Category Archives: Fuselage

Right Side Console

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Time: 4 Hours

I started working on the right side console switches today. First thing I did was to apply the label that I had made from engravers.net. Once I had that into position I started adding the switches along with the backing plate I made to keep the anti rotation washers secure.  

    
   I am super happy with how these are turning out. To make things simpler for wiring I decided to wire all the switches I could while these are on the bench. So I started measuring the wire lengths to the various parts. This way I will have the wires done and be able to screw the console in place and fish the wires to their spots.  
 I need to get more wire before I can continue so I moved on to one other task I wanted to finish. If you remember in a previous post I installed the music jack for the passenger. Well after doing some looking followed by some research on the jack itself. What I found out was that this jack needs to be isolated from the metal structure just as the headset jacks. The way I installed it I had contact with the metal structure. So I did some research on washers to isolate it similar to the headset jacks. The issue was that the threaded portion of the jack is pretty short and doesn’t give me the room to add washers. So after some research I found a plastic housed music jack and ordered it. It snaps into a 3/8″ hole and since its plastic thre is no issue with the metal structure.  

    
 The fun part is since I have the wire run I will need to solder this new part while its in the airplane.  

    
 Those little solder tabs are very small and was fun to work with. After the heat shrink was cool I snapped it into place.  

   I’m happy with the look and the fact that it is isolated as it should be. No that I have this wire finished correctly I can now blind river the two side spar caps which will allow me to put the side consoles in place for good. Should be a good weekend of building. 

Baggage Door

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Time: 2 Hours

I worked on the baggage door, which is the last building task before I get to mate the wings to the fuselage, yesterday.  Pretty simple task of demurring all the edges and holes of the top and bottom skin as well as all the notches of the two side ribs.  You start with the locking mechanism that sends two rods outboard of the lock that will catch two plastic blocks on the baggage door opening.  However they don’t supply the lock and you need to buy that separately from any source you want so I skipped this step for now.  Another note on the baggage door is after reading a lot of builders blogs and talking to my buddy Glenn I understand that the final figment of the door to the fuselage is a real pain in the ass!  It seems that nobody gets a good fit if you proceed with the plans at this stage.  So what I will be doing is following their advise and waiting until the fuselage is finished before attempting to finish the door.  The plan will be to rivet the exterior skin of the door first then attach the door to the fuselage and strap it down with ratchet straps so that all the edges line up perfectly.  Then from inside the fuselage up through the removed baggage floor I will blind rivet the bottom skin hopefully holding the shape needed for a good fit.  So for now I’m done with the door until I get a lock from Van’s and build that mechanism. If you can’t handle it yourself, automotive locksmith Sacramento will provide expert service.

  
   I need to do a little more research on weather to drill the hinge that will attach at the top now or latter with this new plan of attack.

Forward Top Skin

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Time: 6 Hours

I started today with the intention of building the Vertical Power VP-X power connectors to clean up the area behind the instrument panel. What I found was the crimper that I bought from Aircraft Spruce, even though they recommend it just for this task,  was the wrong one according to Chad from VP.  

 These power connectors are very specific and need a specialized crimper. I emailed Cahd and he let me know that they have several that they loan out for free minus shipping as they are expensive, $380, to buy. He said he would ship one out at the end of the week. So I decided to stop the wiring and move on to actual building which I haven’t done for a while. The next task in the plans is to work on the forward upper skin and its parts. After cleoko’ing the skin in place I worked on the two support ribs that attach the aft sides of the skin to the windscreen roll bar. These ribs needed to be match drilled to the skins holes while making sure that edge distances are maintained. I took my time to make sure I didn’t damage the roll bar as I drilled.  

    
 One other thing I did to this area was to draw a line vertically matching the side skin below it. I have read in several blogs that guys have been cutting this piece of the skin off so the line from the side skin travels up evenly. This also allows for the canopy skirt to sit better from what I have read. So I decided to do the same and cut these tabs off. You can see the area or line in the middle photo above. Once I had all the holes match drilled I removed the skin and other parts to be deburred and dimpled.  

 Before I dimpled the skin I rolled the lower edge of the left and right side to help the skin lay on top of the side skins.  

 After the skin was done I moved to the instrument panel support structure and dimpled its flange along with the forward baggage aft walls flange. With those done I was able to rivet the instrument panel structure to the side skins as well as the top eight rivets that were left open to get the structure in place.  

    

 While I had the river gun and bucking bar out I finished the row of rivets on the right side forward skin where I had left open so I could work on the support angle on the inside for my new battery cover.  
 Not a lot of photos but a lot of work today, mainly deburring and edge work. 

  

Pilot Headset Jack’s

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Time: 2 Hours

I also worked on the pilot headset jacks today. I first figured out exactly where I wanted to put these. My first thought was on the right side as you enter the aircraft from the left and that would keep the cords out of the way. The second was to put them out of they way of anything else. The right gear tower seemed like the best spot to house these. I could have put them on a couple of areas that would have been vertical, meaning the plugs would have been pointing straight down as the were inserted. I didn’t like this as the jacks would be a dust collection problem. We see this in our consoles in the Lear 45’s at work. So I did some measuring and came up with a good placement on the gear tower making sure that there were no items, like wires or brake lines, that were in the way. I then drilled the holes and cleaned them up. Next was to solder the wires on and put them in place.  

    
   Very happy with the location and just ticked all the extra wire with the rest of the intercom bundles that I’ll work on later.