Date:	3-31-2007
Number of Hours:	4.00
Brief Description:	Aileron & flap prep
Today I started by removing all of the blue plastic from the ribs, stiffeners, brackets, and gap seals for the ailerons and flaps. I had read that the longer the plastic remains on a part, the harder it is to remove...this is true! I guess you have a tradeoff...you can remove the plastic immediately upon receiving the shipment and take your chance with scratches, or you can wait until you use the part and work a little harder to remove the plastic. I think I'll stick with the latter. After removing all of the plastic, I marked the aileron stiffeners with a sharpie and started cutting with the snips...suddenly I remembered the bandsaw that I had purchased for just such a purpose. The bandsaw made quick work of the cutting, and after a quick pass on the belt sander, I deburred all of them on the ScotchBrite wheel. I have to say that making stiffeners is not my favorite part of homebuilding. Once the stiffeners were done, I used the ScotchBrite wheel in the bench grinder to work the edges of all the parts for the ailerons and flaps...this is a lot of parts! I finished by using my high-speed rotary tool with a small ScotchBrite wheel and worked all of the lightening holes in the long braces and gap seals. Next up will be fitting, match drilling, and assembly.