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Cermark F16 Propjet Build Log Page 8

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Posted Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Well here I am, writing from the luxurious Marriott hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. Okay, it's not luxurious, but pretty nice and way better than the Motel 6. Work down here is done for this trip and I'm kicking back in the hotel room, updating the old build log. Over the weekend, I made some more progress and I will share that with my readers here.

Lighting Final Test
The EDI lighting kit was finally completed last weekend and tested in place. The lights look pretty good and I made a brief YouTube video that shows them off. So far, about 37 hits on the video.
F16-lights-final-test/lights-wiring.JPG
Here’s all the wiring about as tidy as I can make it. I used wire numbers to hook everything up so I’d be able to identify what goes to what. Where possible, I marked the connectors with a fine Sharpie. The square block with the gold label is the EDR 117 RC switch.

F16-lights-final-test/lights-4.JPG

It’s a bit hard to see, but there is the  beacon I managed to catch in the “on” state as it was flashing. These lights are very bright and are reported to be quite visible in full daylight conditions. We’ll see.

F16-lights-final-test/lights-3.JPG

The port side anti-collision light. Also known as a navigation or “nav” light.

F16-lights-final-test/lights-2.JPG
Head-on shot illustrating three EDI lights; port, starboard and landing.

F16-lights-final-test/lights-1.JPG

Lights turn off in the shop. All lights on including the beacon on top – caught at just the right time.

Installation of the Ventral Fins

Among the remaining items to be addressed, the ventral fins, located on the lower aft section of the fuselage, needed to be affixed into place. This was one of the easier tasks to complete. Although easy, I was disappointed to see one of the fins was warped. To correct it would have required removing the covering and taking the warp out of the fin and subsequently recover it. No thanks. It wasn't that bad and no one will ever notice; except me. ;)

F16-ventral-fins/ventral-fins-1.JPG

The ventral fins are framed-up light ply.

F16-ventral-fins/ventral-fins-2.JPG

 The fuselage has these markings, indicating the location for fin tab insertion. They are not die cut. I used one of my Dremel cutting bits to carefully cut the slots. They should be cut so the tab fit is snug. Medium CA beads are drawn between the fin and fuselage and hit with Zap accelerator.

F16-ventral-fins/ventral-fins-3.JPG

 Ventral fins installed. Note the angle is not critical, however it is recommended in the manual that the angles are the same for both fins. They are fragile compared to the rest of the airplane. You should never set the fuse on the ground with the landing gear up because the fins will break.

Posted Thursday, March 19, 2009

Fuel Tank Debacle

I installed a 16 oz. tank that had a smaller diameter than the stock tank so I'd have some space to pad it with foam between it and the forward fuse former. The reason behind this was to minimize fuel foaming due to vibration in the airframe. Jett Engineering emphasizes that padding the tank is needed to keep the fuel mixture from going excessively lean in flight which can result in engine stalls. Well, after putting this long narrow tank in the plane, I was disappointed to learn that its presence caused a fit problem with the cockpit tub that holds the panel, pilot, etc. So, out came the tank and in went the stock tank.

There was absolutely no air gap between the tank and the forward-most former to allow any foam pad. Another bad mark for Cermark. With all the vibration a .90 sized engine is going to put on the airframe, I expected better. Out came the Dremel, once again where I opened up the former at least enough to pack some foam on the bottom and sides of the tank around the former.

F16-tank-rework/new-tank.JPG
The 16 oz. stock Cermark tank

The tank will ultimately get pieces of 1/4" latex foam left and right on the sides. There is a piece already in place, taped to the bottom which you cannot see in this picture. This is a10 oz. tank. The Jett .90 will suck that down in no time. The metal bracket gently holds pressure against the tank to keep it in place.. There is a round piece of foam taped to the front of the tank to cushion it against the firewall. I dount it's going anywhere.

Rick Tressler - Columbus, Ohio

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