This chapter has two versions. One for a Throttle Quadrant (mounted on the panel), and one for standard push-pull knobs. As I’m planning on doing the center armrest quadrant, I basically followed the version for the Quadrant, but didn’t rivet on the control cable bracket.
This section is pretty straightforward. The only step that was a little funky was final assembly and riveting the F-1044 rib and angles together before inserting into the F-1068A sub-panel. I’m sure I could do it, but just couldn’t figure out how it would work so I just assembled everything together and set the rivets that way. Maybe I just made it harder on myself? :shrug:
I also decided to paint all of the ribs and the sub-panel white. The thought is that when I’m working on the sub-panels or doing avionics it will be easier to see vs the darker green.
At this point I have the sub-structure riveted together, but decided not to rivet on the top skin. I’m also waiting for my Aerosport Products panel to arrive (or at least the sub-structure) so I can mock up the installation of the panel and the Fwd Fuse structure as I know I have to make some modifications to get everything to fit.
With the holidays over, I’m trying to recover from all the excitement. Lots of time with friends and family even though we stayed local this year. Since the last update I have made some progress on the airplane build, but not as much as I was hoping. But hey, that’s how life is sometimes.
Fuselage Skins: So I’m still working on getting the fuselage skins riveted. This task is taking much longer than expected due to the fact that I don’t always have access to a “rivet buddy”. While my wife is willing to help me, she is also limited in what she is able to do (no crawling under the plane anymore due to some back issues). Luckily my brother and father were down for the holidays and helped me get most of the “hard to reach” places riveted so hopefully I can start making more progress.
With forward progress on the fuse skins slowed down, I decided to start working on some other areas (more to come in a future update). Upper Forward Fuse Assembly (panel area) and the steps are basically done. I’ll have to take some video of them as well as some pictures. I also started to build the baggage door as I was getting a bit stir crazy wanting to do something on the airplane!
In addition to all of this, I had a mix of things arrive that I ordered earlier as well as placed some more orders for items that I’ll need in the next few months. Most of my air conditioner system arrived from Airflow Systems. I’m waiting on just a few pieces from this order and trying to make sure I understand how everything goes together. The instructions are pretty clear, however I upgraded from the Standard kit to the “aussie” evaporator so I need to figure out how that goes together. (More posts / photos to come). I also ordered and got a floor creeper to help me work on the bottom of the plane.
Earlier I posted that I installed one of the air ward tunnel access kits. As I did more research on the SDS installation I decided to go ahead and install the access kit on the other side of the tunnel as well. It’s a bit more difficult with the side skins on 🙁 I also ordered the parking brake kit and step access panel kit from air ward. I’ll be installing those in the near future.
Lastly I decided to make a few purchases so I’ll have all the stuff necessary to work on the tunnel. I ordered a set of hoses from AS Flightline. Been working with Steve over the last month and all I can say is wow. Responsive and extremely helpful. I’m hoping to provide additional documentation for their site for anyone looking to install the SDS system as they already have documentation on the EFII System 32 system. That also lead me down the path of ordering the AndAir duplex fuel selector.
With all of that stuff ordered, I then start thinking that I may also need to put in my order for Aerosport Products line of goodies. Center console with throttle quadrant, panel, over head console, and switch pod. They have some other items I’m interested in, but may have to wait for my bank account to recover. I’m waiting for Geoff to get back to me about a custom quadrant with no mixture control since I’m going with the SDS system.
That’s it for now. Hopefully I’ll make some additional progress and have a few more videos in the next few weeks.
Returning to our adventures in Section 29, I decide to skip to the end of the section and assemble the rear vents. This is very straightforward and requires a little cutting of parts into their individual pieces followed by some light sanding / deburring. Then it’s on to clecoing them to the skin and match drilling. I finish up this minor detour by countersinking the parts as detailed in the plans.
With that completed, I go back to bending skins. The forward skins are a little more complicated as you don’t have the same advantage of using the holes in the edge of the side skin you did on the aft skins. This means you are free-clamping the aluminum angle in place and just using pressure to keep everything lined up. There is a small note of caution in the plans to make sure the clamps don’t crash into the skins. It’s real, and it’s easy to do. At least that’s what a friend told me. 😒
After doing the dance of bending a little, test fitting, bending some more, I finally have the forward skins appropriately bent. I will note that the skins are not a perfect bend. I.E. they are close and as you install the clecos they do pull in the last 1/4″-1/8″ or so to be flush. My opinion is this is fine. I have seen others struggling to get the bend perfect. If this was necessary Vans would have sent the part pre-bent. Just make sure everything lines up correctly.
With the skins done (mostly), then I bend the two small lower fuse channel clips. Easy to do with a vice and a few hits from a mallet. I then pull out all of the remaining understructure that will support the forward skins and install them on the fuse. With these parts in place, the skins go back on and I can begin the process of match drilling all the holes.
The only challenge at this point was match drilling into the steel firewall brackets. As I was getting everything set, I noticed that the firewall brackets are not perfectly aligned with the fuse channels. Also drilling through the steel parts takes a little more “umph” and something to push against the steel bracket. I used some scrap wood to drill the holes in the upper fuse bracket, but had to enlist the assistance of my wife to drill the holes on the face of the bottom bracket.
With the longeron and the understructure match drilled, the skin comes off again. Now I have more access to drill all the remaining holes in the firewall brackets. This is where edge distance seems to be the biggest concern. I didn’t initially use clamps to pull the brackets into perfect alignment, and for the first three brackets, all worked perfectly. The last bracket however was just a little off and I was not happy with my edge distance.
Original Bracket
Poor edge distance
Remove the original bracket
Hmm. New bracket looks off
That’s not going to work.
Vans sent a free replacement. Looks better!
Man, that looks MUCH better!
Took a few photos and sent to Vans. The first three brackets were fine, but the first photo above was concerning. Vans recommended replacement. Honestly I thought I needed to replace all my brackets, but for steel parts I really only need 1D edge distance. Ordered a new lower bracket, riveted it on, and it didn’t look right. I reinstalled the lower channel and skin to show just how off it really was. No way to pull that into alignment without putting a significant twist on the firewall. Another e-mail to Vans and they confirmed that these brackets have been problematic and they sent me a free replacement. Finally got it the day before Thanksgiving and had it installed over the weekend. Photos above of just how well the last bracket worked. Very glad I took the time (and delays) to get this done correctly!
Between all the issues with the brackets, I deburred, primed, and dimpled the skins as well as counter sunk all the understructure as called out in the plans. I did come to realize that Vans also didn’t do me any favors a few chapters back. I specifically remember not dimpling the F-1015A-L and F-1015A-R ribs after reading that chapter a few times. I even took the advice of Jason Ellis in one of his videos that these didn’t need to be dimpled because this is where the wing was. WRONG. Do yourself a favor and dimple the F-1015A ribs (and the F-1015B Intercoastals where they overlap the F-1015A ribs). If not you will find yourself digging into your bag of tricks to dimple this stuff. 🙁 I got it done but it wasn’t pretty. It’s obvious when you look at the rivets you need to install on page 29-17 Figure 1. Oh well. Another learning experience.
With that I’ll wrap up this LONG update as I’m caught up with my videos and progress to date. I’m basically ready to rivet the skins to the frame. Exciting times!
Ok, so it’s time to begin the infamous Section 29 – Side Skins. Going into this I’m already worried as there are a few new skills that I’m going to have to learn with little room for error. Bending the Longerons (yes, I did do a little of this on the Tailcone), and bending the fuselage skins themselves. No reason to drag my feet, let’s get past this and move on!
So the very first step is to bend the longerons. With memories of bending the longerons on the empennage, I decided to purchase a set of bending dies from Buller Enterprises. While not cheap, I figured they were worth a shot and I may be able to sell them at a small discount or donate to our EAA chapter tool crib. I’ll say that I’m happy with the bending dies. They worked as expected and made very quick work with bending the longerons once I got the hang of things.
With the mid-fuse longerons bent, I was about to drill the holes per the template, only to realize I bent both longerons the same way. UGH!! Remember I mentioned that I was happy I purchased spare angle aluminum? This is why! After checking I had enough spare, I went ahead and cut another longeron and correctly bent it the correct direction. Then, it was on to drilling the holes per the template.
With the mid-fuse longerons done, I moved to the fwd fuse longerons. I stressed myself out more on these as I really only had 1 shot to get these right (without costing a lot more to get a replacement shipped to me). Luckily I had sufficient practice and these went without a hitch. (I did remember that the Right and Left longerons were very different lengths!) I then also driled the holes per the templates in both of these longerons and proceeded to twist the ends of the longerons per the plans.
Then it was onto another new skill. Bending the side skins. Once again I was lucky that Todd Stoval had provided me his bending jig for my use. One less thing for me to create and I can pass it along to another builder in our chapter once I’m done with it. First thing I had to do we get more c-clamps from harbor freight. With those purchased, I then began to bend the skins ever so slightly. Honestly I was a weenie at first. After double checking other builder logs I realized I really needed to put my weight behind the bends. That really made things move along nicely. By the fourth skins, I felt more like a pro and was able to quickly bent things into position.
With the longerons and the skins ready I then assemble and drill the seat back brace and the baggage door seal angles. Pretty straight forward all things considered. Cutting down the door seals was interesting, but easily accomplished. I actually like some of the fabrication side of the build.
As I go to start installing these parts on the fuselage, I found myself getting really excited as this really starts to look nice. Then it’s on to match drilling. One thing that had me doubting myself was the drill lines on the longerons. I drew the lines at 5/16 per 29-2 Figure 1 on all the longerons and that worked well.
I borrowed an angle drill from Jeff Karrels to drill some of the holes in the longerons due to the tight spacing. After a day with this drill I decided I really needed to get one of my own. The only issue I found was with the right mid-fuse longeron where it connects to the F-1050c brace. My first attempt left the edge distance a little off for me. After checking my aluminum stock, I realized I had enough to remake yet another longeron. 10 mins later, I re-drilled and was much happier with the result. Only issue was I was a little to far off in the other direction. Decided that a thin shim would correct the situation and prevent distortion on the skin.
Lastly before I wrap up this update, I put the appropriate twist in the Fuse Channels. Only recommendation here is sand/round the corners of the wooden spaces you use.
Finishing up section 28 I enlist the help of my friend and his father to help get the last few steps done. Per my last post, they were EXTREMELY helpful in moving my wings to storage, then we all returned to the garage and they helped me knock out the some of the heavy lifting to join the fuse and move it to the cradle.
Before I got my camera rolling, we finished riveting the forward bottom skin to the tunnel. Next we installed the forward spar and installed all the bolts called out in the plans. (PROTIP: Now is the time to torque and apply torque seal to all your bolts on both the forward and rear spars! Also jump ahead to Section 44-2 and install the K-1100-08 nutplate between the spars now. )
One item to note is that I decided NOT to install the flowscan or fuel filter brackets as I am expecting to install an EFII system. I’ll go into this system in a future post as I have more information that I can share.
With both halves ready, we then joined the forward and rear halves and began to install some temporary bolts (Home Depot brand. I’m saving the AN hardware for installing the wings!). With the halves bolted together, we easily move the fuse to the cradle. Plenty of room now that the wings are in storage!
I believe it was at this point I realized that I hadn’t torqued down my bolts, or installed the nutplate. Ended up getting a neighbor to help me move the fuse back to the tables to fix my issue. Then they helped me move it back to the cradle once I fixed my minor issues.
Once on the cradle, I began to spend my time crawling on the floor to install clecos and taping flush rivets into place. My wife who is now becoming an expert with flush rivets, helped me over the course of a few weeks to rivet the skins to the spars. I will say that this was not an easy task. I used just about every bucking bar I had, and even then was not happy with some of the results. Honestly for the “hard to reach” rivets the BEST results were obtained with indirect riveting. (Similar to what I did for the Elevator – Part 9). I had a purchased this bucking bar from YardStore to get into really tight spots. Basically use a backrivet bucking bar on the skin side, and the angle bar on the shop head. Then use the rivet gun on the angle bar to indirectly set the rivet. It sounds funky, but it does work.
With the “Hard” stuff done, I move onto fabricating the seat pans. Cutting the angle aluminum I realize that I made a mental error and cut one too short. Another example of why ordering a few extra sticks of angle aluminum with your wings/fuse is such a good idea! Poor Jason Ellis learned that the hard way 🙁
Beyond measuring correctly, everything else goes together pretty easily. Just have to mark everything as L or R and make sure you visualize how everything goes together (mirror of each other).
Once those are done, it’s onto the landing gear assembly. My right side landing gear needed me to modify the bulkheads a little to get everything to fit without any interference. I took my time to file and deburr with scotchbright. Didn’t want to remove too much material!
With everything fitting correctly, I drill the last few holes and close out the chapter.
