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QuickTalk 4 - QUICKIE HINTS

From Phil Mays, #280:

1. The number in the owner's manual for the Onan engine is usually not enough. The engine series number is B48M-GA018. The service manual form number is 965-0755 at $7.55 and the parts manual form number is 965-0255 at $4.35. Just by saying you want manual 965-0755 will get you the question, "For what series engine?".


From Donald Parker, #68:

1. It is a good idea to measure the wheels on the large tire option. I had to make the wheel pants wider than plans to let the wheels fit.


From Owen Billman, #53:

1. (Page 7-10) Number the first paragraph #1, the top right paragraph #2, and #3 is below the fuselage drawing. The order may be confusing if read by column.

2. (Page 10-1) This may be the place to stress installing the pitot tube before glassing the canard.

3. (Page 17-1) "Engine shock mount holes - 1/4" diam." should be changed to 5/16" diam. (Ed. Note: ref. QAC Newsletter #7, page 5)


From Erich Mehlhase, #1010-Canada:

1. Dish out the area near the control stick where your knuckles will hit the fuselage side. You will probably need extra room.

2. Keep the waterlines on the fuselage visible for later installation of the wing and canard.

3. Instead of bending the orange foam, try cutting narrow strips, 1-1/2"-2" wide and lay them over the bulkheads. Micro together and sand them smooth.


From Gene Comer, #372:

1. (Page 3-3) Make your work table at least long enough for the wing and canard (16 feet).

2. (Page 5-3) It would have been ice for QAC to have replaced this page with a corrected one rather than redraw the configuration as a revision. In other words, why put the time into an additional sheet when the incorrect information could have been changed on the master and sent out as a replacement?

3. (Page 7-11) I had a lot of aggravation installing the BID tape in the acute angle where the seatback bulkhead meets the fuselage bottom (aft side). I finally cut a piece of 1/2" dowel rod to a length about equal to the inside width of the fuselage. I coated the dowel with epoxy and laid the 2" tape on it. Then I placed this mess into the acute angle, working one side of the tape into the epoxy and lightly securing the other to hold the tape while removing the dowel. I also used this method in installing the aft top fuselage cover.


From C. Young, #469:

1. (Page 4-4) Suggest drilling 5/16" dia. holes in ES6 upon installation.

2. (Page 7-6) There is no bulkhead to mount at Sta. 78 on the fuselage bottom, therefore the bottom may be contoured at this location, unlike plans depiction.

3. (Page 15-7) Macrame bead broke out of floxed-in nut, cutting my hand. Suggest bolt go through whatever knob you choose to mount on C1.

4. (Page 17-3) According to Tom Jewett on the phone, there is no need for the strength of the MS20074-05-24 bolts; they were chosen for their threads, which match the Onan threads. If the case is stripped while tightening these bolts, the new 3/8" bolts which you will tap the crankcase for do not need to be the 160,000 psi bolts the MS20074-05-24 bolts are.

5. (Page 17-6) To keep the CHT below 400 degrees, I trimmed the cowling forward from the firewall in front of the fuselage cooling air relief scoop approximately 3". Then I installed an aluminum flap at the forward edge of this hole angled 30-45 degrees outward. The flap only has to be an inch long and diverts the air away from the fuselage at the air outlet.


From Harry Buskey, #304:

1. (Page 10-11) Our elevators are getting very loose; lots of slop in the controls. We found that the bolts pinning the aluminum tubing to the control tubing are, due to vibration, wearing holes in the aluminum. We are going to insert and pin in place steel tubing inside the ends of the elevators, redrill, etc. It should be noted that we do not know what flutter effects this may have.


From Don Ralph, #300:

1. (Page 8-1) Install red foam in the vertical fin before laying up the BID in the rudder slot.

2. (Page 9-10) Section B-B is not drawn to scale. Be careful not to make the slot too long.

3. (Page 9-8) The table shown did not work out for me and caused waste and delay. (Ed. Note: This was mentioned by several other builders. It may be best to leave the material on the roll until laid on the piece.)

4. (Page 10-7) If CSM-5 is a minimum of 0.6", and the slot for CSM-3 (page 10-8) is 0.5" to 0.6", you'll never get the elevator off. Page 10-9 says that the length should be at least 0.3", which allows plenty of safety and a minimum of gap between the elevator and the fuselage.

5. (Page 10-10) View of CS19 shows the elevator at zero degrees, but page 11-9 calls for the elevator (wheelpant fairing to be glassed to CS19 and -5 degrees (which is 5 degrees up, not down).

6. (Page 11-7) The tires I received were larger (1/4") in diameter than shown, and I had to move the axle back so that BSW1 would hit flat on the tire. Also, do not weight down LG-2 (page 11-4) while it is curing unless the weight is on the edges only. I got a bow in mine that made it difficult to install the wheels.

7. (Page 15-6) My bolts pulled through the hinge. I had to go back and install countersunk washers.

8. (Page 15-8) Installing the forward cockpit cover, it is necessary to use two BID tapes on the inside also. (See QAC Newsletter #7, page 4.)


From Calvin Bowens, #209:

1. (Page 11-7) I replaced my brakes with go-cart tire scrubbers; they are curved and cupped to the tire. To make those even better, I contact cemented sandpaper to them. Works great but hard on the tires. At least you can stop. Might work better with rubber shoe replacements.

2. (Page 11-5) To line up the axle holes, I put electrical conduit through the axle holes with a connector in the middle.


From Norm Sanford, #486:

1. (Page 6-2) The elevators should be trimmed to a 6' length. Trim the cores from the inboard end so that the elevator will fit snugly down into the canard slot.

2. (Page 6-2) Try the following to cut the circle for the CS-16 torque tube in the elevator: Cut the basic elevator templates with the torque tube holes but without the two cut lines that lead into the holes. Don't cut the torque tube holes yet! Cut the elevator foam cores with a hot wire and mark the location of the torque tubes with a felt tip pen. (Fig. 1)



Then cut the two circles out of your template material the exact size of the torque tube holes in the elevator templates. Cut as follows with the hot wire: A-B-C-D-E first...front foam piece falls off. Then cut A-B-F-D-E and perfectly cylindrical torque tube piece fall out.



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