Mariner9
11th Jul 2005, 15:54
Mrs M9 and I have been building an Alpi Pioneer 300 since September last year. Weather permitting, it'll fly for the 1st time tomorrow. We thought we should add our build diary to the Private Flying Forum diary collection...
Part 1 (Sept 2004 - Dec 2004)
We had ordered the kit from Frank and Keren of Pioneer Aviation UK, at the PFA rally in July 04. In early August, we had accompanied Frank to the Alpi factory in Italy to check on the progress of our kit.
Our garage had been full of boxes and junk from a recent house move, so required much sorting and clearing prior to kit delivery. Once we had painted the walls ceiling and floor, we then put in new lighting and shelving.
The kit was delivered on 31st August. After indexing the kit, the 1st job was to construct a temporary stand to invert the fuselage. Timber decking planks through the wing and tailplane roots did the job, and confirmed that the fuselage could at least withstand minus1G!
The carbon-fibre fuselage belly and gear inspection panels were then cut to size, and 120 captive nuts installed. First time I had used clecos – what wonderful tools!
The main gear and retract systems were then installed, and the fuselage stood on its own wheels for the 1st time.
We then started on the part I had been somewhat nervous of – dacron covering of the wings and control surfaces. We had been in awe of the expert coverers in the Rally homebuilders tent who had made the process look so easy. But when we came to do our own, we soon realised that with patience and care, a good finish could be achieved even by amateurs like us. We started on the smallest items – rudder and elevator trim tabs. Then worked up in size – ailerons, flaps, rudder and elevator. Finally, onto the wings. 1st job for them was to fit the composite wing tips. Lots of filler and sanding down required until we were happy with the finish. After that, the covering was fairly straightforward, drawing on the experience we had gained from covering the control surfaces.
Then back to the fuselage. Rudder pedals, control sticks, and braking systems were installed. The titanium firewall was cut to size, and glued into position. Umpteem holes then drilled in the firewall, and rivnuts installed for subsequent mounting of the various engine ancillaries. The internal stiffening brackets for the engine frame proved quite tricky due to the restricted access, but a flexible drill extension eased the task (slightly!) The nosewheel was then mounted on the engine frame, and after a couple of trial retractions, was promptly removed again ready for fuselage painting.
Then came the painting process. Several coats of primer and gloss topcoat were required for all fabric-covered areas. Frank kindly allowed us the run of his paintshop, which had ghostly-white wings and control surfaces suspended from the ceiling – looked like a surreal modern-art exhibition!
We took delivery of the engine from Rotax on 6th January. The fitting and installation diary for the engine will follow...
Part 1 (Sept 2004 - Dec 2004)
We had ordered the kit from Frank and Keren of Pioneer Aviation UK, at the PFA rally in July 04. In early August, we had accompanied Frank to the Alpi factory in Italy to check on the progress of our kit.
Our garage had been full of boxes and junk from a recent house move, so required much sorting and clearing prior to kit delivery. Once we had painted the walls ceiling and floor, we then put in new lighting and shelving.
The kit was delivered on 31st August. After indexing the kit, the 1st job was to construct a temporary stand to invert the fuselage. Timber decking planks through the wing and tailplane roots did the job, and confirmed that the fuselage could at least withstand minus1G!
The carbon-fibre fuselage belly and gear inspection panels were then cut to size, and 120 captive nuts installed. First time I had used clecos – what wonderful tools!
The main gear and retract systems were then installed, and the fuselage stood on its own wheels for the 1st time.
We then started on the part I had been somewhat nervous of – dacron covering of the wings and control surfaces. We had been in awe of the expert coverers in the Rally homebuilders tent who had made the process look so easy. But when we came to do our own, we soon realised that with patience and care, a good finish could be achieved even by amateurs like us. We started on the smallest items – rudder and elevator trim tabs. Then worked up in size – ailerons, flaps, rudder and elevator. Finally, onto the wings. 1st job for them was to fit the composite wing tips. Lots of filler and sanding down required until we were happy with the finish. After that, the covering was fairly straightforward, drawing on the experience we had gained from covering the control surfaces.
Then back to the fuselage. Rudder pedals, control sticks, and braking systems were installed. The titanium firewall was cut to size, and glued into position. Umpteem holes then drilled in the firewall, and rivnuts installed for subsequent mounting of the various engine ancillaries. The internal stiffening brackets for the engine frame proved quite tricky due to the restricted access, but a flexible drill extension eased the task (slightly!) The nosewheel was then mounted on the engine frame, and after a couple of trial retractions, was promptly removed again ready for fuselage painting.
Then came the painting process. Several coats of primer and gloss topcoat were required for all fabric-covered areas. Frank kindly allowed us the run of his paintshop, which had ghostly-white wings and control surfaces suspended from the ceiling – looked like a surreal modern-art exhibition!
We took delivery of the engine from Rotax on 6th January. The fitting and installation diary for the engine will follow...