The tiedown shown is for the tail mount. The photos show a top view, extended side view, trial fit into opening, and an installed photo. The tiedown is mounted on a 1/4" phenolic plate which was shaped so that the bottom fit the cutout opening as tightly as possible. The metal retractor is set down into the phenolic a little over 1/16" in order to have the bottom edge of the retractor perfectly flush with the bottom edge of the fuselage after installation. The mounting screws are all countersunk and bonded into the phenolic prior to installation. The size of the plate was picked to spread the load over a large area of the fuselage. The forward portion is a little longer than needed but I used that area to drill and shape a nice water drain hole after installation. The whole thing is placed just a couple of inches behind the rear bulkhead before installation of the bulkhead.

Prior to installation, the opening in the fuselage was cut and cleaned out. A wet Micro/Flox was spread across the bottom in a thin layer and the edges filled. A two ply bid was then placed so that it overlapped the top by two inches all around. The phenolic plate was then put into place and pressed down to ensure that no air bubbles were caught between the bid and the fuselage. This was weighed down until cured. Once cured, the space around the phenolic was filled with a micro flox and an additional two ply bid applied with 3 inch overlap onto the fuselage. While wet, the metal frame and hold downs which had been covered with tape to make them easy to remove, were bolted down as tightly as possible. This pressed the glass down under the retractor while curing. After this cured, I cut the opening for the tiedown retractor through all the glass bids and the bottom of the fuselage and trimmed it out. The retractor mechanism was then bolted down fully assembled. The bottom edge of the retractor is flush with the bottom edge of the fuselage and is self retracting.

The extra holes in the sides of the retractor are simply to lighten the mechanism some. The screw shown in the side view is there to keep the counterweight from going beyond the balance point for self retraction. The top view shows the nylon spacers which help keep the retractor from wobbling back and forth and keep the operation smooth. It also shows all the screws for holding the mechanism to the plate. It might be a slight over kill but I wanted to spread the load evenly over a wide area.

If I were to do it over again, I would move the main pivot hole in the retractable portion up about 3/16 inch. This would eliminate the need to counter sink the whole mechanism in the phenolic block and possibly eliminate the need for the stop screw.

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ELEVATOR Flange

The flange in question is the one specified for attachment to the joggle on the bottom spar edge of the elevator. This was indicated as a curved piece to fill the gap between the stabilizer and the elevator. I covered a 4 inch diameter PVC pipe with duct tape and laid a 6 inch wide 3 ply bid over this to cure. I cut this bid in half length wise using a band saw and sanded the edges and surfaces before installation. Because of an error in the finished thickness of my elevator I could not install this on the outside edge of the elevator and have enough clearance to get clearance for the elevator. Instead, I installed it on the inside using a wet flox mix and lots of clecos. The same method would be used either way. The edge between the two was also filled with micro flox and smoothed out. Once cured, the whole thing was sanded down and filled to make a smooth transition between the parts. The holes were filled and a single ply of glass was placed over the two parts. The forward edge was trimmed after completion a little at a time until the proper down movement of the elevator was reached just before contact with the stabilizer spar area. (Provides a positive control stop.)

The photos also show the access opening for the trim tab servo and the flaring for the trim controls. This was not necessary but I had seen the treatment on some other planes and liked the way it looked. It was constructed by cutting and fitting a small piece of 3/4 inch PVC pipe to the elevator. This was bonded into place, a micro mix was used to fill and shape it. It was then covered with a 2 ply bid. Once sanded and trimmed, it looks great. You can also see the fill done around the access panel. The fit is very tight and smooth with just a hair line gap.

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PROTOTYPE Photos

These show a flaring which has been added to the prototype that extends the lower cowling lines smoothly back into the fuselage bottom. There are two pieces which keep the opening for the exhaust and cooling air exit in tact. Their sole purpose as far as I can determine is to improve the lines on the plane which it does. Another shot shows the extended view of the retractable step which looks and works great. The last shot shows the access plate for getting to the elevator control horn.

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REAR SEATS

Backseat photo

The photo showing the rear seats shows only the back of the rear seat back. I took this to show the bracing used and how placed. There is a 5 inch wide extension added to the top of the original panel to extend the back up. I then added the two extensions for the head rests. These were glassed over on the front and back side with two ply bids. A two inch wide plywood hard point was added to the bottom with one inch extending beyond the prepreg and one inch bonded between the sides of the prepreg. This was then glassed into place with a 2 ply bid. This hard point served to raise the whole panel for a better fit against the flanges and provide for a full width piano hinge. The bracing shown is balsa wood with the edges rounded and covered with a two ply bid. The result is a seat back that is strong and ridged both vertically and horizontally. It might be a bit of overkill but the only thing I would change if I did it over would be to remove the center horizontal brace as I don't think it is needed. (Note the photo was taken before I had glassed the horizontal bracing.) The rear seat bottoms are just two pieces of 1/4" aircraft plywood cut to the proper shape and size. I put a two ply covering of glass on the front and back of the plywood. I then placed the two balsa wood bracing strips on the bottom of each side and covered with a two ply bid. The lightening holes are cut using 2 1/2 inch and 2 inch hole saws. Piano hinge is used at the back for mounting and lock catches will be added to the center front. The result is light weight and strong and required no side flanges on the inside of the fuselage to support the weight. Bob Reed, KIS Cruiser #4044 in progress