22/11/2021 - Passenger side skirt Pt3 - 0h30
Not much time today, but just enough the cut the notches in the middle of the lightning holes on the skirt brace.
Skirt brace drilled to the frame with #40 pilot holes.
Then enlarged them to #30. It's safer to drill pilot holes first through the aluminum brace in the steel frame as you may see some wandering holes with the slightest misalignment of the drill.
Being able to enlarge the hole later to #30 using a reamer solves that problem.
Finished drilling of the skirt brace drilling to the side skirt. You need some help doing this as someone needs to push the side skirt against the brace.
I actually inversed the drilling direction. Vans tells you to make pilot holes on the sikirt and drill into the brace tabs. I found it easier to make the pilot holes in the center of the tabs and drill through the skirt from the inside. It worked out well.
To hold and cleco from the outside, my son Matthias gave me a hand.
As I saw the picture later, it reminded me of a picture I shot in the very beginning 13 years ago when I finished installing the workbench in my old workshop.
Look at the shelves... yes, that's the same kid. He's turned 18 now... a reminder to self again to hurry up building and that time flies quickly.
Finishing off the passenger side skirt. By dimpling and countersinking the parts on the side skin brace.
Skirt clecoed and installed. Front side bottom trimmed back to provide room for the canopy deck.
View from the front. Alignment with the windscreen is similar as on the pilot side. There will be some epoxy work here.
Trimmed the notch in the back of the side skirt to align with the top fuselage skin.
View from the bck looking forward.
Another shot of the front. There will be some patching work here to get a good seal.