I debaited about wither or not to even log this since I never even touched the real thing today but I decided to in this case. I normally don't log practice but in this case it serves more than one benefit and ultimately helps the end result of my Bearhawk. The "rookie factor" adds extra time to my build and this is a good example of it.
I finished up the leading edge mock up and it looks very much like the real deal. It was actually kind of fun to put together. It got me thinking that it would have been a good thing to have done before I laid out and drilled skins on the real wings.
After skinning and clecoing the skin I laid out the hole cutout line for the landing light. The paper template that comes with the kit is for an RV10 so all the reference points are no good to me. I kind of had to wing it when locating the hole. I did look at pictures then place it as best I could.
With the line drawn I drilled holes in the corners then cut as close to the line as I could. I used the tile file to file to the line. I discovered one benefit to having the ribs closer than the RV is the skin was not prone to deform with the section cut out. With the mounting strips attached to the skin this area will hold the leading edge form nicely.
I'll try fitting the mounting strips to the mock up before I commit and cut the real deal but it looks like it will work great as planned. It's a real confidence builder to have cut one hole already and I won't sweat cutting into the wing now. It was well worth just that to build the mock up but now I have something very realistic to practice riveting skins. I guess I'll have an "audition" and figure out who is going to help me rivet the skins now.
