I had previously primed the parts that attach to the forward mid-fuselage bulkhead and I finished final assembly of those parts today. I started out by riveting the seat rail attachment assemblies. I then countersunk the holes along the bottom… Read More »Mid Fuselage Bulkheads Complete
Well, mostly. I need to get a swivel head for my rivet gun to rivet the rudder pedal brace, but otherwise the firewall section is complete. I also didn’t attach the heat selector boxes yet as I can easily attach… Read More »Firewall Complete
I continued riveting the firewall section of the plans today. I started with the nutplates that hold the tunnel cover in place. These were all set with the pneumatic squeezer. I then riveted the nutplates to the Airward access panel… Read More »Forward Tunnel Riveting
The replacement upper right engine mount attach bracket arrived today so I got back to work on riveting the firewall. The new bracket aligns much better. The AN426AD4-5 rivets are a bit too short for the steel brackets so I… Read More »Firewall Riveting Continued
I finished up deburring the remaining parts and then washed, etched, rinsed, dried, and loaded them up into the paint booth. I then applied primer. Another batch of parts ready for riveting.
I continued working on the forward fuselage ribs and bulkheads today to get the parts ready for priming. The final-sized holes allowed me to skip the attachment of the forward fuselage to the mid-fuselage as all of the holes that… Read More »Forward Fuselage Parts Prep
I got my questions for Van’s sorted out yesterday so I decided to get the gear mounts prepped before they get bolted in place later in the plans. I had also ordered a .2470 reamer as that is the exact… Read More »Gear Leg Mounts Continued
While I’m waiting for the replacement engine mount attach bracket I proceeded with initial assembly of the forward fuselage. I’m finding it helpful now to assemble a bit beyond each of the riveting sections in the plans as it helps… Read More »Front Cabin Assembly
I clecoed and bolted up the next set of parts. The holes here were mostly final sized already. I bolted the control column mounts into place and match drilled the holes. This took some blocking to support in the drill… Read More »Forward Fuselage Bulkhead Subassemblies
The control column mounts require drilling and trimming. I taped off the bearings to keep shavings out. I marked the holes with a punch, drilled with a guide bit, drilled to #13, then reamed to 3/16″. I then marked the… Read More »Control Column Mounts
