After some months I now have my Zodiac failry close to the state it was in when I bought it but now with the defects resolved. That means I've:

Removed Subaru E81 engine
removed all undercarriage
removed rudder pedals and steering rods
removed engine mounting frame
bead blasted, undercoated and two pack painted engine mounting frame
refitted engine mounting frame
refitted engine
replaced all crimp links in wires with solder joints (yeah, I know some of you wil disagree with this)
bead blasted, undercoated and two pack painted steel parts of undercarriage
replaced all bungees
fitted nylon bushes to front undercarriage (others had already been done)
refitted undercarriage
moved radiator back clear of wheel spats
bead blasted, undercoated and two pack painted rudder pedals and steering rods
built rubberised curtains for steering rod slots through firewall
refitted rudder pedals
refitted steering rods

I've wrapped the exhaust pipes and muffler with heat resitant bandage to reduce heat in the engine bay. A friend reckons this will improve engine efficiency but I don't know how. Doing this made me realise how close the muffler is to the nylon block under the front undercarriage stop. I'm not sure how to stop the block melting. I may have to put a second heat guard on the muffler there if there's room.

I've also started to install the front opening canopy kit I received from Zenair. The sides of the frame were 60 mm (1 3/4 ") too long for my aircraft's fuselage (no idea why) so I've had to grind off the welds where the angle joins the box section, shorten the frame and am waiting for aircraft welder to re-do the welds before I can continue fitting the canopy frame.

My next jobs are:

cut the aluminium tubing to extend the radiator pipes from the engine bay back to the new radiator position
flare the tube ends (not beading but will do the job)
connect the tubes to the radiator via angle hoses
make aluminium saddles and rubber standoffs for radiator tubes
attach the radiator tubes to the underside of the fuselage
connect engine pipes, radiator filler cap and overflow tank to ratiator tubes with rubber hose

I've ordered a louvre set and fiberglas intake for the radiator from Larry at macsmachine.com so will fit these when they arrive.

Fit canopy frame, latches, etc
test canopy frame open/close/ latch movement
trim canopy bubble
attach canopy to canopy frame - plan to use stepping drill through perspex, attach withflat head screws & penny washers until all done, then replace with countersunk head screws with plastic tube over screw shaft

I'm also researching whichis the best Odyssey battery for the E81 engine. My aricraft has cabling, trays and clamps for two small batteries behind the seats but I can't see the sense in using two. AFAIK aircraft just needs one relaible battery. I'm planning W & B will be ok with battery behind the seats but I can move it to engine compartment if necessary. I haven't worked out how to strengthen fuselage to carry the battery weight behind seats yet. Attaching it to the front of the firewall may be an easier option.


That should keep me going for a while..........


Cheers,

Greg.