Replacement Drawing #7

I mailed off a check today for a replacement for my drawing #7 that was ruined when it feel in water when my basement flooded. I also placed an order for the correct bushing stock since I ordered the wrong size last week.

Form blocks, Form blocks, Form blocks...

First chance to use the my router

Today I spent a few hours working on my form blocks. It is kind of daunting for me because this is what is setting the stage for the whole wing. I want to make sure I get it right. I went and got a 1/8" round over bit for putting a radius on the edges. I have read several peoples build logs where they have hand sanded the edges.

A Good 4th of July

Today I got some stuff to run new lights in the garage, and I also stopped by Harbor Freight and picked up the 30" bending brake and some clamps. I spent the rest of the afternoon wiring up the lights, and realized that I will need a few more. At least now I have a well lit workbench.

I needed to finish my form backing block so I cut that out with my jig saw and sanded it down. I have had really good luck with my Harbor freight belt sander so far. Once I had it sanded down I clamped the two together and started drilling my jig pin holes. That is as far as I made it today.

Harbor Freight 30" Bending Brake w/ two c-clamps

Slight set back for hammering over flanges

Drilling jig pin holes

One small step...

A lot has been going on and I have not held true to my goal of doing a little each day. However, I have finished my main formblock.  I have rough cut the backup block and will use my router with a different bearing to finish it.

A few months ago my basement flooded and while I was picking things up off the floor my rolled up drawing #7 fell in an inch of water. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but when I unrolled it to check against my form block it was ruined.

So now I need to call Bob and see how much for another one. The real progress is last night I ordered my first sheet of aluminum. The goal for this week is to finish all the form blocks and have them ready. I'm going to start with the nose ribs first and go from there.

I also downloaded Eric Newton's last two build manuals and have read through them.

And So It Begins!!!

I actually started today. I figured I better have some progress to show when I meet the other Bearhawkers at the Texas STOL Roundup next weekend. I didn't want to be the guy that just talks about building a plane (which is what I was quickly becoming!)

Last weekend I picked up a sheet of mdf to start making the form blocks. Today I lined up some sheets if carbon paper and taped them together. Then I taped it to the mdf. 

Next, I taped drawing #7 to the top and carefully traced it out with a tiny fine tipped screwdriver. I took quite a while to go over everything. After I finished I removed everything and retraced the lines left from the carbon paper with an ultra-fine tip sharpie. 

I used my jigsaw to cut outside the lines by about a quarter inch. Then I started sanding it down to the line with a drum sander in my drill press, but I'm going to finish it up with a good, slow hand sanding. The drum sander is very hard to get a smooth uniform edge. If you are not super careful and light on the pressure it will dig in and make a rolling, curvy edge.

So, to finish the day, I don't even have one form block 100%, but I HAVE started!

Still Preparing

It has been a while since I updated anything. I am currently still getting prepped for the build. I originally thought that I would wait until I had all the tooling I figured I would need to complete the build, but as time has carried on I have come to the realization that if I continue in this mindset throughout the build that I will never complete it, let alone, get started.

On another note, there is a STOL Competition scheduled for April 11-13 down in Llano, TX that I am planning to attend. I am going to drive down to it, but I have not decided if I am camping or getting a hotel yet. I am trying to get a few friends together that might be interested in going. It is supposed to be modeled after the Valdez, AK STOL Competition. Bearhawk Aircraft are one of the sponsors for the event and are going to be competing as well.

More tools....

Still acquiring tools while I am reading everything I can and while I study the plans before I start. I added a vice and bench grinder to the mix as well as a Husky 33 gallon air compressor. I got a pneumatic squeezer off eBay for $150.