buildtofly.org

January 31, 2008

SNX-W11-08x2

Fabricated from start to finish the upper stiffener angles. A quick and easy couple of parts. It still amazes me how much longer it takes to make the first of two or more parts. 

SNX-W20-02/03

Spent lunch and the early evening forming the first couple of parts out of the 2"x2"1/8" aluminum extrusion. These parts are where the wing root ribs mount to the main spar. Due to the angle of intersection, the plans call for angles different than the stock 90 degrees. This is easier said than done, the extrusion is fairly stubborn material. The manual suggests some deliberate blows with a mallet and creative use of a vice/concrete floor depending on which angle you are trying to achieve. We found that some creative vise-work with wood inserts to protect the aluminum worked well for closing the angle. For opening, we used a 1 5/8" steel bar and a fair bit of leverage to close the vise enough to open the angle to the 93.9 degrees needed. We also found that a piece of grooved aluminum in the vice as opposed to wood was more efficient in the end.

Email (will not be published)

Name

Title

Comment
 remaining characters

Post