Aileron work
The first aileron is now sheeted and mounted. I cut the access slots to get to the hinges and have it installed with the correct hardware. I messed around a bit with the bellcrank location and it is working out, even though the hardware on the arms gets close to the drag wire. I still have to install the 3/8" tubing in the leading edge slot and shape the LE stringer. The end ribs need to be installed and the cap strips need to be glued to each rib. Getting close to wrapping up #1. The rest should go more quickly, now that I have it figured out better.
Aileron ply
Tonight I glued the rest of the second leading edge plywood to the aileron. I hit the existing epoxy with some sand paper before spreading a new layer of glue. I used a couple of pine boards to distribute the clamping pressure along the high point of the nose ribs and the aileron spar. It went together well and I didn't have any clamp issues this time. I'll pull the clamps tomorrow and see how it looks.
Smoke tank
I've added some gussets and mount tabs for the rear smoke tank brackets. The gussets were tricky to weld because of the thin steel used and the lap welds. There were a couple blow outs on the first side, but the second side went more smoothly. Tonight I got back out to the hangar and added the tabs for the rear mount. They are welded to both the cross tube at the top and the gussets underneath. It all worked out well and the tank sits nice and flat across the two rear tabs and the front cross tube. Next step is to add the bushings through the front cross tube and drill the brackets and rear mount tabs for the bolts. Almost done.
This last week I set to gluing the second skin on the first aileron. It all seemed to go well, until I couldn't get any clamps to hold around the leading edge. The angles were all wrong and they kept slipping or popping off. My daughter was very amused when about 20 clamps decided to all turn loose at once and shoot across the garage. I was less amused. Instead of going into full retreat, I changed tactics and just glued the ply to the leading edge. The next day I put clamps on the rear of the ply and pulled it down towards the aileron spar. I sprayed some water on it and let it sit. I've done this a couple times over a few days and now it almost lays down by itself. It should be easy to finish gluing the ply the next time I have a chance to work in the garage.
Aileron work
Tonight I spent some time getting the first aileron ready for the second leading edge skin. I had to seal up the wood in the leading edge and glue up the spot on the other skin that didn't get clamped right. It should be ready for the second skin tomorrow.
Airbike First Flight video from 2002
I was cleaning off a hard drive on a home computer and found an mpg of my first flight in the Airbike after it was completed. It's up on YouTube now and I added it here.
Aileron fitting
Spent a little time tonight working on the fit of the first lower aileron. I made a couple adjustments to the tip hinge and everything came together nicely. If I get some time tomorrow, I'll sheet the other side of the aileron leading edge and maybe do some more work on the other lower wing spars.
Smoke tank mount 2
I fit and tacked in the other reinforcement tube for the front smoke tank mounts. This is probably extreme overkill for supporting the tank, but much better than letting the floorboard tubes bend back and forth in bending everytime I push or pull the stick. Once I finish weld the new tube, I can add the gussets to the frame on the other side to support the rear mounts. Then I can add the bushings for the mounting bolts.
Smoke tank mount
I spent some time working on the Pitts at the hangar tonight. I got two of the three new tubes welded up for the smoke tank hardpoints. The first is a cross piece that will have two bushings installed for the front tank bolts. The second two tubes pick up the first on each end of the mount and connect to the clusters that used to have the rear bungee hooks. I forgot the camera, so no pictures yet. The rear of the tank will bolt through two bushings that will get welded to the cross tube that mounts the front torque tube bearing. I will need to add a couple gussets to pick up the bending loads there.
I pulled the clamps off the aileron when I got home. The LE ply glued up well and looks pretty good. There was one spot where a clamp was loose on the spar. The plywood lifted and didn't bond to the spar. It will be an easy fix with a little epoxy and a couple clamps. I can hold the ply in place by hand and it lays down fine. I'll probably get that glued tomorrow. The aileron stayed straight and is much stiffer now, even with just one skin attached.
It's good to be making progress again.
Back at it again
Between the Texas heat, work and family vacations, I haven't done much work on the Pitts lately. Tonight I got out to the garage and sheeted one side of an aileron leading edge. I almost didn't have enough clamps. I thought I had a good clamp plan, but it didn't hold up with epoxy all over the parts. I had to regroup and think fast. It looked good when I finished, but we'll see when I pull the clamps off tomorrow.
I'm heading out to the hangar tomorrow to start fabricating the mounts for the new smoke tank.
Plugging along
Progress on the Pitts has been slow the last couple of weeks because of work and family. The Texas heat hasn't been helping much either.
The smoke system details are mostly worked out. I still have to finish up the hard points for mounting the tank. I have a plan for creating the mounting points for the new battery mount, but haven't cut any steel yet. I've also got some more paint stripped off of the aluminum panels. I ordered a new ACS gascolator and have made sure it will mount correctly. It is much smaller than the old gascolator and won't stick out of the belly. It's a little lighter and will reduce drag a bit. It all adds up.
I've started working on the new instrument panel layout and design. Since the radio stack on the floor is gone, the master switches, breakers and ammeter need to move up to the panel. I'm also thinking about installing the 2.25" FlightLine FL-760 radio instead of another hand held radio. The price is about right and it can be mounted much nicer than a hand held. I've pulled all the instruments out of the panel so that it can be used as a template for the new one.
No progess to report on the ailerons. I'll get back to those this week. I have the instrument panel and new belly panels at the house so that I can work on them when I have time during the week or while waiting for epoxy to cure on the wings.
The work on the fuselage is focused on getting all the little bits of welding done, so that all the steel can be blasted and coated. Thats why I've got several different projects going at the same time. I need to know if any more tabs or tubes are going to be added before painting the steel. I'm looking forward to getting the steel protected again and start the actual re-assembly.
Finally, I've put in the order for the Catto propellor. Craig was nice enough to take the time to talk about my plane and expectations a bit. Based on the plane and type of flying I'm doing, he recommended a 70x60 three blade prop. This prop should show improvements in both the low speed performance and at the top end. This has been on my to-do list several years, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it works out.