The next few posts will show very little progress as I am working my way piece by piece from F2 forward to F1 one section at a time. Tonight I squared the section where the seat back joins the seat bottom and then glued in the strut that joins the two sides at this point on the bottom of the fuselage.
Number of hours: 0.3
Total hours: 88.6
I spent some time tonight cutting the fuselage cross members and getting things lined up. The sides still need to be squared up.
Number of hours: 1.5
Total hours: 88.3
I picked up the KT100 today. It needs to be rebuilt and some new parts plus I will need to fabricate a prop hub. It sounds like a lot of work to do but I believe that it will bring me in well below the cost of other options.
Number of hours: 4.0
Total hours: 86.8
My dad came over last night and I got to show off a little bit. When I picked up the freshly cured tab facing spar I noticed that I hadn't got the plywood all the way flat in one area. I had read about using a heat gun to soften the epoxy but hadn't tried it until today. I removed the piece of plywood and then glued the spruce together that had separated due to the heat. I spent some more time tidying up my work area and planning the fuselage assembly jigs.
Number of hours: 1.2
Total hours: 82.8
I cut the shear webs for the aft faces of the tab spar and the tab facing spar and glued them in place. I realized that I forgot to varnish the interior of the tab spar as I added the webs so I covered all the interior surfaces with a healthy coat of epoxy before I closed it up.
Number of hours: 1.7
Total hours: 81.6
I finally got in contact with the seller of the KT100 and we are working out details for the transaction.
Aircraft Spruce said it will be 2 weeks before they can ship my next order of spruce so the fuselage will be on hold for a bit longer. I have a confession to make, I don't enjoy building spars using 1.5mm plywood for the sheer webs. It's more difficult to get a perfect cut through all the plys. I will soldier on, probably starting to build the winglet and rudder spars next. Nothing was built today because I have been playing Mr. Mom while my wife is in the hospital recovering from surgery. I am too beat to build after chasing those 2 around all night solo.
I found a Yamaha KT100 from an old Quicksilver on Craigslist today. Hopefully I will be able to get it! I placed an order with Aircraft Spruce for some more T-88 and the wood needed to join the fuselage sides plus the missing pieces from my first order. I pulled staples and sanded the tab spar tonight. Then I pulled the tab facing spar out of the jigs on the table. I had put packing tape down first on the table and this is by far my favorite method.
Number of hours: 0.7
Total hours: 79.9
