Finally buidling a Fuselage, a.k.a. the Hunt for the Elusive F-601-E-1

Finally Buidling a Fuselage, a.k.a. the Hunt for the Elusive F-601-E-1

Hi Guys,

I'm looking for some input from you guys that are just a bit ahead of me.

What do I make the F-601E-1 out of?

This is the piece of 063" 3/4 x3/4 angle aluminum that braces the firewall. It is located horizontally just under the firewall recess on the cockpit side of the firewall. I've found a couple of 3/4 x 3/4 inch pieces, BUT... these ones are 6 feet long. I don't want to cut those because they MUST be for something else!

The F-601-E-1 piece I need to make is only 8 inches long. I won't cut the 6 foot pieces unless that's what we use for making this part. Does anyone remember if there was an 8" or slightly longer piece of .063" 3/4 x 3/4 in the RV-7 Slow build fuselage subkit? I've turned my shop upside down looking for it.

Thanks in advance,
Steve Wolfe

Steve,
Its a common fear. The only two angle pieces you have to be concerned about are the longerons and they are 1/8" thick angle, not the 1/16" thick you have asked about.

Those 6' pieces will get chopped up into a bazzillion pieces. Most are in the cabin. Take a look at the drawings that describe the firewall reinforcement (as you are), the forward cabin interior sidewalls, the seatbacks and the crossrail that has the seatback adjustment slots.

I can tell you that you can cut that 8" piece out of a 6 footer with no worry. If you are careful, you can wind up with a lot of this angle left over for your own customization projects. Don't throw away the tiny scraps or the mistakes until you are finished building I refabricated a lot of those into something different at a later date.

Just make sure that you don't chop up something with a white part # sticker on it.

I try to make it a habit to cut parts like this out of the shortest piece of stock I can find; same with parts fabricated out of sheet stock. I don't throw anything away that has room for a hole that will meet edge distance.

I've got many feet of angle stock left over and that was just what came in the standard slow build kits. You will find uses for some of it, but expect to have more than enough for the little pieces that get fabbed. The stuff you fabricate usually has some sort of drawing with dimensions on the plans.

Make sure you preserve at least one piece of .063 x 3/4 x 3/4 that is 42.5" long or so to make the top reinforcing angle for the panel. There may be more such instances, that one comes to mind since I just cut it. When I had to order something from A/C Spruce a while back, I had them throw in 6 feet or so of that and some 1/8" angle just for insurance, it's pretty cheap.