Wings #10

Yippee!  The first wing - lower RH - is done!  I finished it up yesterday.  Here's some pictures of the final product.

The bottom of each wing has an inspection window above the
aileron pulley.  The original aircraft had these as well.

Bottom view of wing after final tramming

Top view showing wing walk and trailing edge

Leading edge after final planing and varnish

Completed tip bow, painted with final bracing installed

I'm going to roll right in the lower LH wing next, but also want to get started on a few OX-5 things too.  Want to finish up the water pump which requires machining a new stainless steel shaft.  I also want to get the crankshaft ready to check fit of bearings, etc.

Posts may not come as frequently as in the past.  I'll update progress on the wings, but there is no need for all the pictures as the work is the same.  I will be sure to keep everyone updated on progress with the OX-5.

Wings #9

Had a very productive week in the hangar - got some of the little, pesky, time-consuming things done.  To start with, I finished the control horns for all 4 ailerons.

Original control horn and backer plate

The photo to the right shows an original and the backing plate.  Like many of the fittings, it's made in multiple pieces.  Some are single-wall, some double to keep the weight a minimum, yet strengthen certain areas.  You can also see an area I ground away to measure wall thicknesses.  The base is .100", the main body is .050" bent into an airfoil shape and edge-welded on the trailing edge.  The top is a .050" U-channel that is edge-welded in to strengthen the area where the aileron cable attaches.  The backer on the other side is .050".

Finished control horns and backers

Also completed was the trailing edge on the wing.  Fortunately, this wing uses a typical bent aluminum trailing edge that is common on many, more modern aircraft.  Before attaching it, I did install a strip of spruce along the trailing edge of all the ribs.  This will help keep the aluminum edge straight and prevent it from bowing as the fabric is shrunk.  Prior to attaching, I went to considerable effort to make sure the trailing edge of the wing lined up exactly with the trailing edge of the aileron.

Trailing edge installed

Lots of planing!

In last weeks post, I showed the leading edge glued on.  It just had to be shaped into a bull-nose profile.  Came out great, but did a lot of planing - I should have trimmed some of it off first with the table saw, would have made for less work!  Oh well, I'll know better next time.  To make sure the final profile was exact down the entire length of the wing, I made a sanding block that had the correct profile.

Sanding block to make sure final shape is correct

Finished leading edge

Tip bow template

Finally, I got a good start on the tip bow.  Some aircraft of this era use a laminated wood tip bow.  Fortunately, the LP-3 used a 3/4" tubular steel one - way easier to make!  I wanted to make sure there was a nice transition from the tip bow on the aileron to the leading edge of the wing.  

I started with a template made from aluminum tubing.  Once I was satisfied with the shape,  I used a conduit bender to bend the 3/4" 4130 tubing.  It worked good, just had to go slow and only bend a little at a time.

Tip bow being bent on conduit bender

 Once the fit looked good, I welded on attachment brackets and drilled mounting holes thru the spars and nose rib.  I stewed over making this for a long time, but in the end it was actually quite easy.

Checking final fit and alignment

Attachment brackets added

Final fit up with all attachments in place

I got the tip bow painted and will have it installed this week.  What's left???  Some misc. bracing, final tramming and final application of spar varnish.  Very close, although not much will be happening the next couple of weeks.  Have several aircraft coming in the shop for annuals - have to replenish a very depleted restoration fund!!

Wings #8

 This past week, I finished the aileron for the lower RH wing - the one I'm currently building.  A previous post showed pictures of the components.  It was built just like the original, including copper straps to hold the tip bow on.  The original one shown in the pictures is actually a lower LH aileron.  So if you see slight differences in tapers, etc., that is why.

You will also see a control horn mounted to the original.  I'm building those now for all four ailerons.  They actually get mounted after the aileron is covered.  I'm finishing
them now, because I want to completely assemble and rig the airplane prior to any covering - just to make sure everything fits and aligns like it should.

Eye bolt for aileron hinge

This picture shows the aileron hinge.  It is simply an AN43 eye bolt.  Makes for a big aileron gap you could throw a cat thru, but at only 75-80 MPH I doubt it will be an issue!  The slave strut between the upper and lower ailerons also attaches to an eye bolt.

Tip bow with original style copper
 strapping

I also got the leading edge glued on.  It's strip of spruce that will be hand-planed down to a bull-nosed shape.  Once it is shaped, I can finally make and install the main tip bow on the wing.  The completion of this wing is finally in sight!

Leading edge strip attached to nose ribs.  Still needs
to be planed to the final shape