Started fitting the F-695 Gussets - 6.5 hours

 Feeling confident dealing with all the anxiety of the Aft Deck fitting and drilling. I decided to tackle the F-695 gussets while the fuselage was all perfectly level. I had been tipped off that other builders had not paid much attention to edge distances on the steel weldment and it bit them. So I decided to get all the edge distances drawn out on the gussets.  This took a lot of time for such a small item, but its a critical item. 

My right side weldment is basically perfect fitment. 

However the left side is not perfect. This happens due to various reasons, welding is one of them as the heat generated by the weld can move pieces out of proper position. So how to make the left weldment work? Basically if I left things as-is I only have 0.16" edge distance if I follow Vans 7/16" dimension. I can get 0.240" clear if I move the holes out further to minimum edge distance on the longeron.

Now the tricky part. I can clamp the weldment...but by clamping it I notice I introduce a considerable amount of tension on the firewall and firewall angles. Im not sure that I sould be putting these parts under such pre-load. The gap does tighen...but I have to really squeeze that clamp tight. I will call Vans tech support in the morning and double check with them what to do.

Another item that many builders talk about is the fit of the gusset against the firewall. I will double check my rivet spacing and try to lessen this gap as best I can by removing a little bit of material from the gusset.

 Another item to factor in is the rivet spacing if using the dimensions on the plans vs. how that will actually hit the weldment. Using AutoCAD, I drew out the dimensions of the gusset and the rivet holes and printed it out. This paper template would easily let me do my checks. I can see that Van's stock rivet placement dimensions will cause a little grief if I am not careful. Looks like I will need to make some adjustments on the spacing.

 

 

 

 

 

Drilled the F-714 Aft Deck - 1 hour

 Ready to drill the Aft Deck to the longerons. Anxiety level was a tad high....this is it. No turning back.

Re-made the F-711D angle and fitted the Aft Deck - 7 hours

I started fitting the aft deck onto the fuselage and noticed that I wasnt quite getting the holes to line up with the 7/16" measurement on drawing #18. The holes are very close, but the sit just inward from the dimension given. I looked all over to be sure my fitment was correct and yup...things are just slightly off. No way I can squeeze things together to make the 7/16" line fall within the center of the holes on the Aft Deck. 

Looks like I will need to run with this. I'm not worried as it is so darn close, and I certainly have enough edge distance. I drew a red minimum edge distance line on the longeron just to be sure.

Now...because the rivet line is just a bit off from what I originally thought, I re-checked my F-711D angle. One thing that was bothering my is that the angle did not nest nicely into the longeron inside radius. Well, I am getting quite good with fabricating these angles so I quickly made a new one and shaped it so that it will nest into the longeron and yet clear the rivet.

I then fitted the new angle and it looks fantastic. Only took my 20min to make a new one. So time well spent.

 

I backdrilled the angle, Deburred and primed. After some dry time I riveted the angle on using my handy alligator squeezer. 

 No I took some time and carefully adjusted everything so that the plane was level on both the longitudinal and lateral axis. This was a tedious process but everything looks great.

 

Now I can begin the process of fitting the aft deck. 

 

 

 

Started fitting the F-711D angle - 2.5 hours

 Now that I have the fuselage relatively level I'm ready to get started on the process to fit the F-714 Aft Deck. One item that I need to finish is to fit/drill the F-711D angle to the F-711C Horizontal Stabilizer attach bars. The plans specifically tell you not to install this piece until the skins are riveted. 

Now I haven't installed the skin rivet that is located on the bulkhead tabs in this area...but I want to make sure that I have as much edge distance possible. Lots of the day was spent fitting the angle and making absolutely sure I had all edge distances. 

I drew lines on the longerons to show the 7/16" dimension as noted on Detail C/Drawing #18

Next I fitted the F-711D angle and then I could begin edge distance checks. Everything is looking good.

 

Starting to level the fuselage - 2 hours

I need to begin to level the fuselage. The sawhorses that I have are too tall for the job. Since they are high quality Dewalt aluminum sawhorses I don't want to cut them down. I did some searching on the internet and found that IKEA makes a small sawhorse that is adjustable in height and only $20. 

Well. knowing IKEA stuff isn't the best quality...I assembled the sawhorse with the help of some PL Premium glue. Its strong, looks good, and its the perfect height.    

Finished riveting the fuse and Flipped the Canoe! - 6 hours

 A big day in the garage but hit a major milestone. I started this morning working on the seat back brace, but after lunch I decided to push through the riveting of the fuselage. All that I needed to do was to finish all of the rivets around the F-706 bulkhead. I was really concerned about this area for the bends/curves at the bottom of the fuse. They weren't the easiest, but they went surprisingly well. Managed to get all rivets set extremely well. My head/arms/ body all were contorted in every position to get to these rivets but I did it.

(A huge thank-you to my buddy Mike who was able to help me rivet via Zoom meeting as we are in a pandemic and lock down....without his 'advice' I couldn't have done any of this).

 And now to the milestone!!! I was able to flip the canoe!! Ahh feels so good to reach this point. 

Just in case you were wondering how much time of spent on the project. Total build Hobbs - 2203.5 hours. 

I count my time as "Garage Time" not "Tool Time". So basically from the time I walk into the garage until I leave the garage. This includes setup and cleanup. I typically put all tools away and sweep up after I am done. only on huge jobs do I leave everything out for the next day.

Finished fabricating the F-638 seat back brace - 2.5 hours

I need to drill the holes in the F-638 seat back brace. The plans call for 2 1/4" holes but I don't have that size of hole saw. I do have a 2" hole saw that cuts holes a tad larger....more like 2 1/8". So for me this is good enough. Using scrap MDF as a backer plate. I located the center of the holes and drilled to #40 and clecoed the brace to the MDF. 

 I now have a stable platform to drill the large 2" holes and not have to worry about the pilot bit 'walking'. 

All holes are easily drilled. Next I drew out the dimensions on the ends of the seat brace and cut them according to the plans. Used aviation snips for a rough-cut and then used the sanding station to finish cuts up to the line. Final edge cleaning by 3M wheel.