Today I worked on the Z Brackets. It was a very involved process of countersinking, scuffing, priming, and riveting.
After that I cleco’d enough for the left tank
Left Fuel Tank
Since I decided to halt any further work on the leading edges until the lights come in, I started the fuel tanks. I also decided to go with the Float type fuel senders. I plan on running MoGas as much as possible, but I realize that is not always possible and may get stuck with AvGas. The hassle to swap back and forth isn’t worth it for me.
The first step involved cutting and shaping the stiffeners.
The next thing I had to do was cut the tank attach brackets.
Next I began inserting the ribs inside the skin, which was followed by attaching the stiffeners and the j channel. I only drilled the holes for the J Channel as well as the 2 holes in the stiffeners that didn’t line up.
I finished up the night by mounting the fuel cap. This came out really good and I think looks bad ass.
Right leading edge
Today I basically repeated what I did with the left leading edge, minus some cutting. I match drilled all the holes I could. I have everything completed up till the dis-assembly step. I don’t plan on going any farther until I receive the templates for my leading edge lights. I will probably start prepping the tanks until they come in.
Left Leading Edge
Today I really got started on the leading edges. I decided I am only going to build one at a time to simplify the parts management. I decided I would start with the left as there was a lot I wanted to do with it. I started off by cutting some notches in 2 of the ribs. Next I inserted the ribs & the J stiffener. I left it all together after match drilling and elected to start the stall warning system since I had a lot of open access. The first thing I did was cut the access port. I was a nervous wreck cutting a big hole in the skin but it came out fine. Next I drilled the 2 holes to create the switch hole in the very front of the leading edge. I finished the night up by assembling the stall warning switch. Once I start taking the leading edge apart, I will have to come back to this section to make sure I have all the appropriate holes dimpled, riveted, etc. I am trying to get Duckworks to send me a couple of the cutting diagrams so I can cut the skin in advance.
Rib’s getting ready to be modified.
Leading edge assembled, match drilled, ready for disassembly
Preparing the access panel
mounting holes drilled out
1/2″ radius corners
access plate doubler
access plate
stall warning switch port
stall warning switch
Right wing skin complete!
Finally done with this section! Today Corey & I finished up the right wing skin. Nothing to brag about here except that its done and I can finally move on to other parts.
Right Top wing skin
Today Corey & I really did got at the right wing. I’d say we did probably about 3/4 to 7/8s of all the rivets to be done. I also put some conduit in the ribs. I don’t think I posted before, but I am using the 5/8″ black conduit from Van’s. I ordered 50′ of it and I have ALOT left over. After Corey left, I reorganized my toolbox a bit and really cleaned it out. This was well needed to be done. I also ended up making a wood block to hold my countersinks. I am not sure why I didn’t do this before.
Top Left Wing Skin Complete
So I’ve been slacking pretty hard on the updates as well as slacking on working on the plane. I really don’t recall any specifics other than alot of dimpling, sanding, priming and riveting. I have a couple of dings in the skin which im not thrilled about, but I will take care of once it becomes time to paint. Once I got the the left skin riveted, I installed some 5/8″ conduit as well as the Pitot & AOA lines.
J Stiffner placed
Skins cleco’d. Ready to match drill
Inside of wing
Excess hidden away
The top skin in all its glory
Rear spar Complete
Today I ran over to Home Depot and picked up some new Dewalt 20V Drills. I really did not want to buy any of the 20V stuff, but they stopped producing the one drill I needed in 18V. So I ended up getting the 20V 90d Angle Drill (tool only) and a combo kit that had a 1/4″ impact, drill/driver, 2 batteries, a charger and a bag. Once I got to the shop I immediately tested out the 90 degree drill and it did exactly what I needed it to do. I was able to drill out the conduit holes that I neglected to do earlier. This was followed up by tidying up the shop a little bit.
Next I grabbed the rear spars and mounted the doublers to them and began match drilling. After match drilling one spar, I had to make a hole in one of the doublers match the spar. My solution was to use a unibit to take out a big chunk of the material and then dremel the rest out. With a cutting blade I cut out what i could. then i cut little notches to the edge. Next I used a dremel drum sander to smooth out the roughness.
next i mounted the spars to the ribs and matched drilled those
once that was completed I began disassembling and deburring, cleaning and priming. Once the primer was dry I cleco’d everything back together and began riveting.
Aileron Brackets Completed
Didn’t do much today as well either. I did prime and complete the brackets I started yesterday though. After buying 3 more cans of EZCoat and placing an order for 2 cases. I primed the parts from yesterday. Next I used a 7/16 , 9/16 sockets and my vice to press the bearings into place.
next I cleco’d the assemblies together and began riveting. I started with the flush rivets first and then randomly did the regular rivets. This is to attempt to prevent warping of the entire assembly. They looked straight to me.
Wing Rib’s Complete
Today I was greeted by a box from the UPS man from Avery Tools. I got my SafeAir1 kit as well as some other goodies. There really wasn’t much to accomplish today. I finished up the ribs in the left wing. After that I pulled all the parts for the rear spar and started on the Aileron Hing Bracket Assemblies. First thing was to trim 2 of the 4 spacer brackets. Then I cleco’d the assemblies together and match drilled the #30 holes. Afterwards I marked each assembly and began deburring and scuffing. I need some more primer so I called it a night.
safeair1 kit
