The Fuse Longerons laid out inside the fuselage. Left-to-right, F-1013L (92-5/32"), F-1046L (49-23/32"), F-1046R (49-23/32"), F-1013R (113-1/2").
Cutting, tweaking, bending, beating, banging, hammering, twisting, drilling, and deburring these four longerons took quite some time, but by the end of it I'm satisfied with the result. The F-1046R is probably the one piece I'm least happy with (it was the first piece I made), even after some re-tweaking attempts there's still a spot or two that look a bit wavy. I think the tolerances are still within the 1/16" called out in the plans, and I'm sure once the rest of the structure goes into place everything will sort itself out, but for the time being I'm still a bit nervous about that one. I'm probably just being a bit paranoid. Anyway, with these four longerons complete we could proceed with the next task of bending the Mid Side Skins. This requires making a 46"-long wooden block out of a hardwood 2x4 with some angled faces that are specified in the plans. I ran to the local lumber yard and grabbed a 4' long piece of oak 2x4 ($20 for a single, half-length 2x4!) and got started cutting it down to size. For future reference, it is WAY easier trying to cut it on the bandsaw than my first attempt using the table saw! In the end, I ended up with this piece:
The hardwood clamping block used to roll the fuselage side skins
Also shown above are the two aluminum F-1070A/B Roll Construction Angles that were fabricated and match-drilled to the side skins in order to be used as grips for the end of the skin being rolled. About this time, Sarah got home from her flight lesson and our friend Derek also stopped over to check out the project and help out a bit. He's also starting to build an RV-10-- he bought an already-completed empennage kit and will soon be ordering/starting on the wing kit. In the meantime, he'll probably be stopping over from time to time to hang out, help a bit, and gain some experience working in the factory with us. We welcome the extra set of hands anytime for sure! :-)
With the three of us in the garage and plenty to do, the Senior Project Engineer (yours truly) got to work delegating and assigning tasks. I showed Derek how we were back-riveting the Bottom Fuse Skins on to the Center Section Bulkheads (a few dozen rivets still needed to be finished), and he jumped right in and did an excellent job!
Sarah running the rivet gun and Derek holding the Cleaveland back-rivet bucking bar. Every rivet came out perfect from the beginning... Nicely done guys!
Meanwhile, I continued with bending the Mid Fuse Side skins, using the newly-minted clamping block and Roll Construction Angles:
I tried to fake a grunting face for the camera, but Sarah said it looked too natural... oh well. It was actually pretty hard work to bend these!
The completed roll for the R Mid Fuse Side Skin
After repeating the process for the L Mid Fuse Side Skin it was time to trial-fit them to the fuselage (by the way, the plans aren't very clear about the L skin. It's obvious enough that both R/L skins need to be done in the same manner, but there is zero mention of the L side skin until a few pages later when it is assumed to already be done). I had to go fetch the F-1006B Bulkhead from the tailcone assembly, which was suspended from our forward garage ceiling. After dusting it off and clecoing it into place, we could cleco the side skins on and see how we did with the rolling:
R Mid Fuse Side Skin, rolled to match the bulkhead
L Mid Fuse Side Skin, rolled to match the bulkhead
The end of the fuselage with both side skins clecoed into place, this is where the tailcone will mate up.
They fit! The rolled skins were quite easy to cleco into place and the curves seemed pretty smooth and natural. The R side has just a touch of a crease on the upper end of the roll, but I think it will be pretty easy to massage out once it's all put into place.
Next up, Derek and I got to work on some more fabrication and drilling for the baggage door seal angles and back seat braces. Once those were drilled and trimmed to spec, they could be installed into the fuselage, along with the four longerons that we made yesterday and earlier today. Installing them also involved unwrapping a few new parts like the L/R Mid Cabin Decks, which were kind of cool-looking parts.
Mike & Derek after installing the fuselage longerons and Mid-Cabin Decks for match-drilling
It's amazing how clecoing just a few parts into place gives the fuselage an appearance of being a lot further along! It's easy to get lost just staring at the plane and imagining what's going to go where and how it's all going to look when it's all done. These are some of the most rewarding moments when you can take a step back and do this. So much so, in fact, that I grabbed myself another beer and stood back doing just that. Seeing an opportunity to jump back in, Sarah grabbed the drill out of my hands and got to work on the longerons with Derek:
Admiring our airplane coming together from a distance.. this is how all project leadership should work!!!
After tonight's efforts came to an end, we were through Section 29-7 Step 3 in the plans. Excellent progress, and a happy night of smooth sailing. Here's to many more of the same kinds of nights!