Slide the ribs on the spars, to the
marks that were previously made.
Doublers where the lift struts
attach to the spars, are ready for
the T88 adhesive.
Hidden Hinges complete, and
ready for final assembly.
Drilling the Hidden Hinges.
Making the 'Hidden Hinges' for the
Ailerons, and Flaps.
Details of some of the cluster joints.
Here you can see the size of the fuselage, next to the car.  This is before a lot of the diagonal pieces are
installed.
The Fuselage is 2 1/2" Wider than
Plans Call Out.
First time in the Light of Day.
Gussets were welded into the corners of the forward fuselage, then a 3/16" hole was drilled to accept the
dowel on the top of the Jack Stands.
Orange Handles are stowed with
each Stand.
The Jack Stands work very well.
View of the Tail Stand.
Complete, before moving it to the

Now HERE is a Serious Cluster !!
The Tail Stand will be covered with
a material that will not damage the
covering material.
Rear Spar Carry Through.
The Horizontal Stabalizer was next.
Fitting up the Elevators to the Horizontal Stab.
Some more parts that are ready
to prep for paint.
The engine sits on a rolling stand,
to estimate the final position.


Cut & pre-fit two of everything, before
welding anything.
Begin screwing the wood blocks
on the fuselage jig.
All the tubing for the fuselage is
pre-cut, labeled, and inventoried.

the valves are not sensitive
the valves are not sensitive enough, but it works well.
enough, but it works well.
I use a Mig welder to tack weld the
tubes together.
My current project is a Wittman Tailwind W10, with the Clements Mods, and a
Lycoming O-320  E2D - 150 horsepower.
The wood Wing is being built in the environmentally controlled Dining Room !!
Wittman Tailwind W10
Ribs complete, as well as all the
fillet sticks that make up the wings.
Spars complete with doublers at the root end.  Wing attach fittings,
with all the close tolerance holes drilled, before wing assembly.
All holes for the fittings on the
spars, were drilled with the fittings
in place, before final assembly of
the wing.
Begin laying out the sides, to locate the locations for drilling 1/8" holes at the intersections of the
clusters so when the fuselage is complete, the inside of the tubing can be filled with Boiled Linsead Oil
and drained.  Then begin tac welding, then remove the tac welded side from the jig, so the clusters can
be final welded with the torch.
Tac weld the aft ends of the sides at
the tail post.
Remove all the blocks from the jig,
and stand it up on the table.  Now the
cross pieces can be laid out, and tac
welded.
The Jack Stands were made from square tubing.  Three 2 ton Jacks are incorporated to precisely adjust
the attitude of the fuselage.  A 3/16" bolt was welded to a washer, then the washer was welded to the jack
tube.
This Forward Bay is extended 2"
for more leg room, and a better
slope on the windshield.
The Clements Door Mod, and Spar
Carry Through, were incorporated.
This Torch Cart was one of the first
projects I welded up.
I placed all these separate pictures together, to try to get a shot of the whole layout of the fuselage side.
2nd Time out, with Cross Tubes
welded in, sitting on the jack
stands.
To reduce the Drag, I made these
shields on the Horizontal Stab,
ahead of the Elevator balance
(Freise), according to Jim Stanton.
5/16" Steel Aileron Balance
before welding.
3/8" Piper Channel makes up
the Ribs.
Right side leading edge of Stab,
ground adjustable pitch trim tab.
The Ribs are Braized on.
Preparing for Tail Post.
Here is the Welded portion of one of the elevators - Braizing on the ribs is
the next step.
Before welding on the counterbalance tab, I filled it with Lead Shot, and heated
it to melt the shot, filling the forward 2".
Elevator Hinge, with a #40 oil hole
drilled.
Inboard Elevator Hinge.
Ribs are Braized on the Elevators, with the Aluminum Trailing Edge
clecoed in place.
Elevator Counterbalance
'Freise ' type hinge.
Tailwheel Bracket is built per plans, to accomodate a 6" Tailwheel.
All parts are sandblasted, and
prepped for White Epoxy Paint.
Aft end of control Torque Tube.
Aft end of Torque Tube.
These parts just completed, are
sitting on the Welding Table.