2ND QTR 2003           •   •   • 
DATE HRS TTD ACTION IMAGES
04/10/03 1.8 610.7 Removed windshield, canopy and some sheet metal so I start fitting the L2 & R2 panels. Turns out I had welded the screw angle strips on the top longeron with them sticking out too much, so rather than bend them down and have the weld stay sticking out I ground out the welds a bit so they bend easy. Then I'll redo the welds after I get the panels fit. From now on I'm just going to tack the strips on until the panels set the permanent angles for welding. Did some fitting of the panels, they are longer than needed, so I will trim the front edge later. Fit and tack welded the formers on the 210-9 tubes. Weld ground out on upper fairing angle Tack welding left former at tube 210-9 Right side former tack welded to 210-9
04/11/03 2.0 612.7 Welded up the formers at the 210-9 tubes. I discovered that clamping a scrap of 1/8" thick steel behind the thin former metal keeps it from melting away as easily during welding with less "sugared" looking metal on the backside of the weld. Plate used to keep thin former from melting away during welding
04/12/03 1.8 614.5 Cut a short little piece of stringer stock. Temporarily clamped the #3 panels in place to determine the proper height to locate the standoffs so the stringer centerlines will line up with the breaks in the aft end of the panels. Located and tack welded the standoffs for the formers on tube 210-11 in. Then Tack welded the formers in themselves. Tacking the standoffs for the aft most side former Welding the left aft former
04/16/03 1.7 616.2 Used the dremel cutoff wheel to take off the welds holding the upper fairing angles to the top longerons at the rear cockpit. They were too high on the longeron, causing the sheet metal to ride too far off the longeron. I welded them on a little lower which is a better position to hold the side panels.
04/18/03 0.7 616.9 Fit the lower fairing angles with the bottom sheet metal in place to get an idea what angle to put them at. Then I put tiny tack welds in to hold them. Setting the height of the lower fairing angles Tiny tack welds were made while sheet metal in place
04/22/03 2.4 619.3 In the afternoon my Dad came by with my cowl which was on top his GEO Tracker for the ride home behind his motorhome from Florida. I couldn't figure out how to get it in the cockpit of my 757, so thanks Mom and Dad for traveling with a small casket on the roof again! Last year it was the canopy box. Anyway, that night I tacked the lower fairing angles on from FS 24.9 aft. After adjusting the angles, I then finish welded them. One thing I learned is that they increase angle away from the longeron as you do the welds. SO, make them lay about 3-4 degrees flatter than desired, then they should suck up into the proper position as you weld them. Cowl in crate Lower left fairing angles welded
04/24/03 2.0 621.3 Adjusted the angles on the lower fairing angles. Did a little more fitting work to panels L2 and R2 near the upper forward corners where they meet the aft cabane fittings.located and got some clecos into panel R2. Some clecos in panel R2 Detail of fit around aft right cabane fitting
04/26/03 2.2 623.5 Removed panel R2 and did some layout work for placing the bottom screwlines for panels R2 and R3. I first determined where on B2 and B3 the screwlines should be then I drew reference lines below the screwlines. The idea is to then put R2 and R3 in place, which covers up the screwline but not the reference line. Then I'll just measure up from the reference lines to re-establish the screwline on R2 and R3. I then figured out how close I could squeeze a rivet for the nutplate I'll install at the aft most bottom position of R3. Then I discovered that I would like to put a screw right in the gap where the 210-80 rear seatbelt clamp is. So I cut a small strip of sheet and welded it across the gap so I can install a nutplate, but still get the clamp in and welded. Otherwise I'd have an uneven spacing of screws there. Setting lower screwline for panel R2 Locating aft most nutplate for panel R3
Ready to tack a strip to bridge the gap in the fairing angle Left side gap strip welded
05/05/03 4.5 626.5 Laid out screwlines, drilled and clecoed most of remaining panels R2, R3, L2 & L3.  Ran out of air in compressor after kids went to bed and didn't want to wake them up running it.  Detail of upper aft corner of Panel R2 Upper J-Strip was easier to drill first with panel in position Right side panels mostly attached with clecos
05/06/03 1.8 626.5 Finished installing clecos in aft edges of panels L3 and R3. Had to use an uneven spacing of screws to make it look right with the three angled faces of the panel on the aft edge. Yea!!! Now all sheet metal is fitted. All I have to do is install nutplates. I've decided to install nutplates, even with the extra weight and installation fun, for the following reasons: they look better, I can't strip the threads as easy, they can be replaced and it reduces the types of screws needed to two. All fuselage sheet metal clecoed - spacing looks good Another view Detail of lower aft Panel R3
05/07/03 1.5 628.0 Drilled out the cowl ring holes first to 1/8 then 5/32 and installed black clecos.
05/08/03 3.5 631.5 Removed front sheet metal panels and cowl ring. Installed 1/8 rivets in the short angle strips on the tunnel area that I had moved outward earlier on 02/16/03. Deburred holes in cowl ring and firewall angle so they can mate together tightly. Reinstalled cowl ring on firewall with black clecos and installed eight MS21047-08 plain nutplates. Basic procedure used: 1) Put 2 c-clamps either side of cleco to squeeze cowl ring and firewall angle tight with no gap for drill chips to get in between. 2) Remove cleco and drill screw hole 11/64. 3) Remove clamps, deburr, then use an 8-32 screw to install nutplate on OUTSIDE of cowl ring. 4) Put c-clamps on both sides, next to nutplate legs to eliminate gap between cowl ring and angle. 5) Drill #40 rivet holes STRAIGHT through nutplate legs. 6) Remove nutplate and clamps then debur & countersink the rivet holes. 7) Install nutplate in proper position tight with screw and rivets keeping holes aligned. 8) Squeeze the AN426AD-3-5 rivets and remove the screw. Squeezing rivets on the firewall angle Ready to drill rivet holes through nutplate
Microstop countersink used for flush rivets Finished nutplate
05/10/03 3.0 634.5 Installed nutplates on the cowl ring. Had to take fuselage off the rotating stand to get to the ones in the corners. Still have 10 left to go.
05/11/03 2.2 636.7 Installed remaining nutplates on the cowl ring. Trimmed windshield base and closure strip bottom edges to match T1L and T1R bottom edges. Nutplates installed Windshield base trimmed
05/13/03 1.8 638.5 Installed MS21047-L08K nutplates with DIMPLED rivet holes on the T1L & T1R panels where they screw to the T1C panel. Drilled all holes out to 11/64 then 3/16. I used an Avery tools 3/32 springback dimple die set. I've decided to use these nutplates wherever possible because dimpling is WAY FASTER than countersinking. Row of nutplates on Panel T1L
05/15/03 3.2 641.7 Installed nutplates on the Forward instrument panel top edge where it holds the aft edge of T1C and the windshield base. Nutplates on forward instrument panel
05/19/03 2.4 644.1 Installed nutplates on the 2 aft most belly formers at FS 48 & FS 75.75. The dimple dies worked well on the 4130 Annealed former material by the way. I had to use some MS21051-L08K one-sided nutplates in some tight spots. Nutplates on aft belly former Sheetmetal hole alignment detail
05/20/03 1.5 645.6 Installed 1/8 blind stainless steel rivets (SSD42 -SSBS) to hold the B1C tunnel to the two B1L & R side panels. Blind rivets hold tunnel to side panels
05/21/03 1.9 647.5 Step drilled out the forward and aft edges of the B1L,C,R tunnel assembly to 11/64 for nutplates. Also marked the B1L and R panels for trimming on both forward aft edges. Aft edge of B1L marked for trimming Tunnel area ready for nutplate installation
05/24/03 2.8 650.3 Trimmed and deburred the marked B1L & R panels and drilled out the holes in the panels 3/16. Installed nutplates around the firewall tunnel area and belly former at FS 24.9.
05/28/03 3.6 653.9 Step drilled and clecoed all remaining holes for panels L1 and R1 to 11/64 for nutplates. Removed the panels and drilled them out to 3/16 and deburred. Installed some nutplates.
05/29/03 2.5 656.4 Step drilled and clecoed holes for panel R2. Installed nutplates for the top and bottom edges of panel R1, and and bottom edge of L1. I discovered that it was difficult to drill a couple of areas of the J-strips where they had been heated up by welding. Obviously the heating and cooling hardened the metal in those areas and made drilling difficult compared to the rest of the annealed strip. Nutplates installed in lower aluminum angle strip Aft 4 nutplates have blind countersunk rivets Nutplates along top longeron
05/31/03 2.0 658.4 More panel work, drilling out for nutplates. Also marked excess overlap material on the panels and cut it off with the snips.
06/09/03 1.5 659.9 Drilled out panels and j-strips for L3 and R3 to 11/64 for nutplates. Removed L3 and R3 and drilled them 3/16 and deburred.
QTR TOTAL 51.0  
 2ND QTR 2003           •   •   •