Lindy
3/30/2008
Today was a cool day in the garage! I started out just after lunch working on finishing up the canopy frame. The first thing I did was make the little wedges that go between the 613 splice plate and the WD-716 forward canopy frame. I had a great picture of the wedge right before I split it in two for each side, but accidentally deleted it. They took a LONG time to make. I used some scrap .187 angle to make them, and used all kinds of files, the Dremel, the bench belt sander, and the wheel to make these little things. They are officially my least favorite part on the kit that needed to be made.
Before I fit the wedges in for drilling, I clamped some angle to the frame to make sure it was straight.
Then I fit the wedges for drilling and riveting.
With that done, the canopy frame was then put back on the fuselage, and the 702 skin was cleco'd back on. I moved the clamps to the bottom side of the roll bar for canopy fitting.
The next step in the build is supposed to be fitting and cutting the canopy. BUT, it's only getting in to the 50's during the day right now, and I can't get my garage in to the 80's for cutting. So, I'm going to leave this behind for a while, and work on some other things while I wait for the temps to come up a bit.
The step after the canopy is done, is the engine mount. My plan is to get the fuselage on it's landing gear (temporarily) within the next few weeks so I can move it easily to do a major garage cleaning. It hasn't been cleaned since I started the project, and it's REALLY getting on my nerves with how dirty it is.
Getting the engine mount mounted is really a fairly simple process, but doing it alone adds some challenges. First of all, being that it mounts on a vertical surface, it obviously can't just be set in place to drill it. So, I used a wood stand that I had around, along with some random sized scrap wood to set the mount on at about the appropriate height. I had planned to use duct tape to act as several other sets of hands...I forgot I ran out the other day, and haven't picked any up at the store the last three or four times I've been out. *Write yourself a note, bonehead.* So, I improvised and used rivet tape to hold the top section while the bottom rested on the stand. Rivet tape is really strong, but it does stretch a little bit.
Before I drilled any holes, I marked and cut out the arc for the landing gear to clear the firewall.
I don't know if this is the final shape of the arc, but it should be pretty close.
I drilled the first hole on the upper left (looking at the FW) using the undersized hole to center it without the mount in place. I started with a #10 bit, then 1/4, then 5/16, then 3/8. Then I put the mount on the FW with that one bolt in place, while the stand supported the bottom. I worked my way around the corners, and used the mount as a drill guide. The undersized holes were pretty close to the center of each bolt hole, and according to Van's, they are "close enough" if you can see the entire hole thru the mount hole. Make sense? Anyway, I drilled the other four holes, and installed the bolts as I went. Worked great! Here's where the rivet tape went to hold the top part to the FW (and the wood stand I used is to the left).
As expected, the two inner holes on the bottom of the mount did not match up with the FW. This is pretty common to all the mounts. Man, that firewall is SHINY!!
It turns out that the gaps on both sides were exactly 1/8". Instead of making a spacer, I remembered that I had some 1/8" aluminum washers that were in the fuel tank hardware bags that didn't get used. These were a perfect match for the diameter of the mount union circle.
I followed Van's advise in the instructions in drilling all the holes, and lo and behold, the mount is perfectly level with the fuselage.
Kinda hard to see, but the bubbles on both levels are slightly to the right of center in the picture. Being right of center is no big deal in this case, because I have no idea if the fuselage is level side to side, but the mount, relative to the firewall is perfectly level. Sweet!
Here's the finished installation...for now.
The mount will come off the FW after I get done with the garage cleaning, and I don't need it on it's gear. It looks freakin' cool though!
4.75 hours