Fuselage

Fuselage 36 – Rudder cables

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First task for today was to drill the rudder cable routing holes through the center section. I used a step bit (unibit) for the forward holes, but because of the bracket for mounting the floor plates, I could not do the same for the aft holes. I was able to get the aft hole started with a step bit, and then I used a number of incrementally larger bits through the forward hole. This allowed me to avoid hitting the floor mounting bracket. img_9226.jpeg

Here you can see the aft hole. It is drilled to 1/2″. img_9455.jpeg

Unfortunately, the length of the 5/8″ drill bit, when combined with my drill, is too long. The drill hits the mounting for the fuel selector valve, and as a result I cannot access the aft hole at the proper angle. My 90 degree drill extension will not accept the 5/8″ bit (even with a reduced diameter shank. So I’m not sure what I’m going to do. To be honest, I think I may grind a portion of the drill bits shank to fit in my 90 degree extension. We’ll see if another idea presents itself. img_9456.jpeg

As I was stalled on the rudder routing, I turned my attention to a rudder fairing. Apparently they sell some overpriced ones on Aircraft Spruce and some other places, but I also found some simple instructions for a do-it-yourself version. First cut a piece of .020 to 4″x4″, then mark out the measurements show. Note that I messed up the outer lines. The correct lines are in red. img_9229.jpeg

Start by bending the center to 90 degrees, and then bend the outer lines to 45 degrees. A hand seamer, some wood, and a vice are helpful. Here is the rudder cable exiting the fuselage in stock form.img_9230.jpeg

Here is the fairing I made following the instructions I stole from another builder here. Note that the fairing overlaps the skin joint. To correct this, I marked the location of the skin joint and then measured and marked a symmetrical portion on the upper flange of the fairing. This picture isn’t great, as the fairing will sit a little bit lower on the left to not interfere with the hole for the attachment of the protective tube. img_9231.jpeg

Here is the result after trimming and priming. I plan to secure the fairing with pro-seal. img_9234.jpeg

Fastback 13 – Riveting turtledeck

This entry was posted in Fuselage Showplanes Fastback on by

Long session in the shop today, but it should be a fairly short post. My buddy Jack came over to help me with the riveting of the turtledeck to the fuselage. I was crammed inside on the bucking bar while Jack had the rivet gun. It was slow going at times, and might uncomfortable, but we got it done. The rivets came out ok. There are a few areas where the intersections look a little wavy, but its only cosmetic and can be easily fixed when I go to paint.

Here’s a picture inside looking up a the completed rear shoulder harness attachment points.  

We also installed three clips for holding the tubing from the static ports.

Here’s the completed turtledeck. The legs belong to Jack.   

Next I turned my attention back to the passage of the rudder cable through the center section of the fuselage where the spars are inserted. Unfortunately, there is not enough room to drill the hole from the aft position. I will need to drill both coming from the front side.

I don’t have a 5/8 inch bit, so I’ll have to return to this when I get one.   

John Raffensparger had a good idea for my tail inserts. Drill a few holes in them to act as handles for putting them in. I also trimmed a couple corners again to make removal and insertion easier.

I match drilled the rear battery tray. After doing some research, and crunching some numbers, I’ve decided to put my battery in the back. With an IO-360, constant speed prop, and a pilot who only weighs 135lbs, a little more weight in the tail will be a welcome addition.   

Quick priming job for the battery tray. There are some nut plates that go on the aft side of the tray, and I cannot for the life of me determine what their purpose is.

I received my resupply from Aircraft Spruce. I was tired of being a few rivets shy on things, so anything that looked like it needed a top up, got a minimum order. Even if I have tons left over, thats okay, as I know I’ll find uses for them over the years. 

I also purchased some ignition open end wrenches, flexible socket extensions, and dremel sanding bits from Amazon. The open end wrenches have one side that is offset almost 90 degrees and will be perfect for a few tight spaces.

Session time: 8.0 hours

Fuselage 35 – Fwd elevator stop

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The first task for today was to remove the horizontal stab and elevator so that I could file down the forward elevator stop. The down travel of the elevator was 23 degrees, so I only had 2 degrees more for the down travel to be at its maximum deflection. Both elevator horns are supposed to touch the stops simultaneously, but in order to achieve this I would have to exceed the maximum elevator down travel. So removed as much as I could. This resulted in a 24.8 degree down angle, and about 1/16 of an inch of space between the right elevator horn and the stop. I will have to think on my solution for the down stop. Options are 1) leave it as is, 2) add a weld or rivet to the horn to account for the space, or 3) build out the right side of the stop in some way.

I also riveted on the aft stop.

After this, John and I began riveting the bulkheads to the fuselage. This took longer than you would expect as we needed to use several techniques. Some rivets could be squeezed, while others needed to be bucked using a variety of rivet sets and bucking bars.

We also made the wood inserts for laying inside the fuselage to do work.

I began the connection for the flap motor, but stopped, as I can quickly return to this after installing the floors for the final time.

I made an additional insert for the floors.   

Perhaps I should have done a few more things inside before clecoing on the turtledeck. For instance, running the rudder cables. I was able to get it done, but it was more work than normal.

As I got the rudder cable worked towards the front, I was confused trying to find the location for the cable going through the center section. After a little research, it turns out that they don’t drill this on the quickbuild. I assume a team makes this section for both the RV-8 and the RV-8A, and they leave it for later. The hole looking aft will be easy to drill. The hole looking forward (on the aft side) is going to be a royal pain in the ass to drill.  

I need to give some consideration as to how wiring will be routed to the empennage. I will have the aft strobe, and the elevator trim to wire up.

Session time: 7.0 hours