Glenn - boy you are right. I have already started selling the extra grease. If anyone needs a little Aeroshell22 grease just let me know. LOL.... I've got plenty.
Kirby - Thanks for asking and yes, Lord willing, I hope to try again to fly the "Trip of a lifetime" that I didn't finish the last time. I have not decided on doing a thread on that.
Folks
I am asked........."What would you do different if you were to build again tomorrow?" Here is a thought.
Note where the front of the pod sits. The pod is fixed in place due to the aft wires from the floats. I suspect just about all pods are going to be very close to this location. This drives the location of your hydraulic lines for brakes, skis, floats. You think to yourself........"I'm never going to use a pod, floats, hyd skis etc". I think you might change your mind, or perhaps end up selling it to someone who will want to do that, so I propose that you consider .................
Welding in a small (say 2" X 4") steel .050 plate/bracket right in this area, forward of this crossbar, flush with the fabric line, to give you a solid place to have your hydraulic lines exit the fuselage. The R you see in the photo is "Right Rear" on the rudder pedal so I could keep things straight on reassembly. The hyd line exit needs to be forward of this cross tube that my finger is on.
Pardon the dirt, its a work in progress.
This is how, and where, my hydraulics will exit. It will work well and be a pretty clean install but it would have been even better to have a permanent mount rather than have them attached to a inspection cover. You will need three fittings on each side. One for "brakes", an "up" line and a "down" line. The two "up" lines will be joined with a crossover line, as will the "down" lines. Thus I have two "T" bulkhead fittings (AN804) in front of the
right rudder pedal because that is where my hand hyd pump is and where the hydraulic lines go through the floor, and a brake fitting (AN833). The two "T" fittings have a crossover line to the
left side where I have 3, 90 degree AN833 fittings. This would all have been much easier to do before the floorboards and covering were installed, but at that time I had no idea how all this was going to go together. Hopefully, this will help someone.
Bill