Fitting
the forward top skin was per the plans. The skin is oversized (all sides
need trimming) so we started with a rough fit. Place the skin on the ribs,
from inside, draw the ribs on the bottom of the skin. Remove and mark the
drill holes and pilot to 3/32". Replace on the fuselage, align to
previous position, and drill using #40 to the fuselage.
On
our first attempt, we ended up with a 1/4" space at the firewall/topskin
joint. 1 week and $30 later (bought a new skin from Vans), we tried
again. This time, went quicker as we used the old skin holes (on the top
only) to drill the new one.
This
time, we mad darn sure there wasn't a gap at the firewall/skin joint!
Drilling
the top skin means laying on your back and trying to keep the aluminum chips out
of your eyes.
This
time, it was a good fit all around. Putting it on is a two-person job as
the skin is under quite a bit of tension at the edges.
Starting
to look more like a plane.
The
rear of the skin is rough cut. Before we are finished, we probably cut it
six or seven more times.
The
sides were marked and cut with the wheel. After cutting, they were
straightened with a vixen file.
