some notes of interest to those of you with IV-P's. After 60 hrs of
flying, a bit short of most of the other builders I decided to proceed
with plans for pressurization. Initially I though that I could do that
in my shop in Dallas but after a slow start realized the magnitude of
the job and got Larry and Dave from Aircrafters to help. Sealing the
cabin turned out to be a major project that required extensive glass
work and rerouting inside the cabin. Do not even think of doing the
interior before completing the pressurization.  In the process I learned
a lot of things. Pressurization is dangerous to the plane. The fuel pump
had a manufacturing defect and during runs  the engine quit due to the
pressure inside the pump. Replacing the pump cured the problem. Brakes
quit working, nylaflow is a poor substitute for high pressure brake
lines, a minor pinpoint leak in them led to dumping the fluid in the
reservoir and during flight tests loss of brake action (almost a
disaster). The rear bulkhead despite using standard construction methods
delaminated and required replacement. I am grateful to Aircrafters and
their crew for the professional attitude and expertise in helping
develop a pressurization check list that included two guys that braved
the test flight and troubleshooted the problems in the air. The use of a
commercial pressure apparatus not available to the regular builder
facilitated ground run operations (limited to 4.5 PSI).
In another topic, I did also use Tridair Fairchild Fasteners thanks to
advise from Brent Regan and I am very happy with them, very clean
installation and no tool needed. He used a large washer imbedded in the
glass but I did not, the results after multiple removals and 18 months
of wear is excellent with rapid access to the cowling. I believe I used
approx 25 and they go all the way to the bottom around the gear door.
Expensive... I would like to get on the list. There are other
distributors of Fairchild tridair around the country and it pays to make
a few phone calls. I got a much cheaper price around Texas but he sold
me all he had. A new batch I was told was as expensive as Brent quoted.
andres