I added new pictures for the tanks, ailerons and flaps. I also fixed the wings pictures. Tom and I are now on the Fuselage and finally we are back to having something that looks like a plane again! (actually, it looks more like an aluminum canoe).
Back to work!
Dkb
Box 'o parts
Yesterday, we began with the fire wall, and we did the usual drill, de-burr and dimple (the three D’s) and I was about to take my hand and sweep all the metal filings to the floor with my hand. WAIT A MINUTE!!! WHAT WOULD MY SHOP TEACHER SAY!!! Ok, MANY years ago I took metal shop and quickly learned that shavings are brushed off with a brush, not your hand.
It is a good idea to remember some of the shop basics as you get started with your project. Safety glasses? Hearing protection (oh, com’on it’s just ONE rivet!) How about a quality ventilator mask when using shaker-can spray paint? (ESPECIALLY self-etching)
For us old folks, take a minute and remember the skills we learned in school. For you younger guys (and gals) who took computer skills lab instead of metal shop, find a gray-haired person who is building or has built a metal plane, and spend a friendly hour in your workshop and chat about the old days. Esp metal shop.
HMMMM??? I wonder where Mr. Bradshaw is today?
Thanks Mr. Bradshaw, I’m doing fine.
-Dkb
FINALLY!
The wings are now completed. We spent the week-end putting the wings up and away where they will not get damaged. We also opened the Fuse box! Found some interesting stuff. Like a manual elevator trim cable (we have electric trim). Also we found the manual aileron trim, and we want to go with electric with that as well. Oh well.
We also spent a day getting the shop ready. Cleaning, re-packaging hardware, and doing an inventory of the kit. We also put weights on the plans so they will lie flat, and we loaded the plans holders we have.
At each step, it is a good idea to re-set the shop and make sure everything is back where you can quickly get your hands on it. This is REALLY worth the time investment later.
Dkb
No, I’m not talking about me. I’m good at riveting, but rather a pretty cool tool I discovered at Harbor Freight.
On the Van’s Airforce and other Van’s aircraft lists, there is considerable discussion about which rivet gun should I buy? 2X? 3X? These things are pretty expensive, and you want to be sure you get the right one first!
Well, not so! Enter the 1X gun from autoparts stores, hardware chains or (best of all) Harbor Freight!
HB and others sell a small, lightweight Air Hammer for under $10 (yes, I said ten dollars) that is GREAT for AN426AD3-x rivets, especially the TONS of rivets that you do on the wings.
You have to get the right one, and with just a little careful selection, you can have GREAT looking skin! I’ve just finished my wings, and they look GREAT!
What is the difference between an Air Hammer and a Rivet gun? About $150.00
What to look for?
1. Small and light. Better control and you won’t tire after 500 rivets or so.
2. A trigger you can feather, like this one.
Trigger you can feather
This was not so good a choice:
Trigger with poor feather control
3. Built-in regulator. This worked VERY nice:
Pressure regulator on Air Hammer
4. Throw out any accessories you get with the gun, and buy a nice rivet set. I prefer the flat set with a rubber ring around the edge to prevent the gun from running away. Also, go ahead and get a nice swivel whip tail.
5. You may still need a nice 2x or 3x gun, but for skins, this is the BEST.
You will see you get a really nice rivet gun for the small skin rivets with good control, easy to adjust and not driving them clear through to the other side of the wing with too strong of a gun. And the cost? under $10.
Rivet gun/Air hammer for skins
My rivet gun
Dkb
I’ve added pictures of stuff you build besides the plane. Stands, work benches and even sanding booths out of PVC pipe.
See the Pictures button in the menu bar at the top.
When I started the empennage, I saw some folks removing strips of the blue protective film by using a soldering iron and decided that the risk of scratching the skin was too great, so I peeled off all the protective film. What a mistake! Even with protective inserts in the emp jigs, the tail got pretty scuffed. OK, so now I’m on the wings, but the soldering iron route takes too darn long to mark and stripe, and I’m STILL afraid I’ll scratch the skin. So here is my hint of the day…
To remove strips of blue protective coating from the skins:
1. Be sure the soldering iron has only a smooth rounded tip on it. I took mine to the buffing wheel and made it real smooth.
2. Buy an aluminum yard stick. With a number 40 drill, drill three or four hold in the middle of the yard stick. One at the very end, one near the other end, and one about 1/3 of the way up the yard stick.
Aluminum Yardstick
Be sure to de-burr the holes.
3. Now you can anchor the yard stick in the skin, and use the soldering iron to melt away one or BOTH sides to leave a nice clean center line and remove the blue stuff.
Cleco the yard stick down
Wow! nice clean straight lines. Fast and easy, with less of a possibility of burning yourself, easy to do with one person with better control so you do not scratch the metal.
Cool.
-Dkb
Blue film removed
Riveting with two people requires a good communications channel. If you have an agreed upon procedure, you will have a better final product (with fewer replacement parts).
Here is how Tom and I do it. Query, response, check.
There are LOTS of sites that will tell you about the tools required to build a plane. Besides a set of regular mechanics tools, you will need drills, deburring tools, dimplers, bucking bars, sheet metal tools, and a host of electrical stuff. Oddly enough, folks often forget to tell you about the other tools required: Wood Working Tools. When building an aluminum plane, you really need a small set of wood working tools. A good handsaw, or better, a circular saw, or better still, a table saw is required to build all the extra stuff you are going to need. I also suggest a Sabre saw for both the aluminum and for the jigs you will build. Be sure to keep your wood drill bits away from your metal drill bits. For my belt sander and disc sander, I avoid using the same abrasive discs for wood and metal.
Homebuilt Plan Stand
I’ve finally got the picture page up (see the menu bar at the top?)
I’ve put up the Empennage pictures. Imagine that! Closing the left wing and putting up the Emp pix in the same week!
-Dkb
BIG milestone! We closed the left wing! Thanx to Chris for helping finishing the left wing. We can now close the right wing ( just the autopilot servo goes here) and we are done with wings!
More hints to follow!