Forward Wingskin Clecoed... (Feb. 13th 2005)

Left forward wingskin is pilot-drilled and cleco'ed now. Lots of things can go wrong during this wing-skinning work. Once there is a twist built into the wing it's almost impossible to cure this fault (because it's almost impossibe to bend/build a second skin with exactly the same rivet hole locations). Two more problems: (1) because wings are not flat they will not ly flat on the table (2) because top and botton skins are held by clecos, the whole wing will rest on the cleco heads (which are not precision spacers at all).

Almost a Wing... (Feb. 6th 2005)

...if you think the straps away...

The skin follows nicely the rib's countour with barely any force required

=====================================================================

It's always Easy on the Second Try! (Feb. 5th 2005)

After the third update of the bending brake, the second leading edge skin came out almost perfectly (the first skin went to the scrap container). The skin was pressed until the sides pointed almost parallel upwards . After removing the support beams to the ceiling, the skin popped out instantly. I left the protective vynil covering on and also waxed the brake. There is almost no weaviness (the reflection on the upper leg is more of an optical illusion than an imperfection). The enclosing angle is about 70 degrees - only very moderate pressure is required to wrap the skin over the forward wingribs. On this success it's time for a bottle of our 2004 homemade apple-wine now...

This much the skin has to be folded. After the skin is removed, the 'springback' effect will do the required 75 degrees opening angle.

=====================================================================

New Aluminum Arrived! (Feb. 4th 2005)

four large sheets 12 ft x 4 ft will become two wing leading edges, one top-aft wing skin and one bottom-aft wing skin. Another 4 ft x 4 ft sheet will become the forward fuselage floor. All sheets were rolled and came in a surprisingly compact box weigting 53 kg. The order was made at Wicks Aircraft, USA, a pleasant and reliable supplier - my favourite.

This time I will build the skins in a slightly different way: I will cut the sheets very roughly, then bend them (the forward wingskins), then and only then mark the rivet locations according to the true wib spacings. This will ensure the rivets be placed precisely in the middle of the wingrib flanges.

=====================================================================