Unpacking Fuselage

Welcome to Germany!

Chapter 6 – Part Deux (… or zwei!)

30 April 2012 —Today starts the actual unpacking of the boat, or shall I say, the fuselage.  Apparently my next door neighbors thought it would be cute to pull a fast one on me!  When talking in my garage/shop one day, they asked me what I was going identify this “thing” (said snidely) sitting in my garage that I was going to send over to Germany.   Well, a few weeks earlier I had seen on one of the blogs where a guy had shipped his fuselage as a “boat,” which I thought was pretty darn funny.  So I snarkily (it’s a habit of mine!) said, “a boat.”

Well, due to a scheduling SNAFU in Virginia, the movers had picked up my fuselage while I was at the firing range.  Luckily, my ‘trusty’ neighbors helped out with overseeing the movers pack my stuff.  Well, apparently they told the movers it was just, in fact, a boat.  What made it really funny was fast forward three months later in Germany when one of the guys unloading the truck asked me where I wanted my “boat.”  I thought his English was a little shaky!  After a few repeats, and a growingly impatient mover, I finally understood what he was saying and ran out to the moving truck to see them, in fact, lowering “a boat” out of the truck!  Well played my friends . . . well played!

The Fuselage BoatThe "Fragile Boat" :)

Pics of unpacking “the fragile boat”!!!

Unpacking the fuselage

Unpacking the fuselage (aka "boat")

 

 

 

 

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Project Update

Hi Folks, 

With the engine, exhaust pipes and cowling in my rear view mirror (I still need to get my exhaust pipe brackets final welded) I’m now in the final micro-finishing stage of this project. 

I had planned on pulling the engine early to start the micro and subsequent sanding, but due to the seasonal threatening cold weather, I needed to waste zero time getting onto the micro finishing.  Moreover, I simply taped up the plexiglass and seams around the canopy and am using that as my micro dust block for the cockpit.

To complete the micro finish on the bird I’ll need to have the canopy set in final position, so once the major wing and strake micro finish is complete, I’ll be knocking out the final canopy latch install.  Then the small remainder nose and forward fuselage micro completed.

Very soon after that I’ll be ready to pull the engine, cut and install the Titanium firewall and finalize the micro-finished top side of the bird to paint. 

 

  1. Chapter 25 – More fiddly finishing Leave a reply
  2. Chapter 25 – The Boring Things Leave a reply
  3. Chapter 18 – Modified canopy bracket Leave a reply
  4. Chapter 19/25 – Yeah, it’s cold! Leave a reply
  5. Chapter 19/22/25 – Lights & cameras Leave a reply
  6. Chapter 19/22 – Wing lights ops test! Leave a reply
  7. Chapter 19/22 – Light pockets painted Leave a reply
  8. Chapter 19/22 – Light standoffs installed Leave a reply
  9. Chapter 19/22 – Brackets & Standoffs Leave a reply