SonexBuilders.net

Sorry to hear you got affected by the unfortunate mix-up in aluminum parts.
You probably already know this but just in case you don't, bad parts often make great templates to make new good parts. Sometimes you need to "unbend" the bad part or cut away a bit but still, it can still serve a purpose.

Thanks, yes I have been using the old parts for the new holes. Lots of holes in these replacement parts! Aft Y fitting and rudder drive horn were among the casualties.




Looks like my holes matched, as my stabilator holes lined up perfectly. It took me 3 hours just to re-install the 24 bolts in the tail stack... I think my hands are still cramping.

Those parts will look good hanging on the wall of your hangar or den. Good recovery. Seems like it was not enough of a setback for me to catch up!

This is starting to feel like de-gilling a fish...

20 work hours later, the repairs are complete. I'm not exactly happy about having to undo/redo so much work to replace bad parts, but the end result is that the aft fuselage is even better than before... and not just because of the wrong aluminum. My workmanship has clearly improved since November/December, and I was able to improve things from a fit/finish standpoint that makes me happier with the final product.

Here's a picture of all the old, replaced parts. The little baggie is full of drilled out rivets, but it's not even 1/3 of them (126 in all)... most are in my vacuum.




Next stop: Forward Fuselage!

Nice recovery!

Thanks Bryan.

I've been spending most of my time lately on the angle components for the forward fuselage... and there are a LOT, at least half of what's in the whole aircraft. I just finished cutting lengths for the majority of them. This picture represents the lion's share of angle components in the fwd fuselage, most(all?) of which would be included in the machined upgrade. The bottom row are the ones I've actually finished, everything else still needs all the shaping, drilling and deburring.

Considering that the fwd fuselage side skins are not pilot-holed, everything rides on precision craftsmanship of these angles in the fwd fuselage... very few laser cut holes to help you out. I don't think I fully appreciated just how much time the angle kit upgrade saves until now. I'm also glad I have a lot of hours under my belt before starting the fwd fuselage, I think it's the most complex assembly of them all if you don't have the laser cut parts.

I just uploaded 7 new blog posts covering most of my work over the last 2-3 weeks including left wing completion, right wing/flaps/ailerons, pitot tube installation, and an update of my progress at 500 hours of work completed.

This is the first of the 7 posts: http://www.rynoth.com/wordpress/waiex/2 ... ompletion/

Ryan,
Looks great. Hope you can stop at C77 on your way to Oshkosh this summer.
I showed your picture of the cut up angles to my bandsaw with the admonishment that it owes me one for buying the machined angle kit.

Bryan Cotton wrote:Ryan,
Looks great. Hope you can stop at C77 on your way to Oshkosh this summer.
I showed your picture of the cut up angles to my bandsaw with the admonishment that it owes me one for buying the machined angle kit.

Hah, Oshkosh is unlikely this year.. By your own report, the engine package I want (aerovee turbo) probably won't even be released before then!

I'm on my 4th band saw blade. The first was the standard 7tpi wood cutting blade, but I broke that one making angles for the spar (gotta go REAL slow on that 3/16“ angle material.) Its cuts are gnarly and take a lot of filing. The second was an 18tpi (1/2") wide metal cutting blade, and it cut like butter and was very stable. Then one day I tried to cut through an an3 bolt with it due to a stuck bushing. So it died.

The 3rd blade was 12tpi, 1/8inch wood cutting blade, and actually this worked great too, could make nice curves and cut cleaner than 7tpi. But it's too unstable for ripping.

I'm back to another 18tpi 1/2" metal cutting blade and definitely like it the best of the bunch. Easy rips, clean straight cuts (for a bandsaw), minimal filing required. I can cut right to the edge of my line and I can almost use the scotch Brite wheel right to the dimensions.