YGC Blog

G-MOYR’s cockpit is starting to come together nicely; it’s interesting work in a fairly confined space, so all the assembly that’s possible to do outside the cockpit is done on the bench. Then head and shoulders go inside for the trial fit, measure (twice), cut, fit, fix, move to next part, repeat ….! When you stand back at the end of the day you can see progress.

Still lots of tie-wrapping and sheathing to do here and in the engine department, and now on to the control column and flaperons.

Good Bank Holiday EuroFox production line action. Debs has got to grips with the doors, after suggesting that we should operate ‘doorless’ over the summer.

John fitted the turtle deck without swearing (very much). This was another job that was a little daunting, but patience paid off and it fits a treat.

The cockpit floor is fitted after some careful brake pipe routing.

Rudder pedals and brake cylinders are temporarily in prior to rudder cable swaging, carpet laying and much consulting of the build manual to work out a sensible sequence.

An all together very successful Bank Holiday. G-MOYR is looking much more like an aircraft, and the chaps from Currock Hill dropped in for a chat - they’ve just put their order in and wanted a sneak preview!

The turtle deck triumph

A picture really does tell a thousand words. EuroFox’s build manual is made even better when we show detailed images of the job in hand on the lap-top. Today’s job list included fine tuning the flaperon cross-tube to provide just the right amount of friction to hold the flaps in the correct place, and hand-crafting the control column nylon bushing for really ’silky’ control circuits. The loose trial fit of all the cranks and control tubes now makes complete sense - another puzzle solved. The instrument panel is now a homework part of the project; the idea came from the G-UFOX microlight team, whose web site is both informative and entertaining.

Fuel, oil and induction systems nearly ready for final fit and check. The nose end gets heavier by the day, if the weather holds good at the weekend, we should be able to get G-MOYR out, swing the wings forward to final check the rigging, and torque up the undercarriage clamps.

The Clubhouse team has been working as hard as the EuroFox builders, and the door into the workshop is now wide enough for G-MOYR to squeeze through. We moved in on Friday after mounting the Rotax 912ULS on to the firewall - the build manual said “do not drop it” so 4 willing volunteers lifted the engine into place. Other jobs have included trial fitting of the rudder pedals to locate the centring spring rod, final fitting of the fuel pipework and back up pump. We have mislaid a short black earthing strap, and spent ages hunting for it; it probably got ‘hidden’ during the move, but we gave up eventually and have cut the oil system pipework to size, and solved the latest jigsaw puzzle of pipes, washers, bolts and where to route them round the engine bay. With the help of some of the 1700 photos provided by Aeropro with the build manual, and a trial fit of the oil cooler and bottom cowling, it looks spot on. Before going any further we will check it all again before torqueing up the engine mounts, and clipping the pipework together.

Actually the door’s not wide enough, so we’re cracking on at the back of the hangar. The engine control cables and cabin heater duct are in, firewall items bolted on, and the undercarriage legs are final fitted. The disc brakes and wheels are the next challenge, so when the workshop door has been ‘enlarged’ we’ll wheel MOYRa next door and get out of the way!

We decided against stealth/battleship grey. Ferrari red should be a bit more visible! Registration letters and ‘go faster’ stripes in silver and black should look super.

G-MOYR is getting her paint job done! We are hoping to get her to Sutton Bank before Easter, then the work begins

John Shaw captured Dick Cole’s early Xmas present on film!!