Finished the spinner backing plate Prop uncrated and ready to mount Removed the front crank plug. Wendy is cleaning out the excess oil Zak came over in the afternoon and helped me mount the prop onto the plane. Here he is torquing the bolts Prop mounted
Finished installing the canopy release mechanism This is one of the pins that will retain the canopy when it's shut. It's actuated by the handle I installed a couple of nights ago When the canopy release handle is unlocked and rotated the pins retract Cut out parts for the canopy from the fixtures. Then deburred Wendy and Lindsey came down and helped by scuffing and cleaning the parts so that I could get everything primed tonight before it got dark.
Tonight I drilled, deburred, countersunk and riveted together the rollbar assembly. Tomorrow I will try to get it painted and riveted into the fuselage. Wendy came down tonight and helped with some of the deburring, she was a big help.
Forward rollbar half riveted together Match drilling the rollbar halves to the rollbar straps Rollbar riveted together and ready for paint Riveted brackets onto the rollbar brace
Today Zak and Lindsey came over and helped Wendy and I flip the fuselage upside down. This was so I could get good access to the bucking the rivets by sitting on a stool with my head in the baggage compartment. This was much more comfortable then climbing inside. We were able to get all the rivets done for the joining process. Lindsey and Zak came back over at the end of the day and helped us flip the fuselage right side up again.
The aft tailcone clecoed to the mid/fwd fuselage. Exciting! Riveted nutplates to the baggage bulkheads Dimpled flanges in the baggage bulkheads Began riveting the baggage bulkhead into the airframe
Wendy shooting rivets from the floor while I stand over her and buck them. What a wife! Various cabin structures riveted in place Arm rests riveted to the side skin
Tonight Wendy helped me rivet the forward and middle fuselage structures together.
Had to machine a custom bucking bar to reach the rivets in between the two center bulkheads Landing gear braces installed and bolts torque. They we temporarily installed previously. They had to removed during the riveting process
Tonight I almost completed the riveting of the firewall. I still have to rivet on a few more nutplates. It got to late and we ran out of steam. Will knock out the rest tomorrow.
Applied tank sealant to the center section of the firewall Firewall angles riveted on This doubler plate, along with some nutplates still need to be riveted on
After finishing the riveting of the baggage compartment I began work on the firewall. I deburred and primed all the parts called out in this section of the plans. Wendy was a big help and scuffed and cleaned all the parts while I finished deburring and setup the priming equipment.
Today Wendy helped me rivet the baggage compartment ribs to the center skin