Center fuselage bulkhead work
March 3, 2014 – I realized that I didn’t have a picture showing what these bulkheads look like and how big they are, so here ya go:
I started by countersinking the rivet holes in the F704G blocks.
I drilled the F633 control column mounts that attach to the forward bulkhead. Then I marked where the brackets will be trimmed for weight savings.
Nutplates are installed on the top flanges of both bulkheads. I countersunk the rivet holes and installed the nutplates.
I drilled the F782 and 783 support ribs. Here they are clecoed in place:
The F782 ribs (the smaller ones) are backed up on the opposite side of the spar by stiffeners. I cut those stiffeners from angle stock. I drew a guide line on the backside of the angles to help to locate them correctly. You can just see the guide line centered in the hole in the photo below:
Here one of the angles is in position and drilled:
These angles get nutplates installed. Here they are drilled, and countersunk for the nutplate rivets:
The last thing I did today was to do a couple of things on the F782 and 783 support ribs. The outer flange will have nutplates, so I countersunk those rivet holes. Fluid lines and wiring also pass through these ribs, so I enlarged the holes for snap bushings. I Pete-proofed it by writing the hole sizes next to the appropriate holes.
I need to deburr, then clean and prime these parts before installation.
FULL DISCLOSURE: I figured out today that when I drilled the center snap-bushing holes in the forward bulkhead, I mislocated one of them by about 1″. I don’t believe it will be a problem because these appear to be just for wire pass-through, and I think that little jog can be dealt with.
Time: 3:05