Step 1.
Cutting the Jigs and Laminating the Top Longerons |
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9/27/03 Jigs nailed to the table and ready to
go. I put down wax paper before nailing the jigs down, seemed to me this would be
easier than messing around with this afterwards. |
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9/27/03 The longerons are epoxied together and
clamped to the jigs. I had to add more nails! |
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9/27/03 Here's a shot of the stiffener nailed
in place. |
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9/27/03 The FJA doublers floxed and nailed in
place. |
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9/27/03 The FJC doublers floxed and clamped in
place. This seemed rather strange to me, but I attached them the way the plans
called for, and as near as I can tell from checking out other people's websites as well.
If I got this wrong... |
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9/27/03 The whole assembly is curing. |
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Step 2.
Building the Forms for the Fuselage Sides and Preparing the Sides for
Contouring |
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9/28/03 The hardboard nailed to the upright
jigs. I didn't use bondo, I used angle brackets to fasten the jigs to the table.
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9/28/03 The foam for the fuselage sides 5ME'd
to the jigs. |
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9/29/03 The spacers are all cut out and ready
for micro.
I tried using the miter saw to cut the angles, but I didn't like how it turned out.
I ended up using a hack saw blade, and cutting them by hand. Sanding them
down with some 120 grit made for a very nice edge, and it was fairly easy to get the
pieces to line up nicely. |
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9/29/03 Close-up of the aft spacer. I
really sweated over the electrical conduit. The plans don't tell you how long to
make it, or what angle to bevel it at. I followed the discussion in the FAQ, making
it 6" from the firewall side, with the bevel to 8". There was also some
discussion of whether to cut it at 14.5" from the top, or 14.7". I stuck
with the plans dimensions, and put it at 14.5". We'll see if that was a
mistake. |
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9/29/03 All the spacers have been micro'd into
place, and nails are holding them to the curves. |
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Step 3.
Contouring the Sides |
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9/30/03 I used sandpaper stapled to a wood
scrap to sand out the depressions for the control sticks. Thanks to a tip from my
wife, I used a pen tied to a string, tied to a nail at the other end 4" away, to make
a make-shift compass, and trace the outline for the circle. |
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9/30/03 I figured out how to tell how deep the
depression is. |
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Step 4.
Inside Layup and Installing the Upper Longerons |
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9/30/03 This is the 2nd ply of UNI, before
applying epoxy. |
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Step 5.
Installation of Lower Triangular Longerons |
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6/11/04 Closeup of the main spar cutouts and
glassed electrical conduits. |
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Step 6.
Completion of the Fuselage Sides |
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6/11/04 Sides are glassed and dry. |
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