The nutplates used in the baggage compartment are ‘treated’ with a thread tool, to make the thread easier to insert screws. All nutplates are slightly pinched at the end to prevent screws from vibrating loose. That’s why I have the set of Thread taps (imperial measurements) to solve these issues. […]
Still a lot of loose ends inside the Fuselage. After priming, I start with riveting the Canopy Decks to the longeron. During drilling I already found out that it was very tight and would be hard to get the bucking bar in there. Which turned out to be true. However […]
On the first weekend of the new year, my Dad helped me with riveting the bottom skins that were unfinished because they could not be reached in the previous session. We gradually shift the Fuselage aft (to the left on this picture. The goal is to rivet the skin currently […]
On the last day of 2019 and the second day of 2020, I worked on the Fuselage (aft) Top Skins. The two top Stringers cannot be clecoed to the bulkhead, because it would prevent attaching the Top Skin itself. So according to the manual you have to tape it to […]
The Slider braces are riveted to the Longerons, time to drill the Canopy Deck Brackets. As with all parts fastened to the Longerons, there are no pri-drilled holes. So it is important to get the position exactly right. For the Canopy Deck it is easy. Just stick it next to […]
The last two weeks of 2019 are holidays (or at least I didn’t go to my day-job). This gave me a lot of opportunities to work on the plane between Christmas and New Year. I focused on tying up all kinds of loose ends and riveting the side skins. The […]
The Fuselage Side Skins are now riveted to some parts of the Tail and Center Section. Now I can start assembling all the auxiliary longerons and bulkheads inside the fuselage. There are three parts in the Center section: the baggage compartment, the Seats and the leg part. All three parts […]
Today I work with my Dad again, because I don’t see how I could rivet these parts by myself. With the Center section positioned correctly in relation to the Tail section we can start riveting. There are several layers of Skin and Ribs, they are all dimpled and should go […]
After having primed all the skins, auxiliary longerons and bulkheads, I can start dimpling all these parts. My favorite weapon for dimpling is the DRDT-2. First up are the holes for the stiffeners. I draw some lines on the inside of the skin of all the places I should NOT […]
Damn, I had so many parts primed, but still forgot the interior side panels of the baggage compartment. Bummer, now I need an additional prime session. Oh well, it turned out I missed some spots anyway. Before riveting the side skin to the fuselage there are some specific parts you […]