3RD QTR 2007           •   •   • 
DATE HRS TTD ACTION IMAGES
07/09/07 4.0 974.5 Finally figured out a location for the air tank that doesn't waste space, allows space for a possible molded rear seatback yet allows easy tank replacement. However it turns out that I need to put the tank at the other end of the plate. Redrilled all the holes to move the tank and test mounted it with adell clamps. Finally!! A location has been found Bottom view
07/15/07 2.6 977.1 Wasn't happy with the plate for the tank, the 1/2" vertical flanges weren't big enough and I was afraid they would allow the plate to flex too much under high G loads. Went over to Kens and made a new blank plate with taller flanges to stiffen it up. The new one is a little longer which allows me to move the tank back a little further back too in case I decide to make a more conformal rear seat back to replace the wood one.
08/01/07 4.0 974.5 Drilled holes in the new plate. Ended up countersinking the 1/4-20 holes in the billet clamps, so I could keep the bottom of the plate flat and mount it anywhere on the battery tray tubes. I will eventually do some machine work to lighten up the bottle clamps, they have way too much material and weight in them. New plate test mounted Bottom view of new plate
08/17/07 2.5 977.0 Shifting gears a little, awhile back I drew up plans for a fuselage step like first seen on N393DG but located more like on N247AG. My step will be made of  1/2" diameter stainless rod. I rigged up tooling in my lathe for heat bending it. Basically the lathe acted like a big stationary vise to hold the scrap round piece that I bent the step around. I then used sandpaper and wire brush to clean up the step to look good. Bent step on the lathe Bent Step
08/20/07 4.2 981.2 Cut the ends off step at the 9.8 degree angle. For the step sockets, I took some .625 dia .065 wall tubing and reamed the inside from .495 out to .500 so the step would slide in.  I then cut and fit them to the 1" diameter lower longeron at the same angle. Fitted the lower belly panel and cut two preliminary holes in it to locate the position for the step. Drilled holes in the socket tubes, then marked and drilled 3/16 holes in the step ends. Cutting step to length Fitting step socket tubes
Drilling holes on the bridgeport Panel rough fit with step
08/21/07 1.2 982.4 Leveled the fuselage, then clamped the step / socket so it was vertical, and thus plumb when the airplane is on gear. Tack welded the step sockets in. Step tubes tack welded
08/29/07 1.5 983.9 Spent some time with the sharpie pen and die grinder adjusting the fit of the sheetmetal to the sockets. Sheetmetal fitted around front step tube Sheetmetal fitted around rear step tube
08/30/07 1.0 984.9 Welded up the sockets. Did the welds with 30 minutes of cooling between short bead sections so as to not put too much heat into the longeron and cause it to distort and mess up the fit of my sheetmetal.  Step sockets finish welded
09/03/07 3.0 987.9 Back to the mounts for the seat box. Located the mounting tabs on the seat box with 3/16 clecos, then tack welded the four tabs. After that I finish welded them up. Tab ready for tack weld Upper tab located Tab welded Seatbox tabs welded
09/05/07 3.0 987.9 Decided to install a mount for a mixture control in case I decide to put fuel injection on the motor down the road. The mount bushing is two sections of tube edge welded together. It took some time to find a decent location that wouldn't interefere with the pilot's leg, the throttle/prop controls, the throttle/prop control rods or instrument panel. Bushing made of two sections of tube welded Mixture control located Ready to tack weld bushing to frame Mixture control mounted
QTR TOTAL 27.0  
 3RD QTR 2007           •   •   •