Where are the updates? Well, there aren't a lot of pictures of things getting built so it is hard to gather stuff for a good post. 
 
There is flight testing going on however, and not just for my airplane. I flew for the second time on Thursday and was up for a little over 20 minutes. I had planned on more but had a couple of issues that I decided to come back down for. 
 
The flight mostly went well. The airframe displayed no quirks and I managed a very smooth take off and the landing was so much better that the controller - who also witnessed my first landing - commented on how much nicer it was. 
 
The engine temps, oil temps and oil pressure all stayed within acceptable limits and I may be over the worst of the break in temperatures. However, I have either a timing issue with the secondary ignition or a fouled secondary plug. I haven't determined which yet. 
 
I also had an unexplained glitch and self recovery of my charging circuit. A little mysterious at this point. In some ground running all is well now. I am not electrically dependent so the engine will keep running without any juice but I would like to understand what caused, or is causing the failure. Still working on it. 
 
I hope to have those resolved soon and fly again. 
 
Later the same day I drove to Aurora and watched Dan fly his first flight. That was also a lot of fun. 
 
More soon but it will mostly be blog posts for awhile I think. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

I can't believe I didn't post a link here. I just forgot. Over the last few days I have sent out bunches of e-mails to various lists and individuals but I forgot to post a link here to the first flight log. 
 
Here are the pictures 
 
In summary: On Tuesday I flew the aircraft for six minutes. The flight was supposed to be circling at or above 2500' in the KGYY class delta. It turned into a large, wide and low once around in the pattern because of high CHTs. 
 
Never the less it was a very successful flight that gathered a lot of data. 
 
More flights to come. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

I had my airworthiness inspection today and I now have the certificate. I wasn't holding back information in the last entries. I didn't know it would get scheduled this soon. Needless to say I am pretty happy. 
 
You can see my smile in these pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

OK, all computer issues resolved so I can post a log again. 
 
Here it is with all the latest pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

Still some remaining computer issues, but they are mostly resolved. I might be able to post pictures by the weekend. 
 
Today is a rainy morning and I'm finishing up the airworthiness paper work. I also can resolve a nagging car issue so no hanger trip today. Yesterday however, I completed weighing N982SX. She is a little plump. The final weight was 693 pounds. 
 
As a nose wheel aircraft I pay a penalty for that additional structure. I also added some with the electrical system - which includes a backup EFIS battery, a beefed up panel with air vents and a support structure for the transponder. The added fire extinguisher and strong support of it, the ELT and the baggage area added some pounds. 
 
Not to worry, Kathy and I can take a full load of fuel and baggage. 
 
I have also finished up a number of tiny items.  

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

I had Oshkosh this week and some other non building items to clear up but still a good week. 
 
I prepped for some items that I would need a second set of hands for and had Kathy come out to help. I got the engine running at a lower Idle 900-1000 rpm which is a bit high but fine for just getting going. I am also able to turn 3200 static rpm which is also a bit high. 
 
I may be a bit too lean but it is hard to tell. The engine takes throttle through the whole range and runs smooth at all but the lowest rpm setting where it is just slightly rough. Fuel flow shows a good range between high 4gph and low 6gph when leaning at full throttle. 
 
I have been too chicken to run the engine long enough to get the EGT's up hot enough to test before the #3 CHT starts to cross 400. This is not unexpected and I feel that I am in a good range for flight testing. 
 
The only concern is that I do get a small amount of oil out of the rear of the engine, either the Cam plug (common) or the main bearing seal. Hard to tell. At this point after conferring with various sources, it is not out of the ordinary and not a concern for flight. I will be keeping a good eye on it. 
 
I have also completed a lot of small items on what is now a very short list of things to do before the airworthiness inspection. That includes getting three identical electronic bathroom scales and weighing the airplane. 
 
The weight however is without some items and with others - fuel and clecos - that won't be in the final empty weight. Allowing for all that I will be over 650 which is not bad for a nose dragger. I will not be tipping the scales over a portly 700 which has been done on nose dragging Sonex's 
 
Some of the weight comes from a newly added fire extinguisher that was bought at Oshkosh. This has been planned for and sits on the other shelf opposite the ELT. 
 
I plan on sending my DAR all the paperwork tomorrow or Tuesday and setting up a time for the airworthiness inspection. I still have a number of big pieces detached from the airplane but will be putting them back on tomorrow to get a good weight and balance on the airplane. 
 
I should have my computer issues cleared up this weeks so maybe some pictures soon. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

After a false start followed by some trouble shooting, the engine turned over and I started the tuning process. I am very close to having it purr after about a total of 1/2 hour of running, two to three minutes at a time. 
 
Sonex has a method for setting up the electronic ignition trigger magnet before first start. It sucks. 
 
I think the method may have worked reliably when the trigger magnet was smaller, but it didn't work for me with the newer big magnet. It was perfectly centered under the trigger module with the mag and magnet perfectly aligned as per the instructions and video. 
 
The first turnover yielded nothing. Just a prop spinning from the starter. After a quick double check of fuel and air, then power to the spark source, another attempt yielded the same result. I tried again with a larger throttle opening but never got a single bang from all of these efforts. 
 
Fuel was confirmed as was air, so it had to be spark or spark timing. I unbundled all of the trigger to coil wiring and routed each wire to make sure it went to the correct coil. The top module triggers the coil that fires the front lower plugs. All wires and plug wires routed out just as they should. 
 
I next pulled a plug and wedged it between the exhaust pipe and the exhaust spring assembly with the plug wire installed. With fuel off, mags off and other safety precautions taken, I loosened the trigger magnet and rotated it past the trigger module and could hear and see the spark. 
 
The problem was the spark did not occur when the magnet was centered under the trigger module. It was quite a bit early. Since the spark was OK it had to be spark timing, so I aligned the top mag and its magnet and then set the trigger magnet to the approximate location I had found triggered the spark. I put everything back together and it started right up. I have the video and will post it in a few days. 
 
After it started, it was rough so I pretty quickly switched off the electronic ignition and let the mags run the engine by itself. This made it run smoother and it ran nice and smooth when I leaned the engine almost to idle cutoff. 
 
Since the mixture was way rich I leaned the mixture needle aggressively and this clearly was better. I then did some runs adjusting the trigger magnet to get better timing. It took two very small moves towards the center of the module. After those moves I was unable to tell the difference between the mags or the electronic ignition.  
 
Then I started to work on getting the mixture needle set in the right place. I got overly aggressive on my next two moves and ended up too lean. I dialed back and got to a really smooth but not quite perfect spot. I then made two moves on either side of this point to see which way to go to improve it. 
 
I ran out of time at this point and decided to leave the final adjustment until tomorrow. 
 
I had also been checking for fuel and oil leaks before and after each run. The fuel system didn't show any problems, but near the end of the runs I noticed some drips of oil from the rear of the engine. It is more than a tiny amount but not large enough to cause me to stop tuning. I will have to look it over carefully to see if it will turn into a major issue. 
 
Other than that it was a tremendous day and very satisfying to run the engine. 
 
Some work tomorrow and then Oshkosh. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

I've kept at it this week and it has been a lot of fun. I've taken some pictures and was going to post them this weekend but that will be delayed. I wouldn't expect any pictures for a week or so. I have a lot to do and some computer issues to work out. 
 
Today I hooked up the pitot and AOA hardware. What was even better was the ATIS at Gary was for winds 22 gusting to 29 straight down between the hangers. The Enigma can be used on very slow ultralights so the airspeed indicator comes alive at about 15 mph. The winds were more than enough to register so I rolled the airplane out into the wind and had steady readings in the mid to upper 20's with some gusts. The AOA also said I had no lift! 
 
The plane was really rocking as the wind burbled around it. It was really fun. 
 
I should have more to report on Sunday. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

There's an airplane in my hanger! 
 
Yesterday the big move took place. It went really well with the help of a ton of family and friends. I have edited all the pictures and have put together the latest log entries. However, I have not written the text yet so I'm just publishing the pictures. I will write the text and update the main page over the next couple of days. 
 
Here is the first log, which covers the end of polishing. 
 
Here is the second log, which covers the first prep steps for the move through the move itself. 
 
As a special bonus, Chris Williams took video of the fuselage lift off of the trailer. Here is a link to it. http://www.sharkfamily.com/brian/GOPR0331.MP4 
 
It was a great weekend, and now all I have to do is put the pieces back together. Another step to first flight. 
 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

I thought I would post a midweek entry here just to keep everybody up to date. 
 
No pictures to post and I won't be posting any more until after the move. I'm sure I will have move pictures up by Sunday night if not on Saturday. 
 
We have made tremendous progress on polishing but there is still some to go. The wings are all done expect for S on about 1/2 of a wing surface. That is not much work. The wings themselves had all of the F9 and C passes and most of the S pass completed yesterday. Today was control surfaces gear fairings and some wing surface S work. 
 
The only piece requiring F9 and C work is the aft fuselage bottom skin. That needs some finishing work in the morning and then Thazin and Kathy should knock that out pretty quick - it only gets bottom quality polish. It will then be temp fastened to the airplane. It has been in storage for over a year. 
 
Besides the great looking polish, I reached another milestone. I can see out of the windscreen and see clearly out of the canopy. Until last night both items still had protective plastic on the outside. The windscreen was opaque so you couldn't see out or in. I now have an airplane cover that fits over both. The entire airplane is still covered in plastic because of all the polishing grime, but now the windscreen and canopy are protected by the cover. 
 
Last night, before I put the new cover and the plastic drop cloth back on, I sat in the airplane and looked out for the first time. This morning before I started work, I did the same thing again with the garage door open. The extra bolts securing the windscreen has minimized the distortion at the horizon. It's not perfect but the view is very nice and better than I thought it might be. 
 
Thazin and Kathy have worked tirelessly and have put in a tremendous effort - and great workmanship - on the polish. Without them I would not be going to the airport this weekend. 
 
I have talked with my brother Jeff and he is bringing his trailer which I intend to use for the wings and the table. Dave from my EAA chapter is bringing his trailer for the airframe. My Dad will be coming down and I have the kids and their friends lined up for muscle. The weather also looks good. 
 
So on to the airport. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

It's looking good for a trip to the airport a week from today. Still a couple of man days of polishing but I will have help. The rest is just organizing for the trip. There is some work I can do before the airport, but very little needs to be done before the trip. 
 
We've made a great deal of progress on polishing the wings. Here are the latest pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

The fuselage is done. Just the wings remain to be polished. 
 
Best of all, I have set a date to move the airplane to the airport. July 17, 2010. It's a week later than I hoped but I will be able to make it and my ride is available. 
 
Instead of going to Air Venture I hope to be doing my phase one flight testing! 
 
Here are some shiny pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

It is hard to get pictures of the polishing work but I do have some and put together the latest log file with them. 
 
It gets really messy and I have been reluctant to use my camera much. We have mastered the clean up really well. The pads have washed up in the machine very well without leaving any mess behind. 
 
Enjoy the pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

I have had other things going on as well but a good amount of work has gone into the plane since I finished painting. 
 
Kathy has even given me a hand at polishing. Almost half of the fuselage has had the bulk of the compounding done. That is a good amount of work. I'm using Nuvite F9 on mill finish 6061 and it takes a lot of passes to come out nice. I will follow that with just a pass or two of the C grade of Nuvite compound and then the Nuvite 'S' polish, but the F9 passes are about 80 percent of the work. 
 
Flying tomorrow and Monday. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

Sorry to have gone so long but I took some time to just do other stuff and forget about fiberglass for awhile. Congrats to the Blackhawks. 
 
But I did manage to work through my fiberglass blockage and finished the painting with an minimally acceptable result. 
 
Here are some pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

Holiday, Blackhawks and flying, but there has been some time in there for fiberglass prep work. 
 
I want to have the remaining pieces ready for paint by Sunday at the latest. We will see how tomorrow goes. If it goes OK I might even be ready by Saturday. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

... and I will still be painting in June. The second batch of fiberglass pieces didn't go as well, or as quick, as the first batch. I have started on the tail tips and cowling with the most complicated fiberglass work yet. 
 
I have made up a new log so there are pictures to see. 
 
I will try and keep up the flow of blog posts because pictures of progress during the fiberglass and painting seem to be hard to get. Too much mess and too mush happens that is hard to photograph. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

I did say Wednesday but I forgot I had the evening already scheduled for something else. 
 
I have taken pictures but it is hard with all the dust and crap during fiberglass work to get good pictures, that is why I thought I would just post here for a week or two. I promise to post here again in a couple of days, and keep up the pace during polishing. Then a nice log with pictures. 
 
I flew again on Wednesday and will again tomorrow. I was supposed to get this time in two weeks earlier but I kept getting weathered out. The rust is clearly getting cleaned off and I almost nailed a perfect wheel landing. I ended up bouncing as it is always hard for me - after a layoff in flying tail draggers - to get back into moving the stick forward at touchdown. So unnatural. It's coming back though and bouncing to a three point hasn't been any problem. I will be ready for flying the Sonex when the time comes. 
 
I have three pieces all ready for painting now. The wing tips and nose wheel pant. The main wheel pants are done. I have started prep work on the tail tips, and will start on the cowling soon. I want to have all the painting done by the end of May and I think I can do it. 
 
I stamped out my data plate today and I also received my N numbers from Sporty's Polishing should start next week. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

Yeah, that's what I said. I seem to have forgotten. 
 
I have made progress however. I have done my first fiberglass work and first painting. Both went excellently. 
 
I got to fly last week finally and again today. I had been weathered out five scheduled times in the last two weeks. I'm trying to get the touch back after laying off for the winter. 
 
Today was great, got my landings back on track even with a nice crosswind. 
 
I've also had to watch a lot of Blackhawk games so my time has been well spoken for. 
 
I promise to put another update here by Wednesday night. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

There are no more pages on the plans to mark off! 
 
The pictures are here in the latest log, along with a discussion of what complete means. ;-) 
 
I have also secured an insurance quote, contacted my DAR and am ready to start planning the move to the airport in a few weeks. I have a very reasonable chance of first flight by July 1st. 
 
Check back often, I will start blogging about progress a little more often even if I don't make another log entry for awhile. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

Not done, but very very close. Here is the latest log with pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

A complete shop cleanup, an inspection, assist one daughter and celebrate the graduation of another meant not a lot of work but still a very good week. 
 
I'm putting another log together but it probably won't be up until Monday evening, so come back tomorrow night or Tuesday evening. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

No new post buy I have changed a page in the last log. 
 
Chris Williams has kept an eagle eye on my logs and informed me of an error in materials. Doh! My fuel vent line can be aluminum if I use the optional vent-goes-up option. That option is behind the firewall. The plans call for steel brake line for the standard install which routes in front of the firewall. 
 
As the title says, I am all ready for the final push to finish the plane. I got the shop all cleaned up. I also had Joe come out for his third look at the plane. Joe is my EAA Technical Counselor. He had some engine compartment suggestions and gave me another thumbs up. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

As promised yesterday I have posted the latest log showing the final tasks performed firewall forward. The video I posted yesterday was after all of the work in this log was finished. 
 
Here are the latest log pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

I will have a new post up later today or end of day tomorrow so this is just a tease with no explanation for now. 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDAcJkTAJ4w 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

More work since the last log, but this one catches up to everything done so far. No more work until Monday. 
 
Here is a link to the latest pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

I finished up the next log and like last time, I have already moved ahead of what is detailed here. 
 
Here are the latest pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

A new post is coming, probably a little after midnight. 
 
Hang in there. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

Got the log done, but it is already out of date. I hope to have another log up over the weekend. 
 
Here are the pictures. 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)

...but it won't be ready tonight. Maybe tomorrow night. I have received most of the items I ordered. The remainder is coming in the next couple of days. I have worked out a list of all the remaining activities firewall forward and I should be able to knock it off in a week or two. 
 
Almost there! 

Posted by: Bob (You can e-mail me at bobmeyers@meyersfamily.org)