Getting heat in my Waiex was a real benefit for the arctic climate of northern Illinois and Wisconsin. But there is still a lot of cold air pouring in through the wing roots. Like a few others before me, I’ve decided to block off the penetrations of the aileron pushrods and the flap torque tube. Ailerons first. I made a paper pattern, and for the base I used a coffee can for the inside of the circle and I used a roll of electrical tape to mark about a 3/4” flange width.
I sewed opposing velcro on either side of the conical section so I could close it up into a cone. The ring that I cut out from the trace above gets velcro sewn onto it, then it is sewn to the bottom of the boot.
I cleaned off around the perimeter of the 4” hole in the fuselage with acetone, then used the heat gun to warm up the aluminum to stick velcro to it. I trimmed the inside of the hole with an exacto knife.
It’s not the most beautiful piece of work ever, but the judges at Oshkosh are unlikely to see it. I used some really thin vinyl from Amazon - looked through the reviews and found one where a few people complained about it being thin. I thought thin would be better in this application than the heavy duty marine vinyl I used for the seats.
And the video test - seems to work. Now I have to do the other side. Flap sealing in another installment.
“Great minds think alike” Bryan.
I have used a combination of shaped 10mm tick foam sheet in the wing roots , pure wool felt “witches hat” on the aileron rods and air-conditioning aluminium tape on the wing spar box holes, to achieve a draft free cockpit . Works a treat.
The wool felt slides on the aieron rod. In the unlikly event of it snagging/catching on the rod, the witches hat will concerteener. Note: One wing root is slightly deeper than the other. For a snug fit you may have to double the thickness of the foam (black) as shown in photo.
If you are wondering what all the plumbing fittings are - My Sonex has 30L x 2 wing tanks, so supply & breather lines , plus level sensor wiring.
The yellow hose is Pitot/Static & A of A
Here is the other side. Airplane is buttoned up and ready for a test flight tomorrow. Overnight low is forecast as -7 F, and the high is going to be 8F.
I can barely imagine going to the airport when it’s 8°, much less flying the airplane parked in a hangar there. Sounds like you definitely needed that upgrade. Brrrrr.
It’s 6F here, (- 14.44 C)(Warmer by the lake. ) Wind chill is -25 F. There’s a Bears game down the street at Soldier Field, It’s an hour drive to the hangar. Sunset is at 4:20, which places the return trip just after the end of the game and the last 1/4 mile of roadway to the airport is a sheet of ice. The hard core nut jobs are at the game.
That doesn’t mean I’m not crazy, just not that crazy.
I do appreciate the posts and photos. Very timely for my build.
I’ll be trying to get the “After Start Enrichment” table refined this winter. Just had a look, it bottoms out at -20 Deg. C. Hope that is enough I have no idea how to test it down here in Tx.
I just flew around a bit. Sadly my chinesium 4 channel thermocouple reader had an unreadable display. Noticeably less drafty and I was too warm because I overdressed. The weather said 0F on departure and 3 after I taxied back from the pumps. My OAT was wonky, was showing+18F at 4000’. I don’t believe that. More like -18F.
I am tempted to make similar changes. Do Sonices (I think that should be plural of Sonex, like indices for index) get air tight enough that I will have to fret about the windscreen and canopy fogging?
I have no idea how to test it down here in Tx.