Category: Fuselage

Wiring for Headsets

I began laying out the wires in the center console for the headsets. I’m using lacing cord, spaced every 12 inches, to tie together the wires into a bundle. I’ll do this for other groups of wires too. This is the first time I’ve used lacing cord, and it...

Tosten Grips Arrived

With all the updates I posted yesterday, I forgot to mention that I also bought a pair of Tosten “Military Style” grips. They arrived in the mail yesterday, and they look and feel amazing! Very high quality finish, and the switches have a satisfying feel to them. I ordered...

Center Console Work

I’ve been pretty quiet with blog updates for the last 2 weeks as I’ve been doing a lot of research and planning for upcoming tasks: running wires, fuel lines, and brake lines. I wasn’t planning to have this all figured out by this point in the build, so this...

Rear Floor Skins

After attaching the pushrod to my recently-completed rear torque tube assembly, I continued on with next steps on the fuselage. It looked like it was safe to install some of the rear floor skins, so I pulled those off the parts shelf. I’ve already riveted in the vertical close-out...

Rear Elevator Torque Tube Modification

I decided to modify how the rear/short elevator torque tube is held in place on the floor ribs. After spending hours in previous weeks fiddling with the floor ribs, I just couldn’t find a fit that allowed the tube to turn smoothly. The floor ribs that support the torque...

Goodbye to Plastic Bushings

I really, really dislike the plastic bushings used for the elevator torque tubes, so I decided to design a better way to support the tube. I found a thin section (aka Thinex) ball bearing that fits perfectly over the 1” aluminum tube, and has a small overall diameter that...

Close-Out Floor Ribs

(Fuselage manual pg E9) I decided that now was the right time to pin down the close-out ribs that go above the torque tubes. Next step is to install the pushrod linkages, which would block access to the rivets that need to go into the ribs, making it much...

Flush Rivet Process

EDIT 8/5/2020: the AK41H rivets identified below won’t work. See my later post regarding the side skin install. Among other things, this past weekend I came up with a tool to dimple the holes where I intend to install flush rivets. I received my supply of AK41H countersunk rivets...

Finishing Kit Arrived

My finishing kit has arrived! It contains a lot of fiberglass pieces that I don’t really need right now, but it does also include all the pushrods for the elevator and aileron controls that I need now while I’m building the fuselage. After this one, I have three more...

Updated the Paint Booth

Now that fall has arrived, I have fewer opportunities to prime parts outside, especially during the week, so I occasionally need to prime a part inside my garage. I decided to update my paint booth a bit, adding a suction fan and a filter to control the dust and...