Back to work on the plane today! We took some time off and headed out to Oshkosh for AirVenture 2021. It was our first visit and we had a great time! I have a lot of notes to organize from… Read More »Forward Bottom Skin Dimpled
I completed one last step for the day and got the bottom skin ready for dimpling. I removed the vinyl along the rivet lines and deburred the edges with a vixen file. I then deburred the holes on both sides.
After finishing up the mid fuse bulkhead I returned back to the forward fuselage. These parts had been primed previously and were ready to rivet. I started with riveting the spacer and nutplates to the side channels. I then riveted… Read More »Forward Fuselage Riveting
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
