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QuickTalk 9 - Q2 HINTS

From Bob Falkiner, #2015:

1. John Wirta of Ontario located a direct reading fuel gauge for the main Q2 fuel tank. Total weight is 140 grams and it can be converted to a remote sender if you want a panel gauge. There are no electrics inside the tank; it uses a magnetic couple for the readout. Made by Tempo Corp. (TRG-0750-M mechanical 7.5" fuel gauge) available at boat/marine outlets for about $17 U.S.

2. The water drain requirement for the header tank is easy to do with no extra weight by making the cockpit sight glass your water sensor and drain. Make the lower tube enter the header tank flush with the inside bottom. The bottom surface sits at a positive "angle of attack" when parked, so water can be made to flow into the sight tube if it is the lowest point in the system. The sight tube will need to be 10-11" long to do this.



From Ron Cross, #2397:

1. When on the ground, water cannot be drained from the main tank with the fuel drain located as shown in the plans. Consider putting a drain at the aft end of the tank.

2. It seemed to me that it would be difficult to wet out the cloth inside the sump on the header tank, so I laid up the inside surface of the foam pieces prior to assembling them. By recessing the joints during assembly, there were no exposed foam edges. I then laid up 2" wide tapes on Handi-Wrap and covered all joints. The outside of the tank was covered as per the plans. The resulting tank weighed 3 lbs. 5 oz. before trimming and plumbing. Consider putting a fuel drain in the aft center bottom of the header tank, similar to the main tank.

3. Here's a method for fitting bulkheads (and fuel tanks) into the fuselage shells. Position the bulkhead as best you can at the proper location and angle. Then lay a pencil flat against the fuselage shell and move it around the bulkhead, marking the bulkhead as you go. You do not necessarily trim down to the line, but trim until the edge of the bulkhead is the same distance from the line all the way around. Use a wood block under the pencil or use a draftsman's compass, if necessary.

4. (Page 14-3) Most builders are finding that their main tank is 1" too tall for the CS13 elevator control rod. QAC says that you can bend the control rod up to 1" to obtain the required clearance rather than trimming the tank down.

5. (Page 14-3) One method of fitting the main fuel tank is to glass one side of the baffles. Temporarily join the baffles with small dabs of 5-minute and several wood cross ties. Trim the baffles to fit the main tank. Next, trim the baffles to fit the fuselage so that they are level across the tops. Now glass the other side of the baffles with a glass-to-glass bond at the circular openings. Rejoin the baffles again. Trim the main tank down until a thin feeler gauge will slide between the tank and the fuselage with the tank resting on the baffles. The baffles can now be bonded to the tank and installed in the fuselage.


From Philip Kelly, #2409:

1. (Page 9-6) You will find great difficulty in inserting the QCSM5 stud backwards into the AN363-428 nut. I found that by putting the stud into a vise and turning the nut onto the stud the normal way - past where the split section of the nut is, will sufficiently spread that part of the nut so that it can be put on the reversed direction as called for in the plans. (Ed. note: It is recommended that the QCSM5 stud be held in a drill chuck for this operation. A vise may put flat spots on the stud.)

2. (Page 12-1) In order to cut out the fuselage shell where the wing will be located, first level the fuselage laterally and longitudinally. A wing template for BL15 can be approximated by laying the BL50 main wing template on top of the BL00 and aligning the respective level lines. To find BL15, reduce the BL00 template by 15/50 of the difference between BL00 and BL50. Using your new BL15 template, locate WL30 on the fuselage shell and ink in the lower curve of the template onto the shell.


From J.D. Granzella, #2038:

1. (Page 10-7, 10-8) CS-17 is very difficult to hold in place while the 5-minute is hardening. We found that installing CS-19 and CS-15 in their proper place and then installing CS-17 with 5-minute was much easier. A neat way to hold the CS-17 in place on the QCSM3 stud was to wrap a heavy string over the CS-17 riser and put tension on it to hold it on the stud. Shim as needed. We used a spring hooked on the inboard edge of the elevator to hold it for us.


From Bruce Wood, #2365:

1. High-speed taxi tests left me feeling that I could not control the aircraft on the ground. However, after the addition of tailwheel springs, the plane is steady as a rock. I feel that the springs mounted to the rudder pedals exerted very little force on the tailwheel due to the cable friction going toward the tail.



From Kim Singleton, #2170:

1. (Engine mounting) Rather than snap your back (and your patience) trying to locate the mounting holes and magneto box cutout by mounting the engine on the firewall, make a full size template from masonite and carry it to the engine. Can also use this template to figure out cable routing, fuel lines, etc.

2. (Elevator mass balances) The plans call for the elevator mass balances to be mounted outboard in the cabin. There are two problems: they hit my feet and in a tight installation between canard and the fuel tank, they have inadequate travel room. My solution is to mount them in the center instead.

3. (Page 9-5) I'm concerned about the seat belt routing called for. The belts come out the bulkhead TOGETHER and BELOW the pilot's shoulders. In a crash, the effect will be to squeeze the neck and compress the spinal column. Consider instead routing them through the bulkhead ABOVE the pilot's shoulders and separated. This will require an appropriate modification to the back of the canopy.

4. (Page 11-3) The plans call for builders to attach the rudder pedal phenolic bearings before mounting the main wing. This is difficult to judge since the fuel tank isn't installed and it's hard to tell where they should go. If you wanted to install the pedals after the canard is mounted, there's no room to slide the outboard pedal in and out because of the fuselage side. The solution is to cut the tubing and attach a sleeve over it.



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