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Empennage
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With Elevators prepaired for priming, I had the
pleasure to proceed to the last but biggest part in the empennage kit:
the tailcone. Also big things start small - the tie-down bar was built
and drilled to the last and smallest bulkhead. You also see the next
bigger one too.
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The bulkheads are cleckoed together. My daughters are
presenting their size. The taicone will make the shop feel small.
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Here the fun part begins: assembly of the tailcone.
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The tailcone is first assembled upside down. |
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The three long beams are stiffeners. They are just put
in notches ... |
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...before the side skin is put on. Unfortunately there
are no holes drilled in the stiffeners, so all these holse must be
drilled - and there is alot of them! |
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Both sideskins have been assembled and the tailcone
turned around. Now we have a boat. |
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Desirée helps me clecoing the stiffeners. |
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All skins are assembled and stiffeners drilled. |
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This is where the Empennage is attached later on. Only
a few things have now to be done before the whole tailcone is
disassembled again. Then deburring, dimpling, priming - business as
usual, but FUN! |
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Here is Rahel again helping with deburring. |
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Here are all small Tailcone parts ready for priming. |
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All parts? Unfortunately (or maybe furtunately) I found
another pile with parts later. That's why this image is more crowded. |
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Here starts the riveting process. As I am doing as much
as possible alone, backriveting is the way to go. This means that put a
flat piece of steel under your rivets and the hit the rivets with the
gun from the 'wrong' side. This way you get the nicest looking rivets! |
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Bottom and sideskins were backriveted, but not the top
skin. So my wife was the first to sleep in the plane. Well, no, she
didn't sleep, and even with a nice mattress she didn't find it too
comfortable. |
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So here we have the completed taicone! |
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Well, no... that was a lie. The last rivets were set
with the help of Patrick - but more than a year later, when the fuselage
was built up. |
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| Hobbes Meter: |
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Tailcone:
91.25 h complete |
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