Jason builds a plane

tails from the trailing edge (the sequel)

16/11/2021

0 Comments

 
Good productive Sunday in the shop this past weekend.

With the JB Weld epoxy well cured on the pitot/static tube assembly, I was able to sand away some of the sloppy clumps and prepare it for priming.  The bench top belt sander worked well for this when taking down slowly to the metal.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

With most of the end clump of epoxy removed, I rounded the tip of the static port probe:
Picture

In order to prime the assembly, I needed to block off the pitot tube end and the small static port probe holes.  I found a piece of steel rod and with a bit of electrical and masking tape on the end made a nice tight fit to prevent primer from getting inside the end.
Picture

Kind of hard to see in the picture, but I used some 3/16 inch drill bits in the static probe holes, then primed it all.
Picture

In no time, the primer was dry, so I flipped the assembly over and primed the inside tubes after taping off the ends where the pitot/static lines will attach:
Picture

Primed and ready for install on the wing, very happy how this turned out!
Picture

This picture shows the rounded static tip well.  The scuff marks in the primer are cosmetic only and look worse from the camera flash.  The inside of the tubes have been treated with Crown to protect against rust.
Picture

Also primed the front strut pick-up and support angle.  These will get rivetted once the lower wing skin is done.
Picture

Next up was laying out the 020 aluminum for the outboard and inboard trailing edges.
Picture
 
Lengthwise bends using the 1/8" radius bending shoe:
Picture
Picture

The bending brake can only bend the aluminum so far, but does a great job of creating a crisp trailing edge radius:
Picture

A preliminary test fit onto the rear wing channel showed a need to trim a little length of the forward facing edge to ensure the distance between the rear channel rivet line and the trailing edge is exactly the same as the other wing.
Picture

To finish the bend to the 18 degree opening angle as described in the plans, I secured the trailing edge to the bench with a 1/8 inch rod running the entire inside fold.  The wood shims are thinner than the rod so they don't crease the aluminum as it is bent flat:
Picture

A better look at the overall set-up.  The wooden shims are wedged in place between the rod and the securing playwood which is screwed down to the bench.
Picture

A long board and c-clamps apply an even squeeze to form the trailing edge:
Picture
Picture

I needed to slot the trailing edge skin where the rear strut pick-up protrudes through from the rear channel.  I marked the location by extending the lines forward when the pick-up was in place, removed the pick-up then transferred the location backwards to the trailing edge skin when it's in place:
Picture


Knowing where the slot needs to be laterally, I can created the slot based on the width of the pick-up (the narrow black rectangle represents what needs to be removed):
Picture

Two holes drilled at the end of the slot, then cut out the slot using the Dremel tool:
Picture

It worked perfectly, the slot is the perfect size (the slot on the right is for the flapperon arm which has been temporarily removed to make positioning everything easier to manipulate for fit-up):
Picture

Both trailing edges fit up and ready for A3 match drilling to the lower skin and rear channels.  I need to run the plumbing for the pitot/static and the fuel lines before getting to much farther, but the trailing edge is straight and true.
Picture

Next up, taking the lower skins off for debur and priming, along with further wing tip fit up.

Thanks for following along as always.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    New here? Try starting at:

    blog #1

    Author

    Husband, father and 911 dispatcher.  Long time pilot with a licence that burns a hole in my pocket where my student loan money used to be.  First time aircraft builder. Looking to fly my own airplane.

    Categories

    All
    Airframe
    Airport
    Avionics
    Decisions
    Engine
    Interior
    Keep Looking
    Mentor
    Milestone
    Mission
    Motivation
    Paperwork
    Philosophy
    Priorities
    Scrounging
    Tools
    Ultralights
    Welcome Aboard
    Workshop

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015

    RSS Feed

    build log

    Item Hours
    Engine 39
    Tail 151
    Wings 726.5
    Fuselage 239
    Interior 5
    Controls 11.5
    Avionics 27
    Other 66
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.