Wings arrived!

Joe Parish · Post by **Joe Parish** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 4:29 pm

I am alittle late getting this out but my wings arrived 3 weeks ago. We had a graduation in the middle of that 3 weeks. I have managed to get it inventoried and all organized and put away. I built two new shelfs in the garage to accomadate a majority of the inventory. I started countersinking the left spar last night.

[img][img]http://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab25 ... ory004.jpg[/img][/img]

cjensen · Post by **cjensen** » Thu Jun 09, 2011 9:42 pm

Awesome news Joe!!

dons · Post by **dons** » Fri Jun 10, 2011 10:12 am

You really start to feel you are building something now Joe.

Here are a few things I found useful or should have known ahead of time
- use a piece of angle on the backside of the spar flanges to keep the counter sinks round if they are deeper than the flange thickness
- edge finish the ribs before fluting
- thin strips of emery cloth used like dental floss work great for edge finishing at the leading edge of the ribs between flanges
- read ahead so you know what's coming, especially around the tank mounting and assembly
- leave enough room on your wing stand for the skins that extend beyond the ribs
- the older you get the easier it is to work on a platform or stool than it is to crawl under things

(if you have the height in your shop)

Joe Parish · Post by **Joe Parish** » Sat Jun 11, 2011 9:32 pm

Thanks for the tips Don. I am really looking forward to getting these things together. I may write them down and hang them in the garage so I am reminded daily.

Post by **Spike** » Mon Jun 13, 2011 7:13 am

Exciting! Most excellent. I found the beginning of the wings to be great fun. I found the end to be a lesson in perseverance. Enjoy the journey!!

Spike

BSwayze · Post by **BSwayze** » Thu Jun 16, 2011 12:39 pm

Hmmmm... that's very interesting, Spike. My experience was just the opposite. I found that I needed to drum up some perseverence the most early on. It seemed like forever to get all those wing and tank ribs deburred, fluted, the flange angles all corrected, and all the prep work finished. Course, I tackled them all at once. I just wanted to get them done. Then the fun started when you start putting BIG things together. Once the tanks were done, it all seemed like a downhill ride.

Post by **Spike** » Fri Jun 17, 2011 7:06 am

Oh, I liked the beginning, especially the spar work. Probably because at that point its all still like figuring out a jig-saw puzzle. De burring to old towards the end, though since I did one wing at a time, I didn't have the super long stretches of anything. The second wing itself was where it got old cause I had just done it all.

At least you finish up with the control surfaces which is much more enjoyable, especially if you actually manage to make them straight