Continued work on forward access panels

I continued work on my forward access panels. This is tendious work as you have a lot of cutting, filing, shaping, trial fitting and more filing & shaping until you like what you see.

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I first used the fuselage side panels to draw the shape of my panel. I cut it out on my band saw and then filed it down to shape. I left a gap of aproximately .032 all a way around the side panel opening and my access panel edge to allow for paint thickness.

Next it was time to make the mounting flange. I found a large washer that had a width of 5/8" from the center hole to the edge. I used this to trace an outline around my panel. I placed my access panel on top of the material I was making my flange from and placed the washer directly up against the edge of it. I simply used a Sharpie pen and placed it in the washer hole and rotated the washer all a way around the edge of my access panel to get an outline of what will be the outside edge of my mounting flange. Then I cut this out and filed the edge smooth.

To get the outline of the inside edge of the mounting flange I measured in from the outside edge 1.25" (2 x 5/8") and drew lines that intersected on all four sides. I then drew rounded corners to my liking. I drilled holes near these corners to provide access for my jigsaw blade and carefully cut the inside out.

Filing the inside is a challenge and requires patients to get a nice finish. On my second one (I have panels on both sides), I used a hole sander in the corners first to remove most of the material and then finished with the file.

The next step will be to mate everything.

Creating an access hole

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After seeing Dave Thatcher's plane at last year's Sun 'N Fun, I knew I wanted to incorporate an access panel to gain access to the rudder pedals and brakes. This is what I worked on over the last few days.

I decided to put one on each side. I had received a couple of photos from Dave with dimensions I could use, but I also asked Peter Beck for his views on the size and location of this hole since he has had access to Dave's plane. Peter said that he is shipping kits with a larger hole than Dave used. I finally settled on a size that was between the two at about 10" long x 8" high at one end and 5" high at the other with 3/4" radius in the corners. I then drew this up on a software package I use to create sign layouts called Corel Draw, and printed it out for a pattern. I drilled holes in the corners and used a jig saw to cut out the larger access hole. I then used files to finish the shaping. Now I could used this hole as a pattern for the cover plate which I cut out using my band saw.

I called a local, more experinced RV6 builder to see how close of a fit I should try to achieve between the cover and the access hole. He cautioned against too close of a fit, because once you paint the peices they may fit too tightly and chip the paint. He suggested I use some scrap .032 material and maintain this gap distance all away around the cover plate. Then I filed the cover plate down to this tolerance. I'll include pictures of this cover in the next update when I have completed the creation and installation of the mounting plate and cover.

Here is what she looks like with both forward skins temporarily attached together.

Forward Side Panels

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I continued to work on the forward fuselage side panels. I decided to create one piece instead of two that attach from the firewall back to F5. Seemed easier and Dave Thatcher said it would actually be better. Again, once I had one side fitted, I used it as a pattern for the other side. I won't be ready to drill rivet holes for a while, but the panels are cut. Next to do item is to cut an access door in both side panels so you can get at the rudder pedals and brake assemblies.

Just trying to keep moving forward.

I need to finish skinning the bottom of the rear fuselage, but I want to take the skins to our EAA chapter's metal brake to bend the flanges in my 3 skin pieces. However, the brake is in an unheated shed at a small urban farm and we have at least 2 feet of snow on the ground and it is cold. Gaining access to the brake is not in the near future. So, I'm cutting & fitting the forward skin pieces.

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I cut and fit one side of the cockpit side skin and used it as a pattern to cut the 2nd side. No big deal, but progress was made.