Santa Claus came early

Look at what I found in my workshop today:

This is one big box, let's see what's inside:

Another box! What is it, what is it?

It's an engine, it's a Rotax, I am the father of a Rotax 912 ULS!
I  could not have dreamed of a better Christmas "gift"!

My take on the Landing Gear Fix

This is what I shared on the VAF Forum to cool down the controversy about this critical Service Bulletin
Happy people never complain but in the context of this discussion I find it worthy to tell how lucky I feel:

I started almost 2 1/2 years ago, at the time the avionics was D100, Garmin GPS etc... As a green builder it took me enough time to get to the avionics kit to fall into the "Skyview hole", a six month delay and uncomfortable wiring retrofit but very satisfying glass panel result. Because of this delay I find myself with a plane that still has the fuel tank on a shelf and the brake lines filled with air (easy to purge!).
I forgot to mention that after pondering building or buying the fuel tank I opted to build based on the wise advice of a fellow builder (i.e., if you build it you know the screw-ups that are inside, if you buy it you don't)... and bingo, the fuel tank mod came just before I started building it. Had I bought it the modification would have been almost as aggravating as building the whole thing.
... And another one: because the news of the avionics update came so early (albeit at the cost of VANs credibility for a release date), I was aware that new wing connectors would replace the flimsy ones I was supposed to build which also saved me some work to be undone later.

Now I am waiting for the engine kit... and I cannot help wondering what kind of trouble is looming with Rotax?

Bad news and good news

This morning I find on VAF Forum that VANS is issuing a Service Bulletin to take care of a Landing Gear problem that led to skin wrinkles following loosening of the landing gear fasteners. This is the VAF Forum posting:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=93410
I will receive the retrofit kit associated with this service bulletin in the future (as the SB is not official yet no official information is available from VANs concerning the schedule of shipping.
The bad news is that I will postpone my fuselage painting until this retrofit is done. The good news is that it did not come after painting and engine installation which would have resulted in a more difficult work. As the fuselage has to supported on stands while the landing gear is removed, it is preferable not to carry the weight of the engine during this phase. If my engine which is scheduled to arrive in one or two weeks arrives before the retrofit kit I will have to postpone engine installation too.
Overall, I consider myself lucky compared to the builders who are flying now: they will have to take the fuel tank out, purge the brake lines, get rid of the paint around the rivets that need to be drilled out, etc... all things I don't have to do.

I received the filter I had ordered from VANS following the mishap related earlier while installing the Auto Pilot roll servo. I decided to use one tie wraps each to secure filter and plug and I am happy with the result, easier to do and safer on the capacitor as the associated tie wrap needs less tension than the one used to secure the plug.
 Here is how it looks now:

I also secured the plug with a smaller tie wrap also used to route some wires.

A bad day in the workshop

I was working on the installation of the Autopilot Pitch Servo, a difficult to reach area with lots of challenges to pass your hands as well as the parts. I was practically finished, just tying the Molex plugs and Noice filter to the housing of the servo when I heard a click... The connection of the wires to the noice filter had broken under stress.
This is the noise filter resting on the instruction's drawing after a post mortem:

The issue is that the tie wrap pinpointed on the drawing is insufficient to secure firmly both filter and Molex plugs.
More details on the damaged filter:

Rotax Engine Ordered!

Ouch!!!
Do I need to say more?
The good news: It's the last sub-kit order for this RV-12 (note "this").
As a preview, here is a picture of the Rotax 912 ULS engine:

The 100 hp four-stroke Rotax 912 ULS has become the most widely used engine in the world in Light Sport class aircraft. And for good reason — it’s proven itself in all kinds of conditions, all over the world. It’s designed to operate on unleaded auto fuel. Altitude compensating carburetors automatically adjust mixture and a gearbox reduction drive keeps the prop in the most efficient rpm range.

Little Blog = Beaucoup built!

I cannot believe I have not blogged since September. Here is what took place since my last post in September:

I worked on my rudder and vertical stabiliser fairings:

Bad surprise, the fairing on the top of the VS did not align with the fairing of the rudder:

I sent the faulty fairing back to VANs who shipped me a new one that was correct, it just took one month and I just finished today the VS with the new fairing.
This did not prevent me to march on. Next activity was to finish the installation of the ADAHRS which had been pending waiting for Anne to come and do it because my flexibility did not allow me to crawl into the tailcone where the ADAHRS is located.
Here is Anne at work for President Day:

While Anne was here we also finish the installation of the Auto Pilot roll servo which was an opportunity to install the flapperon control tubes which were waiting since they had been drilled.
I got a good news early October, a fellow EAA builder Dennis Robert was willing to sublet his hangar at Louisburg airport for at least one year, waiting for his next plane to be built. Louisburg also called "Triangle North Executive Airport" is the best option I had for testing my plane as it is just 30 minutes from home, non towered and has low traffic. Soon my wings were on the way:

Once my wings were gone I had enough room in my workshop to install the Stabilator (which combines in the RV-12 horizontal stabiliser and elevator). The stabilator is 8 feet wide and does not fit throught the door of my workshop!
The installation was not easy to do alone but I managed, with the help of two polystyrene boxes!

Once the stabilator in place I was able to proceed with the tailcone fairing installation, another cumbersome task requiring lots of fiberglass grinding, fitting, nutplates riveting both on the fairing and on the tailcone.

In the last week we started painting in the paint booth of  fellow EAA1114, Terry Gardner. I benefitted of the research made by another EAA1114 fellow, Noel Fallwell, about which paint system to chose and what process to follow. We are both using PPG's DCC Concept system which is Acrylic Urethane one stage. PPG is a World leader in automotive finishes.
Here is a video showing Terry shooting a flapperon with primer:
http://youtu.be/uyiWPkJ66xY
More on the painstaking (but rewarding) job of painting an airplane in the coming weeks...

With the painting in process, I will again have little time to blog in November, but I will try to keep good records as I am entering the final stage of the building. Still gotta order my engine...