David and Kim's RV-9A Build Site

05/30/09 2.0 hrs	Went and picked up my engine today from Command Aircraft at Flagler County Airport (XFL). These guys were great to work with and if you are in need of something you really should give them an email, trust me, email is better than phone. Command Aircraft (386) 437-5792 aircraftsalz@aol.com It's an IO-320-B1A model with 1700 hours on it. I'm really intent on running Precision Airmotive's Eagle EMS system. So I don't need the Bendix system, but since it's already setup as an IO I have the fuel pump. It can support a constant speed prop, but I plan to convert to ground adjustable. I may go back to a CS someday, this way I have the flexibility if I want to.

05/31/09 3.5 hrs	There were some parts that they didn't have time to remove from the engine and I wanted to start stripping down things I didn't need. So I took off the engine mount, govenor (it's for a twin, full feathering) and exhaust. I haven't decided exactly what I want to do to spruce up the engine. This will probably be all I do until much further down the road.

07/25/10 6.0 hrs	Spent the day building my own engine stand out of some left over wood and bought a few casters. I figure the cost is about $50 in material if you don't have it laying around, but a lot cheaper than the expensive metal ones with shipping. Next weekend I hope to get the engine on the stand and start tearing it apart so I can send it off for overhaul.

07/31/10 3.75 hrs	Kim and I mounted the engine to my "el cheapo" engine stand I made last weekend. It worked like a champ, a little creaking from the wood but it held and was easy to roll around. After that I couldn't wait to tear it apart, so that's what I did. Kim took pictures and wrote down notes for future reference. I got all the accessories off, the oil pan, the rear accessory case and the mag gears. I've got more than a few things to Ebay that I know I won't be putting back on. I have serveral reference images if you are interested. These are mainly for when I have to put everything back together.

08/01/10 3.25 hrs	Today I pulled the cylinders off, not much to it, but I forgot to remove the spark plug on the first one. Even after 10 years sitting, this thing still has a good seal. Everything that came off looked in excellent shape, so I'm really thinking that I can reuse just about everything. The pistons have some scoring on the skirts, most likely they will need to be replaced.

08/05/10 4.75 hrs	Tonight Kim helped me work on removing the pistons themselves. The plugs and wrist pins were pretty well varnished on there. I got a wood dowel that I could hit with a rubber mallet to finally knock them free, they put up a good fight. After that I removed the piston rods as well. Kim helped me bag and tag all the parts so I know which went with what cyclinder if I can just clean and reuse them.

08/07/10 5.5 hrs	This morning Kim helped me crack the case apart. It took a bit of whacking with a rubber mallet and a wooden wedge, but we got it apart. I looked at the crank and cam, both look in suprisingly good shape, so hopefully they will both be reusable. Once we had it all apart, I got to soaking the parts in degreaser and cleaning them up.

08/08/10 2.5 hrs	More cleaning of parts.

08/10/10 2.25 hrs	Guess what, more cleaning!

08/29/10 1.0 hrs	Today I contacted both Zephyr Engines and Don George about cleaning and inspecting my parts. Zephyr was extremely prompt and I had a reply in an hour. I still haven't heard from Don George.