Cotton Waiex 191 - N191YX

[ScottM-Sonex1629]

Congrats to the Cotton crew! You need a new motto now...it's on the gear by Valentines

[Bryan Cotton]

That doesn't rhyme though. I am thinking "On the gear in Matthew's 11th year." He turns 12 next week.
Thanks!

[dtwolcott]

I have a more motivating rhyme.
On the gear before I change my underwear.
I'll bet you will have a several people telling you to hurry up and get it done.
:lol:

[Bryan Cotton]

If anybody missed all my on the gear pictures go back to page 43. In the meantime here is one more:

A funny story about this picture. Our helpers had left and I set up the old skool digital camera on the ladder with the timer at 10 seconds. The Waiex is low to the ground and hard to get in from underneath. Adam says "How are you going to get off the ladder, across the hangar, and under the Waiex in 10 seconds? Do you want me to do it?" So, what can be more motivating than that? Jumped off the ladder, dove under the nose, slid into place and was able to dust off quick before the picture happened. All that Judo was a long time ago but it hasn't all left yet.

[Bryan Cotton]

Huge progress tonight. Not so much on the airplane but I got Adam back in the hangar, with enthusiasm, after a one month absence. He is 13, I am never going to force it or do anything to make it not fun. He deserves time to be a teenager, but I was glad to have him there. Plus he countersunk and bolted the top spar plates, and he bolted up the canopy latch slides.


So did you guys have to relieve your seatbelt brackets because they were right over a rivet hole?


It seems like I can rivet on the two brackets on the back of the aft spar cover. Is there any reason I can't rivet the big long angle on the top of the aft spar cover? I know I have to leave out the 6 rivets on each side until later.


One last question - did you guys rivet the aft cabin lower details before you rigged the wings?

[sonex892]

One last question - did you guys rivet the aft cabin lower details before you rigged the wings?

Well I didnt. I riveted in those rear lower bits after wing rigging.


Steve
892 VH-ZSX

[Rynoth]

I did rivet the aft-lower-cabin "H" frame to the cross-member that supports the seat, but turns out I didn't need to yet (you can wait on that part.) It was sort of in the way for wing rigging but wasn't a big deal. Maybe the biggest reason to NOT rivet it yet is when the aft spar tunnel is removed, that "H" frame just kind of hangs in space without much support (if you don't have the fwd fuselage floor in place.)

The reason the plans have you wait to rivet the angle to the aft spar cover is because the fasteners are different depending on your landing gear configuration. If you look ahead and think about it carefully, you can probably rivet it without making any problems. Just be sure the aft spar tunnel is completely removable until after wing rigging is done.

[Bryan Cotton]

The chief riveter plugging away:


While he was riveting I was making the trim spring bracket. I am sure I had one but I lost it somehow.

[ScottM-Sonex1629]

Bryan:

Before doing my wing rigging, I had all of the lower fuselage formers, elevator idler arm, tri-gear mains test fitted, and the lower/forward fuselage floor riveted into place. I also want to say the z-tunnel was also ready to go and also possibly riveted in place. There is a laundry list of steps in the wing rigging/fitting sheet.

Since my airplane has the tri-gear, getting the airplane on its main gear required more work than your tail dragger set-up. So once the wing rigging was finished I finished bolting up the main gear weldments, which is why I went ahead with riveting and bolting on the lower floor. With the main gear legs on your plane located off the engine mount, you can make use of the additional open space with the floor off, so that is completely up to you to rivet it on now (that's how the plans show it) or leave it for a future assembly. If you leave it off, just be carefully and insure the fuselage is still "square" as you move into the glareshield and panel fitting stage. Without the floor in place it's possible to "rack" the forward structure still since that large diaphragm is not there.

Right before wing rigging you will need to make/fabricate the rear spar carry through.

[Bryan Cotton]

Long time (2 weeks) no post. Sometimes life gets in the way. I have spent the last two weeks of my hangar time modifying and maintaining our Boy Scout troop trailer. The inside has shelves, the door has the axe, saw, shovel, and lug wrench mounted, the spare tire is on the outside of the door, and I moved two propane tanks to a front mount.

Not totally relevant, except for the fact that interruptions and commitments are part of these projects. Back to the Waiex tomorrow!

Edit: the wheel bearings have their first new grease in decades!