Brief Description: Aft Fuselage Assembly and Final Bulkhead Assemb
I took a break for dinner then continued on the bulkhead final assemby. The last thing I did on the F-705 bulkhead was to bolt on the seatbelt anchors and the spacer for the rear spar attachments. I next did the final assembly on the F-706 bulkhead, the bellcrank support ribs, The F-707, F-708, F-709, F-710, F-711, & F-712. Most of these where just a couple of rivets. Some involved riveting the stifferners. I also installed all of the plastic bushings in each bulkhead. These are for the rudder cables, electrical wiring and the static lines.
The manual next directs the builder to bend the longerons. I decided to do that later and begin to assemble the aft fuselage. I finally get to see something come together that actually resembles a part of an airplane!!! I set up the bottom skin on 3 saw horses (that I make more than two years ago). I began to cleco the side skins on and used a piece of tape across the top to keep the side skins from flopping around. As I put each bulkhead in place, the aft fuselage began to take shape. I next installed the tailcone skin. This skin is very thick and needed to be bent a little more at the curves to make it fit properly. I got almost everything together....enough to drag Wendy out to the shop to show her.....It was a good day! Tomorrow I will first begin by cleaning up the shop and setting up the area that the fuselage will continue to be built. It's good to do a clean up now and then and get all of the tools back in their places. I plan on putting in another long day tomorrow.
