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I followed the
plans when I sized my instrument panel. I was all fat, dumb, and happy with
myself. "Self, you did a great job!"
That is, until I put the canopy on top of it! I found that the inst panel was too tall on either side. Well, I had to face the truth and realize that I had two options: 1. Re-construct the whole inst panel, or 2. Re-curve the corners. Option 2 won.
If you look
closely, you can see the cut lines drawn on either upper corner. I cut the top
lip just below the horizontal portion, then removed a pie shaped area. After
this, I sanded everything smooth again, and using the removed portion of the
upper lip, I glassed the lip back in place.
Here you can
see all of the glass work complete. I had to figure a way to hold the replaced
upper lip, since they were rather springy. I made some little wooden "T"'s from
some popsicle sticks and some 1/4" scrap, and hot-glued them into place while
holding the upper lips in the proper spot. When all was done, you can't tell
that the inst panel was ever cut!
Here is the fuselage just before it was closed up permanently. You can see how the header tank is bolted to either side of the fuse in 4 places.
Another view of
the same thing.
Finally, it looks like a plane! No more canoe! I justified the assembly
and time spent getting it out of the garage by installing the ailerons and doing
the preliminary work on the modified aileron controls. Man, that canopy sure
does make it look like it might actually fly!
Another view of
the same thing. The fwd fuselage is all glassed in. On the inside (of the fwd
fuse) I used two layers of 10oz. along the sides, 2 layers along the firewall,
then the knees, which hade two more layers over them. On the outside I used two
layers on the sides and firewall. It is really solid.
Today (22 October) I actually got to continue with the aileron control installation. I decided to completely rethink the plans built aileron control system. I incorporated the servo boost tabs with the trim tab, and will control it with a "tube in tube" setup. (picture below shows the aileron control setup before it was welded)
Click HERE to see more pics of the bellcrank assy.
Here are a couple of pics of it mocked up onto the wing prior to glassing.
This isn't the completed, mounted assembly. The lateral location of the ailerons will be controlled by a phenolic mount located at the inboard side of the trim bellcrank (the long bellcrank). That'll have to wait till I have another free day to play!
Here is the high tech method I employed to ensure that the epoxy was kept warm through the night as it cured. OAT was +/- 60, but it stayed an even 80 degrees through the night. (the wing is too long for the garage)
Here are a couple of pictures of the completed layups:
This first pic is of the two mount horns (one on top of the other) that will locate / pivot the trim and servo tab control arm. I cut them to the rough outline, taped them together with carpet tape, and located them with a piece of 4130 tube the same diameter as the bellcrank. After sanding to final shape, I had an exact pair.
The other picture is of the completed (almost) pivots.
Here are the horns being fitted into position prior to glassing.
In order to ensure that the installation of the mount horns was absolutely straight, I installed the whole bellcrank setup onto the wing, along with the aileron. Using this method, I was assured of perfect alignment. It came out very well, with no binding or roughness whatsoever. The arm where the spring clamps are will control the deflection of the servo boost tabs / aileron trim. There is a teflon washer between the phenolic bellcrank horn and the bellcrank. There is absolutely no lateral free play.
The whole aileron and bellcrank assy can be removed by removing these two bolts, and the through-bolt on the aileron control rod end.
This is how the aileron control system looks right now. I'll continue in a couple of weeks.
I'm almost finished with these, so stay tuned... update coming soon!
The LG boxes are done. Click on "LG" to see them!
Winter projects included: (These are hyperlinks)
