December 20, 2005
Well, I had the day off work today so that I could work this evening, so I took advantage of the found time to work on some smaller layups. This (left) is the first part of the gear bulkhead reinforcements. I did all the parts that I could do without flipping the plane over. I am still waiting on the shoulder rest to completely cure so that I can trim it with the Fein tool. This particular layup isn't too hard. It takes a couple hours and requires you to bend over for the entire layup because you are working down in the plane.
On the right there you can see where I cut a couple of notched 2x4 and screwed them onto the end of my bench so that I could roll out large cuts of cloth. While I had it out I cut a bunch of 2.5" "tapes" that you always seem to need but I always hate cutting. I cut about 10 of them at roughly 4' each.
The gear layups are still curing as well. I think I should be able to take the peel ply off this evening and maybe start the other reinforcing layups when I get the time here in a day or so.
January 22, 2006
Since the Chapter 9 disaster (see here or here for pictures and another description) to stepped back to the bulkhead reinforcements.I started mid week and finished this on this past thursday. This is a series of smallish layups of about layers each. The next one up was in the landing gear attach area (hell hole) between the forward and aft bulkheads. I started by making a paper pattern and then cutting the cloth to match (Left). The area I am laying up is shown center. It takes about an hour to complete this. The completed work is on the right. While I am doin this I have the aircraft rotated onto it's side on the rotiserie. (lower left). I then flipped the aircraft over the other way and duplicated the task on the other side a day later.
I am hoping that later today I will get the next layup done between the aft LG bulkhead and the firewall. I need to go get a haircut too.... hmmm...
July 10, 2006
Wow! That was one long haircut! LOL. Yes it has actually been 7 months since I last worked on the plane. Amazing what a baby and work can do to you!
Moving on...
As with every time you start again you must reclaim your space. It always seems to get filled with stuff that actually belongs in the house someplace else but is just getting put there so that you have some removal of junk before you start. During this step I am continuing the reinforcing of the LG bulkheads. This time between the aft landing gear bulkhead and the firewall. We start by cutting cloth. I know not an exciting picture but it's been a while and I want pictures to show for it.
You then do the normal bit of waxpaper and wetting out on the table, cut to size after premeasuring and drawing it out on a piece of paper taped down under the wax paper. I have the aircraft on the rotiserie still so it is rotated onto it's side to allow for the layup to cure more horizontally. Gravity good....
This is the layup aroud the sides connecting the two bulkheads. No I didn't leave those air bubbles in the layup.
July 11, 2006
After letting yesterday's layup cure, I did the reinforcing layup on the same side that runs across the bottom of the aircraft connecting the 2 bulkheads. This makes for a ton of layups on everyside of the landing gear bulkheads and firewall at all of the major connecting points. Sometimes as many as 30 in the most critical locations.
Now I had a bit of epoxy left after I completed the layup, so I made some micro out of it (epoxy and microbaloons) and layed it over a couple of the overlapping layups. I'll later sand it down and have a nice smooth transition here.
Tomorrow, I'll flip the aircraft over to the other side and do the same layups there over the next two days. I am trying to follow the adage "do a little every day and get something curing every day. You will make steady progress and complete the aircraft if you do." - Mike Melville; Pilot of Spaceship 1)
July 12, 2006
Today I flipped the aircraft over as planned and did the same layups on the other side with the exception of the fact that I did both layups in the same session. I think that this worked out better.
This completes this step of chapter 9. I am planning on moving back to chapter 8 next and cleaning up anything there that I left undone and want to complete. I think that I was planning on skipping a number of steps there until later. After that I'll move back to this chapter and get that gear on the plane.
