I finally got a decent chunk of stuff done today, and of course getting a bit of progress under my belt is motivating in getting this bird done!

That being said, my first quick task was to create a plan for dealing with the gaps I have in the front corners of the top cowling where the cowling itself fails to cover the gap between the wing edge and the cowling mounting/CAMLOC flange of the CS spar: the approximate 2.5″ along the outboard edge just aft of the corner, again on each side.  Now, I could fill this gap line with RTV once the wings are on the bird, but I want a more permanent seal and a better look than that.  Yes, this task is a bit cosmetic in nature here, but it also clearly concerns minimizing the loss of any engine cooling air.

Thus, my plan is to take away a bit of the cowl mounting flange and add that flange piece to the wing edge, extending the wing flange forward along that edge, but only around 0.3-0.4″ in width.  A bit hard to explain, but more to come on this.

On the oil check door configuration, I realized that it was NOT just the aft top cowl attach point that needed repositioned, but also the forward one as well (bottom of pic).  So I marked it up and took it outside to cut it out for resetting…

which I did here.

I then installed the top cowl oil check door without the hinge spring, taped the door tightly in place, and then set the door-securing wire in place.  I then added a dab of grease in the forward brass wire capture tube and slid it into place before adding flox all around it.

I then laid up 2 plies of carbon fiber over the reset oil check door wire-securing tube.  And peel plied the layup of course.

Before I mixed up the MGS 335 epoxy with fast hardener for all that going on above, I cut out 3 plies of BID to help fill in a right side gap on the front top cowling attach lip on the D-deck.  After laying that up I peel plied it as well.

I then carefully mounted my Hertzler Silver Bullet prop onto the bird to not only allow for cutting and installing the prop spinner, but to also ensure I had it configured with the blades at the 12/6 o’clock positions with the #1 cylinder at TDC.

My ignorance of how exactly to find TDC for the #1 cylinder came to light when I lined up the “TC1” line on the AFT side of the flywheel with the engine case split line.  “Uh, Houston we have a problem!” and “Strange things are afoot at the Circle K!” both came to mind since looking through the top spark plug hole proved that the #1 cylinder was anything BUT at TDC.

After some research I discovered by way of my RV friends on the VANs forum that I was in fact looking for the “TC1” line on the FRONT side of the flywheel, which brought the prop blades to exactly 12/6 o’clock with the #1 cylinder at TDC . . .

And put the AFT side flywheel “TC1” mark near the starter, which is what that mark is used for… ok, now we’re cooking with real butter!

Although the prop will be installed temporarily for only a bit, I also took the opportunity to check the blade alignment as is spelled out in the plans.  With blade #1 down, I made a mark on some green painters tape just below it, then rotated blade #1 up and blade #2 down in position.  Here is the result: well within the 1/16″ difference allowed by the Long-EZ engine plans.

Since I used fast hardener, I pulled the peel ply off to check the forward wire-securing tube for the top cowl oil check door.

I also pulled the peel ply, razor-trimmed the cured overhanging BID and re-drilled the CAMLOC hole for the right side D-deck top cowl mounting flange.

I would say tomorrow I’ll get back on the top cowl and prop, but I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a quick overnight trip to Wilmington, NC for a little R&R with Jess.  I’ll be back Sunday midday and will get back to work then.