Somewhat solidified the placement of things by clecoing in the supper strut mounts and rod end bearing lengths so that the measurements all look good. I'll be able to epoxy and rivet now that I've drilled out the AN5 mounting bolt holes thru the spar root bosses and used my 2.5" Milwaukee hole saw to cut out the half-moon section of the rear spar root to allow the folding process. I did epoxy and rivet in the lift strut leg inserts.
I must have learned something because the starboard wing went together in about a quarter of the time of the port wing.
I can now get to work on the starboard jury struts and the Badland (butt) rib.
I spent a good amount of time yesterday adding weather-stripping around the huge (self-designed) hangar door. I have rather large gaps all around which isn't great as the door faces north which did not help working conditions last winter. This will also stop the rain for getting in driven by that same north wing. I found a 50' roll of exterior adhesive backed 1/8" rubber (4" wide) for $41 at McMaster-Carr (another great place for miscellaneous hardware, etc.). I now have an order for 30' of garage door footer seal . That should round-out the weatherizing of the hangar/shop that I should have done when the building was erected.
That is really looking great. It'll be awesome when you get around to the Oratex. That folded wing look is going to be so ideal for storage and towing if you ever want to take it somewhere – uh, like Oshkosh?
Last August/September when I thought I was going to pickup my kit in Truman. I converted a boat trailer into a 16' flatbed. The thought was to have Chris crate the F3 so that I could drive up from Dallas and trailer it back. When Chris gave me a date, I stumbled on a nice deal for an 18' box truck one-way from Minneapolis (Bydget) along with a cheapie Southwest Airlines one-way Dallas to Minneapolis. All only slightly more than the crating charge. So I have the 16' flat-bed and have been contemplating the Oshkosh trip as I haven't been in a number of years.
Gotta finish the bird ... I just came in from installing the starboard Badland (butt) rib and epoxy/riveting in the spar lift strut mounts. I will get to work on the starboard jury struts tomorriw to complete the basic wings.
It's looking great.
