Teggles

I have yet to start on the VS, but will look at using the hinge bolts to secure it. I will have a tail skid, lots of grass strips around here and will save a little weight. Cable routing….as you say the rudder should be straight forward but the elevator I am trying not to think about 😂😂

That’s a good thought, I was thinking of separate bolts for the vertical stab but combining them with the hinge is a good idea. I have the balsa for gap sealing, so that will go on in the next few days.

Just having a celebration cup of tea (I am British). Hinges made and rudder on with no binding or play - and it’s straight! Yes there is more to do, but you have to take the wins when they come 😁.

Hi Don, No not yet. I will get the rudder and elevator on after I have finished the hinges and then use some string to see just how big a problem I have got!

GINFO says the permit ran out in 2022. Anyone with more up to date knowledge?

I will probably keep her at Felthorpe, near Norwich. Lovely grass strip, but just inside Class D airspace 😫, but ATC are very helpful.

The vertical stab, which was with the project when I bought it is for the trash. Badly built and is a very poor git. Interesting you mention roll over protection. A couple of weeks ago I was at the UK’s Air Accident Investigation Branch (equivalent to your NTSB) and the question of roll over protection came up in a discussion about a couple of accidents. How did you incorporate protection into the fin?

Hi Don, I was going to use a laser for getting the hinges aligned. Just started cutting out the metal for the hinges. It’s the small jobs that take the time 😄

Nice working in the sunshine, becoming a rarity here in the UK!

I have seen smaller, not bigger. Do you think the mono does not have enough rudder?

As this is a partially completed project, I have undo some of what has been damaged or built wrong. Today is the rudder post, cracked with 2 big wood screws holding it together! Just 4 mortice joints, no problem except they are coming together at several different angles, nothing square 😩 but it is done, not glued yet and it’s vertical!

Thanks Don, I may do that. I hope to get the wing fittings laser cut, but 4130 needs a powerful laser to cut them. How are you getting on with the undercarriage?

A bit of an update. For some context my workshop is a large (dry) shed at the end of my garden. It’s large by shed standards but small for aircraft building. I normally put the fuselage out side and then I have plenty of room to work away. But, the weather in the UK has been awful this year, constant rain. We have a weather warning for heavy rain as I write; so progress has been slow due to cramped working conditions. Damage to a spar has been cut away and I will laminate a new piece on. Vacuum bagging seems the way to go and I have found a kit for only $100! Ouch, but it should work well. Metal parts are slowly being fabricated and I have this fantasy that soon I will have all the required parts and it will just need bolting together. Dreams I have dreams.

Thanks Don. I will chat to my inspector to see if we can get this as an approved modification in the UK.

Do you have any drawings for your tailplane attachment fittings I could possibly look at? Being able to adjust the tailplane would be really good.