Just like the title says, I spend my day straightening the rib flanges, then edge finishing them. Afterwards, it was fluting, dimpling and finally priming. I also did a few miscellaneous tasks I had been putting off for a while…
I drilled the screw holes for the ribs that I opened up to final size (#19 for an 8R8 screw)
The only thing I didn’t get accomplished today was prepping the bottom skin. But that shouldn’t take too long.
Had a pretty good day today, I got the replacement F-716 Floor Ribs in yesterday, so I got those swapped out, match drilled, etc. I also enlarged the holes in the floor ribs for the screws to #19. I made up the spacers needed to simulate the wing spar between the two bulkheads. These spacers HAVE to be EXACTLY 1.4380″ (1 7/16″). I cut them out of a spare 2×4 I had laying around. I got the FWD bulkhead clecoed in and match drilled as well. You have to countersink 4 holes on the bottom forward flange, so count carefully to make sure you get the right ones!
Here you can see the new floor ribs in place… That was a $70 mistake!
The plans don’t tell you to rivet these together, they expect you to figure it out on your own… On the left is the F-704D and on the right is the shear bar both riveted in place. This was very straight forward, however the -14 rivets on the shear bar have TINY shop heads… not that it matters since their function is only to hold it in place until its bolted, but just be aware…
I clecoed the F-704H’s in place to help hold the F-704A…
Here I have the two bulkhead halves clecoed together via the F-704H’s. I also have the 4 spacers I made in place, with 2 C-clamps holding the top have tight. This whole structure really tightens up when the F-704 is together… I went ahead and drilled the 1/4″ hole for the 2 bolts and spacers that pass through the 2 bulkheads. I also match drilled the bottom skin to the FWD F-704.
And finally, here it is coming apart again. I separated the two bulkheads, and then drilled the bolt holes for the floor ribs through the F-704. Now I have to deburr all this, dimple, prime, and then I can rivet! Overall I feel like I got a lot of things done today… This center fuse is coming together quicker than I expected.
Well, turns out the F-716 L&R Floor Ribs that I enlarged the lightening hole on is still bugging me. Nobody has done this before that I can find, and Van’s response to it was “It should be ok, but we don’t have any data to back that up.”
So for my own piece of mind, I’m going to replace the 4 ribs and be done! Luckily I haven’t riveted this things in yet, so it should be a 2 minute task to swap them out. I plan on doing some work this weekend, so stay tuned!
Today was a relatively short day; It WAS a little hot, but not bad.
So I managed to get the F-623 Corner Ribs trimmed, clamped, and match drilled. I also finished the match drilling on all the floor ribs. I still need to go back and put the platenuts on before I rivet anything together though. I also fabricated the FWD & AFT F-623A’s, which turned out to be pretty straight forward. I am getting eager to get this part of the fuse done, but it’s also a very important part, so I have to hold back the anxiety and take it one step at a time…
And here you can see a Bi-Plane that landed at the airport today… Not quite sure what it was, but it was pretty neat looking. Also, the F-623A’s:
And no, I didn’t have BBQ Ribs… Just wanted to get your attention. :)
Today I started on the Center Fuselage. I got everything clecoed together for the most part. I went ahead and opened up the seat ribs as specified, and then some. I accidently opened all of them up instead of just the specified ones. I don’t foresee this being an issue, but I’ve got a post on VAF just to make sure before I commit to the changes. (Edit: The response on VAF is that I will appreciate opening up all the ribs later on in the build. Apparently, this “mod” makes things much easier to get to. So as they say, Build On! Here are today’s pics:
Today I set out to get the AFT Fuse riveted. The day started with some pretty nasty storms, followed by some sunshine. All in all, it was a nasty, wet, humid day. But the good news is we did get the everything riveted up. I ended up having to drill out about 8 rivets or so, but overall everything else went well.
And here we have the work of art:
Today I made it out to the hangar for a couple of hours after work. Didn’t have much daylight left, but I managed to get the two bulkheads riveted into the tail cone skin along with the WD-409 tail wheel mount. Pretty easy if you take your time, just limited access to some of the rivets. I had to drill 2 out and re-try. Had to take pictures with the cell phone tonight:
I also managed to get this thing clecoed in place on the aft fuse. Man what a pain that was. Things don’t seem like they fit until you have them in place and a bunch of clecos to line everything up, then it all seems to get better. But it was quite a struggle getting to that point. No pictures of this yet… figured I’d save it for the good camera! :)
Today I concentrated on getting the tail cone primed, painted, clecoed, and riveted. I must say this part of the fuselage sucks. The fit is less than desirable, however from what I have been told this is a common issue with these kits. Regardless, I got quite a bit done. I drilled the holes for the tail spring mount bolts, keeper rivets, and enlarged the cutout in the skin a bit to alleviate some scuffing that I had going on. Should be ready to rivet the aft fuselage by next weekend! As you can see below, I painted the inside of the tail cone skin with black rustoleum. I figured this area will probably see a lot of moisture, so I figured the little bit of extra protection wouldn’t hurt.
So I’m trying to get back into the swing of things here… building a little on the weekends is about as good as its going to get right now.
Over the past few weekends, I’ve managed to get the aft fuselage deburred and primed. Its clecoed together and I’m ALMOST ready to start riveting!
March 30, 2011 my brother, Jason Hoover, passed away after his 3 and a half year battle with cancer. This has been VERY hard for me, you see our Mother passed away from cancer as well back in 2000 just a few months before I was to graduate high school. And now this. Here is a copy of his obituary:
At age 35, Jason passed from this life March 30, 2011 at his home in Watauga, Texas with his family by his side. He had a long and courageous battle with cancer.
He was born December 9, 1975 in Dallas, Texas to Donald Wesley Hoover and Pamela Jane (McFadin) Hoover. Jason grew up in Dallas and after high school he went on the road. He owned and operated his own truck. He, his wife, Wendy and their pet Pekinese, Cloie enjoyed the open road and traveling. Jason loved to work on his cars and driving his truck. He and Wendy made their home in Watauga, Texas for the last nine and a half years.
They had been married eleven and a half years and Wendy survives him. Jason is also survived by his father, Don Hoover, grandmother, Laverne Wheeler, brother, Daniel Hoover, sister, Brittany Hutson and husband Josh and niece, Lily Hutson.
However long this build takes me, it is dedicated to Jason. Hands down, one of the strongest men I have ever known.
So this one is for you Brother. You have been my best friend, mentor, and the best brother one could ask for.
Enjoy your wings dude, I will see you again some day.
Rest in Peace Jason.
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