Q1_Aircraft: G-BKFM Progress

Just a note to let you all know how my rebuild is coming on.

G-BKFM was crashed by it's previous owner in a cross wind take off, which broke
the port canard. I wasted a lot of time in investigating repair of the canard,
but couldn't agree a solution with the PFA, so I started a new canard.

Due to my own ignorance, I made a lot of mistakes, and eventually threw away the
canard and started another one!
This canard is going well but slooowly. Currently I have the canard skinned top
and bottom, and sitting vertically as I think about attaching the elevator
slots!

One of the hardest jobs so far is producing the inner elevator phenolic bearings
to an acceptable accuracy, which I finally completed yesterday.

In the UK, I have had problems obtaining the correct materials for almost
everything. The elevator core tube alloy for example, though I managed to
source some here, was about five times the cost of importing it from the USA.
These problems have all add delays. I am using a locally produced resin and
hardener (similar to that used for the Europa) in construction, as it is
virtually impossible to import Safe-T-Poxy into this country.

My target of December for first flight is now impossible. But I hope to get it
all together for the new year.

I am doing everything as bog standard to speed up the process. A reflexor is
already fitted, and the aircraft was upgraded to a Rotax 503 by the previous
owner. The only mod I am contemplating is the addition of vortex generators.

Gary Meakin

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]