After thinking about this process for awhile, I pondered on this note that Eric Newton put in his manual at the beginning of the wing mount section…in red letters no less:
“Note: You may wish to hold off installing your wing fittings until all welding has been completed on the top portion of your fuselage. Items such as shoulder harness mounts, stringers, antenna mounts and standoffs should be installed before final fitting of wing attachment fittings. Welding these items onto your fuselage frame could cause shrinkage from heat and cause your wing fittings to move.”
I noticed that he didn't have any of these items welded onto his fuselage when he installed his fittings. So I called Bob Barrows and spoke with him about the mounts and welding of the aft mount reinforcements. He confirmed there may be a possibility that things may move, but the difference would be minor and not to worry about it if I was careful. I also asked if the reinforcements needed to be welded all the way around or just the forward edge. He said do not weld them all the way around. The should have between 180-210 deg of weld around them, including about a 1/4th inch into the mount past the outer edge.
I messaged Eric as to why he put the note in the manual. He had, let’s say, and interesting experience and I certainly don’t want to duplicate what he went through. So, the wing mounts are on hold until I get the top tabs and such welded on and do the wing fittings last. I did touch up the reinforcements and added a bit of weld to each one as Bob indicated.
