Day 46 - March 26th, 2016

This weekend the team was brought back together to make further progress on the aircraft. Many exciting things took place, including the installation of the engine. Some other key points that were made during this class is the shaping of the cowling head.

Before

The engine still had some further prep work that was needed before the actual installment. Things like making sure that the wiring harness that connects to the engine is fully in place, that the tubing on the engine is fully secured and routed, and that we have all hardware in means of placement. 

After
The engine was officially attached to the fuselage! This exciting moment goes down as an substantial progress for Teen Flight 4. Getting everything set and connected to the engine from the fuselage is now the next priority for this group.  

Cowling head
When it comes to shaping the cowling it is very important to remember when shaving it down from its original form, keep in mind that it's better to not take off too much at once. It is better to take off less material than more, If too much material is removed it's impossible to back track. Better safe then sorry. Measuring each piece to one another is also crucial, making sure that you are taking off as close to the right amount as possible. Not only this, but making sure they fit in uniform with the aircraft, as this is considered part of the 'frame'.  

As to the physical aspects that are coming in place
Mentors and students make their way with some filing, helping with these pieces to not have too rough of edges when built along in the process.

Being a student in this class, it takes my breathe away seeing this progress further towards our finished product. Along the way we learn many skills and tips that are beneficial to our education with material objects. Applying that knowledge and using it physically to create something of excellence is all the while worth it. Dedicating our time every Saturday to learn.



Friendly indeed, for needs may come. As a team we are one. 

Day 45 - March 12, 2016

This week at the hangar, the TF4 students mainly focused on the the empennage, the landing gear fairings, and the battery installation.  Noticeable progress was made on the vertical and horizontal stabilizer which are all apart of the area known as the empennage.  The main ribs that make up the vertical stabilizer were all riveted to the rear spar of the assembly.  



After this task, the skin for the vertical stabilizer was unwrapped and the painstaking job of deburring began.  As for the stabilator, the inspar ribs were aligned with the spar caps and will soon be riveted in the coming weeks.   



The landing gear fairings were predominately being sanded in order to smooth out the space between the front and aft halves of the main fairings, but other work was also completed.  The wheel fairing brackets were aligned and clecoed in order to maintain the fit between the two halves.



Also, the battery was installed with the help from the mounting bracket. 


As for other news, it is time to pass on the writing of the blog to another TeenFlight student member.  So this is Davis signing off.  It's been fun.  Thanks for reading and stay tuned!
   

Day 44 - March 5, 2016

On Saturday, the students worked on many tasks including the rudder and vertical stabilizer, the fuselage components, the landing gear, and the landing light.  As for the empennage, the rudder was completed after many pulled rivets and drilled holes.  Along with this task, the vertical stabilizer rear spar continued to be riveted, and the skin will be riveted soon. 



Many fuselage details were worked on including the installation of previous parts and the organization of the cables.  Also, the main landing gear struts were re-installed to verify the fit as well as to torque the main bolts.  The nose landing gear was also installed after time was spent aligning and drilling the assembly to the engine mounts.  The rear section of the engine mounts must also be completed with this step due to the fact that the nose gear bolts screw into them.  


 Stay tuned for next week!