Europa-List Digest Archive

Mon 09/29/08


Total Messages Posted: 8



Today's Message Index:
----------------------
 
     1. 07:53 AM - Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening (Rob Housman)
     2. 08:48 AM - Re: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening (Christoph Both)
     3. 09:32 AM - =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re=3A_Europa-List=3A_Mod_72_-_Undercarriage_?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?mounting_frame_strengthening? (Carl Pattinson)
     4. 09:44 AM - Re: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening (Rob Housman)
     5. 10:14 AM - =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re=3A_Europa-List=3A_Re=3A_Europa-List=3A_?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Mod_72_-_Undercarriage_mounting_frame_?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?strengthening? (Carl Pattinson)
     6. 10:47 AM - Re: Re: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening (Rob Housman)
     7. 01:03 PM - Re: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening (Christoph Both)
     8. 06:44 PM - Re: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening (Martin Tuck)
 
 
 


Message 1


  • INDEX
  • Back to Main INDEX
  • NEXT
  • Skip to NEXT Message
  • LIST
  • Reply to LIST Regarding this Message
  • SENDER
  • Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message
    Time: 07:53:36 AM PST US
    From: "Rob Housman" <rob@hyperion-ef.com>
    Subject: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening
    Having been working mostly on those factory mandated or recommended modifications of late, I now realize that it is much easier to build an airplane than it is to repair one. Mod 70 (Mass balance arm) was merely tedious, working deep in the tailcone, one handed, through small access holes, but Mod 73 (Tailplane retention) and Mod 59 (Shimmy damper) did not go well when following the written procedures, and now with Mod 72 there is more of that wonderful English understatement: "Insert the tubes - they will probably need a light tap to fit them" it says in the procedure. English hammers must be considerably larger and heavier than American hammers (or 16.5 mm reamers must be a bit larger) because "a light tap" does nothing. After pounding away for entirely too long, and peening the ends of the tubes where the hammer repeatedly struck, I finally fabricated a steel spud to put between the offending pin and the hammer. This made it easier to keep pounding with less damage to the pins, or to the adjacent smaller diameter tubes to which the engine mounts attach if I were to miss the target. The steel spud is starting to look like a mushroom from all of those "light taps." I should have retained my initial skepticism regarding the fit of painted tubes, which after painting with etch primer are larger than 16.5mm, but no, I foolishly believed that the factory had actually tried this procedure. Well folks, the paint makes the pin almost impossible to fit. Fearing complaints from my neighbors about so much hammering on a peaceful Sunday afternoon I finally quit pounding with the intention of resuming mid-day today when most of my neighbors will be away at work. As of yesterday afternoon one pin was snug against the bolt attaching the frame to the fuselage and the other was still barely halfway home. Now, if I could find one of those English hammers at Home Depot.. Best regards, Rob Housman Irvine, CA Europa XS Tri-Gear A070 Airframe complete


    Message 2


  • INDEX
  • Back to Main INDEX
  • PREVIOUS
  • Skip to PREVIOUS Message
  • NEXT
  • Skip to NEXT Message
  • LIST
  • Reply to LIST Regarding this Message
  • SENDER
  • Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message
    Time: 08:48:52 AM PST US
    Subject: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening
    From: "Christoph Both" <christoph.both@acadiau.ca>
    Rob, I can really feel with you, having just completed MOD 73. The manual falls short to say that you ought NOT to insert the tail planes so deep into the torque tube that the two retaining pins would contact or even insert into the bushings fitted to the tailplane root. I was lucky on the first one which refused to insert because the layup is performed on the opposite side. It was EASY to crack the torque tube to retaining layup by TWISTING the tailplane against the torque tube. Came right off no problem. I was not worried either as the inner tube was greased. What compelled me with my second tailplane to push it that far in to allow the pins to insert I don't know as I should have used my head, not the description in the MOD manual. Next morning wanting to separate the tailplane from the torque tube turned out to take several hours. Yes, I admit I showed up with a hammer, pry bars etc, but after initially starting to damage a bit of the root layup by prying I decided not to proceed. Instead I disassembled the entire torque tube which had been there for years and took all out. Took me 2 hours. From there it was easy as the pin retaining welded part could be removed and the tailplane cracked loose by a twist. In hind sight I am glad I did not use the hammer. This can be extremely damaging to internal parts in the tailplane like hair cracks. My recommendation is to just insert the torque tube sufficiently into the inner tube at time of layup so that pins stay out of the way. This should be added to the current MOD 73 instructions. Best, Christoph Both @223 Wolfville, Nova Scotia Canada From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Rob Housman Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 11:52 AM Subject: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening Having been working mostly on those factory mandated or recommended modifications of late, I now realize that it is much easier to build an airplane than it is to repair one. Mod 70 (Mass balance arm) was merely tedious, working deep in the tailcone, one handed, through small access holes, but Mod 73 (Tailplane retention) and Mod 59 (Shimmy damper) did not go well when following the written procedures, and now with Mod 72 there is more of that wonderful English understatement: "Insert the tubes - they will probably need a light tap to fit them" it says in the procedure. English hammers must be considerably larger and heavier than American hammers (or 16.5 mm reamers must be a bit larger) because "a light tap" does nothing. After pounding away for entirely too long, and peening the ends of the tubes where the hammer repeatedly struck, I finally fabricated a steel spud to put between the offending pin and the hammer. This made it easier to keep pounding with less damage to the pins, or to the adjacent smaller diameter tubes to which the engine mounts attach if I were to miss the target. The steel spud is starting to look like a mushroom from all of those "light taps." I should have retained my initial skepticism regarding the fit of painted tubes, which after painting with etch primer are larger than 16.5mm, but no, I foolishly believed that the factory had actually tried this procedure. Well folks, the paint makes the pin almost impossible to fit. Fearing complaints from my neighbors about so much hammering on a peaceful Sunday afternoon I finally quit pounding with the intention of resuming mid-day today when most of my neighbors will be away at work. As of yesterday afternoon one pin was snug against the bolt attaching the frame to the fuselage and the other was still barely halfway home. Now, if I could find one of those English hammers at Home Depot.... Best regards, Rob Housman Irvine, CA Europa XS Tri-Gear A070 Airframe complete


    Message 3


  • INDEX
  • Back to Main INDEX
  • PREVIOUS
  • Skip to PREVIOUS Message
  • NEXT
  • Skip to NEXT Message
  • LIST
  • Reply to LIST Regarding this Message
  • SENDER
  • Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message
    Time: 09:32:29 AM PST US
    From: "Carl Pattinson" <carl@flyers.freeserve.co.uk>
    Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re=3A_Europa-List=3A_Mod_72_-_Undercarriage_?=
    =?ISO-8859-1?Q?mounting_frame_strengthening? X-mailer: iAVMailScanner 1.5.5.5 Rob, Unfortunately the factory failed to mention that the reamer supplied (as with most reamers) is tapered at the end, whereas the supplied inserts are not. The tapered portion of the reamer is about 1 inch long, the rest being the correct dimension. This means that no matter how big a hammer you use, the F****ing things will never go all the way in. The easy solution which will only work if you do it before jamming the insert in the tube is to file down the end of the taper so that it fits all the way - you will need a lathe or drill to do this. I didnt bother pre priming the inserts or tube, simply coated everything with red lead primer before assembly and hammered the inserts into place. Once the primer sets there is no way anything will ever come apart. If you have a situation where the inserts are jammed halfway into the tube, your only option is to saw off the protruding end (of the insert), as I believe many builders have done. The inserts are of such a length that they go all the way up to the bolts which attach the frame to the fuselage. As long as there is no more than about an inch protruding from the end the inserts will be doing their job and sawing off the excess should not weaken the finished job. As a disclaimer I guess I should say clear this with your inspector or the Europa folks first (before reaching for the hacksaw) Good luck, Carl Pattinson PS: Hopefully all that pounding hasnt damaged the fuselage surrounding the frame or the alloy plates bonded into the structure. Ideally there should be somebody holding a large lump of steel (EG: a big hammer - American or otherwise !!!) at the other end of the tube (within the frame) that you are hammering on. This should speed up the insertion process and minimise any damage to the surrounding structures. You may need a midget with long arms to hold the hammer. ----- Original Message ----- From: Rob Housman To: europa-list@matronics.com Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 3:51 PM Subject: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening Having been working mostly on those factory mandated or recommended modifications of late, I now realize that it is much easier to build an airplane than it is to repair one. Mod 70 (Mass balance arm) was merely tedious, working deep in the tailcone, one handed, through small access holes, but Mod 73 (Tailplane retention) and Mod 59 (Shimmy damper) did not go well when following the written procedures, and now with Mod 72 there is more of that wonderful English understatement: "Insert the tubes - they will probably need a light tap to fit them" it says in the procedure. English hammers must be considerably larger and heavier than American hammers (or 16.5 mm reamers must be a bit larger) because "a light tap" does nothing. After pounding away for entirely too long, and peening the ends of the tubes where the hammer repeatedly struck, I finally fabricated a steel spud to put between the offending pin and the hammer. This made it easier to keep pounding with less damage to the pins, or to the adjacent smaller diameter tubes to which the engine mounts attach if I were to miss the target. The steel spud is starting to look like a mushroom from all of those "light taps." I should have retained my initial skepticism regarding the fit of painted tubes, which after painting with etch primer are larger than 16.5mm, but no, I foolishly believed that the factory had actually tried this procedure. Well folks, the paint makes the pin almost impossible to fit. Fearing complaints from my neighbors about so much hammering on a peaceful Sunday afternoon I finally quit pounding with the intention of resuming mid-day today when most of my neighbors will be away at work. As of yesterday afternoon one pin was snug against the bolt attaching the frame to the fuselage and the other was still barely halfway home. Now, if I could find one of those English hammers at Home Depot.. Best regards, Rob Housman Irvine, CA Europa XS Tri-Gear A070 Airframe complete ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No viruses found in this incoming message Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.5.5 http://www.iolo.com _______________________________________ No viruses found in this outgoing message Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.5.5 http://www.iolo.com


    Message 4


  • INDEX
  • Back to Main INDEX
  • PREVIOUS
  • Skip to PREVIOUS Message
  • NEXT
  • Skip to NEXT Message
  • LIST
  • Reply to LIST Regarding this Message
  • SENDER
  • Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message
    Time: 09:44:46 AM PST US
    From: "Rob Housman" <rob@hyperion-ef.com>
    Subject: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening
    .and I can assure you, Christoph, that the hammer and pry bars would not have worked. When brute force failed I took the more drastic approach - I cut the added glass with a Dremel driven abrasive, sort of like a dentist drilling a tooth, and still needed a bit of heat from a propane torch to release the bond. The surprise was how well the epoxy bonded to greased metal and that gave me a lot more confidence in my structural bonds elsewhere, where I did a thorough job of cleaning and roughing the surfaces to be bonded. Best regards, Rob Housman Irvine, CA Europa XS Tri-Gear A070 Airframe complete From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Christoph Both Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 8:47 AM Subject: RE: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening Rob, I can really feel with you, having just completed MOD 73. The manual falls short to say that you ought NOT to insert the tail planes so deep into the torque tube that the two retaining pins would contact or even insert into the bushings fitted to the tailplane root. I was lucky on the first one which refused to insert because the layup is performed on the opposite side. It was EASY to crack the torque tube to retaining layup by TWISTING the tailplane against the torque tube. Came right off no problem. I was not worried either as the inner tube was greased. What compelled me with my second tailplane to push it that far in to allow the pins to insert I don't know as I should have used my head, not the description in the MOD manual. Next morning wanting to separate the tailplane from the torque tube turned out to take several hours. Yes, I admit I showed up with a hammer, pry bars etc, but after initially starting to damage a bit of the root layup by prying I decided not to proceed. Instead I disassembled the entire torque tube which had been there for years and took all out. Took me 2 hours. From there it was easy as the pin retaining welded part could be removed and the tailplane cracked loose by a twist. In hind sight I am glad I did not use the hammer. This can be extremely damaging to internal parts in the tailplane like hair cracks. My recommendation is to just insert the torque tube sufficiently into the inner tube at time of layup so that pins stay out of the way. This should be added to the current MOD 73 instructions. Best, Christoph Both @223 Wolfville, Nova Scotia Canada From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Rob Housman Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 11:52 AM Subject: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening Having been working mostly on those factory mandated or recommended modifications of late, I now realize that it is much easier to build an airplane than it is to repair one. Mod 70 (Mass balance arm) was merely tedious, working deep in the tailcone, one handed, through small access holes, but Mod 73 (Tailplane retention) and Mod 59 (Shimmy damper) did not go well when following the written procedures, and now with Mod 72 there is more of that wonderful English understatement: "Insert the tubes - they will probably need a light tap to fit them" it says in the procedure. English hammers must be considerably larger and heavier than American hammers (or 16.5 mm reamers must be a bit larger) because "a light tap" does nothing. After pounding away for entirely too long, and peening the ends of the tubes where the hammer repeatedly struck, I finally fabricated a steel spud to put between the offending pin and the hammer. This made it easier to keep pounding with less damage to the pins, or to the adjacent smaller diameter tubes to which the engine mounts attach if I were to miss the target. The steel spud is starting to look like a mushroom from all of those "light taps." I should have retained my initial skepticism regarding the fit of painted tubes, which after painting with etch primer are larger than 16.5mm, but no, I foolishly believed that the factory had actually tried this procedure. Well folks, the paint makes the pin almost impossible to fit. Fearing complaints from my neighbors about so much hammering on a peaceful Sunday afternoon I finally quit pounding with the intention of resuming mid-day today when most of my neighbors will be away at work. As of yesterday afternoon one pin was snug against the bolt attaching the frame to the fuselage and the other was still barely halfway home. Now, if I could find one of those English hammers at Home Depot.. Best regards, Rob Housman Irvine, CA Europa XS Tri-Gear A070 Airframe complete


    Message 5


  • INDEX
  • Back to Main INDEX
  • PREVIOUS
  • Skip to PREVIOUS Message
  • NEXT
  • Skip to NEXT Message
  • LIST
  • Reply to LIST Regarding this Message
  • SENDER
  • Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message
    Time: 10:14:23 AM PST US
    From: "Carl Pattinson" <carl@flyers.freeserve.co.uk>
    Subject: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Re=3A_Europa-List=3A_Re=3A_Europa-List=3A_?=
    =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Mod_72_-_Undercarriage_mounting_frame_?= =?ISO-8859-1?Q?strengthening? X-mailer: iAVMailScanner 1.5.5.5 The easy solution which will only work if you do it before jamming the insert in the tube is to file down the end of the taper so that it fits all the way - you will need a lathe or drill to do this. SORRY, I just re read this. I meant to say taper the end of the steel insert using a file or similar so that it matches that of the reamer. What I actually said doesnt make a lot of sense - probably still doesnt. ----- Original Message ----- From: Carl Pattinson To: europa-list@matronics.com Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 5:29 PM Subject: Europa-List: Re: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening Rob, Unfortunately the factory failed to mention that the reamer supplied (as with most reamers) is tapered at the end, whereas the supplied inserts are not. The tapered portion of the reamer is about 1 inch long, the rest being the correct dimension. This means that no matter how big a hammer you use, the F****ing things will never go all the way in. The easy solution which will only work if you do it before jamming the insert in the tube is to file down the end of the taper so that it fits all the way - you will need a lathe or drill to do this. I didnt bother pre priming the inserts or tube, simply coated everything with red lead primer before assembly and hammered the inserts into place. Once the primer sets there is no way anything will ever come apart. If you have a situation where the inserts are jammed halfway into the tube, your only option is to saw off the protruding end (of the insert), as I believe many builders have done. The inserts are of such a length that they go all the way up to the bolts which attach the frame to the fuselage. As long as there is no more than about an inch protruding from the end the inserts will be doing their job and sawing off the excess should not weaken the finished job. As a disclaimer I guess I should say clear this with your inspector or the Europa folks first (before reaching for the hacksaw) Good luck, Carl Pattinson PS: Hopefully all that pounding hasnt damaged the fuselage surrounding the frame or the alloy plates bonded into the structure. Ideally there should be somebody holding a large lump of steel (EG: a big hammer - American or otherwise !!!) at the other end of the tube (within the frame) that you are hammering on. This should speed up the insertion process and minimise any damage to the surrounding structures. You may need a midget with long arms to hold the hammer. ----- Original Message ----- From: Rob Housman To: europa-list@matronics.com Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 3:51 PM Subject: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening Having been working mostly on those factory mandated or recommended modifications of late, I now realize that it is much easier to build an airplane than it is to repair one. Mod 70 (Mass balance arm) was merely tedious, working deep in the tailcone, one handed, through small access holes, but Mod 73 (Tailplane retention) and Mod 59 (Shimmy damper) did not go well when following the written procedures, and now with Mod 72 there is more of that wonderful English understatement: "Insert the tubes - they will probably need a light tap to fit them" it says in the procedure. English hammers must be considerably larger and heavier than American hammers (or 16.5 mm reamers must be a bit larger) because "a light tap" does nothing. After pounding away for entirely too long, and peening the ends of the tubes where the hammer repeatedly struck, I finally fabricated a steel spud to put between the offending pin and the hammer. This made it easier to keep pounding with less damage to the pins, or to the adjacent smaller diameter tubes to which the engine mounts attach if I were to miss the target. The steel spud is starting to look like a mushroom from all of those "light taps." I should have retained my initial skepticism regarding the fit of painted tubes, which after painting with etch primer are larger than 16.5mm, but no, I foolishly believed that the factory had actually tried this procedure. Well folks, the paint makes the pin almost impossible to fit. Fearing complaints from my neighbors about so much hammering on a peaceful Sunday afternoon I finally quit pounding with the intention of resuming mid-day today when most of my neighbors will be away at work. As of yesterday afternoon one pin was snug against the bolt attaching the frame to the fuselage and the other was still barely halfway home. Now, if I could find one of those English hammers at Home Depot.. Best regards, Rob Housman Irvine, CA Europa XS Tri-Gear A070 Airframe complete ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- No viruses found in this incoming message Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.5.5 http://www.iolo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No viruses found in this outgoing message Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.5.5 http://www.iolo.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No viruses found in this incoming message Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.5.5 http://www.iolo.com _______________________________________ No viruses found in this outgoing message Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.5.5 http://www.iolo.com


    Message 6


  • INDEX
  • Back to Main INDEX
  • PREVIOUS
  • Skip to PREVIOUS Message
  • NEXT
  • Skip to NEXT Message
  • LIST
  • Reply to LIST Regarding this Message
  • SENDER
  • Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message
    Time: 10:47:03 AM PST US
    From: "Rob Housman" <rob@hyperion-ef.com>
    Subject: Re: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame
    strengthening That midget with long arms would have been useful for work in the tailcone. Having had a bit of experience with cutting tools I know that a hand reamer has a 1 degree entrance taper to facilitate getting the cut started (whereas a chucking reamer has a 45 degree chamfer, but that is suitable only on a machine driven reamer, not one turned by hand). I had my reamer fabricated by a local toolmaker with about =BD inch of taper, enough to allow the thing to get started but not so much as to make it impossible to fit the pin all the way in. It turns out that the forward bolt through the landing gear frame is not far enough aft to allow the first pin I have inserted to go all the way in, but it does not project enough to interfere with the engine mount. Also, the Europa supplied pins do have a 45 degree chamfer on one end, not that such a small chamfer helps much in overcoming the taper on the reamer. Your suggestion to avoid priming per the procedure is, in retrospect, a very good one. Inserting the pins with wet primer is probably the best approach since the primer will provide some lubricity while wet, and corrosion prevention when cured. Lacking a friendly neighborhood midget, I hammered under the assumption that engine vibration would contribute more fatigue cycles, although at lower amplitude, than hammering. I did comprehend your suggestion about modifying the pins, and I do have a full machine shop at my disposal, but decided that since I expected (fool that I am) a fit with clearance, modifying the pins was not necessary. Best regards, Rob Housman Irvine, CA Europa XS Tri-Gear A070 Airframe complete From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Carl Pattinson Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 9:29 AM Subject: Europa-List: Re: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening Rob, Unfortunately the factory failed to mention that the reamer supplied (as with most reamers) is tapered at the end, whereas the supplied inserts are not. The tapered portion of the reamer is about 1 inch long, the rest being the correct dimension. This means that no matter how big a hammer you use, the F****ing things will never go all the way in. The easy solution which will only work if you do it before jamming the insert in the tube is to file down the end of the taper so that it fits all the way - you will need a lathe or drill to do this. I didnt bother pre priming the inserts or tube, simply coated everything with red lead primer before assembly and hammered the inserts into place. Once the primer sets there is no way anything will ever come apart. If you have a situation where the inserts are jammed halfway into the tube, your only option is to saw off the protruding end (of the insert), as I believe many builders have done. The inserts are of such a length that they go all the way up to the bolts which attach the frame to the fuselage. As long as there is no more than about an inch protruding from the end the inserts will be doing their job and sawing off the excess should not weaken the finished job. As a disclaimer I guess I should say clear this with your inspector or the Europa folks first (before reaching for the hacksaw) Good luck, Carl Pattinson PS: Hopefully all that pounding hasnt damaged the fuselage surrounding the frame or the alloy plates bonded into the structure. Ideally there should be somebody holding a large lump of steel (EG: a big hammer - American or otherwise !!!) at the other end of the tube (within the frame) that you are hammering on. This should speed up the insertion process and minimise any damage to the surrounding structures. You may need a midget with long arms to hold the hammer. ----- Original Message ----- From: Rob Housman <mailto:rob@hyperion-ef.com> Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 3:51 PM Subject: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening Having been working mostly on those factory mandated or recommended modifications of late, I now realize that it is much easier to build an airplane than it is to repair one. Mod 70 (Mass balance arm) was merely tedious, working deep in the tailcone, one handed, through small access holes, but Mod 73 (Tailplane retention) and Mod 59 (Shimmy damper) did not go well when following the written procedures, and now with Mod 72 there is more of that wonderful English understatement: =93Insert the tubes - they will probably need a light tap to fit them=94 it says in the procedure. English hammers must be considerably larger and heavier than American hammers (or 16.5 mm reamers must be a bit larger) because =93a light tap=94 does nothing. After pounding away for entirely too long, and peening the ends of the tubes where the hammer repeatedly struck, I finally fabricated a steel spud to put between the offending pin and the hammer. This made it easier to keep pounding with less damage to the pins, or to the adjacent smaller diameter tubes to which the engine mounts attach if I were to miss the target. The steel spud is starting to look like a mushroom from all of those =93light taps.=94 I should have retained my initial skepticism regarding the fit of painted tubes, which after painting with etch primer are larger than 16.5mm, but no, I foolishly believed that the factory had actually tried this procedure. Well folks, the paint makes the pin almost impossible to fit. Fearing complaints from my neighbors about so much hammering on a peaceful Sunday afternoon I finally quit pounding with the intention of resuming mid-day today when most of my neighbors will be away at work. As of yesterday afternoon one pin was snug against the bolt attaching the frame to the fuselage and the other was still barely halfway home. Now, if I could find one of those English hammers at Home Depot=85. Best regards, Rob Housman Irvine, CA Europa XS Tri-Gear A070 Airframe complete _____ No viruses found in this incoming message Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.5.5 http://www.iolo.com <http://www.iolo.com/iav/iavpop3> _____ No viruses found in this outgoing message Scanned by iolo AntiVirus 1.5.5.5 http://www.iolo.com <http://www.iolo.com/iav/iavsmtp>


    Message 7


  • INDEX
  • Back to Main INDEX
  • PREVIOUS
  • Skip to PREVIOUS Message
  • NEXT
  • Skip to NEXT Message
  • LIST
  • Reply to LIST Regarding this Message
  • SENDER
  • Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message
    Time: 01:03:26 PM PST US
    Subject: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening
    From: "Christoph Both" <christoph.both@acadiau.ca>
    From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Rob Housman Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 1:44 PM Subject: RE: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening ...and I can assure you, Christoph, that the hammer and pry bars would not have worked. When brute force failed I took the more drastic approach - I cut the added glass with a Dremel driven abrasive, sort of like a dentist drilling a tooth, and still needed a bit of heat from a propane torch to release the bond. The surprise was how well the epoxy bonded to greased metal and that gave me a lot more confidence in my structural bonds elsewhere, where I did a thorough job of cleaning and roughing the surfaces to be bonded. Best regards, Rob Housman Irvine, CA Europa XS Tri-Gear A070 Airframe complete From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Christoph Both Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 8:47 AM Subject: RE: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening Rob, I can really feel with you, having just completed MOD 73. The manual falls short to say that you ought NOT to insert the tail planes so deep into the torque tube that the two retaining pins would contact or even insert into the bushings fitted to the tailplane root. I was lucky on the first one which refused to insert because the layup is performed on the opposite side. It was EASY to crack the torque tube to retaining layup by TWISTING the tailplane against the torque tube. Came right off no problem. I was not worried either as the inner tube was greased. What compelled me with my second tailplane to push it that far in to allow the pins to insert I don't know as I should have used my head, not the description in the MOD manual. Next morning wanting to separate the tailplane from the torque tube turned out to take several hours. Yes, I admit I showed up with a hammer, pry bars etc, but after initially starting to damage a bit of the root layup by prying I decided not to proceed. Instead I disassembled the entire torque tube which had been there for years and took all out. Took me 2 hours. From there it was easy as the pin retaining welded part could be removed and the tailplane cracked loose by a twist. In hind sight I am glad I did not use the hammer. This can be extremely damaging to internal parts in the tailplane like hair cracks. My recommendation is to just insert the torque tube sufficiently into the inner tube at time of layup so that pins stay out of the way. This should be added to the current MOD 73 instructions. Best, Christoph Both @223 Wolfville, Nova Scotia Canada From: owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com [mailto:owner-europa-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Rob Housman Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 11:52 AM Subject: Europa-List: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening Having been working mostly on those factory mandated or recommended modifications of late, I now realize that it is much easier to build an airplane than it is to repair one. Mod 70 (Mass balance arm) was merely tedious, working deep in the tailcone, one handed, through small access holes, but Mod 73 (Tailplane retention) and Mod 59 (Shimmy damper) did not go well when following the written procedures, and now with Mod 72 there is more of that wonderful English understatement: "Insert the tubes - they will probably need a light tap to fit them" it says in the procedure. English hammers must be considerably larger and heavier than American hammers (or 16.5 mm reamers must be a bit larger) because "a light tap" does nothing. After pounding away for entirely too long, and peening the ends of the tubes where the hammer repeatedly struck, I finally fabricated a steel spud to put between the offending pin and the hammer. This made it easier to keep pounding with less damage to the pins, or to the adjacent smaller diameter tubes to which the engine mounts attach if I were to miss the target. The steel spud is starting to look like a mushroom from all of those "light taps." I should have retained my initial skepticism regarding the fit of painted tubes, which after painting with etch primer are larger than 16.5mm, but no, I foolishly believed that the factory had actually tried this procedure. Well folks, the paint makes the pin almost impossible to fit. Fearing complaints from my neighbors about so much hammering on a peaceful Sunday afternoon I finally quit pounding with the intention of resuming mid-day today when most of my neighbors will be away at work. As of yesterday afternoon one pin was snug against the bolt attaching the frame to the fuselage and the other was still barely halfway home. Now, if I could find one of those English hammers at Home Depot.... Best regards, Rob Housman Irvine, CA Europa XS Tri-Gear A070 Airframe complete


    Message 8


  • INDEX
  • Back to Main INDEX
  • PREVIOUS
  • Skip to PREVIOUS Message
  • NEXT
  • Skip to NEXT Message
  • LIST
  • Reply to LIST Regarding this Message
  • SENDER
  • Reply to SENDER Regarding this Message
    Time: 06:44:27 PM PST US
    From: Martin Tuck <MJKTuck@cs.com>
    Subject: Re: Mod 72 - Undercarriage mounting frame strengthening
    Didn't someone suggest leaving the pins in the freezer overnight to shrink them enough to make insertion in the mounting frame easier? Martin Tuck Europa N152MT Wichita, Kansas




    Other Matronics Email List Services

  • Post A New Message
  •   europa-list@matronics.com
  • UN/SUBSCRIBE
  •   http://www.matronics.com/subscription
  • List FAQ
  •   http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/Europa-List.htm
  • Web Forum Interface To Lists
  •   http://forums.matronics.com
  • Matronics List Wiki
  •   http://wiki.matronics.com
  • 7-Day List Browse
  •   http://www.matronics.com/browse/europa-list
  • Browse Europa-List Digests
  •   http://www.matronics.com/digest/europa-list
  • Browse Other Lists
  •   http://www.matronics.com/browse
  • Live Online Chat!
  •   http://www.matronics.com/chat
  • Archive Downloading
  •   http://www.matronics.com/archives
  • Photo Share
  •   http://www.matronics.com/photoshare
  • Other Email Lists
  •   http://www.matronics.com/emaillists
  • Contributions
  •   http://www.matronics.com/contribution

    These Email List Services are sponsored solely by Matronics and through the generous Contributions of its members.

    -- Please support this service by making your Contribution today! --