8/21/2007
Ailerons move! I got the right aileron hooked up to start the night, and I FINALLY did sit in the airplane to move the controls. I didn't make airplane noises (seriously!), but it was the first time I had actually sat in the seat. I made sure the left aileron was still neutral by checking the tooling holes at the tips before hooking up the right side (and making sure the right one was neutral as well).
Since there is no motor to hold the flaps up, and the notch arm is not in place yet, I had to clamp the ailerons and flaps to check the alignment. With both sides clamped at the same time, they lined up!! Sweet!
Also, with both sides clamped, I checked the inboard end of each flap, and they measured the same gap (less than an eighth of an inch) below the fuselage. That means there is zero twist in the flaps!
The notch arm. This is something that is going to be totally trial and error to get it to fit right. There is simply nothing out there for me to look at for clues because of my custom center tunnel cover. I don't think it's going to be all that difficult, but I am on my own here.
The only thing I did with it tonight was to get the spot marked where it will be riveted to the cover. If all goes well with this step, it might be EXTREMELY easy to get this done. Let's hope for the best. Here's a pic of where the notch arm will mount to the cover.
That pic is taken on the wing, not in position. You may recall that I made that cover from a flat piece of .016, so I will be reinforcing it from the bottom to handle the flap pressures.
2.0 hours