Canard Leading Edge #4

I cleaned up some excess varnish from the canard assembly tonight and then moved it upstairs with the other airplane parts.  I decided to try sanding the scarf joints for the canard leading edge ply and sanded 4 of the 6 pieces tonight.  I think that I will go back to my previous method for scarfing the plywood after I finish up the next 2 pieces; I think that the finished product is better with routed joints.

Number of hours: 0.8
Total hours: 234.9

Canard Leading Edge #3

I didn't take any pictures from the last few work sessions as I have only been varnishing the same parts.  I am now done with the varnish so I will move on to scarfing the leading edge plywood over the next week.

Number of hours: 0.6
Total hours: 234.1

Canard Nose Rib Repair

When I got home tonight the garage door was already open.  Not a big deal, I figured my wife had her hands full with the kids when she got home.  A little later we loaded everyone into the car and started pulling out of the driveway when the garage door bounced and opened again.  I spent the next half hour trying to get the stupid thing to work to no avail so I called the installer back out to fix it.  This is their 3rd trip back out and I think that they are getting tired of me.  After all that adventure I went downstairs and started planing the leading edge stringer.  I put another coat of varnish on the forward face of the canard spar and as I was applying the varnish I noticed that one of the nose ribs had slid while the glue was curing.  I decided to wait for the varnish to dry before attempting my repair.  After dinner and a movie with my wife I removed the offending rib and glued it back into place.

Number of hours: 0.9
Total hours: 233.5

Canard Leading Edge #2

I started tonight by cleaning the excess cured epoxy off of the scarf joint in the leading edge stringer.  Once it was cleaned up I mixed a batch of slurry, epoxy and micro balloons, and I glued the stringer in place.

Number of hours: 0.3
Total hours: 232.6

Canard Leading Edge #1

I varnished the canard spar between the nose ribs tonight after I cut and glued the scarf joint for the nose rib stringer.  My varnish cover must not have been sealed, so the little bit of varnish that I had left was cured.  So off to Wal-Mart's aviation department I went.

I made an intermediate stop at Jane's Field (KANE) in Blaine to sign the paperwork on N43044.  I am officially an airplane owner!

Once at Walmart I found the last can of Minwax Helmsman Spar Varnish, Clear Satin.  I was unable to find any more 1" foam brushes in their paint department.  As I headed over to get my son a snack, he was my patient partner in the night's nonsense,  I lamented the inevitable trip to Home Depot.  I decided to check the craft department to see if there was an alternative solution there.  Boy was that a good idea!  Instead of paying $0.63 per brush, they sell a 4 pack for $0.97, even better than that is the 25 pack for $4.98.  That's only $0.20 each.

Number of hours: 0.5
Total hours: 232.3

Canard Nose Ribs

Now I fought the urge to title this post with a condom joke so I deserve credit for that.  I marked and cut the notches in the nose ribs tonight that will hold the leading edge stringer.  As I removed the stringer from its storage location, it broke into 3 pieces; so I will be gluing it back together over the next couple of days.  I figured that my bad luck was out of the way so I mixed some epoxy with some micro balloons and glued the nose ribs to the spar.

Number of hours: 1.2
Total hours: 231.8

Canard Spar #21

Woohoo, my Blogger app is working again!  I learned something this weekend, never use packing tape on plywood.  I have spent about 3 hours cleaning off the residue.  After that I drilled the mounting holes in the spar for the forward hinge fittings and I cut the spar tips at an angle.  I finished the weekend by tracing the locations for the foam ribs and playing around placing them in their approximate locations.

Number of hours: 3.2
Total hours: 230.6

Canard Spar #20

I freed the canard spar from the build table tonight and then I removed the extra plywood from the edges of the spar with my plane.  Then I removed the packing tape from the plywood that I had used to close the vent holes while I sealed them with varnish.  I cleaned the tape residue from one side of the spar and that was about all I could handle tonight.

I was thinking more about a name for the airplane tonight.  Every plane deserves a name and I believe that I have found a fitting name for this one.  Due to current events, I have chosen the name Nikolina.

Number of hours: 0.8
Total hours: 227.4

Canard Spar #19

I haven't posted for a while for quite a few reasons.

   #1. I've been trying to finish up my flight training.  I only need 0.7 hours under the hood and 7 take offs and landings at night.  I passed my written exam today with a score of 93%.  Unfortunately, my instructor left for business until the week after Airventure so my training is on hold again.

   #2.  There has been rumbling at our house against this project.  A certain family member has been influencing my wife and making her think that this venture is extremely unsafe.  He has called it "a cardboard piece of shit" to my face.  As of right now, I am only building with no intention of flying the airplane with the hope that I can educate my opposition as to their incorrect perceptions.

   #3.  I have been in negotiations to buy into a partnership for a 1974 Piper Archer II.

So, I have not abandoned things, I have been swamped and stressed by other life events.

I figured that I deserved some "me time" in the shop tonight as a reward for passing my knowledge test.  I spent 2 hours gluing the box spar closed.

Number of hours: 2.0
Total hours: 226.6