Day 26 - October 24, 2015

Today was another productive day at the hangar with progress being made on the fuselage wiring, engine cowling, fuel tank, wing spar, and canopy frame.  As for the engine cowling, more trimming has been done in order to obtain the proper fit.  The fuel tank was also tested for leaks and was then sealed to stop the leaking. 

 

 

 

As for the wings, the left wing was further riveted and wired for lights and the stall warning.  Within the next week or two, we will probably be skinning the wing.  The canopy frame underwent more fitting to the fuselage and the wires in the fuselage were re-wired between the rudder pedals.

 

 

Also today, TeenFlight mentor, Mr. Dan Benua, gave a very informative presentation on electrical systems and wiring.  We all learned a lot! 

 

 

Stay tuned for next week!

     

Day 25 - October 17, 2015

TF4 accomplished many tasks at the hangar today which included work on the engine cowling, the canopy, and the wings.  As for the engine cowling, this was the first day of work on the fiberglass.  The work that was done included sanding, drilling and cutting to make the cowling the right size in order to eventually fit around the firewall. 

 



The wings underwent a lot of progress today.  Most of the ribs and plates on the left wing were final drilled and riveted.  They are coming together well and skinning is not too far away.  Also, the left rear spar assembly is being prepared for riveting and is currently in position.

 

 



Work on the canopy and frame was fairly tedious.  The plexi-glass canopy involved sanding and trimming in order to align with the frame that is in the process of being fitted to the fuselage.  This process is mainly trial and error until the canopy frame lines up to the fuselage within one eighth of an inch.      

 

 

 

Stay tuned for next week!

 

Day 24 - October 10, 2015

Today was another great day at the hangar.  Many tasks were worked on, including the fuel tank, the wings, the canopy frame, and the forward fuselage.  As for the wings, the rib doublers and the rest of the ribs were prepared for assembly.  Also, the hinge assemblies for the flaperon were riveted to the corresponding ribs. 

 

 

The fuel tank mainly underwent the somewhat messy job of using Pro-Seal.  The tank was double checked for finished work, Pro-Sealed, and then riveted together.  The fuel return line was also fabricated and prepared for installation. 

 

 

 

As for the wiring and upper fuselage, the headset audio jacks were installed and the panel attach strips were riveted to the forward upper fuselage skin.

 

Canopy preparation on the skins.

 



    

Stay tuned for next week!

 

 

Day 23 - October 3, 2015

Today was the first day back for TeenFlight 4 after the summer break.  It felt nice to be back at the hangar and we made a lot of progress on the airplane.

We mainly worked on the assembly of the wings, the canopy frame, wiring, and the fuel tank.  After planning the wing building, we dove into the project and started by clecoing and trimming the forward and aft ribs.  We then clecoed them and they were all a good fit. 

As for the canopy frame, the gas struts were drilled, the frame was filed down to allow clearance for the later-installed canopy, and the forward and aft attach angles were drilled and lined up on the frame. 

The fuel tank was also worked on and mainly involved an inspection to remember what had been done on it during the previous class.  Many wires and harnesses were routed through the fuselage from the forward end to the aft end in order for the avionics to function correctly. 

Overall, this was a great first day back at the hangar!