Flyin' Pine
Wood Aircraft Construction
The part I get to sit in begins...
This page being updated regularly....
Here's a close up of the engine mounting points. the one to the right is the upper mount. The firewall is not installed.
Notice the optional baggage compartment that is behind the rear seat. The front seat is not glued in place until the controls are complete.
Two views of the cockpit. Controls are installed along with rudder pedals. I added a small storage shelf to the rear of the front seat. The rear joystick will get a larger diameter tube placed over the on in the picture, making it taller.
This is the fuel tank I selected. The stock aluminum one was well over $500. I consdidered a marine tank, but I wanted to have a sump on the bottom, and not a siphon feed.
I purchased a 12 gallon fuel cell for a dragster. It is designed to meet racing crash standards, and comes with an aviation style fuel door, as well as a fuel gauge sender already installed. It has two leak-proof vent fittings as well as two outlets. I will use one for a sight glass. This tank only cost $175 delivered.
I needed to make a support for it, and decided on a rugged "shelf" instead of suspending it by straps. I felt it would be supported better in the even of a tough landing.
Notice my "stress test"
I installed the rearmost bulkhead and vertical stabilizer, as well as the foremost one which forms the rear window. Instead of installing 2 additional bulkheads and making the 1/2 x 1/2 stringers fit, I installed the stringers and let them shape themselves naturally.
Then I installed 3 additional bulkheads 14 1/2" apart instead of just the two called for in the plans. I felt the stringers would have distorted under tension from the fabric covering without the addtional support.
I could find very little in the plans regarding affixing the vertical fin, and the terminus of the stringers.
This is what I have done. It is strong and I feel pleased with the outcome.
I used pre-drilled screws and epoxy on the vertical post to secure it.
I intend to add a horizontal piece just above the lower one in the vertical to give a fastening-to place for the fabric as it transitions from fin to fuselage.
Here are the main controls installed, the wing strut carry-through and you can see the seat support.
I included a close up of the wing strut attach point. The 3/16" 2024 aluminum is carefully bent with a 1/4" radius to 24 degrees. There were no instructions on this in the plans.
Once bent, drill the holes in the drill press with the straps clamped together. Then insert a 1 1/2" block to simulate the strut and drill with the block in place to get proper alignment.
