Random pictures

I talked about the digital protractor in the other post. I didn't add any photos of it but thought that I should so it could be seen what I was talking about. I also didn't show any of the tube intersections and thought that I should. So here are a few of the photos of each.

Time to work on the diagonals

So after all the cross tubes were fitted and tacked in place it was time to start working on the diagonal tubes. During this step it is very important to make sure that each station is square by measuring diagonally at each station and making adjustments with a bar or pipe clamp or ratchet strap to get them exactly the same. I started at station 78 and worked back from the tail squaring one station at a time until I got to the tail. I did the bottom first then the top and then moved to the next station. When you put in the diagonal tube at each station it locks it where it is at. That is why it is very important to make sure it is exactly square. After I was done with the top and bottom of all of the stations I went back starting at station 78 and started fitting and locking in each diagonal that goes from the top longeron to the bottom longeron, measuring, adjusting and squaring as I went towards the tail. I got all of them fitted, squared and tacked in today. It is amazing how rigid the frame is when it is just tacked together. Tomorrow I have to go to Discount Steel or Garelick Steel to pick up some tubing to put together a fuselage rotisserie to make it easier to rotate the fuselage for welding. I also have to pick up some 2 x 4 's to place in between each station to slightly bow out the upper and lower longerons before welding.

Fuselage sides done

After lots of cutting and fitting the tubes the both sides were done. I laid the two sides together and squared them up to each other ensuring that they were in line with each other and tacked them together where the tailpost will eventually go. Then I was able to spread the two sides apart at the front to start fitting the tubes for what will be the cabin area. Since I am building my Tailwind with Jim Clement's mods I also had to build the rear spar carry through for placement in the cabin area. I fit the bottom tube for the rear of the cabin area first then the rear spar carry through at the top of the cabin area making sure to keep the dimensions correct according the the plans and the suggestions from Jim Stanton. Jim Stanton has a set of corrections for the Aircraft Spruce plans and the measurements differ slightly and can cause some problems if these are not adjusted. Then I put in the front cabin tubes at the bottom first followed by the front spar carry through tube at the top front of the cabin. I also used a digital protractor that I picked up from Sears to ensure that all the tubes were level. I was able to get all of them within .1 of a degree. This is far more accurate than most people since it is my understanding that they use a regular bubble level which would have a variance of around .5 or .6 of a degree. Then I started working my way back to the tail installing the cross tubes.

Fuselage layout

So the tubing arrived and it was necessary to make a jig to build the fuselage sides. I got two 4 x 8 sheets of OSB and two 1 x 4 's to make the jig blocks. I cut the 1 x 4's up into 1' blocks and drilled them to keep them from splitting. I then layed out the center/thrust line on the two sheets of OSB that will be my jig board. Off of that I measured for the placement of all the center lines for the tubing. I made some blocks that were the correct size for each different size tube that will make up the fuselage sides and centered these on the lines that I drew on the board and attached the blocks so there would be the correct distance from the center line of each tube. Then I finally got to start cutting up the tubing that came.