Assembly of the Tail Cone

Sorry for the lack of posts.  I got a cold, then did some travel for work, then it was just freezing cold in the garage.  The last few days have been very nice, so I was able to have the garage doors open and enjoy the fresh air.

Now that the longerons are done it is time to move on to actual fuselage.

Two bulkheads, tail wheel mount and skin.

This part consists of two bulkheads that I built earlier, the tail wheel mount and the aft skin.  This skin is the thickest skin I think I have worked with.  Which makes sense, I guess.  This area of the plane is going to be exposed to rocks, high grass and all manner of stuff hitting it.  It needs to be tough.

Very rough fitting for the two end bulkheads and the tail wheel mount.

The tail wheel mount fits and is anchored here between these ribs.  All the force transferred to the plane by the tail wheel goes into these bulkheads.  I have to figure out the position here.  The mount has to be straight and slightly angled down.

Exit for the tail wheel.

On this bulkhead I have to get that pipe to fit unhindered in that groove at the rear of the bulkhead.  I’ve been grinding small bits of it away to get it right…still not there yet.

Well that is pretty much where I left off.  Time to get back out to the shop and bend metal.