Microlighters

Really pretty!

Thanks for all of the kinds words guys.

Things are still progressing, however at a slow pace due to my own poor planning.
I will try to post some pics soon.

The plans show the fuselage longerons to be a one piece affair - no splices.
Locally, six and nine foot lengths of 4130 tubing are freely available. (well ... sort of!) As luck would have it ..... I needed twelve foot lengths. Oh bumber!
I know ..... it can be spliced, but I really didn't want to. The plans say ...... blah blah!

Right (rub those hands together) we are going shopping!
The twelve foot lengths were ordered from ACS in California. Since they were too long for their usual shipping methods, we arranged to have a freight truck collect them, and deliver them to Jeff at Jarlin Aviation, who was luckily also in California. Jeff agreed to send the tubing out to South Africa with his next shipment to FAKR.
Sadly, Jeff was killed in an air crash just days after the arrangement was made.

The package was collected yesterday from Skyworx.

I would like to thank Carla from ASC, Jeff and his widow Shiela Sharman, and Kevin Hooper for their efforts. Truly special people!

Finally got the torque tube assembly together.

One of the books I read said something about balancing family time and build time. I think I have it sorted out now.
My wife tells me this week that one of our kids took up Judo a couple of months ago. Maybe I'll go watch him sometime .... when I can remember his name.
..... Only joking!

Some of the smaller mechanical items were welded up by an SAA welder recently.
As expected, the mirror finish was tarnished by the heat. But the reason I polished the parts in the first place was to remove the mill scale from the material, and eliminate all scratches stress risers. Being my first build, i'm not sure how fanatical to be, but enjoy the process anyway. [Pride is a sin right?]

Please guys, constructive criticism is welcome, it's the only way to learn.

The Aileron torque mechanism is first up. This is what it came out like;







I read that shot blasting with glass bead was the way to go in terms of paint preparation, so I bought a small setup and played .....









After a coat of Zinc Chromate, it came out looking like this:

I wanted to start with the fuselage first, so I could sit in it and make aeroplane noises, but decided to practice some welding skills on some of the smaller, cheaper parts first.
Well! [rub those hands together] .... the time has come ..... time to start with the first of the two side trusses. Screwing down the wooden guide blocks was another one of those ..... "Ahhh .... two evenings should do it" kind of jobs that has now taken TWO WEEKS! [and i'm not finished yet!]
I'm surprised that my lovely wife hasn't kicked up a fuss about the fine wood dust that has been evenly distributed throughout our house courtesy of the disk sander. Actually ... I don't think she has noticed .... YET!
It may also be a good time to drop off one of those man gifts with our neighbor to say sorry about the late at night noise. You know ..... one of those basket things with the nuts and dried fruits. [Yes .... I know! .... they suck, but it's the thought that counts right?]
Living in a rabbit warren does have it's advantages I hear.





All marked and ready to drill.

Byron,,,

Looking good my man.... Keep up the good work.... We need to buy a hanger and call it the MAN CAVE ot the east.... Ha ha.

Worked on a few items this weekend.

The wing folding brackets came out looking like this:









After pushing the elevator / Aileron Torque bearings aside a few times out of FEAR, I decided to climb in and get them out the way. The welding caused some distortion, and the slag on the inside made them look far worse than they actually were. I was also fearful of cutting them in half on my little band saw. Could I get them straight? (Would it matter, since they would be a matched pair?)
Straightening them wasn't not nearly as difficult as them seemed, and I cheated and had them split on a wire cutter. Shot blasting them cleans things up nicely too.
They were actually really fun and rewarding to make.










The elevator Idler also got some attention this weekend.
The holes were drilled out after welding to accept the AN-3 bolts. I'm not sure If I am supposed to have paint in the holes. I had planned to drill the paint out, and rely on either Petroleum jelly or an oil of sorts to prevent rust. Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
Hopefully! if my kids allow, i'll get some Zinc Chromate on this evening.

Hi Byron so whats happening with your build or is it this:

Oh Jaco ..... you crack me up.
Busy with the fuselage sides at the moment. Well .... sort of!
I keep trying to put off bending the longerons, by inventing other things to do. Problem is .... I'm now running out of excuses.

Have bent a few samples and they worked out well. I'm just battling to build the confidence to bend a full length of tubing that took months to arrive.

Thinks it's time to bite that bullet!

Measure twice cut(bend) once
Have been there and got the t-shirt

Hi Byron when I saw that I just could not resist the temptation

As Avgas said measure twice and bend ones, maybe get cheap material and practice ones or twice more before bending for real?

Sterkte mnr.

Bob, your work is so neat and clean. Makes me feel like a blacksmith!

Boet wrote:Bob, your work is so neat and clean. Makes me feel like a blacksmith!

Hey Hey, Boet. you insulting me. (Avcom. The Blacksmith )

Vernon.