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For Mark Lally and other ES builders:
You are right -- the order in
which the Lancair manual says to build things is completely out of whack.
Part of the trouble is that the manual was based mostly on the original
prototype ES, and has not been changed much over the years. It's still
completely oriented to the slow-build, which they haven't even sold in several
years.
First of all, do EVERYTHING
you can before putting the top on. That means finishing out the
baggage area, running all your wiring, pitot/static tubes, etc., etc. I
mean everything, because after the top goes on, everything gets much more
difficult. Instead of reaching in over the side, you're crawling back in a
tube. I actually had almost all the electronics in, the engine and prop
hung, and the panel nearly finished before putting the top on this time (my
second ES). You have to make sure you can still access the proper places
to apply the reinforcements around the firewall area, but really, the top can be
put off almost to the last. It makes life a lot easier.
If you have the original
slow-build door, expect to spend a lot of hours making everything fit.
There's no reason you can't do this long after everything else inside is
finished, and the top is finally bonded on. On the door frame members, I
had to make a series of slits in a couple of the parts because the complex
curves of the moldings didn't fit the complex curve of the fuselage.
Stiffen the upper rear corner of the door so it doesn't pooch out from the door
spring pressure. [There have been other postings on this problem in the
past, but e-mail me if all you have is the factory advice to add a few more
plies, which does nothing at all.]
If you have the original pin
latches (one on each side, about a third of the way up the door), throw them
away. Vern can probably give you a parts list to convert to the IV-style
door latches. I used two on the bottom of the door, which worked pretty
well, much better than the pin latches. Seems to me it cost somewhere in
the neighborhood of $300 to $400 for the parts to convert. It's a lot of
little parts, and you'll need the blueprints for the IV door, plus the manual
section on building the IV door latch. It's a bit confusing, since the
IV-P has 8 of the little beggars, and a little improvisation is
required.
Don't put the
right co-pilot side window in until the door is finished. If you
follow the manual, you'll be trying to crawl in and out of the baggage
door. It's a contortionist feat, and a long way down to the floor.
If you leave the co-pilot side window out, you can just step in and out on
the wing.
Jim Cameron
N143ES
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