left-arrow

Europa #435 G-RODO Build Journal - 2013 03

right-arrow
index sitemap advanced
search engine by freefind
tickgo to list of milestonestick Navigation & Acknowledgements
day notes hours
1 Tilt fuselage onto port side. Trim port edge of wheel well. This way round, it's easier to cut right-handed with the padsaw from the forward end, so the oscillating saw is not needed much. Just as well, as it has suddenly developed an intermittent fault & keeps stopping. Draw up the curve for the aft end of the wheel-well in CADintosh & print out. 1450.9
4 Trim around printed semi-circle to make template for rear of wheel well. Tilt fuselage onto starboard side. Tape template to bottom of fuselage with masking tape, centred on line already drawn on fuselage underside. Mark around template with felt-tip pen. That actually makes it slightly too near the port side of the well, so drop it a few mm, re-tape & re-draw outline to keep it more symmetrical. Cut around inside the line with diamond burr in Dremel tool. Lower fuselage onto bottom again. 1451.5
5 Tilt fuselage onto starboard side. Clean up starboard edge of wheel well with Perma-Grit block & TC files. Smooth aft curve with TC file. Start to trim back the top & starboard edges of the firewall to match the tunnel but it's quite hard work so switch to the angle-grinder which makes it much easier. Turn fuselage onto port side and likewise trim all port edges around tunnel. Restore fuselage to upright. Add fan for cooling avionics and demisting screen to circuit diagram. 1452.3
11 Measure wheel well for BID tapes. Will need about 200mm across the top of the firewall; about 400mm down each side of the firewall; and about 700mm along each side of the well at the bottom. Mark out 3 off 200mm x 75mm, 6 off 400mm x 75mm and 1 off 700m x 75mm. 1453.0
12 Will need to turn the fuselage bottom half upside-down to do the BID tapes around the wheel-well. Will need some sort of support, so get out, from the far end of the trailer, the table I made to support the cockpit module and put it in the garage in readiness. Had to move the propeller out to get at the table. The table is not wide enough to support the sides of the fuselage but I can use the base of the mini curing tent for that. To support the aft end, a plywood cable drum left behind by the electricians who moved the electricity meter seems about the right size.
14 With assistance from Dorothy & Michelle, carry the fuselage bottom half outside. Put the small table on the dolly, and the cable drum near the tail position. Turn the fuselage bottom half upside-down and carry back into garage, lower onto supports. Forgot to position curing-tent base to support across forward fuselage sides, so lift forward end again while Dorothy & Michelle slide it into place.
22 Mark out another 5 BID strips 700mm x 75mm. Dig out a piece of polyethylene sheet for a curing tent big enough to cover both the wheel well and a fan heater perched on a stool. Make a support from pieces of ply and studding to keep the tent clear of the layup on the fuselage bottom. 1453.6
23 Went to look out the 12V axial fan I thought I had in the garage cupboard but can't find it; all the ones in the cupboard are 230V. I must have imagined it!

left-arrowgo to previous page of journal listgo to list of narrative pages list go to next page of journalright-arrow
Return to Rowland's home page

This page last updated 2013-05-06. I try to make this page as accessible as possible, by adhering to HTML 4 standards. Valid HTML 4.01! Valid CSS!
I welcome comments on this website. However, because of the amount of spam it attracts, I no longer post a direct e-mail address on any page. Instead, please click here to contact me. You will have to confirm that you are human before the message will be sent on to me.