Build Log Discussion - Bruce_L

[LA F2 Flyer]

Unfortunately I am not coming up with any easy solutions. It looks like you have everything set up correctly in the pictures (and there aren't really too many ways to "veer off course" here).

You may need to reach back out to Chris and see what he can advise.

Peer

[Badland1]

One of the most important tips for improving speed is airfoils over the struts. Round tubing is very drag inducing. I don't know if Chris has it, but U-Flyit does. ABS plastic is light, but wood corner molding, or 2 strips of chair molding run thru a sander works good with a little router work. The leading edge of the strut isn't an issue, the trailing edge is. On my challenger it added approx 7-10 mph.

Please note; you will NOT meet part 103 requirements with streamlined struts.

[Badland1]

Does anybody have any advice on setting up the CAMBER angle on the mains?

I asked Chris to add the F3 Cabane style landing gear as an upgrade to my F2 kit.

This was to add the 15 x 6.0 inch tires and better legs. Not really sure what gear comes with the F1/F2 kits anyhow.

I wanted to be prepared for any rough grass strips or dirt runways I may encounter one day. This should also give me a bit more ground clearance for my propeller tips as well.

I just finished painting all my landing gear parts and am ready to start on what is listed on page 31 in the 103 assembly manual.
Cabane Gear_Painted.jpg

Caught a break in the cold weather and managed to get my painting done before a large winter front sets in.

My question is, what is the purpose of the camber? Will the gear compress or sag as I add my weight to the airplane?

Anybody have any good pictures of the F3 type gear that you have set up?

As always, you guys are very helpful here and I appreciate it!

Set your camber for a final of 0 degrees (+/- 1 degree.) I like to set camber at -.75 degree or so so when it's at gross weight it sits at zero.

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

And there you go Bruce, from the man himself! Good to know info for my future F5!

Todd

[Ethylene]

One of the most important tips for improving speed is airfoils over the struts. Round tubing is very drag inducing. I don't know if Chris has it, but U-Flyit does. ABS plastic is light, but wood corner molding, or 2 strips of chair molding run thru a sander works good with a little router work. The leading edge of the strut isn't an issue, the trailing edge is. On my challenger it added approx 7-10 mph.

Please note; you will NOT meet part 103 requirements with streamlined struts.

I am curious as to why you made the highlighted and underlined statement.

[LA F2 Flyer]

My guess would be an increase in max speed. Curious to hear what Chris says!

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

My guess would be an increase in max speed. Curious to hear what Chris says!

Agreed. The prop may need to be changed to one with less thrust, or the throttle may need to be limited. I remember reading something about doing the latter, that the limiter must not be able to be changed from inside the aircraft. That was in reference to putting a limiting screw or bolt on the throttle itself in the cockpit of the plane. That would not be allowed.

Todd

[Bruce_L]

So today was a perfect day, The sun came out and I could travel without any issues. Ice and snow are very rare here in South Mississippi. Off to the hangar with the goal of making a wing support stand. This will be my helper for each wing install. Wanted something that would be VERY stable as dropping a wing panel is not gonna turn out too good. Everything is just scrap 2x4s and 3 inch construction screws.

I made a fuselage stand last week before the cold weather shut me down. Even put a coat of paint on it as I plan on keeping it around just in case I need to elevate the plane to work on tires or brakes.

I wanted to become familiar with all the parts and pieces for one side. Chris did a good job of labeling the small plastic bags of assorted nuts and bolts.

I had to clean the threads on the aluminum lower lift strut casting. All l I did was spray the threads with some WD 40 and then gently screwed in the rod end fitting a few turns then back it out some and repeat until the threads went in all the way. No problems at all.

I used some large worm drive automotive hose clamps to hold the steel lift strut bracket in place. I used the measurement from the manual (pg 106 in the assembly manual) which was 78 1/2 inches from spar root. This got me real close and I could loosen the hose clamp to slide the steel bracket as needed. I will permanently rivet/glue this fitting after I make sure everything is correct and the wing swings back freely too.

This bracket is awesome. Notice the hole for the strut rod end bolt has a metal round doubler welded on both sides. This thing is strong.

There is even a cool Badland logo laser cut in the bracket.

The aluminum tubes for the lift struts have two different lengths. The short one is for the rear strut while the long tube is for the front strut. The extra length is there to accommodate the diagonal run the strut has to make to go from the lower pivot at the fuselage to the bracket on the front spar.

I had only one question about a part and I answered it with a picture I that took of a finished Badland at Oshkosh in July 2024. I had the part just wasn't sure where it went. Below is that picture. You can tell what plane that was taken from.

Here is where I ended up today. So once I get the left side done, I will be much more confident doing the right wing. To be honest I was a bit intimidated at starting this part of the build. I was worried over nothing. Biggest issue today was I screwed up my 1st attempt at my wing stand as I forgot to subtract 3 1/2 inches from the 2x4 upright for the wing stand. I can fix TOO LONG a lot easier than fixing TOO SHORT !

Just hope I don't have issues with TOO SHORT when I try to land on the runway for my 1st landing... Hope everyone is doing good.

[LA F2 Flyer]

Bruce, I really like that fuselage stand. Definitely handy down the line for tire changes or any work on the main gear. I may have to mimic that in the future!

Your build is coming along nicely. Keep those updates coming!

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

Really loving the awesome detail you're putting into the build posts. I think with all the build information we're collecting, the forum will be the go-to for many future Badland builders and pilots, along with some others that may find ways of doing things to their build no matter what the make is. Along with Peer, the support out of scrap is really great. Looks almost production quality! With that kind of quality from scrap, I'm sure your precision items are absolutely spot on - nice job!

Todd

[Bruce_L]

Today I set out to get the right wing mounted. With both wings on the fuselage I could now set the correct alignment of the 2 wings relative to the fuselage. I ran a tight string along the leading edge of the front aluminum spar tube and got the wings reasonably aligned. However, I don't trust my eyeballs enough to just go with this method.

I decided to do the same process to line up the wings that I used to use for setting the one piece wing for an RC model airplane that I scratch built.

The method uses as diagonal measurement from two fixed points on the aircraft. 1. Somewhere on the wing 2. Somewhere on the fuselage

Then just adjust the wing until the measurement for both sides is identical. Then I would drill out the holes for the 1/4 inch nylon wing bolts and go fly.

For my plane I decided to use a diagonal as large as possible to get the least error overall. I went with roughly 12 feet for the diagonal.

I set up 2 sawhorses to support a long aluminum extrusion that came from an old electric garage opener track. I use this piece around the house for any projects that need to be very straight. Its basically a free 11 foot straightedge I keep handy.

I then hung a plumb bob from a string hanging from the leading edge aluminum spar tube. I hung the string from a random spot a decent amount away from the root end of the aluminum spar. I picked a spot away from any wooden ribs so there was no interference on the string. It was 82 inches out from the wing root. I made a mark and hung the string there. I used the front spar as my reference point because I figured this location would be more precise than a spot on the tail end of one of the full wooden ribs. Not sure if the rib I chose on the left wing was a perfect dimensional duplicate of the rib on the right wing, so I went with the spar instead. I then ran my tape measure from one of the vertical tubes at the tail (under the front bolt hole for the horiz stab) to where the plumb bob pointer was indicating.

This is how I measured the left wing.

I wrote down the measurement accurate to 1/16 then I moved everything over and did the right wing measurement. I was reasonably close but still had a slightly cocked wing that the string line did not indicate visually. (both wings were trying to be like a mild angle parallelogram )

To make a change I would just slide the wing forward or backward about 1/8 inch each time. The rear spar was still bolted to the fuselage so it basically acted as a pivot point. After a few iterations, I got the measurement for left and right diagonals only 1/16 of an inch out.

I'll take that and call it a day for sure.

Now I still need to drill the front hole through the spar for the wing bolt. This is the bolt you remove in order to fold the wings back.

This needs to be very precise as its a super critical step. I plan on making a template the locate my small starter hole on the top of the spar and finishing with the dremmel bit.

Since I did all this work to line up my wings, I wanted something to maintain my accuracy in case I bumped the wing accidentally. I have lost track of how many times I have bonked my head on one of the wooden ribs just waiting to poke me!!!

I cut 2 wooden blocks and clamped them to the top fuselage tube where the front spar mounts. I made sure the spar made firm contact with the edge of the block and clamped the block down. ( I used a scrap of thin plywood underneath the tube to get a good bite and not mar the powdercoat with the clamp. Now I can walk into the wing all I want and just have to slide it back the the block and I am back to zero position again.

(look in the pilot seat and you can see my helper, I made sure nothing moved while I was working today)

Next I need to put some primer (outside surface only, inside stays bare metal for the Hysol glue to bond to) on my lift strut brackets and set up my dihedral, and verify correct washout at the wing tips.

Still need to install spar reinforcements too. Still trying to figure out what sequence I follow to install those reinforcements as I will need to be able to drill holes for the wing bolt. Do I rivet them on first then drill or pre-drill them and use the bolt as an alignment tool, then rivet them on?

Someone let me know what you think about doing this task. Any suggestions or ideas

I will need to do the same for the rear spar reinforcements, but it is much easier since it already has the top hole already factory drilled. ( You like how I called it a FACTORY?)

One observation that I made today is now that I finally got the ball rolling on this build, my motivation has increased dramatically. Its a decent drive from my house to the hangar but I enjoy it now.

Lets see if the weatherman lets me get some painting done soon. Hope everyone is doing well.

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

As always Bruce, awesome detail. Reading about the RC method you mentioned at the start of your post, well it reminded me of "Flight of the Phoenix". I wish I could give you some input to your questions, but I'm learning a lot from your posts. I can see I have a long ways to go.

Todd

[Bruce_L]

This time I made a video explaining the process. Shot it in landscape (horizontal) on my phone. Not sure how big the file is either. Trying to figure out where I would need to post it.

Do I need to start a youtube channel for all my Badland stuff? I am not a video expert by far. Maybe they can overdub my voice with some ultra-smooth talking AI voice. Make me sound like I am really smart somehow!!!!

Not interested in growing subscribers for income, just want to help anyone who is struggling with their build.

Imagine how the old timer experimental guys figured the stuff out. All they had was a public library card and a lot of guts to get in that thing
and see if it flies!

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

It's a your call type of thing to either start a YT channel and maintain it, or just get yourself a DropBox (Basic membership - free) which gives you 2GB of storage. I use both methods because I've done many YT videos, but I also have my DropBox because it's easy to post to. I have my DropBox account generate the URL and I put that in the posts here on the forum. The DropBox is by far easier, but there is a limit as to how many videos (or other data) can be stored with the free membership. WIth YT it's a bit more complex of a process to post a video, but you're unlimited as to how many videos you want to post. Also, with YT, the videos actually link into the forum and will play inside of the posted message. With DropBox, the link is added and users will need to click on the link to have the video open in a new window/tab and play.

You can also just attach the video to the post just like you do with the pictures, but there is a size limit of 5000 MB. We have plenty of storage, so you're welcome to use that method. If you run into issues, just let me know and we'll figure them out. Sometimes the forum app is a bit finicky.

I do love video though. As they say, a picture is worth a 1000 words, and a video is worth an entire dictionary's worth!

Todd

[LA F2 Flyer]

Like Todd, I also love video. Bruce, very nice job aligning the wings! Looking good.

[Bruce_L]

I got a break in the weather and managed to get all 4 lift strut brackets painted.

I made sure the bolt holes were clear of any welding debris and the strut bolt fit smoothly before I painted them.

Seems like a shame to cover them up (mostly) with fabric later on as they look great. The paint will keep any rust away as the brackets are hidden under the covering material.

I love the detail of the laser cut BA logos on the parts. They are just begging to be backlit with blue LEDs , but that's just more weight and work!

I have been using Rustoleum automotive grey primer and gloss white for the top coat finish.

One coat primer, then 3 light coats of color. Chris recommends you at least coat the inside with primer. I asked him this after I made my last update here. Not sure if I would get this kind of great customer support from just any kit supplier.

I let the paint dry for about a day then "baked" the parts afterward in the oven over very low heat, less than 200 F. I turn on the cold electric oven set for 350 F for about 45 seconds then shut it off. I do this with the parts already in the oven so I don't lose any heat when I open the door. Basically, I warm up the oven, let the parts bake until the oven cools off, then repeat about 4 or 5 iterations.

DONT DO THIS WITH YOUR WIFE ABOUT TO BAKE A CAKE, she will ruin your parts!!!! (and no this did not happen to me but almost perhaps)

I call this process, "poor man powder coating" and used it all the time on motorcycle restorations.

Now I am wafting on some supplies to come in and I can get back to building. Need the HYSOL for gluing the brackets to the spars as well as the jury strut tubing bends.

FYI -- I also started a list of vendors and suppliers where I am sourcing some of my materials that I cant find locally.

Hope everybody is doing well.

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

Looks really sharp. I like the poor man's powder coating process!

Todd

[Bruce_L]

So today was a good day to test fit the newly painted lift strut brackets. My plan for today was to get all the numbers for the left wing in spec as per the build manual. Sweep, Dihedral and Washout at the tip.

So what is washout anyhow? For those who know skip this and go to next paragraph. Washout is where the wing can have a zero degree incidence (angle relative to the chord line through the wing) at the root while having a few degrees negative incidence at the wing tip. This effectively puts a small twist in the wing. So the wingtip has different flying properties when compared to the wing at the fuselage (root). Washout helps with slow flight and flights at higher angles of attack. For example, in a steep climb, its possible you can begin to experience the onset of a stall at the portion of the wing near the fuselage, but since the wingtip section has washout built into it, the angle of attack at the wingtip is not as aggressive and the wingtip is not yet in the early stages of trying to stall even though the wing at the root is already starting to stall. Its built into a lot of aircraft as a safety feature and its awesome that this is built into the Badland 103 wing for you. (Chris wants to sell you more than one plane, ha, its a business strategy move, we caught him this time!)

So I need to tell you my big mistake I made today. My goal here is to help you guys out so here I go.

I got everything set up to work on the left wing. I did all my adjustments and every time I got it pretty close, it would get all out of whack. When I tried to remove the 2x4 wing stand from under the two spars near the wingtip, the whole plane would flex and I felt the wing was going to drop or sag a whole bunch. Anybody care to guess what was wrong?

So after a few tries I figured it out. Here is my mistake. I tried to adjust the left wing to completion with both lift struts attached to the spars with the pretty white brackets but I did not have any struts or brackets connected to the right wing. Only the bare right wing was hung on the plane still resting on a support stand. All the right wing parts were still in a pile on the table. All I had done on the right wing before was set the sweep which has nothing to do with weight/loading.

So I threw on all the right wing parts and got them in a crude-sorta-close position and snugged the brackets down. And guess what, now I could
remove the wing stands from BOTH wingtips and the wings were balanced and supported only by the 4 lift struts. When I checked the left wing now, it was pretty darn close and a few small tweaks and it was dialed in100%. The fuselage was trying to flex with only one wing configured properly and the plane was tilting on my homemade stand too. I even went so far as to try to add some offset weight on the right of the fuselage to fix the problem. Man I felt STOOPID later on!

Here are my results from todays efforts.

Below is my 2 1/2 inches of dihedral. I made me some wooden measurement blocks/sticks for 5/8 and 2 and 1/2 so I don't have to fiddle around with a tape measure over and over.

Below is my 5/8 inch washout at the rear spar (at the left wingtip) Look at the wooden spacer block under the spar and on top of the 4 ft aluminum level

Below is the level bubble with the 5/8 washout verified. (I held the level to the spar with velcro straps. This velcro came all the way from Minnesota as these were the velcro straps Chris used to hold a large rigid foam block underneath my fuselage for the trip home on my flatbed trailer. I did not ask to crate the fuselage, it rode home on top of the crate that had my wings and tail surfaces inside. So I can now call it official Badland brand Factory Velcro huh?)

I used a ratchet snap to pull the two leading edges together since I still have to drill the hole for the removable front wing mount bolts.

All I have to do is repeat the process for the right wing. Should be done in just a few minutes. Got beat up a bit today on the left wing.

Some key points
1. Make sure your fuselage is level front to back and side to side. This can be done at all the fuselage crossmember tubing above the pilot seat area.
( Look at the last picture posted above and you can see my silver/blue 24 inch level there on top of the fuselage)
2. Hang everything on both wings before you try to dial in one side.
3. TAKE YOUR TIME, think it through.
4. All of this can be done without a helper with a few large C-clamps and some creativity.
5. My confidence is much better after figuring this out. Glad I got beat up today after all.

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

Wow Bruce, I can't thank you enough for the detail you're putting into your posts of your build. In a way, it brings a lot of anxiety. I've never put together anything with such complexity, and at the same time, with your detailed posts I think I'll be able ok - just expect A LOT OF DUMB QUESTIONS! I have a lot of trouble with reading comprehension. My mind doesn't put things together easily from written text. I'm a hands-on show me type of learner, and your pictures are excellent in helping me to understand what you're describing. I also appreciate not only what you did, but why you did it (the reason for the work in the first place).

Thank you so much.

Todd

[Bruce_L]

Todd, the only possible dumb questions is: " Hey Bruce, why don't you just give me your finished plane? You can build another."

[Bruce_L]

I forgot to add a picture from my post yesterday.

This is a picture of the left rear spar lift strut bracket on the rear spar. It is held on with a hose clamp and I put a strip of carpet underneath to protect the new paint. I actually think the carpet helps adds grip since it squishes around the metal surfaces and adds more bite to the situation.
Don't overtighten the hose clamp as you don't want to do any damage to the spar. Snug it up until you can't move the bracket with your hand.

If you zoom in you can see all kinds of marks I made on the aluminum spar. Most of these were from my first attempt where I screwed up and didn't consider the right wing as part of the equation. I had so many errors I had to change colors on my pens !

To get the washout correct I would do the following:

1. Get my level and 5/8 spacer block set up at the wingtip ( the wing should be free standing now, with no supports touching it)
2. Look at the bubble and figure out if I have too much or too little washout. You can grab the trailing edge and manually torque the wing to see which way you need to go to get a zero bubble. Make you a reference mark somewhere so you know the current location of the bracket on the spar.
3. Lift the wing and put one or two scrap 2x4 blocks under it. This takes the load off the lift strut so you can slide the bracket as needed.
4. Loosen the hose clamp so that the bracket can slide either way.
5. Now all you do is slide the bracket left or right ( I did this in 1/4 inch increments) tighten the clamp, remove the blocks and check the bubble.

You will slide bracket right to add washout as this will lift the trailing edge. Or, slide the bracket to the left to reduce washout, effectively lowering the trailing edge, less upward force from the strut trying to lift the wing. Remember, these directions are for the LEFT WING only.

I hope this explains the process better.

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

Todd, the only possible dumb questions is: " Hey Bruce, why don't you just give me your finished plane? You can build another."

HA! OK, so I won't ask that dumb question ... but it did enter my mind

Thanks Buddy!

Todd

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

To get the washout correct I would do the following:

1. Get my level and 5/8 spacer block set up at the wingtip ( the wing should be free standing now, with no supports touching it)
2. Look at the bubble and figure out if I have too much or too little washout. You can grab the trailing edge and manually torque the wing to see which way you need to go to get a zero bubble. Make you a reference mark somewhere so you know the current location of the bracket on the spar.
3. Lift the wing and put one or two scrap 2x4 blocks under it. This takes the load off the lift strut so you can slide the bracket as needed.
4. Loosen the hose clamp so that the bracket can slide either way.
5. Now all you do is slide the bracket left or right ( I did this in 1/4 inch increments) tighten the clamp, remove the blocks and check the bubble.

You will slide bracket right to add washout as this will lift the trailing edge. Or, slide the bracket to the left to reduce washout, effectively lowering the trailing edge, less upward force from the strut trying to lift the wing. Remember, these directions are for the LEFT WING only.

I hope this explains the process better.

OK, stupid question number one ... what's the difference between changing the washout and changing the dihedral of the wing? Is the difference that washout changes front to back spare angle or height and dihedral is left/right angle up/down to help stabilize the plane in flight?

Todd

[Bruce_L]

Dihedral/Washout Setup

I found this bulletin last night after I already finished setting up my wings. It was good confirmation for me as I was not sure of my method even though my numbers looked correct.

https://www.univair.com/content/PIP_SM008.pdf

It is pretty similar to my process except this is intended for struts that were removed for a factory built plane that has already been flown a while.
(Example, a plane had its wings removed to replace the covering material on them)

The main difference is that any adjustments are made by turning the rod end bearings (picture below) in or out as needed, whereas my process had me sliding the temporary brackets left or right to get the numbers right on the wing.

It mentions setting dihedral using front strut and washout by using the rear strut.

I preset about 8-10 exposed threads on my bearings which gives me about 5/16 " room for future adjustments if needed. Did not want to have too many exposed threads as this would leave me less grip inside the aluminum part that inserts into the end of the aluminum strut tubing. This looks similar to some pictures of other planes I have seen already flying.

Taking a few days off as I am waiting for my HYSOL adhesive to arrive.

I will then drill and Cleco the strut brackets and finally get to pull my 1st rivets on this build.

Spending some time now figuring out my motor mount layout. Trying to keep up the momentum for sure.

[Bruce_L]

ANSWER:
Washout changes the height of the back outside corner of the wing (near the tip) while dihedral changes to height of entire wing relative to the location of where the wing bolts to the fuselage (AKA - at the root)

Washout = Twist (trailing edge is tiny bit higher than the leading edge, but only at the outermost section of the wing)

Dihedral = Height of spar at wingtip is greater than height of the same spar at the root.

[LA F2 Flyer]

Interesting and very informative. Bruce, were your struts already cut to length? I'm sure aspects of the kit have changed over time, but as I recall I fitted my brackets to the spars first, then cut the struts to fit. (To be honest, it's been a while so I may be mistaken about that.)

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

ANSWER:
Washout changes the height of the back outside corner of the wing (near the tip) while dihedral changes to height of entire wing relative to the location of where the wing bolts to the fuselage (AKA - at the root)

Washout = Twist (trailing edge is tiny bit higher than the leading edge, but only at the outermost section of the wing)

Dihedral = Height of spar at wingtip is greater than height of the same spar at the root.

Excellent, and thank you for the additional detail. I get it now, and I also like the threaded method of adjustment other than it does add a little weight to the plane, but I don't see it as enough to cause weight problems. Hopefully the inner locking nut should lock the threads together nicely, preventing any issues.

Thanks,
Todd

[Bruce_L]

Yes, the lift strut tubing was already cut to size on my kit. Ends were clean, I did not have to do any prep to them at all.

There were 2 pieces that were about 4 or 5 inches longer than the other 2.

Long ones attach to the front spar, shorter ones go to the rear spar.

The tubing for the jury struts appears to be cut to length as well.

[CraigDowning]

Thanks Bruce. I had already figured out that both wings needed to be attached to be able to get the set up correct. My F2 is at a standstill at the moment because of a no heat issue in my pole barn. I think that I will be greatly helped by watching as your aircraft progresses. Please continue with your posts.

[Bruce_L]

Can I get a few of those with kits (finished or unfinished) to post some close up pictures of your JURY STRUT brackets even if they are not yet mounted on the wings yet. I am talking about the curved bracket that rivets to the spars.

I am also requesting some pictures of the jury strut brackets installed on the spar. Thanks

FYI - If you find that you are having trouble posting pictures, be sure and only try to upload pictures in LANDSCAPE orientation (wideways not vertical)

It took me a while to figure out why some of my pictured refused to load.

I appreciate the help guys!!!!

[ksatter26]

As I remember, Chris changed tge design of these brackets some time ago. I believe the mounts tabs were reoriented. I'll have to check my Build Log entries as I remember posting pictures.

As to mounting, I made my measurements and used double-sided tape to position them to the spars to locate and drill the rivet holes.

[Bruce_L]

Today I started drilling the lift strut tubing for the aluminum insets that have the threads that accept the ball bearing rod ends as well as drilling the cast aluminum lower strut fitting where the two lift strut tubes meet at the base of the fuselage directly under the upper pivot bolt that holds on the rear spar.
I drilled the aluminum upper insets 1st and had no issues.

To do the upper inserts, I first taped the insert to the tubing, drilled one hole all the way through both the outer tubing and internal insert, I then put in a Cleco and proceeded to drill the remaining 5 holes. I figure the single Cleco will maintain alignment better than my piece of tape will.

However, after I drilled the holes for the aluminum inserts I then laid out my marks to drill the lower fitting. 6 marks/dots again for 6 more holes on the opposite end of the tubing I just finished drilling. Just as I was about to drill the 1st hole I stopped and though about tool access.

I came real close to making a HUGE MISTAKE.

You see, the aluminum insert fittings at the top of the lift strut are single fittings and you can drill and rivet any where around the circumference of the tube as there is nothing blocking access to your holes you just drilled to allow you adequate space to squeeze in a rivet. There are 6 rivets at each end of the lift strut tubing. I followed the manual and used a new #30 drill bit and the hole size was a perfect fit for the rivets supplied for that operation. Again, there are small plastic bags preloaded with the type and quantity of rivets for each required operation.

The potential disaster is this: The fitting for the lower lift strut has two tubes that accept the 2 lift strut tubes that come down from the wing spars. If you just randomly start drilling your rivet holes (based on the 6 dots you drew on the tube)through the material you could wind up with the holes drilled in such a way as there is no way you can pull the rivet for a hole that is blocked by the cast aluminum that is part of the fitting. It looks like the letter Y (wye).

Below is a picture of how I made sure there was room to get the rivet gun to have access to pull the rivet. You can see the duct tape I used to hold the two pieces together before I committed to drilling. The dashed black lines tell me how far the aluminum piece slides into the round lift strut tubing so I can make sure I split the difference on hole locations and not have any holes located to close to an edge I cant see since it is hidden inside the tube while I drill it.

This is the other side, I have not drilled any other holes yet, I am checking to make sure the rivet gun head has clearance. Look close and you can see one of the 6 the black dots that I drew with a sharpie pen using the hole pattern I copied from the build manual, it has two rows of 3 holes on a diagonal.

Below is a picture of the aluminum part with only one Cleco installed to verify all is good before I drill the other 5 holes. Look close and you can see another one of the black dots that I will need to drill with the #30 bit. 6 holes in all per each end of the strut.

I AM SO GLAD I TOOK MY TIME AND THOUGHT THIS COMPLETLY THROUGH BEFORE I JUST STARTED DRILLING AWAY IN A RUSH.

You know a guy in an airplane factory gets trained on a task and does the same operation a zillion times, but I am not that guy so I go slow. Imagine how much it costs to order replacement parts to do this all over again. It was possible that if I screwed this up, there would be two rivets that couldn't be pulled. My only option would be to drill 2 new holes in a not-quite-right location as my only recovery move.

I am learning here, but I would rather be flying instead!

[Bruce_L]

While I am waiting for my Hysol (pronounced EXPENSIVE!) epoxy adhesive to arrive, I decided to try to stay busy on assorted small items. This is how I am going to finally get this plane finished!

Hoping that Monday I can get all 4 lift struts riveted and finished. I do not want to drill the holes in the spars for the lift strut brackets until I have the completed struts done.

I took some measurements at the front of the fuselage 1/2 inch round tubing for my motor mount design. I cleaned up a few bits of powder coating with a small round file and was able to get the 1/4 inch (size AN4) bolts to fit. The AN4 bolts should be insanely strong for a small engine like mine. ( FYI - AN4 has a tensile strength of 125,000 pounds per sq in) That's hard to fathom. The fit was tight which us what I want. No room to allow a vibration to try to egg out the hole.

I noticed I already had some surface rust on the pre-installed black Flaperon droppers that act as the hinges for the flaperons. They are made of steel, not aluminum. There can be a lot of moisture in the air here as we have typically high humidity year round. Rust is a normal thing here.

The two that I have yet to install that were still in the sealed bag were fine. They have a very thin coat of black paint that will probably start to rust around here in a month or two. The original black paint is just a thin coat probably applied to offer some protection until delivered. I would recommend that you put on your own color and add some long term protection just to be safe.

I decided to use my dremmel tool and a rotary stainless wire brush to clean up the rust, and put on a good heavy coat of rustoleum red oxide primer.
I went with brush on paint since its what I had laying around the house.

I needed to paint all six flaperon droppers anyhow, as I want white colored airplane bits and pieces to match the white fuselage anyhow, so this was no big deal to me.

I will use the same gloss white spray paint on these that I did the lift strut brackets with.

I feel like I didn't get a whole lot done today but I am at least still making some progress.

Hope everyone is doing well out there.

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

Good observation and points about rust. It wasn't a few weeks after moving to Florida before I noticed my large power tools in the pole barn were rusting. My poor bench top milling machine is going to take a lot of work to get back into spec. The pole barn is open at the front and back, plus lots of vents at the top roofline. Being that the F5 is Titanium, I have already researched about rusting. It's a different type of metal, but still metal, right? The bad news (but not really) is that Titanium does rust. However, the rust is clear! Yep, the Titanium will hold its gray/silver look even after rusting. Also, the rust is much like rust on regular metals in that it's a protectant. Lots of people don't realize that's really what rust is. It protects the surface of the metal. With other metals, water will eventually eat through and destroy the metal. Typically, that's why it takes some time for regular metals to rust through to a point of damage, according to what I've researched. Still, protecting the metal with paint or other coatings that will prevent the rust at all is best. However, that's not needed with Titanium. The rust that does form becomes absolutely air/water tight. Once the Titanium rust forms, it prevents any further decay of the Titanium, at all! Totally Weird! Of course, precaution needs to be taken for parts that vibrate or have some sort of movement in any connection point. That would cause the rust to rub off and start again, eventually fully damaging the part. Also, since the entire plane is not Titanium (especially the engine mounts), I'll be following your lead and doing all I can to prevent any rust on those parts of the aircraft. I certainly don't need my plane looking like some of my tools are right now! When I first arrived in Florida, I was wondering why I've seen some tool lockers with dehumidifiers (similar to the ones used in gun lockers), quickly learning why!

Todd

[LA F2 Flyer]

Todd, isn't aluminum the same? (Oxidizes and as a result creates it's own protective coating?)

Bruce, I take it your flaperons are not yet built (hence the droopers being "free and clear" to paint)?

I imagine the inside of the drooper can stay clear of paint, since the nylon sleeve will essentially seal it, correct?

Also, did you decide to use six rivets for each lower strut attachment, or did the build instructions change? (I believe my instructions requested four for each strut.)

I love the detail you are providing with your build. I'm sure future builders will find it incredibly useful!

[Bruce_L]

According to page 98 in my build manual (note : there may have been/will be some updates to manuals) , there are 6 rivets at each fitting at the end of the aluminum lift strut tubing. To be sure I counted every single rivet in the pre-packaged bag of specific rivets for that assembly task. I had the exact total amount of rivets in the bag. 6 lift strut fitting locations, 4 at the wings, two at the lower fuselage, times 6 rivets each = 36 altogether provided in the bag.

They are some special rivets for sure. They have a dark grey tint to the metal. Probably very strong shear capability is my guess.

The rivets supplied with my kit are all bagged in individually labeled bags. I only open a bag when I am about to use them all up on a task, otherwise I risk losing some or worse yet, getting them mixed up and losing track of what type of rivet it was. There is a large variety of rivet types in my kit, all based on the load the rivet is designed to handle. I am sure rivets for things like the instrument panel or windshield plexiglass are not as tough as rivets provided for items such as lift strut brackets or wing root doubler plates where the wing bolts pass through. This is probably for cost and weight savings. So, I don't need to mix them up.

If I remember today, I will try to post a picture here of an assortment of rivets in my inventory.

I am actually having a good time with this build now. I am over the hump of dread fearing I don't have a clue where to begin. Cant wait to sit in the seat and look to the side and see the uncovered wings finally in place, while the airframe is supported only by the wheels and cabane gear underneath.

Hoping this crazy weather here gives me a window of opportunity to paint all my control bits like rudder/brake pedals and other assorted fittings.

A little bit every day and I get to fly this thing!

[LA F2 Flyer]

Like you, it took me a bit of time before I was comfortable enough to truly enjoy the build process. I did hit some snags along the way, but once I got past the idea that anything could be fixed (or replaced) if messed up, my nerves settled and I kept moving forward.

Prior to my build I didn't realize how many different types of rivets there are. I still any spares in their original packets, just in case I need them down the line.

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

Todd, isn't aluminum the same? (Oxidizes and as a result creates it's own protective coating?)

I'm not sure about aluminum, but that does make sense. I've never seen a rusted (red) aluminum can before!

Todd

[Bruce_L]

CORRECTION - The rivet count was 48 rivets in the bag. (not 36 as I mentioned in an earlier post)

Here is an example of how the unique rivets were packaged in my kit. This is still not all of them, just an example of some of the bags.

The open bag of 48 rivets will get used completely today on the lift struts, both left and right.

[Bruce_L]

My Hysol 9460 2-part epoxy arrived yesterday. Today I got an early start and made finishing both left and right lift struts my goal for the day.

I do need to mention that I did not have to cut any of the provided aluminum tubing for this part of the 103 build. There were 2 long tubes and two tubes that were about 5 inches shorter. Long ones go to the leading edge/front spar. Make it a point to label which ones are front and which ones are rear struts.

I set up everything at the plane to confirm I had not accidentally gotten something backward/wrong before I started drilling.

The Hysol comes in a double tube, that looks like 2 medical syringes next to each other, a double cartridge. This particular epoxy is a 1 to 1 mix ratio which makes it easy to figure out. Some other Hysol epoxies have weird fractional ratios and I am glad this one is simple.

I bought the super-deluxe dispenser gun that you snap the epoxy cartridge into and squirted out what I thought would be enough to glue fittings on one side of the strut.

I opted to not buy the plastic mixing nozzles as I would rather mix on an old plastic lid from some food item, peanuts, coffee etc... Plus I am not sure if the nozzle wastes some epoxy if you don't use the whole tube.

Be sure and wipe the lid with acetone to make sure it is clean. Most of these lids are polypropylene plastic and are great mixing trays. Toss it when you are done.

Before I dispensed any of the 9460, I prepped all my aluminum for final assembly. This involved:
1. Scuffing any areas with red scotch brite pad that will come into contact with the epoxy. I even cut a 1 inch piece of scuffed up the inside of the tubing at both ends.
2. Making sure all holes were deburred, as well as blowing compressed air in the tubes and fittings to get rid of any aluminum bits from the drilling process earlier.
3. Wipe down with acetone.
4. Make some marks for alignment, as the holes wont be easy to see to line up with each other once the grey epoxy starts oozing out.

You can see my hole spacing in the picture below. There are 6 diagonally placed holes in total at each connection to the aluminum tubing.

Next I test fit to see how tight the insert is as I knew that if I load it up with a ton of epoxy, most of it will squeeze out as I slide in the insert into the tubing. Zoom in and you can see the swirl marks from the red scotch brite pad. You will see alignment marks in green sharpie to help line up the holes once the epoxy mess takes over. Make sure you keep track of which insert goes with which tube. I labeled all my stuff A and B to be safe.

By the way, the cast aluminum Y-fitting at the other end of the strut had a noticeably looser fit and I had to use more epoxy to make sure there were no dry spots yielding poor contact overall.

Below you will notice that as I start to slide on the insert, the excess epoxy starts to get pushed out. This is normal, it tells me I have enough epoxy inside. I just scraped this off and used it for the next insert. I found that I had plenty of working time as it was about 60 degrees in the hangar and had no issues with the 9460 trying to cure before I was done. If you do this in a warm setting your working time will decrease so don't mix too much, divide the big task into smaller segments perhaps.

Below, I wiped up the excess epoxy and placed my rivets in the holes. The sticky epoxy helped hold them in place too. Notice the green marks again.

Pulled 6 rivets and now one insert is complete! wiped down the epoxy residue. I think it turned out good.

Below is the complete lower assembly that attaches to the fuselage with the control rod end you see there.

So all went well and both left and right struts are finished. The epoxy will finish curing overnight.

I ended up having about a teaspoon of mixed 9460 left over. For today, I mixed 3 small batches to do all the fittings for left and right struts.

Too bad I didn't have my jury strut tubes prepped as the build manual calls for about that much 9460 before you crimp the tubes in the vice.

I pulled 48 rivets with no problems with alignment of the drilled holes either. I work slow but like it when things go as planned. No second chances with curing epoxy inside your fittings!

I have to put the build on hold for a few days but hope to start riveting those nice white lift strut brackets to the spars. There is a lot of drilling for that task. Will post updates as I make more progress.

Hope everyone is doing great today!!!!

[LA F2 Flyer]

Thanks for the continued very thorough write-ups! Your build is coming along beautifully!

I actually bought a big bag of the epoxy mixing nozzles and used them. While they remove the task of mixing the epoxy by hand, they DO waste a lot of epoxy, as you end up throwing the nozzle away if there is a long break between tasks. In hindsight, considering the cost of the epoxy itself, I would have been better off doing it your way.

[Bruce_L]

Todays goal was to permanently attach the lift strut brackets to the aluminum spars. The Hysol epoxy cured rock hard since I applied it 2 days ago.

I did an experiment for fun with the Hysol that was leftover from when I did the lift strut inserts/fittings. I put the leftover epoxy on two pieces of metal (big chunks I use for weight to hold stuff flat) with no prep whatsoever just to see if it would hold. When I came in today, the two pieces were seriously glued together. I couldn't pull them apart. That's a confidence builder for me when I go to fly my plane for sure. The rectangular steel bar weighs about 2 pounds. It is only held by about 1/2 inch of contact and the cured epoxy. I never throw my mixing lid away until I come back the next day and verify the batch I mixed cured properly. Don't ask me why I do this now as a check. Old story from a fiberglass boat project.

Once I was sure all my measurements and alignments were good, I began to drill with the #30 bit. The steel holes in the bracket act as guides and so the holes were super easy to do. Notice I still have the hose clamp on until I get 5 or 6 Clecos in place to hold the alignment steady.

You do not drill these 3 holes on the bottom of the bracket.

After drilling, I deburred the holes, scuffed up the area with red scotch brite pad, wiped with acetone, then mixed up the Hysol.

I figure I mixed up about the equivalent of less than 2 hersheys kisses worth of Hysol to do one bracket. Some did ooze out as expected and I just wiped it up. This was the amount needed to do one bracket.

I applied the Hysol to the bracket instead of directly to the aluminum spar. Was a lot less messy this way. I then used my alignment marks to get the bracket in place and started inserting the rivets.

I used an awl to help line up the holes since now the adhesive added a bit of thickness and not all the rivets want to go in freely.

This is after I put in all 30 rivets.

Here is the awl I use for lining things up on the project. Its pretty handy for all kinds of tasks. That rivet
tool is probably over 40 years old. Made in the USA

Trying hard to keep up the momentum on this build. A little every day if possible.

[Bruce_L]

The goal today was finish the other 2 lift strut brackets that go on the 2 front spars. Drill, prep, mix epoxy, then rivet the rest of the remaining 60 rivets.

Basically a repeat of yesterday. You can skip all this if you want, but do check out how I used some leftover epoxy with a picture at the bottom.

Today, i remembered to take a picture of how much Hysol epoxy I dispensed prior to mixing. The coins are my way of providing a size reference. That's
a whole lot of money for a rich airplane guy to have laying around!!!

This is how much I needed to do one bracket. There is a decent amount of surface area to cover with the mixture.

I noticed that there are 4 places on the bracket where moisture could accumulate and possibly cause some rust years later. The plane would have to be outside a good bit for this to really become a concern, but why not address it while I think about it.

Below I am pointing to one of those locations.

All I did was stuff some epoxy in the "groove/ditch" area to seal it up.

After applying the Hysol onto the bracket, I inserted and pulled 30 rivets for the task.

When, I finished that bracket, I repeated the process and finished the last of the brackets.

In total, there were 120 rivets used to hold on the 4 brackets. I had a rivet shaft jam inside my rivet gun on the last bracket and I discovered the
method to take it apart and clear out the jam. Again it was around 55 degrees in the hangar and I had plenty of working time with the epoxy.

I had a just tiny bit of mixed epoxy leftover from when I scraped off the excess epoxy that squeezed out from the last bracket when I pulled all the rivets tight. I hunted all over for a spot to put it to good use. I found it too.
The Hysol was used to fill the cavities in the small diameter bent tubing that is used for rudder travel stops/limit. The tubing is cut at an angle and is pretty sharp too. Almost looks like the tip of a a big fat hypodermic needle for an elephant.

Above, you will notice the grey epoxy next to the lower rudder hinge pin/tube. (pointed to with mixing stick) I waited until it was semi-cured then "Gooshed" it into the hollow cavity in the tubing. Now there wont be metal-to-metal contact in this area later on if the rudder slaps the limit post. I had noticed this problem earlier and was thinking about maybe putting some plastic or rubber hose on it as some sort of protection. I like this idea better. The cured Hysol is pretty hard the next day. It kinda reminds me of some stuff my dad used to fix his boat with called Marine-Tex (I think that was the name) It was grey too and cured rock hard as well. I bet it was a lot less expensive the what I had to use today. I saw a vendor online that sells the same Hysol in a 2-can set for almost $250. Ouch!!! I do hope everyone is doing well.

[Bruce_L]

Now that everything related to lift struts is done, it's now time to finish up the wing.

I still have to do the following left to do on the wings:

1. Drill 2 rear bolt holes (bottom only) where the rear spar pivots to allow for folding wings. The top hole is already pre-drilled at the factory.

2. Figure out a method to locate the center and drill the 2 front holes where the removable pin is located where the front spar meets the
fuselage tubing. The issue here is that its a blind hole and you cant see the "final destination" for the drill bit since it is under the spar material.
I think I have a solution, thought about this a while. Not much room to get measurement devices under the spar for measuring. These holes
are super critical and must be dead on.

3. Drill, trim, fit and rivet the thick spar doubler (reinforcement) caps. One on top, one on bottom. I love these, as they really beef up the section of the
spar at the end that connects to the fuselage. Confidence builder for sure.

4. Cutout some of the material from the rear spar at the root so the 2 1/2 dia. spar tubing clears the fuselage tubing when
the wing is swung all the way back for storage/transport.

5. Start attaching the aluminum (pre-shaped) trailing edge material. Requires some creativity for a tool to work the aluminum shape along
the capstrips.

I had enough time today to get item one from my list completed. A little bit of work as often as possible is the plan to get this thing done.

This bolt is only passing through the top hole. The bottom hole needs to be drilled now.

Since I had to remove the bolt to drill the hole, I needed to do something to keep the wing in the exact alignment as if the bolt was still in place. My plan is to drill the bottom hole by coming in from the top hole with the drill bit. This seems like the easiest/most precise approach.

Below you can see how I used a large C-clamp and a block of wood to hold the wing in place before I removed the bolt. I cut a slight angle on the block about 25 degrees to accommodate the round tubing it has to contact at the top.

Here is another view. Notice the black rubber bungee as a safety device while I am doing this. Didn't want anything going wrong here.

I wrapped some painters tape around the block to keep it in place if the drill vibration makes it fall out. There is not much tension on the C-clamp, just enough to keep the wing in alignment with the bolt hole in the fuselage tubing. I adjusted the grip of the clamp while trying to slide the
bolt in and out of the existing hole. When it was really easy to move, I knew the bolt was centered and not scrubbing on one side of the fuselage tube the bolt passes through. This is a vertical tube that is welded to a larger crossmember that carries the rear spar loads to the fuselage uppers
The goal of all this setup is to give the drill bit a vertical guide for a "Can't-mess-it-up" drilling method. You get one chance to get this right.


Below are the tools I used to get this done.

Look carefully at the drill bit in the drill and you can see that I put a few wraps of painters tape at the end near the chuck of the drill. Since I am drilling the bottom hole by coming in from the top, I didn't want the drill bit to chew away at the already PERFECT top hole so the tape prevents that. At first I was going to use a larger bit, but that left no extra space for the tape to fit and so I went with a smaller bit and would finish up the final hole size with a reamer and a round file. I did the final hole cleanup/sizing by coming in from below of course.

Once I got everything set up, I drilled the hole from the top. This worked great. The spar is actually pretty thick material. After I drilled all the way through, I came in from underneath with the reamer. I would ream just a little then try to get the bolt threads to start to try to dig into the aluminum. This took several tries but once I got close to the right hole size I could feel the bolt threads grab and dig in. I wasn't worried about hurting the AN bolt since it is much harder than the aluminum anyhow. I reamed one more pass and could now get the threads to start to show on the bottom of the spar.

Check it out, success!. Peek-a-boo !!!

All I had to do now was finish up with the round file. A little at a time constantly checking with the bolt. It didn't take long and the bolt passed through smoothly, no slop or free play either.

I put a castle nut on it and was off to complete the hole for the right wing.

Next I will have to rivet these spar doublers in place. Don't have my drill press at the hangar so that will be another days work.

Its funny that I actually was terrified before of doing any of this work because I was afraid I would would screw it up. My secret weapon is TIME.

I take my time and think through the process. I basically ask myself are you about to mess this up, how about a quick double check before you begin. So far so good.

[LA F2 Flyer]

Looking good Bruce. You are definitely being meticulous in the process of mounting the wings. Very impressive.

This build log is likely to be invaluable to future kit builders! Between your build and Kurt's, there's plenty of good information to be found here!

[Badland-F5 Pilot]

Bruce, you are so precise and methodical on your build, it scares me to a degree. I don't want to screw up on my build and I don't fully understand each step you're taking. However, I know I have a lot of resources here for help. I'm not a patient person (terrible fisherman), but will have to work on the "if in doubt, don't" type of thinking and if I have doubt, I need to check with all of you first! I can't afford another plane if I screw up the first one! Thanks for the detailed posts. These are great.

Todd

[Bruce_L]

Thanks GuyZ, I am certainly learning a lot.

One thing I try to do is to look ahead and see if something I am about to do now will cause a conflict or fitment issue later on with some other part of the plane. Once the rivets are set and the Hysol cures, you are committed!

Wait till you see how I mark/drill the holes for the front 2 1/2" aluminum spar to fuselage mount where the removable 5/16 clevis pins pass through.

I hope to swing both wings to their transport/storage position sometime this week.

And I do hope this info helps other soon-to-be builders.

It takes a lot of time to take and edit pictures and do these write-ups. Its a good way for me to wind down at home after a good build day anyhow.

I am just about leave now to go to the hangar and quoting another famous builder it's "BACK TO WORK !"

[Bruce_L]

Today I have two goals on my list.

1. Drill the spar doublers and get them ready to rivet to the 2 1/2 inch aluminum spars

2. Drill at least one of the spars so I can insert the 5/16" AN Clevis (That is the one that you remove to fold the wing back for storage)

The spar doublers were easy to drill once I got the drill press set up. ( A gift from my older brother when he retired from go-kart racing)

It's definitely not mandatory to have a drill press for this build, it just speeds things up when you are doing many of the same exact part.

This is the drill bit I used for the doublers today. I bought a brand new set of drill bits before I began this build. From 1-/16 to 1/2" with about 30 bits in the set. I knew I would need to drill lots of precision wholes so I got a decent set.

I drilled the hole undersized ( 19/64" ) as usual. I can fix too small, can't fix too big.

Drilled the first one with a squirt of WD-40, that was a mistake as the aluminum is pretty soft. Did the last 7 doublers dry and the drilling went much quicker through the material anyhow.



Next, I got to the rough inside diameter with the reamer. Finished up with the round file. Tested with the wing bolt as I slowly removed material
You can see a few doublers I already finished on top of the wooden block on the workbench.

Now that I had all 8 doubler plates ready, it is time for item 2 on my list today.

I had to figure out a way to mark the location for the hole in the 2 1/2 " front spar where the removable clevis pin will insert.

Here is my solution. Dug through my assorted junk/scraps and came up with this pointer jig. (not sure what to call it???)

I took a wooden dowel and sharpened a point by spinning it in a drill and pressing against some course sandpaper to make a centered point.

I then dug through my assorted tubing and found a metal tube (old camping stuff???) that the dowel fits inside of. The dowel was a little
loose in the tube so I wrapped it a few times with painters tape until it fit snug enough inside the metal tube. I needed it to be loose enough
to be able to slide it in the tube later

I drilled a few holes in a scrap of 3/4 plywood for some zip ties to pass through and tied the black colored metal tube to one end.
I put some tape on the tube too so it wouldn't slip in the zip ties. Any movement or slipping in this jig makes it worthless.

I then made a T-stand (out of more scrap plywood ) for my jig and rested the whole thing on the fuselage tubes above the pilot area of the airframe

Notice I have some spring clamps holding the jig in place. To set it up, all I did was slide the jigs base around until I got the point of the dowel to line up dead center inside the vertical white tubing that is the spot where the 5/16 removable clevis pin passes through.

Below is a picture of the wooden dowel point centered perfectly into the white tubing.

Below is a picture where you can see how well the point on the dowel lines up.

Now that the dowel in the jig is dead center all I had to do was swing the wing back into place (again resting against my wooden blocks that mark the position for wing sweep I set much earlier) put some tension on the ratchet strap, and MAKE SURE THE WING IS SUPPORTED BY LIFT STRUTS ONLY AFTER GETTING DIHEDRAL AND WASHOUT SET! The hole you are about to drill is for a ready to fly wing, remember that.

I slid the dowel up above the aluminum spar that is now underneath it, put on a tiny bit of black craft paint on the dowel point and let the dowel drop down and contact the round spar below. Slid the dowel back up, taped it so it wouldn't drop again and I had a perfect black dot for the location of where to drill.

Below you can see the black dot on top of the, about 1mm in size. That was a ton of work just for a silly little black dot !!!

All I had to do now was hit the dot with the center punch and drill the new hole for the clevis pin.
Started out with a #30 drill bit then finished up with the same undersized bit I used to drill the bottom hole for the rear spars.

You can see the orange ratchet strap holding the front spar against my "Place Holder" blocks that are for wing sweep position.



After drilling, reaming and filing with the round file, the front clevis pin went in smoothly, no slop of misalignment.

I then drilled again from the top (just like I did for the back spar) and finished the bottom hole the same exact way I did the bottom hole for rear spar previously.

Left wing spar holes are done, now to drlll and install the thick curved doublers onto the 2 1/2 inch spar.

I needed to get the spar holes done before I rivet on the doublers since I plan to use the 5/16 bolt/clevis pin as alignment guides for drilling the 4 holes for the rivets that hold on each individual doubler plate.

That's a job for another day. Keeping the momentum going for sure.

Hope all this makes sense to everybody, its my crazy method and probably seems a bit strange to real aircraft mechanic out there.

[Bruce_L]

Cold rainy day today so I did not plan on working very long. But I have to at least try to get something done.

I wanted to get the thick aluminum curved doublers ready to rivet in place on the left wing root (2 1/2" spars)

I removed the wing and put it onto some sawhorses. I use 4 sawhorses for this project, plus 2 old school desks, and a homemade speaker stand (black) from my glory days of playing bass in a rock band. You can see it clearly in the last photo of this post. Real handy height for anything that needs to be higher than table height. I am using it here to hold the lift struts off the floor. This is a BBF free zone today.

The more stands you have, the less helpers you have to BBF. ( beg, bribe and feed !!! )

Since I already had the big center holes drilled, I put the doubler onto the spar and was then going to put in the 5/16 bolt as an alignment guide.

Had a small problem as the outside edge (facing wing tip) made contact with the plywood rib and the glue that connects the wood to the spar.

This obviously prevented the bolt from passing through the existing hole in the spar. There was about a 1/8 inch conflict. Simple fix with a flat file.

NOTE: I could have prevented this issue earlier by not drilling all 8 doublers in the exact center to start with. Instead, custom drill each one based on the amount of available clearance to the edge of the wooden rib. The hole would be offset either way (filing or drilling method)

After I got the bolt to pass through both the doubler and the spar beneath, I clamped the doubler with a small c-clamp, marked 4 holes ( one per corner based on pictures in the build manual) and drilled through both the doubler and spar below until I did all 4 holes (#30 drill)

I put a few Clecos in the holes to maintain the alignment while the bolt was still in there.

Flipped the wing and repeated the process for the bottom of the wing

After drilling all the holes for all 4 doublers, I cleaned up any burrs, and shot a coat of primer. I plan to paint the parts of the spars that are exposed the same spray enamel white color I have been using so far.

Look close on the spars and you can see where I taped down the drilled doubler plates so I don't get them mixed up and start cussing up a storm when all of a sudden the drilled #30 holes don't line up like before.

Hopefully I can get a lot more done tomorrow and the weather will let me apply some paint too.

I can't wait until I remove the material from the back of the rear spars and I get to swing the wings all the way back into the fully folded position.

The folding wings feature really sold me on this purchase. I can trailer my plane anywhere I want and fly with other BL103 pilots at their home field.

[Bruce_L]

The other day, while I was getting ready to rivet the thick curved aluminum doubers permanently onto the spars, I did a look-ahead move and decided not to permanently rivet the doublers at that time. My logic is that I still have to make the curved notches in the rear spars to allow for clearance when you fold the wings back 90 degrees aft for storage mode. The available room for clearance is very tight where the top fuselage tube meets the 2 1/2" spar tubing at the rear spar. I was also worried I might end up grinding through one of the rivets that holds the doubler on.

Below, the red arrow points to the location where there needs to be enough clearance to clear the white tubing when the wing retracts back.

To cut the notch in the picture above I chose to do it differently than how the build manual describe how to do it. The build manual describes using a drill and a 2 inch metal hole saw the cut out a circular notch in the rear spar area.

I had 2 reasons for my decision.
1. I was worried about the hole saw method in the manual not letting me get the clearance I needed on the 1st try and the chance I could slip and ruin
something while drilling.

2. I felt since I have the time, why not just go slow and carefully nibble away at the aluminum that is in the way nice and safe with a die grinder and
and a small bit. Besides, I don't have a 2 inch metal hole saw but do have an air compressor in the hangar and a small die grinder.

It took quite a while since I would grind a while then swing the wing back and see what else still needed to be removed and repeat. It took well over an hour as I didn't want to remove too much material so I would grind a while then swing the wing and test for clearance. I drew on the spar with a red sharpie pen where I still needed to remove more material. I put tape and cardboard all around as added protection if I slipped with the spinning bit.

After I finished the rear spar on the left wing, I used a piece of posterboard and made a tracing to use as a pattern for the right wing cutout. This
really helped speed up the process as now I could go at it and hog out a lot of metal quickly, as long as the small air compressor could keep up with me. Below is my tracing.

After I traced it, I cut out a pattern, flipped it over and taped it to the right spar, drew my guideline with a red sharpie and started grinding on that side now.

Here is what the finished notch looks like when the wing is retracted 90 degrees in the swing back position. I did go back with fine sandpaper and polish up all the rough edges leftover from the carbide cutter bit.

Here is the left wing folded all the way back. The effort to swing the wings is minimal, but do keep in mind that my fuselage
is still on the stand and sitting level right now.

I am now at the point where I feel I have got the major "DREAD" part of the build off my plate. It wasn't really all too difficult, just need to go slow and plan your work out.

So now the wings retract great, nothing hits, and I now own an airplane with folding wings that I can store just about anywhere and trailer
to whatever flying field I want to go to. I really hope we can get a Badland 103 meetup somewhere central in the USA so nobody has
to drive too far to fly with everybody. I know for a fact that I will be better at running the BBQ grill than the finesse of my landings will be!

Flying, Cooking out and Camping, it just doesn't get any better guyZ!

I even took a measurement when the wing was folded back to see what it would take to make a pair of " TRANSPORT STRUTS" that attach the rear lift strut bracket to the spot on the fuselage just in front of the forward base of the rudder. These would only need to be about 2 feet long, for each strut.

Hopefully the weather will give me a break and I can stay on track with this build. I hope everyone is doing well.