F-706, F-707, F-708 Bulkheads Continued (1/14/12)

1.8 Hours –

I’m back to work on the plane after taking about a week off from the project. The main reason for the break is that I got married last weekend. We had a small beach ceremony in South Padre Island, TX. The weather was perfect and it was nice to see some family members that we had not seen in a while. Now, I’ve got to get this plane built so that we can cut down the travel time to South Padre. Six hour drives are no fun, but two-hour flights are!

Amber and Ethan - South Padre Island, TX - January 8, 2012

Back in the garage, it took me a little time to remember what was left to be done on the bulkheads. I had received my #10 drill from Aircraft Spruce, so I decided to finish up the F-661EF flap bearing blocks first. After enlarging the first hole in the blocks to #10, I mounted the blocks on the F-705 bulkhead assembly with one bolt and a clamp.

After drilling one hole in the flap bearing block, I used a bolt and a clamp to position it for drilling the second hole.

Since I had marked a center line on the blocks, it was easy to make sure the blocks were straight. Once aligned, I used my air drill to start the hole for the second bolt. However, I only drilled this hole about 1/4″. Then, with the hole “marked”, I moved the block to the drill press to finish the hole since I didn’t think I could make a straight hole by hand through the two-inch thick blocks.

I only drilled the second hole about 1/4" while the block was clamped to the bulkhead...it will get finished on the drill press.

The drill press makes straight holes quickly in the plastic.

Once the second hole was drilled in the blocks, I temporarily installed the blocks on the bulkhead using the appropriate bolts, washers, and nuts. However, I only loosely installed the nuts for now since the blocks will be removed to rivet the skins.

The finished product. Only loosely installed for now since they will have to come off to rivet the skins.

With the flap blocks out-of-the-way, I moved on to the F-706, 707, and 708 bulkheads once again. As I stated in a previous post, these parts are just plain ugly and they need a lot of finishing work. For today, I finished deburring and fluting the F-707 and F-708 components. However, I decided to wait on the F-706 bulkhead parts as they will require the most work. Since these parts are all such a mess, I’m going to prime them. In this case, the primer is mainly for appearance, not corrosion protection. I managed to clean, scuff and prime the F-707 and 708 parts today, so at least I’ll be able to rivet those together and set them aside tomorrow.