CS Spar Test Fit

CS Spar Test Fittings during “The Grand Mock-Up”

22 June 2013 — Today I pulled out all the stops . . . or should I say I pulled out all the pieces of the build so far.  Before I am separated from my project while I spend a year in the Middle East for Uncle Sam, I wanted to get an idea of what this thing looks like put all together.

So I pulled the fuselage out into the front yard, and kept it covered while I collected the other components.  Next up was the Centersection Spar which I placed into the fuselage for the first time since I completed it about 8 months ago.

Chap 14/15 - CS spar & firewall mockupChap 14/15 - CS spar & firewall mockup

You can see in the pic below that I got the measurements correct for running the rudder cable conduit through the fuselage sidewall, then through the CS Spar and positioned just off the edge of firewall (the curved metal conduit bracket that the Nylaflo will run through will get mounted to the firewall).

Chap 14/15 - CS spar & firewall mockup

I’m jumping ahead with the following pics below since they were at the tail end of the this grand mock-up as I was tearing it all apart, but I wanted to keep like pics together.

Chap 14/15 - CS spar & FirewallChap 14/15 - CS spar & Firewall

Chap 14/15 - CS spar & FirewallChap 14/15 - CS spar & Firewall

Chap 14/15 - CS spar & FirewallChap 9/14 - Main Gear & CS spar

After I got the CS spar & firewall in place, I added both of the wings next.  Again, besides the measurements provided to me in the plans, and of course a couple dozen confirmation measurements, I had not lined up either wing with the CS Spar to confirm that the hard points (aluminum extrusions) lined up with each other.  Obviously, I was very relieved to confirm I hadn’t jacked any of my measurements up!  Also, as you can see I had to throw on at least one winglet just to get an idea of how it would look.  Although it was a little awkward to get it on the end of the wing so it looked half-way normal, I think I got in the ballpark.  Well, and of course we can’t forget the canard… yes, it’s on there too!

Long-EZ Project Mock-upChap 14/15/19/20 - CS spar-firewall-wings-wingletLong-EZ Project Mock-upChap 14/19/20 - CS spar-wings-winglet

Once I got the pics above taken, now it was time to fill in what gaps I could to make it look at least a little like it had some mass to it.  Next came the engine cowlings.  The wind had picked up a little bit and I didn’t want to damage anything just to get some pictures, so I removed the Left winglet & put it inside the garage.

Chap 19/23 - Wing/spar & Cowling fit

Chap 19/23 - Wing/spar & Cowling fit

And then the following pics are more close-up shots of the upper cowling & CS spar-to-wing fit.

Chap 23 - Cowling Trial FittingChap 19/23 - Wing/spar & Cowling fit

Finally, after I broke everything down and got the wings, canard, cowling & firewall back inside out of the sun, I spent some time looking at the CS spar, taking some measurements and looking at how square it was to the fuselage (this was a quick mock up to keep all the parts in the sun as little as possible–about an hour total time . . . and if you actually look at the shadow of the house on the mock-up from start to finish, there’s not that much movement).  At this point the CS spar and the fuselage were in the shade provided by the sun going down on the other side of the house.

Chap 14 - CS spar trial fitChap 14 - CS spar trial fit

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Project Update

Hey Guys,

I’m pretty much done with the micro finishing of the top forward nose, the wheel pants, and the strake lower leading edges.  What’s left to micro finish you ask? Well, that would be the outboard underside of the wings and some final spot touchups on the canard. 

To be fair, I am currently in the process of working the final fit, finish and integration of the aft nose/avionics cover with the canopy front skirt.

I am also happy to report that the engine is off the bird and I’ve started the process of making and installing the CS spar heat shields, and the forward heat shields in the wing roots.  Once these are complete, I will then move on to cut and install the Titanium firewall.

As a point of note, I am getting married at the end of this month, so my build activities will be minimal during all of May… maybe an hour or two a day tops.  

  1. Chapter 25 – Wrapping up micro-finish Leave a reply
  2. Chapter 25 – Plodding to Finish Leave a reply
  3. Chapter 19/25 – Finishing end near? Leave a reply
  4. Chapter 23/25 – Spring Cleaning Leave a reply
  5. Chapter 25 – Trifecta Leave a reply
  6. Chapter 25 – Nose Job: Part 3 Leave a reply
  7. Chapter 25 – First official Grazing! Leave a reply
  8. Chapter 25 – Pants & Nose Leave a reply
  9. Chapter 25 – Nose job: Part 2 Leave a reply