Finished And Mounted The Right Flap

I've finished the right flap and mounted it to the wing. I brought Paula out to the garage to show her and she said the garage is looking full. The wings look really large with the ailerons and flaps mounted. I can't wait to see how big they will be with the wingtips installed. They will soon be coming down off the stands and onto the wing dolly that Norm gave me. There's not too much left to do to call the wings complete. A few odds and ends and then finish the bottom skins and access panels. I hope to get a bunch of that done this Saturday, which is the day we're celebrating my birthday. Hopefully, Shelby and Austin will be home to treat me to some garage time.

Finishing Right Flap

Here's a video of me finishing the right flap. Paula surprised me with an impromptu interview.

And here's a photo for the FAA inspector to show it really was me that built it!

Finished The Left Flap

Here, I've finished the left flap and temporarily attached it to the wing. I'm really happy with how well it turned out. The more I build, the better I build. Funny how that works - kind of like life.

Here's the trailing edge of the aileron and the flap. They should be 1/4 inch apart and matched for length. Looks spot-on to me. I hope I'm not being too retentive as I measured the small movement in the hinge and split the difference when lining them up. It didn't take too long and I like things being accurate.

This is meant to show how straight and flat the ailerons and flaps are and how they line up perfectly parallel. Not the greatest picture but I worked really hard to ensure there was no twist to any of the control surfaces. Although the parts are CNC computer punched and don't need jigs, it is possible to build them with a slight twist. When I was assembling the ailerons, I noticed that I could cleco them together without a weight holding them flat and have a small twist. All I had to do was remove the clecos and weigh them down and reinstall the clecos and they would be flat.

Best Tungsten Bucking Bar

This has to be the best bucking bar ever! It's from Avery Tools, their number 6001 bucking bar. I used it to finish the left flap and it was a piece of cake with this. I've got it taped up to prevent scrapes and scratches.