rightrudder
Well Known Member
I have to catch up with the pictures, but I've made some real progress. Rudder and brake pedal assemblies are done; just need to drill final mounting holes for outer bearing blocks. Aileron trim lever/friction block thingie and elevator bellcrank done. Static air ports/ tubing installed in rear of fuselage, and center tunnel cover nearly finished (took a long time yesterday making those Z-channel brackets, but they fit well). Cut all angle pieces for seat backs.
I used the Van's static air system, which is just fine for the most part. But as everyone has said, there's not a whole lot of purchase on the static port rivet for the tubing. It gets worse as you apply RTV, as it's slippery before it sets up, and the tubing simply refuses to stay on the rivet until it starts to set up.
So, as I was buzzing through angle on the bandsaw, I'd stop and push the tubing back on the rivet. Another five minutes, I'd do it again. After roughly 15 cycles, the RTV had set up enough where the tubing would hold. So I'm convinced now that there's a good airtight connection, but I'm making a fillet of RTV around the outside for a better peace-of-mind mechanical bond.
So now on to the seat backs. How did you guys do the .040 notches on the vertical angle stock, to accept the bottom hinge? My first thought was to farm it out to someone with a milling machine, but I thought I'd ask you resourceful types if there was some other way to get a good result.
I used the Van's static air system, which is just fine for the most part. But as everyone has said, there's not a whole lot of purchase on the static port rivet for the tubing. It gets worse as you apply RTV, as it's slippery before it sets up, and the tubing simply refuses to stay on the rivet until it starts to set up.
So, as I was buzzing through angle on the bandsaw, I'd stop and push the tubing back on the rivet. Another five minutes, I'd do it again. After roughly 15 cycles, the RTV had set up enough where the tubing would hold. So I'm convinced now that there's a good airtight connection, but I'm making a fillet of RTV around the outside for a better peace-of-mind mechanical bond.
So now on to the seat backs. How did you guys do the .040 notches on the vertical angle stock, to accept the bottom hinge? My first thought was to farm it out to someone with a milling machine, but I thought I'd ask you resourceful types if there was some other way to get a good result.