2/24/2007
This morning I started with trimming the ends of the J channels. Each end needs this trim, but the plans are vague here in telling you this. I did this with the Dremel with a cuttoff disk and then smoothed on the wheel.
Next I started on the aft tail section where the tail spring mounts. I deburred the edges of the F-779 skin on the wheel, the tried clecoing the 711 and 712 bulkheads to the skin. I say try because I've read that these are some of the worst fitting parts in the kit. They are. The fit on everything so far has been spot on, or nearly so. Not so here. The skin is a tapered shape, and the bulkhead flanges are not in alignment with the holes.
It took some finagling, but I finally got most of them to line up and drilled. The back side of the bulkhead is not pre-punched, so those flanges are drilled using the skin as a guide.
Then I took it apart to deburr, and mark the skin for the cutout that is made for the tail spring to come through the bottom. I used a simple paper template traced from the plans.
I used the bandsaw to make the rough cut, then the Dremel with a drum sander to smooth it out and shape it a bit better. I did a trial fit of the spring, and it appears to be about right. We'll see later on.
I called it an early day because we are taking my dad out for his birthday tonight. I hope to get some work in tomorrow, but I may drive up to see a friend who's working on his RV-7.
3.75 hours