Fuselage

Today I finished the downward bends and twists required on the forward ends of the longerons. The longerons are finished! Then I trimmed the 4 aft ends of the J-channels. I'm not sure how, or if, I need to trim the front ends. So I need to look into that before proceeding any further.

The downward bends in the longerons were easy. I clamped them carefully right at the point where the bend needs to be and slowly bent them using the same methods. Just push down and hammer at the point right next to the vice. By working carefully and straightening out any sideways bending that wants to occur, you can get this done nicely. I used my Smart Tool to measure the angle, which is supposed to be 17 degrees, until it was close. The final tweaking was done using the side skin as a template to check the bend against. It really feels good to have these done.

Here, 4 ends of the J channels have been trimmed according to the plans. Not sure yet if I have to do the other ends. The plans say each end is trimmed according to how it fits. So I guess I'll go ahead and assemble the aft end of the fuselage and see how it all goes.

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