Category: Center Fuselage

Torque Tubes Installation

I spent about 3 hours getting torque tubes installed – the majority of that time was making small adjustments here and there to ensure the tubes moved smoothly. To accomplish this, I had to grind down some of the slots that the tubes’ bushings fit into. I also put...

Rudder Pedal Base

I spent about 1.5 hrs doing a few small tasks. First, someone on the Sling Builders Facebook group happen to notice that I installed an aileron control stop incorrectly; incredibly, I did this even after studying other blogs, and being aware that the build manual shows them in the...

Starting on Center Console & Rudder Pedals

As I was getting ready to start working on the next sheet of the center fuselage – sheet E8 – I noticed that I had some extra parts in the controls subsection bag that aren’t mentioned in the build manual. I figured out that these brackets function as locking...

Finishing the Forward Floor Substructure

Still working on page E6. I finally decided on a paint to use for skins inside the cockpit – still using SEM self-etching primer as the base, and then Rust-oleum “Stops Rust” Satin Enamel in a color called Coastal Gray. This enamel is readily available at Home Depot and...

Control Stick Mounts

What should have been 5 minutes of work turned into 2 hours! While attaching the control stick brackets (CF-BKT-009-X-C-) per sheet E6 of the manual, a mandrel broke off a rivet in a hard-to-reach location. It took me over an hour to remove it. First I tried drilling it...

Forward Floor Insulating Foam

There’s an interior skin that goes over the forward floor bottom skin, so I needed to install the insulating foam first....

Forward Floor Stringers

Having completed page E3 (Main Spar and Undercarriage Channel), the next step is to attach the forward floor stringers. The rivets go up through the bottom skin, so I had to rotate the fuselage assembly onto its side. It winds up resting on the forward upright for the main...

Main and Rear Spar Carry-Thrus

I’ve been quite busy the last week with family and friends so I only had an hour here or there to make progress on the plane. Most of the work has been on attachment of the spar carry-thrus to the center fuselage. Those are attached now, so I think...

Resuming Fuselage Work

I had planned to spend Sunday doing the majority of the sealing work on the right fuel tank, but I discovered a crease in the leading edge of the skin. I spent a bunch of time trying to smooth it out, but I was not satisfied with the result....

Undercarriage Channel

Fresh back from a week of vacation on Cape Cod, I resumed work on the center fuselage. On Sunday I worked on page E3, which assembles the rear bottom assembly, undercarriage channel, and main spar assembly onto the bottom skins. Quite a few big and substantial assemblies here, but...