Skycraft Scout Mk.IV ZK-JJN

[ZacYates]

I had some free time yesterday arvo so was able to help Jonny smooth the edges of the fibreglass repair on the pod with a hand sander.
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr

Note to self: when working with fibreglass, wear long sleeves!

[Dave Homewood]

And a respirator, gloves and eye protection.

[Antonio]

Feb 24, 2023 15:16:52 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

And a respirator, gloves and eye protection.

Well said S&S

[ZacYates]

First of type, the Mk.IV is now on the register! An update from Jonny on Facebook (link) yesterday:

Very excited today. Both SLF and JJN are now registered by CAA. SLF is complete, besides the attachment of the data plate and is awaiting inspection. JJN’s nose pod has undergone (hopefully) the last of the necessary fibreglass work today and fingers crossed we’ll be painting it later in the week. While JJN is still completely disassembled, almost everything is complete so once the pod is done it’ll mostly be an assembly job. There’s still a small job on the fuel tank, adaption modification to the propeller, instrument panel, and painting the rego.

Hope to have these in the air soon.

332336660_759831965505807_2044853841397286954_n by Zac Yates, on Flickr
329571670_1349654895768667_8564597879942348119_n by Zac Yates, on Flickr
332115108_3405296286409093_2868806572763123193_n by Zac Yates, on Flickr
332289740_3314770795502547_5383936240883353717_n by Zac Yates, on Flickr

[ZacYates]

Here's an update from 13 March (my apologies for the delay, FB link here):

A good bit of progress on the Mk4 today! Airframe is coming together with all new hardware. The pod will now get a final hand-sand before painting.

20230313 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 01 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230313 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 02 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230313 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 03 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230313 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 04 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
\20230313 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 05 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230313 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 06 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230313 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 07 by Zac Yates, on Flickr

And since then Jonny's been busy with instrumentation. No, really! (FB link)

Panel now taking shape. Off for a sand and paint.

20230322 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 01 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230322 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 02 by Zac Yates, on Flickr

[johnnyfalcon]

Instrumentation? Doesn't that, kind of, go against the whole point??? 🤔

[ZacYates]

Mar 23, 2023 17:00:56 GMT 12 johnnyfalcon said:

Instrumentation? Doesn't that, kind of, go against the whole point??? 🤔

She had a panel when we collected her and Jonny wanted to stick with it! Here's an update from Jonny on Facebook (link) posted on Saturday:

Here we go, finished panel for JJN Mk4 Scout. Might still get a rego sticker and placard or two. We’ll see.

As for the rest of the airframe, with the exception of fitting the engine mount, the rest of my new AN grade hardware has arrived and needs to finish getting fitted. Prop has gone onto the CNC for resizing the bore and prop bolt holes. The new throttle has been modified and adjusted for the cable. A couple small final spots of filler on the pod are needed before painting and refitting the pod for final assembly.

20230401 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline by Zac Yates, on Flickr

I also noticed the other day that Ross Brodie has registered his Scout, so Jonny no longer has a monopoly on legal Scouts in NZ!

[Dave Homewood]

A classified advert spotted in The Press, 27 March 1982. That price equates to $15,675.47 now according to the Reserve Bank's inflation calculator.

[ZacYates]

Jonny notes one can get a very tidy B22 Bantam for that price today! Due to illness and other commitments work had been paused for some time however a Facebook update was shared (link) on 10 May:

Some good progress on Scout Mk4 JJN finally. The pod has been given an undercoat now. Hopefully the topcoat and inside can be completed next weekend. The prop is now almost finished, just requiring a spray urethane coat over the hub area. The jobs list is getting shorter…

20230510 ZK-JJN Maxwell Jonathan Mauchline 01 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230510 ZK-JJN Maxwell Jonathan Mauchline 02 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230510 ZK-JJN Maxwell Jonathan Mauchline 03 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230510 ZK-JJN Maxwell Jonathan Mauchline 04 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230510 ZK-JJN Maxwell Jonathan Mauchline 05 by Zac Yates, on Flickr

[ZacYates]

Some more updates! 16/05/2023

I decided not to wait! The Rotax is not on the MK4, and I’m going to soon fit the undercarriage temporarily. This will allow me to be able to swage up the last two new cables, and hopefully also go get the engine running outside. The wheels etc will have to fine off for fitting the pod again by that won’t be a big job.
ROTAX 377 fitted, spark plugs are sparking strongly. Throttle cable needed a bit of work to get the outer case length right with the new throttle lever. I’ve also replaced the bolts holding the belt drive to the prop; the last mechanic apparently thought that because the threads weren’t sticking out the end far enough to even start engaging the nyloc they could just use a spring washer and the 3mm of threads would be plenty…🤯

20230516 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 01 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230516 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 02 by Zac Yates, on Flickr

21/05/2023

The prop is now finished. After struggling to find the right tension on the kingpost to tail cable I decided to add a turnbuckle; now much happier with the ability to control the tension like on the underside cable. Darren [Luff] has finished with the pod, I’ll be picking that up and fitting it in a couple days. The wheels are now holding its weight, along with a freshly crimped arrestor cable underneath. Looking to sand down the exhaust now and give that a fresh coat, very little to go before flying!

20230521 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 01 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230521 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 02 by Zac Yates, on Flickr

22/05/2023

I’ve been talking about the pod enough lately…! She’s on, Cameron Walker] and I lifted the airframe up on the endless chain in the hangar and dropped the bottom off it to fit the pod on. I had a wee accident with the acrylic windscreen, I’m considering leaving it off for now.
Final tasks for fuselage:
- fit instrument panel
- fit bungee to rear of pod
- fit bungee to the bottom of the rudder pedals (keeps tension on the cables)
- fit new rubber bushes to the landing gear arrestor wire keeper
- reroute the throttle cable through the pod
- build the throttle mount and affix to pod

20230522 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 01 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230522 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 02 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230522 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 03 by Zac Yates, on Flickr
20230522 ZK-JJN Whanganui Jonathan Mauchline 04 by Zac Yates, on Flickr