September 29, 2015 – I had some time to install some items that still needed to be done.
I cut the panel for the fuel selector valve. The panel has an “ear” that is used for the manual elevator trim, which I’m not using.
I installed the two aft gussets that tie the F707 bulkhead to the longerons. I also installed the F709 bulkhead.
I dimpled the aft bulkheads for the upper skins.
Time: 4:10
September 28, 2015 – I assembled the flap mechanism off the airplane.
I installed the flap motor into the channel…
…then I screwed everything together. I decided not to install anything in the airplane, so it’s not in the way.
Time: :30
September 25, 2015 – Using the parts I previously worked on for the flap mechanism, I clecoed everything together for drilling.
Here are all the covers screwed and clecoed in place.
The left side cover has to be notched to clear the bolt for the flap motor. Here’s the rough cut before cleaning it up:
I drilled for nutplates where necessary:
Then it was time to deburr, prep and paint.
After everything dried, I started assembling some of the parts. Used the squeezer for almost everything.
I’ll still install the flap motor, but I probably won’t install anything in the airplane until later.
Time: 5:30
September 24, 2015 – With the center covers in place, I drilled the four screw holes that will attach the cover to the airplane.
The drawings want the bottom surface of the cover to be 15/16″ from the center floor stiffeners. I cut some blocks from a 1×2 to sit in there and hold the cover in position. I used a piece of angle with a hole in the correct position, so I could reduce the chance of error when drilling with the angle drill.
Time: :30
September 16, 2015 – I started the flaps by installing the welded actuator assembly.
This assembly is fitted into the fuselage using three blocks to hold it in place. The outboard ones were previously drilled and ready to go. I just had to slide them on the ends and bolt the assembly in place. I used a little grease to get the welded tube started in the blocks, then it required a little finesse to get everything in, but I got it there.
The center block still needed to be drilled and sawed in half. I did this per the drawing, but one of the bolt holes didn’t line up with the frame underneath the floor. I decided just to drill another hole in what should have been the correct location. Here’s the lower half of the block in place. You can see where the new hole is situated over the frame.
I used a drill bushing to drill through the structure, then took the holes up to size and fitted the block in place. I like this a lot better. I also trimmed the center tunnel cover so it fits around the block, allowing the cover to be removed without disturbing the block.
The electric flap actuator needs to be drilled for safety wire, because it was possible for the actuator to unscrew itself and become inop. I had a drill bit somewhere in the neighborhood of a #54, and it worked just fine. I’ll safety it later.
Several brackets have to be made for the flap mechanism. I made those.
I fitted one of those brackets into the channel that holds the actuator. Only one of the holes was previously drilled, so I back-drilled the rest through the channel, and took the center hole up to 1/4″.
The 1/4″ hole in the channel gets enlarged to 5/8″ so the bolt head can sit in there.
The top of the channel is attached to the seat brace by a bent piece of angle. After cutting it out and bending it, I clamped it in place and drilled it.
Then it was time to temp install the actuator in the channel. Another angle needs to be drilled, but I needed to do that with everything in place. Here’s a view of the assembly, with the angle in place and drilled (under the nut).
The instructions say to get the actuator ready to install by running it out halfway. I hooked up the two wires to my power supply and saw which way it ran. The actuator came fully retracted. I extended it all the way and found that the full travel was 5 inches. So I used my silver Sharpie and made a small mark at 2 1/2 inches.
I ran the actuator back in and got it as close as I could to the mark. That’s where I’ll leave it until it’s installed.
I have to take it all back apart for deburring and painting, then I’ll do the final reassembly.
Time: 4:20
September 14, 2015 – I moved on to the center covers in the cockpit.
I had previously made the brackets for the forward tunnel cover that goes between the seats. I screwed them into place and fitted the cover plate. The plate gets a bend on the forward end that goes up the seat pan covers. I didn’t drill the brackets for the cover plate holes, but I marked their locations. I want to make sure everything fits correctly before I drill them. I did drill the screw hole on the forward end.
I also fitted the parts together for the forward covers which include the heat diffuser and the box for the fuel selector valve. I need to pick up a threaded drill bit for the attach holes in the floor stiffeners before I try to drill this any further.
I moved on to other things.
Time: 2:25
September 9, 2015 – I finished the seats today.
I had the seat back assemblies clecoed together after painting. Not much to say about this; pretty much just went at them with either the rivet gun or the squeezer.
After the seat backs were done, I installed the seat pans. As I was setting them into place, I noticed that I had to get the aft outboard corners of the seat pans past the lower bolts for the outboard flap support blocks. I decided to cut a little clearance notch in each seat pan to make it easier to get a wrench on these bolt heads.
Marked them, drilled a radius hole and quickly cut a notch.
I installed the left seat pan.
Then I had a forehead-slapping moment. I had somehow missed the fact that I had to install nutplates on the outer seat ribs. Not a problem on the right side. But the left side has one hole where the nutplate would be captured. I have to figure out what I want to do there. I DON’T want to remove the seat pan again, then reinstall it.
After everything was riveted, I slipped the seat backs into place. Here’s the upper end where they slip into the bulkhead:
And here are the seat backs in place:
Then it was time to try them out. Here’s the official first sitting. I hate selfies but nobody else was around…
I got mama to give it a try:
I took the seat backs back out and riveted the nutplates for the center tunnel. That was fun. I was bending in ways I don’t usually bend. But I know there will be a lot more of that…
Time: 7:15
September 1, 2015 – This week I just continued on with fabricating the seat backs.
The seat backs have several components that have to be made and drilled, including angles and hinges.
I started by cutting the side angles to length.
These angles get shaped on each end. The upper ends just get a 3/8″ radius trimmed out.
The lower ends get a machined notch. The notch is .040″ deep by about 9/16″ long. The hinge for the seat back mount will nest in this notch.
I then drilled these angles along with the seat backs themselves. There are also angles on the upper and lower ends of the seat backs. No pictures of these. The upper angles have to nest into the top end of the seat backs, so I rounded the sharp corner of those angles.
Here’s how the hinge and the lower angles go together.
Here’s the clecoed seats in position. The final side-to-side position of the seats will have to wait until other things are made and in place, so I’ll have to set these aside once they’re done.
I moved on to the plates where the tops of the seat backs are supported. I had the option to drill lightening holes (to make it lighter) in these plates. After locating and piloting the holes, I just used a hole saw for cutting a doorknob hole in a door. It worked great.
The ends of these plates get trimmed to save weight. I marked and trimmed them with snips. After polishing, they look great.
These plates are attached to the seat backs with hinges. I located the hinge halves both on the seat backs and on the plates.
I took everything apart and I’m now getting everything ready to paint.
Time: 8:40
August 25, 2015 – The seat pans are ready to install.
I painted the seat pans and a couple of other cabin items. I also remembered to make the hinge pins for the seat backs. Here are the pins and two of them fit inside a hinge half.
I riveted the hinge halves to the left and right seat pans.
I also installed the nutplates on the F749 baggage compartment sidewalls. These panels are removable. I set them in place with no screws for the time being.
Here are the seat pans set in place, ready to install. I have a call out to my EAA Tech Counselors to see if anyone wants to look inside before I install these, since they are riveted in place. This is pretty cool…
Time: 2:40
August 20, 2015 – I started the seat attach hinges by marking the locations on the seat pans per the drawings.
I cut six hinge halves to the correct length. These have hinge eyes on each end.
Because one of these hinges on each side also has existing fasteners through seat ribs, I wanted to make sure my measurements were correct by marking good edge distance on the bottom of one of them, then checked to see if that mark was visible through existing holes. It was good, so I moved on.
I laid out the rivet pattern on one hinge half, then kept back-drilling from one to another until all six were drilled the same way.
I placed the hinges in the correct locations on the seat pans, and drilled the pans.
After that was done, I moved on to start working on the forward tunnel cover supports. These are made from supplied z-angle, and are mirror image parts, left and right.
I marked out and cut the left one, then clamped the two together to copy the dimensions to the right one. These came out pretty well. This was one of many times I wish I had a bandsaw, but I got it done.
I took some time to deburr and scuff some of the cabin panels to prep for paint before I stopped for the day.
Time: 7:30
July 7, 2015 – Today I finished riveting the left canopy decks and both of the F695 gussets.
Time: 1:50
July 6, 2015 – I riveted the right canopy decks.
The F757 plates need to be trimmed based on what kind of canopy will be installed. Since I’m doing a slider, I needed to trim out the rounded corner. I marked one of them, then clecoed the two together and started the cutout.
Once they were done I alodined and painted them both.
For some reason, everyone in the house was still lazy from the holiday festivities, so I couldn’t rivet the left side rails. So I started to put the upper skins in place.
The F706 and F707 bulkheads get secured in place by the F656 gussets. These really can’t be installed yet because the bulkheads move until fixed in place by the skins. So I clecoed the gussets to the bulkheads and started clecoing the skins. What a pain…
Finally got the skins in place, then I drilled the two top stringers.
Time: 6:00
June 29, 2015 – I fitted and drilled the canopy decks and gussets today.
First I had to finish riveting the aft deck in place.
I also had left out the upper two skin rivets on each side at the F710 bulkhead. I did this to allow the longerons to slide into place. I took care of these rivets with no problem.
I already had the F721B aft canopy decks clecoed in place; I had to fit and drill the F721A forward canopy decks. These have a close fit to each other where they join; I had to file a little bit off the end of the forward decks to fit nicely.
The F695 gussets were next. These are notorious for not fitting exactly against the firewall.
I trimmed the forward edges at the outboard side. Fits great now.
I laid out the rivet pattern on one of them per the drawing, then I piloted the holes to #40.
Since the two parts are mirror images of each other, I clamped them together to drill the holes, then took them up to #30 (1/8″).
I clamped them in place in the fuselage, then drilled. I clecoed them tightly in place as I went, and used a little BoeLube to help with the drilling through the firewall brackets, which are steel.
I took them off and deburred the holes in the longerons and the firewall angles.
I also drilled the shoulder harness anchors. These go way back towards the back of the fuselage, and are connected by a cable to the harnesses. I clamped them in place and drilled, using a reamer for the finish holes.
I clecoed the F709 bulkhead in place as well. This bulkhead is stamped and pretty wonky. I fluted it a bit to get it to lay a bit flatter. I’ll paint it and rivet it in place.
I put the F757 plates in place. A corner of these plates gets cut out for a sliding canopy. I marked that cutout on one. I’ll clamp the two together and do the cutouts, since these also are mirror-image parts.
I’m going to try to prep a bunch of these parts together at the same time, so I can paint them all at once.
Time: 3:40
June 11, 2015 – Still waiting for my firewall sealant. It has shipped. I had some housekeeping to do. Cleaned up the garage a little bit, then I finished installing the armrests. Just had to do the three rivets at the bulkhead for each side.
Time: :15
