I thought I was going to cut the tubing with my metal snips. Forget it... the Joint Jigger will cut most of your tubes with a lot less head aches. Use a hand-held grinder for the rest.
Need something to attach your heel trays and/or flooring to. Seat backs and a lot of other things too. Here are the steps I took for making a few mounting tabs for the flooring.
The gear for the Radial version of the Skybolt are quite a bit longer than even the long geared version of the Skybolt. I'll be widening it by about 12" too.
The more you build... the more you want to build. Never thought I would have welded up my own fuselage... let alone the Torque Tube Controls. Here are a few shots of me building mine.
The Radial version of the Skybolt uses the Delta wing for the increase in weight. I'm using Douglas Fir spars which will allow an even higher gross weight.
I could have bought both of these for $30.00 (2009.) Instead I made a point of achieving Excellence making them. About six pieces of scrapped metal and a lot of time.
FilingSpars_1med.JPGFiling notches in spars5 viewsThe Upper Wing Center Section spars have 1/8" notches on the bottom ends. Pretty simple to do. I measure 1/8" in on both sides, clamped straight pieces of 4130 along each line and filed away. All four came out beautifully.Jul 06, 2010
FiledSpar_2med.JPGNotched Spar5 viewsUpper Wing Center Section... 1/8" notch, at 10 degree angle, 5" into sparJul 06, 2010
UWCS_FinalGlueSpars.JPGRadial Skybolt Upper Wing Center Section spars9 viewsGlueing the spar doublers onto the spars.Jun 26, 2010
Random files - Jerry's Gallery
BiplaneTag_2.JPGMy Truck's Plates31 viewsKinda says it all.
fusetop_4.JPGRadial Skybolt Fuselage92 viewsStation 77.o to 105.o
GearFittingBend_1LG.JPGForward Gear Fitting54 viewsFitting with both "ears" bent using the forming/bending block. Fitting was drilled with under-sized holes. One in the center hole on the forward section and one in the back portion of the fitting (a section that will be cut out when attaching to the fuselage.) I used these hole to attach the fitting to the block to keep it from moving. Holes in "ears" were drilled after taking fitting off of block.
It's amazing how following bend allowance and set-back charts make a beautiful fitting without having to shape the fitting after the bending process.
