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Forward
Fuselage
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Here are the various
angles. To the right are the forward angles with the hinge halves that
will hold the cowling. 3/19/00 |
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Here a some reinforcements
and spacers as well as the elevator idler arm. 3/19/00 |
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Cutting the inside
of the doublers at the top was tricky. I could not use the bandsaw but
I could use my saber saw and a lot of filing. 3/19/00 |
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The engine mount
brackets were a pain to layout because of the unusual shape. 3/19/00 |
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This is the flap
torque tube mount. There will be a couple of phoenolic blocks that sit
on top of these. 3/19/00 |
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Here are some of
the various gussets. I only made two of the small ones in the middle until
I looked closer on the plans. You have to make 12 of those. 3/19/00 |
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Here are the rudder
pedal mounts. There will be a couple of phoenolic blocks that hang from
these parts. I had a hard time visualizing this part and ended up making
two left handed parts. Like many of the parts for the fuselage there are
left and right parts and they are mirror images of each other. 3/19/00 |
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Here are the upper
and lower longerons as well as a part for the spar box. 3/19/00 |
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Here is a close
up of the upper longeron where the canopy hoop goes through. You can also
see the countersunk rivet holes where the reinforcement attaches.
3/19/00 |
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Here are the slots
in the upper left longeron where the canopy latches go. I first drilled
the ends of the slots with with a 5/32" drill. Then I used a cut-off wheel
in my Dremel tool to cut the slots. 3/19/00 |
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Here are some of
the parts laid out on the side skins. It is becoming a challenge
to keep track of all the parts. 3/19/00 |
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Here is a view farther
forward of the sides. I still have to make the angles that fit around the
spar box. They will be tough because you have to reform the angles from
90° to 93.9° and 86.1°. Now the next time I see Pete
I am going to have to take away his tenth of a degree protractor as well
as his 64th ruler. 3/19/00 |
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Here is how I reformed
the angle to 86.1°. I removed the steel jaws and made new aluminum
jaws for my vice. I then squeezed the angle to exactly 86.1° ( the
last 0.1° is the hardest ;-} ) I then loosened up the vice, moved down
along the angle and squeezed again. This time I reformed the angle
BEFORE I cut the flanges to shape. 4/17/00 |
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Here is how I reformed
the angle to 93.9°. I used a 3/16" backer plate and my vice to
flatten out the angle. Again I moved down along the angle to reform the
whole part. 4/17/00 |
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Here I am fitting
various parts to the fuselage side. This is where the seat belts will anchor.
4/17/00 |
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Here I am fitting
the reinforcement that goes around the hole forward of the wing box. I
waited until after I had fitted the ring before I cut the hole. I wanted
to make sure that they matched up. 4/17/00 |
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Here I am fitting
the rudder pedal mounts. Notice the lower blue line. I almost put the pedals
in the wrong place. Measure twice, drill once. It saves a lot of cursing.
4/17/00 |
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Here I am making
large piles if aluminum shavings and as a result I am fitting all the parts
that go around the wing box. 4/17/00 |
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Here is the seat
belt anchor area all deburred, polished, riveted and bolted in place.
4/17/00 |
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Here are the pedal
mounts riveted and bolted. Before I riveted them in place I used them to
match drill the pivot blocks that they will support. The plans call for
you to drill the parts separately and then bolt them together but if you
don't match drill, they will never fit together properly. 4/17/00 |
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To make the pivot
blocks, I first cut the phoenolic block to shape and used double sided
tape to stick them together. Once I had the blocks stuck together I used
the pedal mount to match drill the holes for the bolts. I could then use
a Forstner style drill bit to drill the pivot holes. I left the bolts in
place while I drilled so that the blocks would not shift. 4/17/00 |
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Here is the flap
torque tube mounts. I used the same procedure to make the pivot blocks
as I used on the pedal pivot blocks. 4/17/00 |
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Here is the lower
engine mount point. Don't forget the angle clip where the firewall attaches.
4/17/00 |
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Here is the upper
engine mount point. Here don't forget to leave a .032" space above the
mount for the glare screen. 4/17/00 |
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Here is the phoenolic
canopy latch slot. BTW When I has fitting the upper and lower longerons
to the sides I double checked the dimensions between the upper and lower
splice plates on the aft fuselage. Mine were about 1/16" closer together
than called for on the plans. I adjusted the position of the upper longeron
on the forward fuselage so I would have a tight fit when I mated the fore
and aft fuselage parts. 4/17/00 |
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Here I am test fitting
the forward fuselage sides to the aft tail cone. This is the perfect time
to put on your leather helmet & goggles, stand inside the cockpit,
make airplane noises and shout curses to the Red Baron.
4/17/00 |
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Here I have turned
the entire fuselage over (don't try this by your self). After I made sure
that every thing was aligned and square I started to fit and drill the
various parts. I found it easier to work on it upside down even though
I had to duck inside to fit a lot of the parts. 4/28/00 |
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Here is the left
lower connection between the aft and forward fuselage. I have flipped the
picture so it is easier to view. The slot is were the wing aft spar
will connect in. 4/28/00 |
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I followed Tony's
lead and bought a set of the Van's NACA vents. Here I have sanded
them and sprayed them with an epoxy chrome paint that I found at the local
hardware store. It shines just like the aluminum. 4/28/00 |
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I attached the vents
with Dow Corning RTV sealant. Wicks part# RTV-732A. It is silicone
based, aluminum colored and is good to 350°. I am thinking about using
it to seal my firewall. 4/28/00 |
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The vents come with
templates to help you layout the holes you need to cut in the fuselage
side. Van's part # VENT SV-COMBO X2 but you will have to get an RV
buddy to buy it for you. Van's will only sell to its kit builders.
4/28/00 |
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