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Center section continued.
Drilling the bottom skins and countersinking the specified holes.
IMG_0756 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrYou can see how the countersink goes through the skin and into the Bulkhead. This is by design and is ok! IMG_0757 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrI fitted the floors and positioned them 1/32nd from the edge of the rib. Not the first time these black clecos have come in handy. IMG_0758 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrHere's the whole thing drilled and ready for disassembly. One part I did't get many pictures of, but you can just see here, is the F-623 corner ribs. The instructions and plans are quite vague on the positioning of this. I had trouble visualising how the skins meet in this area. Now that I have the rest of the fuselage assembled I can advise that it is important to position the forward outer flange (closest in this photo) flush with the F-776 skin. This will allow the F-770 side skins to meet the -776 with little or no gap. Mine won't quite be like that :mad: better instructions or a section on the plans would have helped IMG_0760 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr |
Crotch straps.
Before removing all of the seat ribs, I fitted the crotch strap sub-kit. This is a little tricky as the brackets are pre-punched but they must be positioned and clamped to the ribs and floors for drilling. I ended up using my angle drill attachment quite a bit.
Here is the initial positioning and marking. I used a piece of angle to represent the floor. IMG_0747 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrHere the right side is done and the left is in progress. I used a piece of balsa as a spacer. Multiple clamps were required! IMG_0748 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrThe view form the top drilling the upper flanges. IMG_0749 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrI had just received my Crow harnesses. This shot shows how they mount a little lower than the stock harness. Also, they use an AN4 bolt, not AN5. The thickness is the same though, 1/8. IMG_0752 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrAll done IMG_0753 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr |
Centre section prep and Longerons
Here is the F-705 that I completely forgot to photograph while building. Note I did not prime above the spar, in preparation for interior painting. However I have now discovered that my Tempo Zinc Phosphate primer is quite a good undercoat, so I may prime and paint this before riveting.
IMG_0754 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrDimpling setup. I use a steel 8 oz Ball peen hammer for nice crisp dimples. IMG_0755 by Ed Fleming, on Flickrgetting started on the longerons. I opted to shape the ends before trimming. If it had gone wrong I could just redo them! IMG_0777 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0778 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0779 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr |
Longeron bending
Measure twice, cut once applies!
IMG_0780 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrFirst one getting there. I had bending dies, but they didn't work for me. I just couldn't find the right amount of torque on my vice, the difference between no result and over bent was minuscule. I reverted to the plans technique but struggled there too. I guess I must just lack the finesse necessary. If it is mathematically possible, I did more unbending than bending, on both sides! Anyway, after 3 frustrating days of on and off work and frustration, it was finally nearly over. IMG_0764 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0769 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0770 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0771 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr |
Finishing Longerons
Clamped for the downward bend.
IMG_0772 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrThats about right. IMG_0773 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrThe final twist- probably the easiest part, all this stuff wants to do is twist anyway! IMG_0774 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrSlots for F-711C's. This still needs to be opened a bit. IMG_0763 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr |
Riveting the centre section.
IMG_3399 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrMost of this beautiful riveting was done by my Wife. She seemed almost as keen as I was to get it done and assemble the fuse :D IMG_0782 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0786 by Ed Fleming, on FlickrI put the seat floors in place but left off the baggage floors, since it makes it easier to fit to the aft fuse. Once the parts were joined I put the baggage floors in place. Ready to join to the Aft fuse! |
Fuselage assembled!
This was an awesome RV building day! As soon as we finished riveting the centre section, I put the longerons in place, and arranged the sawhorses. Then we lifted the centre section into place. the clecos are tough to get in at first, but then it all starts to line up and comes together.
IMG_0789 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0790 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0791 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0792 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0794 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr IMG_0795 by Ed Fleming, on Flickr |
Thanks. Nice photos.
That's a great set of photos. Those are some views I don't see too often. I also appreciate the fact you have r/c models in there, especially that E-flite RV-9. But I also gotta say, you guys with pre-punched parts definitely have an advantage.
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Nice!
Great looking photos Ed.....looks like you are going to have a great-7:)
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Build looks awesome
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