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Kupe's Zodiac 650B
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Date: 1-24-2013
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Number of Hours: 2.00
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Manual Reference: 6-T-1B
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Brief Description: Rear Spar Attachment
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Started on the horizontal stabilizer today and was looking for some ight work, so I skipped to the Rear Spar Attachment. According to the Photo Assembly Guide I was to take a pre-shaped "C" bracket and modify the two flanges, add a parabolic curve, and drill 25 holes in it (see Image 1). Imagine my surprise to find part number 6T2-3 already pre-drilled with 25 holes and the parabolic curve (for the elevator cable channel) already cut out! All I had to do was modify the two flanges - which had already been marked with a cut line. Thanks Zenith Air!
Of course, modifying the flanges was not a quick and easy thing. Cutting the flanges with tin snips was a real test of my grip strength. It's challenging to squeeze them with both hands (aided by a big grimace) yet not let the fineness of the cut slip through the cut line. So each cut was about 3-5mm at a time followed by a brief inspectio of my progress. The metal was thick enough that the tin snips couldn't roll-up the metal like they do when cutting aircraft skins, so I used pliers after each small cut to manually roll up the excess metal to make room for the next cut. I'm thinking a bandsaw might handle this cut, although it would be somewhat awkward to control the piece while cutting. I've never used a Dremel - it might've work here too.
Using this caveman cutting method, I was averse to getting too close to the marked line, which is my explanation for taking two hours for this task. Once my cuts were finished, I filed away at the remaining portions to be removed until I created a decent-sized pile of aluminum filings, but I'm pleased with the results (Image 1) and thankful that I didn't have to cut out that control cable channel or 25 A5 rivet-sized holes.
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