Brief Description: Major progress on forward fuselage
This was a marathon building day. I started by crimping the vertical L angle that goes about 8 inches in front of the center spar in order to conform to the sloping sides. Next I was going to follow the photo assembly guide and install the horizontal L angle between the vertical L and the firewall, but I was bothered by the fact that the firewall was not set and could fluctuate. At that point I changed direction and immediately went on to securing the bottom of the forward side skin to the cabin floor with clecoes every 20mm. In order to do this without help, and to reduce the chance of things shifting, I decided to improvise and came up with the technique shown in the first picture. Two 700mm 2x4s and two racheting straps looped around the firewall and about 2 feet aft, and I had all the pressure I needed to get really good rivet lines at the bottom sides. Next I turned my attention to the firewall, by marking and predrilling the rivet line in the firewall flange. Then I used a similar technique using only one racheting strap and no wood to pull the skins tight to the firewall. Of course I checked my firewall angle first. The really good news is that the final firewall angle was 77.0% which is precisely what the plans call for. The last gasp of the night was to install the first of three horizontal L angles. I have about one or two short nights of work left on the forward fuselage, and then I'll be able to move back to the seat area.
