Now it's ready to unload. We used an
engine hoist to lift the business end,
as my son and his friend lifted the tail.
Then I just drove out.
On the right of this photo, you can see
the jig used to support the engine.

A string line was established, 90 degrees
to the centerline. Since neither the
leading edge nor the trailing edge are 90
degrees to the centerline, it was important
to have this reference to align the gear
boxes properly.

With the string line in place, I used a
framing square to lay out the cuts for the
gear leg box. The stray markings on the
canard's surface were used to define the
loading stations for the stress test.

With the cut lines marked, I needed to find
the edge of carbon fiber spar cap. I did not
want to cut into this at all, so I very
carefully used the Dremel tool to grind
away slowly, until the dust became black.

Being very conservative at the cutting
stage, I did not cut through the drag spar
as instructed. I was hoping that I could
insert the gear box without cutting into
the spar. Here, I used a claw hammer to
pry the scored glass from the foam core.

Once the glass was removed, came the
chore of removing the foam from the
cavity. I tried to use a stone on
my Dremel, but it just gummed up as it
melted the foam, rather than grinding it.

I then chucked up a 3/8" drill bit, and used
the side of the bit as a rotary rasp to
remove the foam. This worked GREAT!
It also allowed me to reach all the way
back to the main spar, and with care,
it produced a rather nice cut.

At this point, I surrendered to the
instructions from Viking, and removed
the drag spar. I could not get all the
way to the main spar with my drill if I
had left it in place.

Here's a view of the hollowed out
section, seemingly ready to receive
the gear leg box.

Happy with the progress on the first hole,
I was more aggressive with the second
hole. I cut out the drag spar right away.

The 3/8" drill bit was returned to service,
removing the foam from the second hole.

After I was happy with the removal of
the foam, I removed the elevator
faring to expose the area of the drag
spar to be reinforced. Then I removed
the paint and filler from the area to
be patched.