| 19 | Built Capstrip Steamer | 1/22/2006 |
| | Today was fairly warm for Connecticut so I went out to the shed, no heat but at least it has lights. I played with my tablesaw, my new drill press and turned pieces of scrap lumber as well as pieces and parts from home depot and a pot I found that the swap table at the dump into my rib steamer. It's pretty much like the drawing. I am now 1 step closer to getting the operation at home ready for when the lumber arrives. Still need to make a bending jig and wrap up the rib jig.
Man hours: 3 |
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| 18 | Air Venture | 1/20/2006 |
| | Saw the EAA Air Venture website and all the options for accomodations. A friend in town recommended Camp Scholler because it's close the the convention grounds, it's cheap, and doesn't require reservations. I guess it's time to start planning for this event. |
| 17 | Rib Steamer | 1/17/2006 |
| | Since I haven't received my order from Aircraft Spruce yet and want to have the pieces handy to finish building the rib jig, I thought I could go ahead and build a steamer out of a camping stove, I pot I got from the swap table at the dump, some leftover vent pipe and scrap wood. I measured everything up and came up with this drawing.
Man hours: 0.25 |
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| | | Vent Pipe and Hardware | Building Materials | $21.00 | | Wood | Building Materials | $15.00 | | Pine (3"x3/4") | Building Materials | $14.00 |
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| 16 | Wing Capstrip Ordered from Aircraft Spruce | 1/11/2006 |
| | I ordered 96 pcs. 1/4" x 1/2" x 72" Sitka Spruce capstrip. Also ordered a 6' piece of 3/4" x 4 3/4" spar to test fit the ribs on and store them on. Additionally, ordered T-88 and 1/16" Finnish ply for the gussets. Should keep me going through the winter. Might tear down the '65 Corvair motor and start getting that ready warm weather permitting. |
| | | Wing Wood | Building Materials | $350.00 |
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| 15 | Plan Discrepancies | 1/10/2006 |
| | I made a list of things that will affect the jig that are confusing in the plans.
- The measurement for the vertical after the leading edge is missing the measurement from the baseline to the bottom capstrip.
- The distance between the verticals on the plans is given in individual measurements between verticals, not measurements from a single reference point. The sum of the measurements is not 60". It's 60 1/8". Also, plotting each measurement from the last plotted point incurrs cumulative error so I made a list of measurements from a single reference point and used these to mark where the verticals should go.
- The 3/3/34 plans indicate a 1" spar with areas routed to a thickness of 1/2". The supplement for the 3 pc. wing indicates a 3/4" spar. The full size plane shows the 1" spar. After hearing a few points of view in the Piet forum I will use a 3/4" spar and route the areas as specified in the original plan to 1/2". That is supposed to be sufficiently strong and lighter than the original.
- There is a supposed to be low spot (1/8") on the aft top side of the profile. I'll check into that when I finish the jig.
Because this is my first piece of construction off the plans and I had 4 things to scratch my head about I'm creating a section of the site to address these types of things. Various people in the Piet forum have been very helpful in providing ideas and information. |
| 14 | Rib Jig Design | 1/10/2006 |
| | Made a couple drawings of the clamp I designed. Using this type of system will be good for several reasons.
- No need for nails because clamp holds gusset in place until T-88 sets.
- Spring allows you to get a precise pressure setting that doesn't force out the adhesive.
- Press block evenly distributes the pressure of the clamp over the whole gusset.
- Once the pressure is set you can just lift and turn the clamp to set or remove the clamp.
Man hours: 0.5 |
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| 13 | Construction of Rib Jig | 1/8/2006 |
| | I braved the cold out in my garage and ripped a piece of 3/4" MDF into sections that will be the base for the 2 part rib jig. One of them will have the profile of the rib with spring loaded clamps to hold everthing in position while the T-88 sets. The other is simply going to hold the gussets on the flipside in place while they set. As soon as I could, I relocated the project into the kitchen to draw out the baseline and verticals. Then according to the Orin Hoopman drawing from 3/3/34 I started marking points for all the points that define the rib profile.
Man hours: 2 |
| 12 | Flying NX770CG | 1/6/2006 |
| | There's a video available from one of the builders I met on the Pietenpol list (Pietenpol-List@matronics.com). He built his own plane and has produced a video of it on the ground and in the air. It's well worth the $20 to see it if you are building one and would like to see what it looks like taking off, landing, taxiing, etc. The video is called Flying NX770CG, so good I have it listed under my inspiration section. I'll watch it every time things slow down in the shop. |
| | | Flying NX770CG | Miscellaneous | $20.00 |
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