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Posted for "Brad and Tracy Simmons" <btsim1@iswt.com>:
Regarding L2K center section and tail assembly;
I have been through three Legacy build shop weeks, two including bonding in
the center section, horizontal stab, and closing the vertical tail. I found
that the jigs were quite accurate, but we were actually able to do a better
job in our shop on Legacy kit #7 which predated the fast build shop fuselage
jig.
If you're doing this at home, you don't actually need all the fixtures in
the book. We cut two cradles to match the outboard stub wing rib profile and
bolted these to sawhorses. A third sawhorse was situated under the tail of
the airplane perpendicular to the center line. A cradle to hold the tail of
the fuselage was bolted to the center of this sawhorse. The aircraft was
then situated level in both pitch and roll in this structure, and the proper
wing incidence was established. We installed the outboard wing sections to
more accurately position the center section on the fuselage. Hysoling the
ctr. section in was accomplished by supporting the fuselage above the still
level wing assembly with 2 x 4s while Hysol was applied.
As for the horizontal stab; Two by fours were bolted vertically to the rear
sawhorse and horizontal stab templates attached to these, setting the
incidence of the tail. After hysoling this in, a few clamps/weights held the
whole assembly in place to dry. One side of this structure needs to be
easily removable/replaceable in order to insert the stab into the fuselage
cradle at an angle so all the Hysol isn't scraped off.
The vertical tail/rudder was a different story. We did a much better job at
home than we did on the two kits assembled using Lancair's jigs. Both of
those rudders required quite a bit more micro work in order to get flat
sides and straight trailing edges. In our shop, I just bolted straight edges
(aluminum angle) to the trailing edge of the rudder and at horizontal
stab/rudder cut line. We used clecos on the ribs and duct tape on the
leading edge. Our right vertical stab skin was in perfect alignment with the
aircraft center line so I didn't feel we needed all the rib templates
mentioned in the book.
The factory jigs do make the process of locating all this stuff go a bit
faster since all you have to do is drop your kit in and align with the
center line. I would encourage anyone not bonding everything together at the
factory to align all the critical parts and drill alignment holes, making
the process of relocating everything at home later go quicker.
Regards,
Brad Simmons
Airframes Inc.
Milan, TN
Any advice for us before we start mixing Hysol -- or even better, before
we bond the jigs to the floor?
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