June 9, 2020
The tailwheel spring mount came back and it looks pretty good with a 20% exterior gloss black. I asked them not to paint the two surfaces that mate up to the bulkhead so that I wouldn’t have an issue with it being too thick of a layer of paint to fit.
Once back in the plane, I realized the F712 aft-most bulkhead was curved every so slightly. In order to make the spring mount and the bulkhead fit flush, I needed to make up some shims. The first shim was 0.050 thick and it didn’t do the job. I ended up making another one out of the same stock and doubling them up.
Because I needed almost 1/8th” of extra F711 bulkhead, I need to use longer bolts. Unfortunately, I don’t have any, so those will go in the next order. We were able to rivet the F712 bulkhead in place, except the 8 right underneath the spring mount.
The instructions tell you to install all the parts in an order that be done with the quick-build kit. Instead we’ll either need to use pop-rivets or make up a super thin and curved bucking bar that allows me to get under and behind the tailwheel mount while the bulkhead is in place. We’re gonna hold off on doing anything with those rivets for now and ask our tech advisor what he suggests when he comes to visit in a couple days.
-Paul,
(Total Build Time: 262.5 hrs)