A couple of questions

[WesRagle]

Hi Guys,

I was unable to figure out (with the tools and skills I have) a good way to route the fuel cutoff all the way to the plane of the panel. I couldn't copy Dirk's solution because the Oops fittings took up the entire forward face of the sump. So ..., This is the best I could come up with.

The "guide plate" will be held on by additional nuts on the Oops fittings.



The face of the plate is low enough that I can placard "Fuel Above", "Push On", and "Pull Off" that can be seen from a normal seating position.



Not perfect, but I gave it a shot so I can move on now :-)

Wes

[DCASonex]

Looks like a good innovative solution.

David A.

[WesRagle]

Hi Guys,

I've been a little lazy today. I did spend a little time preping for wiring. Here is a tip that I find useful to neaten up the wiring a little bit. I use a drill to make twisted pairs for wire pairs that go together. It neatens up the harness and makes it easier to keep things straight while making connections.

Gently clamp the connector in place. Then pull the pair out straight, make a bend in the end of both wires, chuck the wire ends up in a drill, and gently pull the wires straight and twist the pair up with the drill. Obviously gently is the operative word here.

I wish I had taken a pic of the harness before twisting to illustrate the difference.





Also started making labels for the wires. I'm going to try the clear heat shrink method Mike Smith mentioned in his recent video.



I spent a lot of time walking circles around the plane thinking about the upcoming tasks.

1) Fuel Flow Test: I should receive the last of the fittings I need to complete plumbing the fuel tomorrow. I need to determine the angle I need to set the fuselage at to perform the test. Left to my own devices I will estimate an optimistic max climb rate of 1000' per min at about 70 mph. So, hypotenuse is 6160 ft/min (70 mph), opposite is 1000 ft/min. So, angle = arcsin (1000/6160) = arcsin (0.16234) = 9.3 degrees. Seems like 10 degrees would be about right. For an 85 HP VW I would estimate 8 GPH as the max FF. So 8 GPH * 1.5 = 12 GPH required to pass the test.

Does 12 GPH at 10 Deg. deck angle sound about right? What have others done?

EDIT: I googled and found this.
"AC 90-89A Amateur-Built Aircraft and Ultralight Flight Testing Handbook Chapter 1
Section 11.1.e states that this should be done with “the aircraft’s nose at an angle 5
degrees above the highest anticipated climb angle.”

Since Vx is typically a little slower than Vy, I'll change to 60 mph and 1000 ft per min which yields a climb angle of 10.9. Add 5 to that and get about 16 Degrees.
From Jeff's site http://www.sonex604.com/percent_power.html. Since I have a 2400 and since I won't be able to make 100% power during climb I'll use the conservative FF estimate of (2400/2180) * 5.7 = 6.2 GPH. 6.2 * 1.5 = 9.4.

So, my final answer is 16 Deg incline and 10 GPH.

2) I need some kind of pocket to hold maps, check lists, etc. I can envision talking my wife into sewing an appropriately sized pocket and just attaching it to the side panel with rivets or screws. Any suggestions appreciated.

3) I need to do something with the "baggage compartment". I would like to maximize the volume. Not that I will use it frequently but room for a tent, sleeping bag, a six pack and some cloths would nice. Oh yea, I have a VW so a case of oil for cross country :-) Don't know exactly what to do here. Suggestions welcome.

4) Seat cushion. I guess the obvious options are to purchase one from Sonex LLC ($425 Ouch!) or make one myself.

Any, suggestions welcome and appreciated.

Thanks,

Wes

[GraemeSmith]

2) I need some kind of pocket to hold maps, check lists, etc. I can envision talking my wife into sewing an appropriately sized pocket and just attaching it to the side panel with rivets or screws. Any suggestions appreciated.

Amazon is your friend for this sort of stuff. You can't make these things economically for the sort of money they want unless you want to make things for the sake of making. Or allow your spouse to contribute and feel part of the project. Not hard to find something with a dimension that works for you:

https://smile.amazon.com/Map-Pocket-Lig ... ref=sr_1_1

https://smile.amazon.com/DiMiK-Universa ... 62-6629520

https://smile.amazon.com/Generic-Catche ... ef=sr_1_28

[Onex107]

Wes, about the cushions. I had two cushions, bottom and back, made by a local upholstery shop. Saved about $100 over the Sonex kit. One advantage is you get to pick the type of foam rubber, and there is a large selection. They just need a pattern and some dimensions. The material can match your paint scheme. Plus, I am not very tall so my wife and I made a filler cushion, you can stuff it with any pillow stuffing, even styro foam if you want it to be harder, triangular in shape to be a filler under the seat cushion. My friend in Tenn. even added an alum sheet in his seat instead of a filler. It raises me up and provides a flatter surface for the seat cushion. One other thing you should look at is the cushions sold for wheel chairs. They are designed for sitting 24/7 and come in several sizes. They won't have the notch for the stick though.

[Gordon]

Questions...……..?

I bought the factory cushions for my Onex and they fit very well and I am happy..... no regrets.

At $425.00 they seemed like a bargain compared to my Classic Aero seats for my RV-7 at $2000.00. It's all relative I guess, besides, it's just one more way to "speed up the build" rather than making your own seats. I did that with my RV-6 and wasted a lot of time and the results were not great.

For those bundles of wiring I use "spiral wrap" (ACS) which allows you to pull a single wire out of the bundle half way along and send it to some other connector/switch or whatever. It works well and the finished wiring bundle looks quite professional and secure.

Gordon...…..Hummel 2400......Onex

[Bryan Cotton]

4) Seat cushion. I guess the obvious options are to purchase one from Sonex LLC ($425 Ouch!) or make one myself.

I believe that if you can build an airplane you can learn to sew and make a cushion. See my Cotton Waiex 191 thread in the photos section, towards the end of the thread. I also taught my younger son to sew and he made a cushion for his hovercraft. I think I've got a total of $250 into mine. Not quite Lindy quality but I'm happy with it. After I warmed up on the airplane I made a new seat cover for my old Suzuki and that turned out awesome.

By the way, you are over a couple questions.

[Arjay]

Hi Wes: About your baggage compartment, I noticed lots of Sonex have a laundry basket hanging on straps just behind the seat back. Mine has a different arrangement. It has an aluminum shelf permanently mounted at shoulder level just behind the seat. I like this arrangement because It is very handy to put stuff on the shelf. But, it doesn't hold as much as it could. My recommendation would be to use both a hanging basket and a shelf, having the shelf hinged so you could lift the front edge and put stuff in the basket under the shelf.

Just a thought.

Ron. Sonex 695, tailwheel, Aerovee

[WesRagle]

Amazon is your friend for this sort of stuff. You can't make these things economically for the sort of money they want unless you want to make things for the sake of making. Or allow your spouse to contribute and feel part of the project. Not hard to find something with a dimension that works for you:

https://smile.amazon.com/Map-Pocket-Lig ... ref=sr_1_1

Hi Graeme,

I just didn't occur to me that such an item was readily available. The first suggestion looks just about perfect. Thanks.

Saved about $100 over the Sonex kit. One advantage is you get to pick the type of foam rubber, and there is a large selection. They just need a pattern and some dimensions. The material can match your paint scheme. Plus, I am not very tall so my wife and I made a filler cushion, you can stuff it with any pillow stuffing, even styro foam if you want it to be harder, triangular in shape to be a filler under the seat cushion. My friend in Tenn. even added an alum sheet in his seat instead of a filler. It raises me up and provides a flatter surface for the seat cushion. One other thing you should look at is the cushions sold for wheel chairs. They are designed for sitting 24/7 and come in several sizes. They won't have the notch for the stick though.

Yea, Looks like I'm going to have to raise the base of the cushion about 4". I have some high density foam to use for a booster. I'll check out the "wheel chair" cushion for the base of the seat. Through some sort of genetic defect, I have no arse at all. So, the PSI level is through the roof and I have to have a comfortable cushion.

Questions...……..?

I bought the factory cushions for my Onex and they fit very well and I am happy..... no regrets.

At $425.00 they seemed like a bargain compared to my Classic Aero seats for my RV-7 at $2000.00. It's all relative I guess, besides, it's just one more way to "speed up the build" rather than making your own seats. I did that with my RV-6 and wasted a lot of time and the results were not great.

For those bundles of wiring I use "spiral wrap" (ACS) which allows you to pull a single wire out of the bundle half way along and send it to some other connector/switch or whatever. It works well and the finished wiring bundle looks quite professional and secure.

Gordon...…..Hummel 2400......Onex

Hey Gord,

I tend to agree with you about buying a solution, it's just hard to swallow the price tag.

I had a similar experience to you with a 6A years ago. I made the seats and they weren't that comfortable. The funny thing, I took the seats to a local upholstery shop and he thought my lumbar support was a head rest. Needless to say, the seat backs had to be recovered :-)

I bought the upholstery set for the Sonex and was happy with it except for the seat cushions. They did have a zipper so it was easy to substitute foam in the seat bottom until I got what I wanted. I could sit in the Sonex all day long without squirming.

For the wiring harness, I already have some "Corrugated Loom Tubing" on hand. The stuff looks like the blast tube Vans sells except it is split and is a smaller diameter.

Question:

Does the seat cushions Sonex LLC sells for the Onex have a zipper in the seat cushion?

I hope your carb swap is going well.

4) Seat cushion. I guess the obvious options are to purchase one from Sonex LLC ($425 Ouch!) or make one myself.

I believe that if you can build an airplane you can learn to sew and make a cushion. See my Cotton Waiex 191 thread in the photos section, towards the end of the thread. I also taught my younger son to sew and he made a cushion for his hovercraft. I think I've got a total of $250 into mine. Not quite Lindy quality but I'm happy with it. After I warmed up on the airplane I made a new seat cover for my old Suzuki and that turned out awesome.

By the way, you are over a couple questions.

Hi Bryan,

Yea, but ... I'm old enough now that I realize that "You only get so many days on the planet." I really would like to know how to weld. I would really like to be proficient with fiber glass. On and on. I wish I knew how to sew but it's just not high on my list.

And yes, I'm not very good at picking names for threads. One of the (few) things I miss about the Old Yahoo format is the branches that would form off of a given topic. It was fun to just chat with the all the guys that were building and flying. Admittedly a type A personality could come in and pollute the environment with talk of politics and black powder rifles, but it was fun to chat. So, if I start a thread, anything Sonex building and flying is free game.

Hi Wes: About your baggage compartment, I noticed lots of Sonex have a laundry basket hanging on straps just behind the seat back. Mine has a different arrangement. It has an aluminum shelf permanently mounted at shoulder level just behind the seat. I like this arrangement because It is very handy to put stuff on the shelf. But, it doesn't hold as much as it could. My recommendation would be to use both a hanging basket and a shelf, having the shelf hinged so you could lift the front edge and put stuff in the basket under the shelf.

Just a thought.

Ron. Sonex 695, tailwheel, Aerovee

Pics ??

[Bryan Cotton]

Yea, but ... I'm old enough now that I realize that "You only get so many days on the planet." I really would like to know how to weld. I would really like to be proficient with fiber glass.

Get cracking! It's not too late!