Fuselage bottom - final carving (4.0 hrs)
I have been waiting for the nose wheel cover for some time, and now that it has finally arrived from FeatherLite, I can continue carving the floor forward of the instrument panel.
First thing I did was tracing the outside of the part in its proper position.
 |
| Foam simulating the instrument panel (a machinist's square is in the back) |
Then I traced the inside, and used a saber saw to cut the foam along the inner line.
 |
| Inner line represents the exterior wall of the nose gear recess |
 |
| Cutting the inside of the wheel well |
This process was very simple and resulted in a nice big hole.
 |
| If every job could be this easy... |
 |
| Hole as seen from the nose wheel as it retracts |
Once again, I used the router to clear as much foam as possible to the charted depth of 1” (2.54 cm).
 |
| I had to freehand the curves |
 |
| Foam removed to final depth |
I used a small hand saw to quickly cut the slopes of the depressions.
 |
| I tried to protect the foam bottom with a cardboard insert, I later discarded it. |
A lot of sanding later, I arrived to the final configuration.
 |
| All the foam carving is done! |
 |
| The next step will be the biggest layup to date |
No comments:
Post a Comment