Brief Description: F8 Upper Bulkhead and Control Sticks
I designed, built, and have party installed the upper F8 bulkhead to go with the new 'fastback' tail shape behind the canopy. I'm very pleased with the fit to the upper stringers. I'm leaving it temporarily tacked in place until I fabricate the package shelf that will run from F8 to F7 behind the passenger's head. Per plans, the passanage shelf is riveted over the F8 bulkhead, but I'd like to tuck the lip behind F8. There's no functional or weight difference; I just think it will look cleaner.
I also bent the cromolly tubing for the pilot and passenger control sticks, and cut the reinforcement and mating flanges out of the larger cromolly tubing. Everything is deburred, so these are ready for welding. I gotta say, that first bend was appallingly hard work. I was very concerned about overheating the tubing when I went to bend it. With the tubes packed with foundry sand, using a propane torch this isn't much of an issue. It took quite a long time to get the tube hot enough to bend well. I pulled the tube bender out of the table three times before I was finished.
And now I get to dismantle the reinforcements I added to the build table to hold up to the forces generated by the tube bender.
