I hit a very significant snag this week which was a bit upsetting. The right wing inboard flap hinge actually was the wrong part - even though I am very certain it was labeled as a right wing part. I don't have proof of it, but I am not sure how it got by my wife and I during that part of the build. I discovered this when I was preparing to align the flaps and ailerons on the right wing and could not get the aileron to attach without a very significant amount of bending - which then of course pushed the aileron into the flap. So it very clearly was very wrong. Because of that, I reached out to the factory and they confirmed there isn't anything I can do beyond replacing that part. Of course this is discovered only after the top skins and wing tips are installed. To correct it their recommendation is to remove the wing tip and top skin as well as the rib with the hinge on it so I can replace the hinge.
I also was chatting with a SlingTsi builder in Germany who ran into the same issue but caught it before they got too far into the wing build.
Now before we all go throwing Sling under the bus - I do realize they have a few thousand parts to get right. This is my first build and I just need to do a better job of scrutinizing the left/right parts like this. I can assure everyone the mistakes I've made along the way are lessons well learned and if I wind up building another plane the experience will definitely go a long way into the next builds.
The other challenge I'm having at the moment is the fuel tanks. I just can't seem to nail down all of the leaks. My biggest fear was that I had leaks forward of the front plate in the fuel tank which is nearly impossible to access with the backplate on. The methods of doing some basic pressure testing and soapy water just wasn't giving me good results and it was a bit messy. So this past weekend I broke down and filled them up with water which helped tremendously to identify the leaks. I'd rather do water than fuel because, well, gas tends to light on fire. Water just goes down the drain and is far less expensive. I'm fairly confident I will have the tanks resolved here in the next few weeks.
The other fortunate part is because I've been struggling with the fuel tanks it delayed putting them on to the wing and given my issue with the hinge for the aileron it saved me a bunch of rivet removal as I most certainly would have had that attached prior to the flap/aileron work.
At this time it was a bit of a barn dance over the past weekend of moving wings off the bench and onto the storage rack and the fuselage onto the bench. I'm going to continue working forward with it while the fuel tanks cure on the pro seal and the parts for the right wing come in. Once that arrives I'll blast through the right wing as quickly as I can. The tanks will be done by then and the wings will be completely finished up.
I also found out today my finishing kit has arrived in Torrence CA. That will be enroute here in the next week or so.
Things feel like they have slowed down, but I'm working on just getting lots of the little odds and ends for the control surfaces finished up and after that it'll be 100% focus on the fuselage.
I also was chatting with a SlingTsi builder in Germany who ran into the same issue but caught it before they got too far into the wing build.
Now before we all go throwing Sling under the bus - I do realize they have a few thousand parts to get right. This is my first build and I just need to do a better job of scrutinizing the left/right parts like this. I can assure everyone the mistakes I've made along the way are lessons well learned and if I wind up building another plane the experience will definitely go a long way into the next builds.
The other challenge I'm having at the moment is the fuel tanks. I just can't seem to nail down all of the leaks. My biggest fear was that I had leaks forward of the front plate in the fuel tank which is nearly impossible to access with the backplate on. The methods of doing some basic pressure testing and soapy water just wasn't giving me good results and it was a bit messy. So this past weekend I broke down and filled them up with water which helped tremendously to identify the leaks. I'd rather do water than fuel because, well, gas tends to light on fire. Water just goes down the drain and is far less expensive. I'm fairly confident I will have the tanks resolved here in the next few weeks.
The other fortunate part is because I've been struggling with the fuel tanks it delayed putting them on to the wing and given my issue with the hinge for the aileron it saved me a bunch of rivet removal as I most certainly would have had that attached prior to the flap/aileron work.
At this time it was a bit of a barn dance over the past weekend of moving wings off the bench and onto the storage rack and the fuselage onto the bench. I'm going to continue working forward with it while the fuel tanks cure on the pro seal and the parts for the right wing come in. Once that arrives I'll blast through the right wing as quickly as I can. The tanks will be done by then and the wings will be completely finished up.
I also found out today my finishing kit has arrived in Torrence CA. That will be enroute here in the next week or so.
Things feel like they have slowed down, but I'm working on just getting lots of the little odds and ends for the control surfaces finished up and after that it'll be 100% focus on the fuselage.
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