Progress Update

There have been a few significant changes to what I'm doing with the project.

First, a friend of mine found a small crack and knot in one of the main spars (front spars on the top wing). Long story short, I ordered a new pair of blanks from Wicks. Haven't opened the box yet, but they're sitting in the garage.

Second, I decided that the workmanship on most of my ribs is lousy—airworthy, but ugly. Instead of having to make excuses to the FAA examiner when he looks at my project before covering, I decided I would rebuild the ribs and that from here on out I would set a new standard and do my best on everything. More than just staying together in flight, I want the workmanship to be my best.

Lucky for you, I have started a YouTube channel dedicated to aviation (called Aviation Fanatic) and am documenting my Super Baby Great Lakes build there, so you can see more info in what's involved. It looks like I'm on track for having all the ribs done in a total of 6-8 weeks—that should be within the next 2-3 weeks. I will continue to use this blog to document the build, too, so check both here and on the YouTube channel to get maximum info.

I plan on ordering the wing assembly kit next Monday (December 15th). So, immediately upon completing the ribs, I can begin wing assembly.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy the videos.

Jay

Woodwork on the Wings is Done!

Well, after loads of procrastinating—and just doing other stuff—I've been going gangbusters on the plane over the past month or so. I've completed the butt ribs (the innermost ribs on all four wings that go near the fuselage on the lower wing and near each other on the upper wing), the ailerons, and some other tweaks on the upper wing ribs.

I am not completely done with these wood pieces. There are some things that will need to be hand fit after I get the hardware and begin assembling the wings. However, I've done as much as I can do at this point.

After sitting for over a year, the epoxy was bad (its shelf life is one year), so I had to buy another epoxy kit (about $60). If you build your own plane, there is no reason you shouldn't be able to finish the wing(s) in a year and avoid wasting sixty bucks on another quart of epoxy.

Next will be to purchase the hardware kits for assembling the wings. There is one main one and a few small ones. The total cost will be in the neighborhood of $1,500.

One of the upper wing butt ribs. I put epoxy on the 1/4" x 3/4" piece,
then just worked my way along, nailing and bending it as I went.

A closeup of the nailing on a butt rib.

The instructions suggested adding a brace between these
two pieces of wood to keep them standing perpendicular
to the plywood, but I didn't find that was necessary. You
can see the lines for the spars I drew on the plywood.
I cut these openings out with a chisel. During final
assembly, I will probably need to enlarge them slightly
to make room for the brackets that hold the wing to
the fuselage.

To speed along this process, I started a bunch of nails, then
worked my way along, pressing the stick in flush and
pounding that nail in, then moving to the next one.

Here's one aileron. The sheet of plans for the ailerons is complicated.
I think I got it right, though. After you're done, it doesn't seem so bad.
I'll add the butt ribs onto the ailerons after I get the hardware, as I'll
need to cut a hole in them for the "spigot." I don't even know what
is, but the plans reference it. I'm sure it will become clear after I get
the hardware (I think it must have to do with the hinge and tube that
rotates the ailerons). The wood kit didn't include 1/4" x 1/4" triangular
stock for the bracing in the corners where the rib is on either side of
the spar, but square stock should work just fine, and I had plenty
left over from the wing ribs. You can see these on the three ribs
along the aileron spar in this picture.

My pile of parts. This is all the ribs and the two ailerons.