perrynz

Slide it in from the front, initially tilt the bottom in and then pull the sides apart and then ease the firewall rear wards.

Just to reiterate, build the firewall structure up. (Or at the very least, cleco it all together) The ribs will keep it flat as you are installing it into the fuselage.

I thought the same. First thing, ensure you have the tabs around the firewall bent to the correct angle, so that they will sit flat onto the lower (and upper) skins. (Cut a slot in the end on a piece of wood and slide this over each tab in order to bend it) To fit the firewall, pull the top of the sides apart. Initially you will think it won't fit, but once you start installing the cleco's, it will start taking shape. Regarding the stiffeners that you have already riveted, no problem, but you may want to leave perhaps the forward two or three rivets out, to allow you to insert the firewall. Those stiffeners sit on top (inboard) of the firewall tabs, so you need a little bit of flexibility while wriggling it in place. It's a fiddle job, but hang in there.

Hi MajorTom. From memory, the construction manual indicates to fit the firewall in two halves, as you are doing it. You may well end up buckling/bending it if you do that. You will find it a lot easier to build up the firewall into one piece, complete with all of the stiffeners/ribs. With it in one piece you may still think that it belongs to a different aircraft, however, it will fit/start to take shape as you cleco it onto the fuselage. I started pinning from the bottom and worked my way up each side evenly. You will see that as each side takes shape, there will be considerable curvature starting to occur fore and aft on the floor panel, including along the right angle stringers that run the length of the cockpit. Rest assured, this is correct. You need to use a tapered mandrel/podger to get the holes to line up around the firewall. One other piece of advice. The firewall is quite rigid once it is riveted, so leave it clecoed (ie: don't rivet) until you fit the upper panel, as you may need to move it slightly in order to pick up the holes in the upper panel.

Gidday Mark. Would be great to meet you. I'm 40 minutes (drive) down the road from Bob and Peter. There's a self contained flat here if you want some accomodation. My machine could be flying by Feb with a bit of luck. Your flap brackets have worked out well. Currently fitting the doors. Cheers. Perry

Hey Major Tom. Bob's explanation of how to form this skin is pretty good. In order to get an exact bend point, I measured from the edge of both holes (vertical and bottom) into the middle of the corner, on the factory assembled sides. Then transfer these measurements onto the skin that you need to reshape. Place that mark on the edge of a bench, and bend it by hand around the edge. You may want to shape the corner of your bench to the correct radius. That way, you will avoid bending it too sharply. The sharp part needs to be only where the skin sits into the factory side. From that point going forward, as Bob said, the radius gradually increases. To form the radius going forward, place the skin over something like a metal tube and massage the aluminium by hand. It's easy enough, but still a pity that ICP don't form this part, as it seems they used to looking at Marks photo. Bob lives up the road from me, and we are at a similar stage of construction on our Savannah's. Cheers. Perry

You should be in bed by now IBob!

Hi Mark. I live down the road from Bob. (ibob) Interested in your re-jigged flap bracket. Are you able to post a dimensioned drawing so that I can make my own? If not, I may be keen on obtaining a set thru you. Cheers. Perry

Gidday Hank. I'm just over the hill in Lower Hutt. I'm building a (slightly modified) Hummelbird. I built another one previous to this one, strictly to the plans. An awesome machine, not STOL though. If I was wanting a STOL aircraft, the CH701 would be on my short list, as would the Aussi "Hornet".