MAY, 2003 fuselage work

May 2 - Got home for a weekend.  Planning & layout for optional baggage tiedowns.  Found it hard to get started actually DOING something.  2.0 hr

May 4 - Installed baggage tiedowns.  Installed baggage compartment side and rear rivets and nutplates.  2.5 hr

  Got in an order from MSC; my 1/4"-28 baggage tiedown eyebolts, a 0.311" drill bit for the landing gear legs, and some "both sides of a hole at once" cutters for my deburring tool.  The cutters are especially useful for trimming the back side of a hole, where I don't have access.

  Cargo tiedown eyebolts installed.

May 19 - finished riveting nutplates for rear baggage panel  1.5 hr

May 25 - install nutplates (decided to use nutplates instead of nuts called out in plans) for brake reservoir mounting to firewall.  0.5 hr

  This shows the nylon tubing going to the brake reservoir, and the 2 nutplates riveted in place to hold the reservoir on.

May 26 - Finish mounting brake reservoir to fwd side of firewall.  Connect brake cylinder feed lines to reservoir.  Install LT & RT brake pressure lines.  5.0 hr

  Brake reservoir mounted to fwd side of firewall.

The brake pressure lines proved to be much easier to install than I thought they would be.  It looked like it was going to be a real bear to feed the lines through with complex bends, but the soft aluminum tubing made it easy.  First, I used a cloth measuring tape to follow the curves (Karla helped with this) and measure how long each one should be.  I added a couple inches, to be safe, and cut the 2 lengths I needed.  Then, I just started in the middle, at the wing spar, and fed it out through the grommets to the bulkhead fitting at the landing gear mounts.  Then I molded the curves out from the spar forward to the firewall and over to the fittings on the brake bracket mounted to the rear of the firewall.  I made all the bends with my fingers, being careful not to kink the tubing.  I have a tubing bender, but all the bends I needed were in areas too tight to fit in the bender.  Using the flaring tool (from Avery) was a bit cumbersome in the tight spaces near each end of the tubing, but it's a great tool, and the flares all came out good.  I had to flare the ends after laying out the lines, because the flares won't go through the grommets, and because you don't know exact length needed until after it's all laid out.  DON'T FORGET TO PUT THE FITTINGS ON THE TUBING BEFORE FLARING.  Don't ask why I know this.

UPDATE - BE SURE TO READ MY JUNE 12 NOTE ABOUT PUTTING IN YOUR FUEL LINES BEFORE THE BRAKE LINES.

  Brake fluid supply lines going from brake reservoir to the master cylinders

  Forward brake lines installed

  Aft brake lines installed

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