

July 26th

Laid up one of the interior channels that will run under the door sill and house the wiring from the back of the plane.  Opened and elongated the main gear entry holes.  Set up fuselage and marked up floor, in preparation for installing the main gear.  After everything was set up, I trial fitted the legs to assure that they would align properly.  Once verified, I prepped the gear sockets and bonded them to the fuselage...

     

     
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Time: 6 hours
Total: 402 hours

July 27th

Cut a cardboard pattern for each of the #1 gear socket support ribs.  Then transferred it to the 3/4" plywood and fitted.  Bonded the rib into place, peel plying after done.

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Time: 2 hours
Total: 404 hours

July 28th

Laid up BID around main gear socket and rib #1, port and starboard.  Laid up second interior wiring channel.

Time: 2 hours
Total: 406 hours

July 29th

Bonded #2 ribs on the main gear sockets and fabricated #3&4 ribs...  Trimmed and fitted starboard wiring channel...

  
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Time: 2 hours
Total: 408 hours

July 30th

Scuffed area around #2 main gear ribs and laid up 3 plies of BID all around, then peel plied.  Removed center molding from central tunnel, laid out the hole for fitting the finger brake master cylinders and cut opening...

  
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Time: 2 hours
Total: 410 hours

July 31st

Removed peel ply and trimmed out #2 ribs on port and starboard main gear tubes.  Floxed in central firewall and rudder cable guides.  Laid up 4 ply BID to tail section seams.  Fabricated brake master cylinder support and laid up 2 ply BID to both sides...

        

        
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Time: 6 hours
Total: 416 hours

 

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