I’m still working through the mounting of the right step. I did my best to mark off the region of the fuselage skin that needs to be removed to avoid interference with the step’s weld fillet. I also had to trim a little material off the F-725 Aft Baggage Rib. After a few test fits I was able to get everything to mate properly.
I drill the holes specified in the locations specified in the planes. I left the 4th column of holes undrilled because that region interfaces with the F-724 Aft Fuselage Bulkhead. That row will be drilled after the step has been clecoed in place.
Here’s the step in clecoed to the fuselage. It’s looking good!
The aft section of the step’s plate need to be bent to match the curved surface of the conical section of the fuselage. I used a mallet to gradually from the curvature of the plate. It actually turned out pretty good.
The plans have you trim off the corner of the plate to ensure the transition looks good. I used my grinder to put a nice fillet on the corner of the plate.
Here’s an issue that’s not great. The previous time I came into the hanger, I removed about .250 inches off the step tube. You can see how only half of the UWMH block would be engaged with the tube. This is pretty concerning, so I’m going to have a spacer installed between the UHMW and the rib. I’m not sure how I messed this up, but it’s not the end of the world.
