Fuselage
Forward Fuselage #1 (Angle material fabrication)
Total build time: 546 hours. My wings, aft fuselage, and empennage are complete. Work now turns to the forward fuselage, which ties everything together. The wings, aft fuselage, engine and pilot are all connected through the forward fuselage. This means that the forward fuselage is both complex and very strong. Strength comes largely from … Continue reading
Aft Fuselage #8 (Aluminum material recall/repair)
Repair work: 20 hours. The front and aft fuselages are joined on 4 corners at the longerons by splice plates… 3 of these 4 pairs splice plates were included in the material recall and had to be replaced. 1 pair in particular, the upper horizontal splice plates, would require a LOT of work to be … Continue reading
Empennage #8 (Aluminum material recall/repair)
Repair work: 7 hours. On January 9, 2014 I was notified of some bad parts that were included in a very small batch of Sonex kits that were shipped in the fall of 2013 (affected owners were individually notified)… unfortunately I was included in this recall. It included several parts in the empennage and aft … Continue reading
500-hour project update (Videos)
My wings, aft fuselage and empennage are as complete as they can be until the whole aircraft comes together and rigging takes place. I decided this would be a good time to stop and look back at my progress so far. To do so I made several videos. These first 2 short videos I made … Continue reading
Wings #16 (Pitot tube)
Total build time: 465 hours. The plans call for the fabrication of the pitot tube, or to buy a pre-made tube from Aircraft Spruce. I used the pre-made tube. It combines pitot and static sensors in the same assembly. The tubes were pretty close where the connections will be made, I used some shims … Continue reading
Wings #10 (LRI – Lift Reserve Indicator)
Total build time: 381 hours. All of the left wing is now deburred and I’m ready to install my first significant customization to my plane. I decided to install a “Lift Reserve Indicator (LRI)” made by Kelly at Value Engineering. An LRI indicator is basically a poor pilot’s angle of attack indicator, and/or stall warning … Continue reading
December time-lapse video
I created a time-lapse video of my workshop using pictures I’ve taken during the build, from 2 perspectives. I have 2 tripods setup in fixed positions to give myself a stable platform to duplicate my shots, but there’s still a bit of wiggle, I’ve done my best to smooth it out. The video basically has … Continue reading
Aft Fuselage #7 (Completion)
Total build time: 215 hours. A polished turtledeck, ready to rivet. Other builders probably notice in those photos the modification I made the aft bulkhead. It was with reluctance that I needed those holes but was a result of another modification to the forward stabilator spar attach point that I made (and was given … Continue reading
Empennage and turtledeck polishing.
Total build time: 208 hours. With several large skins ready for riveting, I needed to get some polishing out of the way before proceeding with construction. I’ve decided that I will not be painting my aircraft (other than the small fiberglass parts, wing tips etc.) There are several reasons for this including looks, weight savings, … Continue reading
Aft Fuselage #6 (Turtledeck)
Total build time: 182 Hours. With the turtledeck completely up-drilled for rivets, it’s time to peel it back apart for deburring. And reassemble! At this point I’m also polishing the skins. At this point I have completely riveted up the substructure for the turtledeck, but have not yet riveted the skins … Continue reading
Aft Fuselage #5 (Turtledeck cleco)
Total build time: 166 Hours. The aft fuselage tail cone box is complete, but with skins on the left, right, and bottom, it now needs a top! The top is called the turtledeck, as it resembles a curved turtle shell covering (I presume.) Parts layout: This next bit was to bend the turtledeck into place … Continue reading
Aft Fuselage #4 (Tail cone box)
Total build time: 150 hours. Slowly but surely the entirety of the tail cone box is up-drilled and progressively stripped back apart. As I back out the parts I have to think carefully about how it will ultimately be riveted together… going in the wrong order will seal me off from areas that I may … Continue reading
Aft Fuselage #3 (Tail cone box cleco)
Total build time: 112 hours First, cut a large hole for an access panel in the floor of the aft fuselage. Its funny how much pride one can take from making a pretty hole in aluminum sheet metal. Time to make use of those hundreds of clecoes I invested in… up goes the aft fuselage … Continue reading
Aft Fuselage #2 (Mixer mount and tail post)
Total build time: 106 Hours With the side panels complete, it’s back to fabricating more small assemblies before the next big assembly. The mixer mount is a fixture on the floor of the aft fuselage that will hold the mixer that combines pitch and yaw inputs from the pilot into the ruddervators. The tail … Continue reading
Aft Fuselage #1 (Side Panels)
Total build time: 80 hours. Began work on the aft fuselage. As with any new part of the build, it begins with laying out and making modifications to each individual part. Here are the parts laid out, and some cuts/holes that needed to be made in the side skins. Then out come the clecoes … Continue reading