She's really starting to look like an airplane. Its at the point where you really start getting almost overwhelmed about trying to prepare for all the stuff you need to do. For example:
Pretty soon you have some structure together and are assembling the seat frames. Cutting the super-thick bracket for the control rod bearing was a bit of a chore, even with my overkill metal bandsaw. But I got it done.
Then all of a sudden you have this beast. This was right after I made the big move from the downstairs shop to the garage. This winger has been nice and mild, so its been staying around 50 degrees in there which is sweet. Will see what Jan/Feb brings. Last year was brutal.
Had some awesome help countersinking. Sure makes me happy to see this little guy help out.
Of course had a pretty large priming job this round. Dad helped as usual.
I couldn't find a step where they tell you to countersink the upper part of the Fwd Bulkhead lower flange, but there is a note on a diagram to double flush 7 rivets under where the landing gear mounts go. I had to get creative with countersinking tools to get that one. But they turned out nice and flush.
There is a nutplate in the bottom skin that ends up between the two big fuse bulkheads. I didn't catch it until it was too late. But I have a super long and skinny flat rivet set that'll do the job fine. If I did it again though I'd read ahead and install it.
The last steps are drilling some holes for the landing gear mounts. These things are bears, and fitting your hands in between the bulkheads to mess with washers and nuts totally sucks. Luckily a few years back I bought these super long double-jointed pliars and they were a life saver here. Do yourself a favor and get some before tackling this job. They saved me hours of pain.
When your done you have this! Is pretty sweet, and I even got to show it to some folks when we hosted 2 Christmas parties. Infamous Chapter 29, here I come!
- I bought some 5052 tubing from spruce and bent my first brake lines
- Purchased the Andair duplex fuel valve and 2 filters to plan out fuel lines
- Thinking about interior paint so I can do some of that before assembly
- Planning for the finish kit, mostly what to remove
Then you put the front floor ribs in. These end up getting riveted on the bench by back-riveting. Which is nice, because the rest of the floor rivets you need a friend to help with. My buddy from work, Mark, and my dad helped with mine. One luxury of getting old is you start to have more and more friends that are retired.
Then all of a sudden you have this beast. This was right after I made the big move from the downstairs shop to the garage. This winger has been nice and mild, so its been staying around 50 degrees in there which is sweet. Will see what Jan/Feb brings. Last year was brutal.
Had some awesome help countersinking. Sure makes me happy to see this little guy help out.
Of course had a pretty large priming job this round. Dad helped as usual.
I couldn't find a step where they tell you to countersink the upper part of the Fwd Bulkhead lower flange, but there is a note on a diagram to double flush 7 rivets under where the landing gear mounts go. I had to get creative with countersinking tools to get that one. But they turned out nice and flush.
There is a nutplate in the bottom skin that ends up between the two big fuse bulkheads. I didn't catch it until it was too late. But I have a super long and skinny flat rivet set that'll do the job fine. If I did it again though I'd read ahead and install it.
The last steps are drilling some holes for the landing gear mounts. These things are bears, and fitting your hands in between the bulkheads to mess with washers and nuts totally sucks. Luckily a few years back I bought these super long double-jointed pliars and they were a life saver here. Do yourself a favor and get some before tackling this job. They saved me hours of pain.
When your done you have this! Is pretty sweet, and I even got to show it to some folks when we hosted 2 Christmas parties. Infamous Chapter 29, here I come!
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