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Make sure you have all the required tools before
you begin. e.g. a torque wrench with a low enough setting, or a swaging tool
(No, I didn't know what it was either! It's crushing a bit of metal used to
clamp two cables together). You'll also need steel locking wire.
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A mallet is your friend. Makes tight fitting
bolts a breeze. A rat-tail file is also your friend - avoids the temptation
of becoming too friendly with the mallet! Warning - strictly speaking, you
should never drill the airframe unless the manual calls for it. I think that
using a rat tail file to 'ease' a hole should be acceptable though.
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Every time you use a little bottle of Loctite,
put it back in the same place or it will vanish!
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Don't take the manual as gospel - I'll put up
some pages when I'm finished detailing all the errors, and suggesting some
changes to build order which will make your life easier! (Note: Sorry - this
is a lie. I never got around to it and I couldn't be bothered now!)
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When torquing bolts, stop if the frame starts to
distort - even if you haven't reached the correct value.
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In the wing build manual, when it says to stick
prop tape to the keel to protect it, don't! Defer the step until after you
have fitted the hang bracket, as it will not slide on to the keel over the
tape.
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Remember to fit the cable protectors to the
throttle-to-card cables before fitting the cables to the splitter
box.
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When fitting the cable to limit foot throttle
movement (required UK mod), cable tie the ends to both pedal and fork. If
you don't, the cable springs open when you release the pedal, and then when
you press the pedal again, the swaging catches on the pedal, resulting in
only about half-throttle being available. Needless to say, if this happened
as you were trying to abort a landing, the results could be disastrous.
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Use the M10 Nuts that you will find in the bag
of exhaust manifold bolts
withdraw the studs on the bottom of the engine block. You can use a stud
remover or just plain old molegrips, but IMHO it's easier to 'go nuts'.
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Routeing the fuel primer bulb and feed lines is
tricky, and is not pictured in the manual. Click here
to see a picture of how I did it. (Then use the browser 'back' button to
return to this screen.
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You may need to bend the fuel pickup pipes to
get them to fit cleanly in the tank. Click here to
see what I mean.
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Route the hand start cable over the rounded bar
on the engine mount, not under it. This is because there is a fairly narrow
edge of metal underneath, which will cause the cable to fray over time.
Stop press: There are two little white plastic inserts in the kit which fit
into the top and bottom of the hole in the engine mount. They are not
mention in the build manual, but once you know they exist, they should be
easy to find. Once fitted, they prevent abrasion of the pull start cord.
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Loosen every throttle cable adjustment in sight
before attempting to fit to the carbs, or the sodding great spring will
defeat you!
STOP PRESS: Flylight suggestion - leave out the spring! Once you've got the
cable in place, you can fit the string by twisting it round so the cable
works it's way up the helix. This is a top-tip, and I wish I'd known in
advance!
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Use a continuity tester if you want to
double-check which wires go to which plug socket in the pre-wired loom. The
manual does indicate which socket in the plugs does what, but I do like to
double-check!
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When soldering the very narrow pins for the
engine adapter plug, don't be tempted to fill the U-channel with solder. If
you do, it will prevent the pin from slotting into the plug. This is easy to
fix: just get a hot iron, give it a shake to remove old solder, and touch it
to the channel. If the iron is hot enough, the solder will just flow back up
over the tip. I found this removed just enough to make the pins fit.
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Remember the landing wires to the leading edges
are handed - if you get them the wrong way round, the kingpost cap will be
upside down.
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Don't do what I did: remember the keel has to
exit and re-enter the wing to expose the hang point. The manual clearly
states this and even included a picture. I actually stopped while putting
the sail on, reread the manual, got under the sail to check, and though
'yes, I can see the hang point thru the hole in the wing' - Duh!
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Fit a large, clean workspace to put the sail on
the wing, and make sure you have at least one willing helper! If you can put
the whole thing on the ground without it getting filthy, your life will be
much easier.
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If you haven't got a really long 8mm drill bit,
to go through the drag-link bolt hole in the keel and drill the bottom of
the pod, drop a pencil through the hole to mark the pod, then drill it with
a tiny drill bit at an angle from inside. Now you can drill it to 8mm from
underneath.
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The trim supplied for the edges of the pod is
very flexible, and can go around incredibly tight corners - but you do need
to work at it. See what I mean in this
picture, which is of the sight hole for checking the fuel level.
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When cutting the slot in the pod for the front
strut, use a router - it's easy! Don't forget to mask the fibreglass so the
router base plate doesn't scratch it.
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When fitting the windscreen, take your time and
measure and mark several times. Oh yes, don't slip with your rivet gun and
scratch the bloody pod either. Damn.
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When installing the radiator in the air-scoop,
leave the little bolt which blocks the old overflow pipe to last. Once
you've fitted it in place, you won't be able to get the radiator into the
scoop!
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Connect the battery before cable-tying
the two big power cables, as they are only just long enough. Note to
Flylight: Make them both two inches longer, and you'll make life easier for
future Kiss Builders.
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When building the trike, don't use the studs for
the wheels as detailed in the manual, as you'll only have to remove them
alter to fit longer studs for the wheel spats.
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The kit is supplied with fuel line clamps that
you compress with pinchers. Throw them away and buy some proper, removable
clamps. If ever you have to remove a line, it saves the grief of trying to
cut the existing clamps off!
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In order to get the bolt to fit though the
bottom of the front strut, don't be tempted to try and ream out the hole. On
my kit, there wasn't enough material in the sleeve, which fits in the role
to hold the safety cable, to be able to do this. Instead, I ground an eighth
of an inch off the bottom of the front strut plastic boot. Yes, I know
that's a lot of material, but that's what it took to make it fit! Used an
angle grinder to essentially melt away the plastic, as a file wouldn't touch
it!
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The plastic boot mentioned in the previous
paragraph is a damned tight fit in the keel socket. So tight, that there was
no way to get it out once the weight of the wing had settled it in, without
disconnecting it from the hang point so it could be twisted out. Now as you
can imagine, that's a little disconcerting, as you have all the width of the
wing on the pylon safety bolt, so I took a belt sander to the outside of the
boot. Paul Dewhurst had told me it was important that the front strut is a
tight fit, so I removed very little material at a time. Two sodding
hours later, the strut slips in like a......(make up our own simile here -
the only ones that I can think of are sexual).
