Wing Struts

19 & 22 SEP2026

Figuring out how to attach the wing struts was a bit of a challenge.

The strut brackets were a really tight fit, so I sanded off the powder coating on the lower gear mount and the primer off the wing mount. Then I used the band saw to cut the strut to length, with the help of Tom; having a second person help guide the awkwardly long strut made it much easier.

Then we drilled pilot holes in the strut for the lower bracket on the drill press. We finished match-drilling the lower bracket on the table.

Then we tried to fit the top bracket onto the wing mount and realized the strut was still a little bit too long, so we trimmed it a bit more. We put the strut on the lower mount and then spent quite a while trying to get the top bracket to go on the upper wing mount. We finally did some research and found that the consensus from other builders seemed to be to sand down the inside of the forks on the brackets. Fortunately, these fit really nicely on the belt sander. I sanded both sets so the brackets slid on easily by hand and did not require a lot of force to install (like they previously did).

After all this, the strut and wing bracket went on with ease. Then I drilled pilot holes on one side of the strut for the upper bracket on the drill press and then tried to match-drill the bracket while the strut was installed. I got a little crooked on the top bolt and slightly ovaled out the hole, so that hole got upsized. I drilled the rest of the bracket holes on the bench.

Then on Tuesday (22 Sep), I was able to get the left strut that Tom and I worked on installed on the plane. I also sanded, drilled, and installed the lower bracket on the right strut. Tom came out after work and helped me cut the strut to length, finish drilling the upper bracket, and install the strut on the plane.

We removed the jack stands, and the wings sagged a little bit (as expected). We rechecked the dihedral, and the angle gauge was reading within 1/2 a degree of each other, and the measurement to the string was a 1 mm difference between wings; well within the tolerance listed on the drawing. So, I'd say that's pretty good.

Sanding Strut Brackets

Drilling on drill press

Match drilling on table

Left bottom mount

Left upper mount

Right bottom mount

Right upper mount

Build Time: 8 hours 15 minutes

Final Assembly Items

Wing Attachment, cont.

12SEP2026

Tom and I worked on setting the wing's dihedral and the sweep angle. We used the string method mentioned in the drawings, and it worked out quite well.

The underhoist stands we used made it easy to adjust the wings in small increments.

After the dihedral and sweep angle were set, I drilled the rear mounting bolt hole and called it a day.

Hoping to get the struts measured and cut next time.

Build Time: 3 hours

Final Assembly Items

Wing Attachment

07SEP2026

Tom and I managed to get the wings partially attached to the fuselage, mainly the front attachment bolt in place. It was a bit of a process and learning curve on the first wing, but the second wing went much faster.

Next, we'll need to set the dihedral and angle of the wings and then cut the struts to size.

Build Time: 3 hours 30 minutes

Final Assembly Items

Flaperon Assembly, cont.

06 Jul & 25 Aug

I continued working on the flaperons on July 6th. I was able to get the second outboard section completed. As I started on the second inboard section, I realized I put the ribs in the first one facing the wrong direction, so I started drilling out rivets.

Today, Aug 25th, I was able to finish fixing the first inboard section and complete the second piece.

Both sets of flaperons are now finished!

Build Time: 9 hours 15 minutes

Flaperons

Flaperon Assembly

24-25JUN2026

I finally started assembling the flaperons. I was able to get one inboard and one outboard piece completed.

Build Time: 6 hours 45 minutes

Flaperons

Flaperon priming

14NOV2025

I finally finished priming all the flaperon parts.

I still need to prime the vertical stabilizer, but I may need to wait till next year, as we likely will not have any more warm days the rest of the year.

Build Time: 3 hours 45 minutes

Flaperons, Fuselage