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Monday, September 6, 2010

Longerons, all but done - Center section work just started

Now that the tail cone is up and ready to rivet, I decided to take some time on the longerons and starting some of the pieces on the center section.   I like getting a few things done ahead of time, then when the actual time comes you have had a chance to think about things and also it makes some of the busy work seem to get done quicker..

So with the longerons..  Measured them, then cut to size, then on the big bend  I used the Longeron Dies bought off of the forum sites.  Mixed feelings about them.  They create a great bend that is very consistent between the two, but do scratch the longerons.  I think I can sand out much of the scratches, but I still wish they weren't scratched to begin with.  Not sure if I recommend them, but I am happy with the consistency of the bend. 

The longerons are funny, because they really give the whole shape of the fuselage and are bent very specific, but when you look at them, it looks like you just ran them over and mangled them, but trust me, they are bent very specifically.

After initial bends, I lined up the canopy side rails on the longerons and drilled them.  In general, I think I got them nailed, because I can actually connect the two together.  Talk about accurate bends, and accurate pre-punched holes.  It lined up great.  I also bent the downward angles, that look like an "A" in the picture above.  The longerons are stuck together top to top in that pic, so the bends outward are actually downward..  Anyway..  The only remaining items on the longerons are removing a piece of the back section so that it fits on the rear bulkhead, and removing some of the material at the aft end of the side rails.  That can wait..

Also, I started working on the seat ribs.  Deburring them and creating spacers that go between the center ribs and F-705..   Also, the center 4 ribs get opened up a bit for the control column, as well two of them get cut out sections so that the control column can be removed once the ribs are riveted in place.

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