Nose and nose gear - part 15

Standing tall (1.0 hrs)

It has taken nearly 3 years of work so far, and putting it all together for the first "fuselage lift" was very exciting.

I started out by greasing the nose gear top hinge bearings with Mobilgrease 28...

This is some messy goop!

Mobilgrease 28 meets the quality level of U.S. Military Specification MIL-G-81322E, General-Purpose, Aircraft.

... then bolted the gear back on the nose, and connected the car battery.

Note: Although the nose does not achieve full strength until after being glassed on the outside, the weight on the front gear (without pilot and passenger) seemed light enough to allow for this short test. 

Standing up for the first time

After disconnecting the battery leads, I gently rolled the fuselage outside on its own 3 wheels to take a few “glamour shots”.

Starting to look like something

Looking good

Proud parent