Sept 2022 to Aug 2023

September 29 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4517.5 total. Glued the two reinforcement strips to the side of rib#15 and onto spar, one in front on one side, and the other in back on the other side. Its a new way rather than tacking with 5 minute epoxy. Let's see how it goes? Also glued another cap strip onto the SB rib #15, and the five upper intercostals and associated gussets in front of the spar from ribs 9 to 14. Got out both #16 ribs, measured, cut and steamed eight cap strips for them.

September 30 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4520.0 total. Made up the eight remaining shim and reinforcement pieces for rib #15 around the spar. Made upper intercostals for between rib 14 and 15 - three behind the spar and one in front. Removed clamps from #15 rib SB and sanded profile in preparation for gluing cap strips to other side.

October 1 2022 - 3.0hrs - 4523.0 total. Made up eight gussets for all four upper intercostals between ribs 14 and 15. Glued last two cap strips to rib #15 SB. Glued the eight shim and reinforcement pieces around rib #15P to spar.

October 2 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4525.5 total. Clamped large square to spar to confirm rib #15 is square on spar then glued in the four upper intercostals and eight gussets. Glued two cap strips onto one of the #16 ribs.

October 3 2022 - 1.0hrs - 4526.5 total. Made three lower intercostals and gussets for between ribs 14 and 15. Removed clamps from rib #16 and sanded profile in preparation for gluing cap strips on other side. Starting making lower intercostals for in front of spar. Made from rib 5 to 12 so far.

October 5 2022 - 1.5hrs - 4528.0 total. Made three more intercostals for in front of spar and twenty gussets. Realized I was in such a rush to get rib 15 on the spar that I forgot to sand it down first. That's the second rib I've done that with. Not a problem, just harder to sand with it glued to the spar.

2nd cap strip on rib #15 SB

Ten lower intercostals in front of the spar and three behind, plus gussets, ready to be glued in

Five upper intercostal pieces in front of spar glued in and rib #15 glued to spar

Ten lower intercostals in front of the spar and three behind, plus gussets, ready to be glued in

Five upper intercostal pieces in front of spar glued in and rib #15 glued to spar

Ten lower intercostals in front of the spar and three behind, plus gussets, ready to be glued in

October 8 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4530.0 total. The machinist gave me the rough sized landing gear pintle plates to locate and mark the profile on. Was able to position them extremely precisely using two laser levels. Marked the profile lines and removed to give back so he can keep going. He says he's actively making the main gear components now! Very exciting progress! I glued the remaining two cap strips onto rib #16 P. Glued in the three intercostals and gussets behind the spar and three in front before I ran out of glue.

October 9 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4532.5 total. Trimmed and sanded rib #16 port. Slid onto spar, re-aligned spar then aligned rib, clamped into position. Made up two reinforcement strips and glued one to front and other to back of rib on spar. Glued two cap strips onto rib #16 SB and used remaining glue to glue in two more intercostals and gussets in front of spar. Got both rib # 17s out and measured for cap strip lengths.

October 10 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4535.0 total. Trimmed and sanded profile on rib #16 SB, ready for cap strips on other side. Made up four upper and four lower intercostals for between ribs 15 & 16. Marked locations on ribs. Haven't made up gussets yet.

October 12 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4537.0 total. Made up eight gussets for the upper intercostals and eight for the lower. Glued in the four upper intercostals and eight gussets between ribs 15 and 16 port. Glued last two cap strips onto rib #16 SB.

October 16 2022 - 1.0hrs - 4538.0 total. Removed clamps from rib #16 SB, trimmed and stacked with the rest of the SB ribs. Measured, marked and steamed eight cap strips for #17 ribs. The machinist has been sending me progress reports on the gear. He's still at the early stages of making the parts, but there is progress!

Trial fitting rough sized pintal plates

Rib #16 port glued to spar and two more intercostals glued in

Some of the pieces of the gear awaiting assembly

Rib #16 port glued to spar and two more intercostals glued in

Some of the pieces of the gear awaiting assembly

October 17 2022 - 1.5hrs - 4539.5 total. Made up the remaining eight shim and reinforcement strips for rib #16. Setup and marked a couple of cap strips to be ready to glue onto one of the #17 ribs.

October 19 2022 - 1.5hrs - 4541.0 total. Glued in the eight strips around rib #16 port to the spar. Glued two cap strips on one of the # 17 ribs.

October 27 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4543.0 total. Glued two cap strips to the other side of the same #17 rib. Glued four lower intercostals and gussets between ribs 15 & 16 and a couple more in front of the spar between ribs 8 and 10.

October 28 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4545.5 total. Removed clamps from rib #17, trimmed and sanded and put in place on spar. Re-levelled spar and aligned and clamped rib in place. Ready to be glued. Made up the four larger reinforcement strips. machinist sent some photos of his progress on the gear.

One of the main pivot pintles ready to be angle cut and welded up in jig

The machinist is making progress on the gear. This is one of the four pintle plates.

One of the main pivot pintles ready to be angle cut and welded up in jig

Eight remaining shim and reinforcement pieces for rib #16 port

The machinist is making progress on the gear. This is one of the four pintle plates.

One of the main pivot pintles ready to be angle cut and welded up in jig

The machinist is making progress on the gear. This is one of the four pintle plates.

October 29 2022 - 4.5hrs - 4550.0 total. Made up the remaining six shim and reinforcement strips for rib #17. Re-checked alignment and glued rib #17 to spar along with all ten shims and strips. Used remaining glue for one cap strip on other rib #17 and an intercostal and gussets in front of spar between ribs 7 and 8.

November 2 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4552.0 total. Doublechecked plans on intercostal locations. Out here toward the tip they start getting tricky. Also differences from port to SB. Located and marked for intercostals then made up the eight pieces and their associated sixteen gussets. The machinist sent another photo of his progress. He finished the internal threads on the main pintle nuts.

November 4 2022 - 1.5hrs - 4553.5 total. Glued second cap strip piece onto SB rib #17. Glued the eight intercostals and sixteen gussets between ribs 16 and 17.

November 5 2022 - 3.5hrs - 4557.0 total. Trimmed and sanded profile on SB #17 rib in prep for gluing cap strips on other side. Steamed eight cap strip pieces for #18 ribs. Sanded down the inner glue joints on all the SB ribs that have been put aside. Started sanding profile on all the SB ribs as well.

Rib #17 port glued in place on the spar with shim and reinforcement strips

Eight intercostals and sixteen gussets ready to be glued on

Rib #17 port glued in place on the spar with shim and reinforcement strips

Main pintle nuts threaded

Rib #17 port glued in place on the spar with shim and reinforcement strips

Main pintle nuts threaded

November 6 2022- 2.0hrs - 4559.0 total. Glued last two cap strips to SB rib # 17. Glues two cap strips to one of the #18 ribs. Used remaining glue to glue in the last two intercostals in front of the spar between ribs 5, 6 and 7.

November 7 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4561.0 total. Trimmed and sanded SB #17 rib and put away. Trimmed and sanded the #18 rib in prep for gluing cap strips to other side. Glued cap strips to second side of first #18 and to first side of second one. These last ribs, about 17 to 20 are pretty warped. Turns out that clamping the rib completely flat while gluing on the cap strips is enough to straighten them right out.

November 9 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4563.0 total. Trimmed and sanded down rib #18. Slid onto spar, aligned and clamped in position for gluing. Made up seven reinforcement strips. The clearance is so tight on the top of the spar that there's no room for the other three shims there. Trimmed and sanded profile on other #18 rib in prep for gluing cap strips to other side. Got some more photos from the machinist of the gear progress. He says the pintle plates and axle will be ready for me to trial fit on the spar this weekend.

November 10 2022 - 1.5hrs - 4564.5 total. Glued Rib # 18 to spar along with the seven reinforcement strips. Used left over glue to glue one more cap strip to the other #18 rib. Got out #19 ribs and started laying out cap strip material - not sure if I'll need to steam them or not?

November 12 2022- 1.0hrs - 4565.5 total. Got the pintle plates an one of the axels from the machinists to trial fit on the spar. The fit is amazingly accurate. Spent about an hour sanding small sections of the spar web edges and axle holes in the spar to get things lined up. Still need a little more tweaking to get everything exactly straight.

November 13 2022 - 2.5hrs - 4568.0 total. Realized I was putting the wrong end of the axle through the spar. Using the correct end its still took some tweaking by sanding down the spar webs to get the holes to align precisely. All good now. Steamed four cap strip pieces for the top of the #19 ribs. The lower strips don't need to be steamed. Laid out and marked locations of intercostals between ribs 17 and 18. Made up and labeled the eight intercostals.

November 14 2022 - 1.5hrs - 4569.5 total. Made up the 16 gussets for the intercostals I made yesterday. Started setting up cap strips for the #19 ribs.

November 18 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4571.5 total. One of the people following this build sent me an e-mail giving me the correct spelling of "pintle" not pintal - like I had been dong it. I went back and corrected all the previous posts - I think? Thanks for that! I need all the help I can get to not look stupid! Glued the last cap strip onto the second #18 rib and two cap strips onto one of the #19 ribs. Turns out I did need to have a steam bend in all the cap strips for the #19 ribs. I'll need to do a steam batch before I can finish them. Used leftover glue for the two intercostals and four gussets in front of the spar between ribs 17 & 18.

November 19 2022 - 3.0hrs - 4574.5 total. Removed clamps from yesterday's rib glue job, trimmed and sanded profile on #18 SB rib and set aside to be fully sanded. Trimmed and sanded profile on #19 rib. Glued two more cap strips onto #19 rib. Used remaining glue on the six intercostals and twelve gussets between rib 18 & 19.

November 20 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4576.5 total. Removed clamps from rib #19. Trimmed and sanded. Slid onto spar, re-aligned spar, aligned rib and tacked in place with 5 min epoxy.

November 30 2022 - 2.0hrs - 4578.5 total. Sanded down the SB #18 rib and put in pile. Sanded down five minute glue on rib #19 to spar join. Checked alignment of rib with square and realigned slightly in prep for making intercostals. Made up seven shim/reinforcement strips for rib #19.

January 14 2023 - 0.5hrs - 4579.0 total. Wow! Hard to believe its been two months since I've done any work on the project. The holidays and some other projects have taken up all my time. Hopefully I'll be able to start making regular progress again. During this break, the machinist has continued to work on the landing gear. We are going to place an order for the custom made springs next week. I've contacted some of the other builders to see if they want in on the deal as the price is significantly less for larger quantities. Today I cleaned up the shop a little and setup blocking and clamps to glue capstrips onto the second #19 rib. Steamed four capstrips.

January 28 2023 - 2.0hrs - 4581.0 total. Have met with the machinist several times to workout little details on the gear. Springs are on order. Lathe work is done, moving on to the milling work. Today I glued the reinforcement strips and shims onto rib #19SB on the spar. Glued two capstrips onto the other #19 rib.

February 11 2023 - 0.0hrs - 4581.0 total. Haven't really done any work on the project. The machinist is leaving for about six weeks so he was valiantly trying to make some significant progress before he leaves. I got the plates back from him and trail fit them along with the pintal axles for alignment. He also enlarged the tubing for the bolts on the top and bottom of the plates to give them a bit of wiggle space. Everything fits very well now. I'll need to drill the bolt holes through the spar towards the center of each plate. There's three bolts on each side. The main gear springs have arrived from the custom spring making shop.

June 29 2023 - 0.0hrs - 4581.0 total. I'M BACK! Sorry I've been inactive for so long and thanks to all of you who e-mailed to see if was dead or something. I'm happy to say I'm still kicking! I do still have to finish the new laminate flooring in the kitchen, which has turned out so well that the wife wants it in one of the bedrooms too. Once the bedroom floor is done I HOPE to get back to some regular work on the project again. Spent about an hour out in the shop literally vacuuming up the cobwebs and cleaning the non-airplane related projects and tools off of the workbench.

Trail fitting the plates after re-aligning tubing - very nice fit now

The springs have arrived

Trail fitting the plates after re-aligning tubing - very nice fit now

The spline receiver pieces - before and after mill work

Trail fitting the plates after re-aligning tubing - very nice fit now

The spline receiver pieces - before and after mill work

July 24 2023 - 1.5hrs - 4582.5 total. Cleaned up the shop a bit. Made up four intercostals for between ribs 18 and 19 port. Also made and dry fitted eight gussets for the intercostals. Need to drill the mounting holes for the main gear plates. The holes will go through the spar. Didn't have a 5/16 bit that long. Went and got one.

July 26 2023 - 1.0hrs - 4583.5 total. Made up a drill guide from a piece of 4X4 and used it to drill the eight holes through the spar. The came out perfectly aligned through the gear plates! I've been dreading doing this for almost a year!

July 29 2023 - 2.0hrs - 4585.5 total. Steamed eight cap strip pieces for both #20 ribs. Glued last two capstrips on rib #19 SB. Glued intercostals and gussets between ribs 18 and 19 port.

August 10 2023 - 1.0hrs - 4586.5 total. Removed clamps from #19 SB rib and sanded down. Pulled cap strips from steaming molds and setup #20 ribs for gluing.

August 13 2023 - 2.0hrs - 4588.5 total. Glued two cap strips to first side of both #20 ribs

Builders Log - September 2022 to August 2023

2nd cap strip on rib #15 SB

Ten lower intercostals in front of the spar and three behind, plus gussets, ready to be glued in

Five upper intercostal pieces in front of spar glued in and rib #15 glued to spar

Five upper intercostal pieces in front of spar glued in and rib #15 glued to spar

Ten lower intercostals in front of the spar and three behind, plus gussets, ready to be glued in

Five upper intercostal pieces in front of spar glued in and rib #15 glued to spar

Ten lower intercostals in front of the spar and three behind, plus gussets, ready to be glued in

Ten lower intercostals in front of the spar and three behind, plus gussets, ready to be glued in

Ten lower intercostals in front of the spar and three behind, plus gussets, ready to be glued in

Trial fitting rough sized pintal plates

Rib #16 port glued to spar and two more intercostals glued in

Rib #16 port glued to spar and two more intercostals glued in

Rib #16 port glued to spar and two more intercostals glued in

Rib #16 port glued to spar and two more intercostals glued in

Rib #16 port glued to spar and two more intercostals glued in

Some of the pieces of the gear awaiting assembly

Rib #16 port glued to spar and two more intercostals glued in

Some of the pieces of the gear awaiting assembly

One of the main pivot pintles ready to be angle cut and welded up in jig

The machinist is making progress on the gear. This is one of the four pintle plates.

One of the main pivot pintles ready to be angle cut and welded up in jig

Eight remaining shim and reinforcement pieces for rib #16 port

The machinist is making progress on the gear. This is one of the four pintle plates.

One of the main pivot pintles ready to be angle cut and welded up in jig

The machinist is making progress on the gear. This is one of the four pintle plates.

The machinist is making progress on the gear. This is one of the four pintle plates.

The machinist is making progress on the gear. This is one of the four pintle plates.

Rib #17 port glued in place on the spar with shim and reinforcement strips

Rib #17 port glued in place on the spar with shim and reinforcement strips

Rib #17 port glued in place on the spar with shim and reinforcement strips

Eight intercostals and sixteen gussets ready to be glued on

Rib #17 port glued in place on the spar with shim and reinforcement strips

Rib #17 port glued in place on the spar with shim and reinforcement strips

Main pintle nuts threaded

Rib #17 port glued in place on the spar with shim and reinforcement strips

Main pintle nuts threaded

Two cap strips on rib #17 SB and two on one of the #18 ribs

Two cap strips on rib #17 SB and two on one of the #18 ribs

Two cap strips on rib #17 SB and two on one of the #18 ribs

Shims for rib # 18 ready to be glued on

Two cap strips on rib #17 SB and two on one of the #18 ribs

Two cap strips on rib #17 SB and two on one of the #18 ribs

Gear axle pieces in welding jig

Two cap strips on rib #17 SB and two on one of the #18 ribs

Gear axle pieces in welding jig

Gear pintle plates ready to be trial fit on spar

Gear pintle plates ready to be trial fit on spar

Gear pintle plates ready to be trial fit on spar

Starting to weld axle - just tacked here

Gear pintle plates ready to be trial fit on spar

Gear pintle plates ready to be trial fit on spar

Trial fitting the pintle plates

Gear pintle plates ready to be trial fit on spar

Trial fitting the pintle plates

Trial fitting the gear pintle plates and axle

Trial fitting the gear pintle plates and axle

Trial fitting the gear pintle plates and axle

Trial fitting the gear pintle plates and axle

Trial fitting the gear pintle plates and axle

Trial fitting the gear pintle plates and axle

Rib # 19 tacked in place with 5 min epoxy

Trial fitting the gear pintle plates and axle

Rib # 19 tacked in place with 5 min epoxy

Lathe work on the gear pieces is done.

Reinforcement strips and shims glued around rib #19 SB

Reinforcement strips and shims glued around rib #19 SB

Reinforcement strips and shims glued around rib #19 SB

Reinforcement strips and shims glued around rib #19 SB

Reinforcement strips and shims glued around rib #19 SB

Two capstrips glued onto other # 19 rib

Reinforcement strips and shims glued around rib #19 SB

Two capstrips glued onto other # 19 rib

Trail fitting the plates after re-aligning tubing - very nice fit now

Trail fitting the plates after re-aligning tubing - very nice fit now

Trail fitting the plates after re-aligning tubing - very nice fit now

The springs have arrived

Trail fitting the plates after re-aligning tubing - very nice fit now

Trail fitting the plates after re-aligning tubing - very nice fit now

The spline receiver pieces - before and after mill work