Forward Fuselage
March 12-17, 2007
I decided that I will never need to use the canopy jettison since I do not intend to do areobatics. So I installed the forward canopy release mechanism except for the WD 620 T handle. That way the complete release can be added fairly easily at a later date and I can remove the canopy for work on the panel.
I finished all the forward ribs and sub panel parts and clecoed it all together. When I installed the upper forward skin I found that Van’s quickbuilders had failed to countersink all the holes in the side skins and forward longerons. Therefore the top skin would not mate properly with the side skin. The only solution was to drill out a number of rivets from the side skins and countersink the longerons and then dimple the skin. I shortened a countersink bit and used my angle drill, thereby minimizing the number of rivets I needed to remove from the side skin. This took about 7 hours. But when I was finished the top skin seemed to fit nicely and the lap over the side skin appears to be fine.
I also installed the parking brake valve this week. I made a new bracket for the brake line bracket and included a short arm on the upper portion to attach a clamp for the control cable.
