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Front cross brace has been removed

Note: Paul has flipped the fuselage upside down to make it easier to work on, so it looks different from the last photos.

Now there is room for the instructors feet, ha.

A joint after the removal of the cross brace, lots of work needed (fill with weld).

Only a little bit of filling needed on this joint.

BTW, notice that the paint has been sanded to prep it for the welding. Sanding is used because it does not introduce any elements to the metal that could contaminate the weld.

Rib Nose Pieces

Dick is sanding a rib nose piece on an oscillating spindle sander.

Careful, slow is good.

The nose piece was cut on a jig saw, then sanded on the oscillating spindle sander.  It is important to be careful because the speed of the sander, combined with the up and down oscillating action, will remove lots of wood very fast. Dick is using very gentle pressure to remove the last little bit so the nose piece is the exact needed size.

There are only four more ribs to be built, then the spars will need to be ordered to continue completion of the wing.

Leo's latest toys

Nice books

Leo showed me his two new books. As I flipped through them, I felt pangs of envy.  I could easily sit down on a cold winter afternoon with a pot of coffee and read either of these. They have lots of pictures (my favorite type of book), and the text is well written (easy to understand).  They can both be purchased  through the EAA. Click on the following link for more information:

http://members.eaa.org/home/homebuilders/building/books.html

New toy tool, (oops).

Leo bought this, and since I also have one, I wanted to put in a plug for this neat tool. If you have any power sanders (belt sander, spindle, disk, etc.) then you need on of these. It looks and feels like a large pencil eraser, but it removes "stuff" from the sandpaper when it gets clogged. It works like magic.  

Here is how you use it.

Yes, it is as simple as it looks. You just press it against the moving sandpaper, and it magically removes the crud that has filled the valleys.  Below is a picture of a spindle sander that Leo cleaned.

Before

After

If you look closely at the before and after photos you will see that the bottom half is now almost new. This is typical. I have seen old belts restored (in about 5 or 10 seconds) to a brand new condition. This particular spindle had some white stuff at the top that was very stubborn and would not budge. So, as you can see the cleaner isn't perfect, but it normally does wonders. Leo and I can both testify to the usefulness of this device. Also, it lasts a long time. In fact, Leo said he bought it for use at home, but he is going to cut it in half and keep half at home and half at the glider project.

Christmas in January

Leo and John just received two packages.

Leo received his plywood to make wing gussets.

John received his epoxy.

So, you may ask, "What's the big deal, I can go to the local hardware store and buy these items." The big deal is that these are aviation grade components. That means they have gone through aviation testing that proves they can withstand the riggers of flight. So, when your life depends on it, spend the extra money. It may save your life, and you will not worry about structural failures.