I got a bunch of steps crossed off the directions today. The big task was creating the conical bends that allows the fuselage to smoothly transition from the center section to the aft section.
The first thing I did was remove all burrs and sharp edges from the corners of the flange that will be rolled. It’s common for builders to tear the skin when it’s being rolled, so deburring the edges will help distribute the stress. I marked off the bend line.
Here’s how I fixtured the part. It took a few iterations with the Dremel to remove enough material on the angle aluminum to ensure the parts would not contact when bending.
Here’s how the bent section turned out. It took some manipulating to get the holes aligned, but everything turned out pretty good.
The picture shows both side skins with the rolled transitions cleccoed in place. Looking good!
I was also able to clecco the F-XXX strap in place. The part interferes with one of the rivets on the bottom skin so I used my Dremel to remove the interfering material.
