Bits & Pieces - No 3

This blog covers small jobs undertaken while working on the wings

A Question of Weight
One of issues discussed on the recent visit was the end weight of the Tucano with Franco estimating 420 kg draining colour from the builder. Franco supplied copy of the the C.O.G calculator to run the numbers and to understand the weight distribution of the Tucano.

Going my way?

Without boring detail the Aircraft is VERY sensitive to weight measured on the nose wheel with only a few kilos extra required the addition of ballast at the tail. At this time a new engine mount was supplied that is 50 mm shorter and with the analysis fresh on the mind any reluctance to remove the original mount was removed.

While it would be very easy to have a forward c.o.g., short of giving a lift to Jabba the Hut I cannot see how you could have a rear c.o.g. issue.

Stiffener

Relocated fuel selector mount

Upgrades

With the mount removed a lingering problem of installing the lower engine mount stiffener upgrade was undertaken.

Also the position for the fuel selector was creating problems so it was modified and relocated to the port side. With all this work undertaken the new engine mount was refitted and all the components from the original one were transferred onto the new mount.

Aluminium Tube

It was decided to tackle the installation of the some of the fuel lines and this was a disaster as it was nearly impossible to create a flares. The Aeroflow aluminium tube that had worked previously would not grip the flaring tool - what changed is unknown so a new solution had to be looked at.

I was decided to use drawn 5052 from the local supplier, after picking up two [2] x 6 foot lengths and while driving through the Sydney traffic I remembered who I had looked at using coiled tube. 

New engine mount and what you get done with six [6] feet of 5052 tube

Estimating weight of finished aircraft
All components piled in and the finished estimated weight was 410 kg

At this point I would say before using a coil of aluminium tube is that you use the supplied flaring tool or you do some tests to verify the flares using your flaring tool.

Comment

We are now working on "Project 400" and I am reviewing the aircraft to remove all unwanted weight to reach a target of 400 kg.

Currently the starboard wing is being fitted out and this will be covered in the next blog as it has taken a few weekends to finish this exercise and that makes it hard to provide blogs regularly.