Flap System

Section 40

You really could finish this section in one day!  The first few hours are spent match drilling some pieces and using one of your gauges getting the right orientation of the entire assembly.  Then it's disassemble, deburr and prime.  I let the prime sit for a couple days before putting everything back together.

While waiting for the parts to dry I decided to push forward with fabricating some of the bushings the section calls out for.  I had previously made similar bushings and didn't enjoy the process.  The parts are small and when using the band saw and grinder get insanely hot.

Recently inheriting a number of tools I remembered there were some small pipe cutters that I felt would be a lot easier to manage than using the band saw.  Using these with a pair of vice grips I was able to make easy work of the cuts, and they're actually a lot more precise than using the band saw.

That's part of the job done, the rest involves grinding them flat as well as putting a bit of a rounded edge on them for a clean look.  To do this I just put them on a bolt and lightly held it with my thumb and just pressed it on the flat end of the grinder wheel.  To round the edge used the same bolt and allowed it to spin freely to get an edge.  Functioned a bit like a lathe and turned out nice.  Debur the inside and measure up and grind more if needed.

It's like Science!

All 4

Onto more of the fabrication bit I had to cut four nylonish bushings down to a required dimension.  They only require a bit off the top but state you can cut more to safe on weight.  I did for the funsy factor because I'm not sure the 3 ounces in weight saved will do much.  I tried the bandsaw with no luck and ended up going to my neighbors and using his grinder to cut the large chunks.  Then used a disc sander with 50 grit to form them up a bit.  Burned myself twice on the melted plastic but I'll survive.

To finish everything up you just get to bolting.  This is actually the hardest part in the entire section!  I don't have big hands at all but trying to get wrenches, bolts, washers and nuts in some of these places is challenging.  Again ended up having to get an extra 1/4 socket extension from my neighbor and chain a few together so I could properly torque the bolts in the side wall area.  I also had to enlarge the skin hole a bit so the assembly could go out a few inches to mount the center horn piece. In the end it all worked out and another section down.

Flap Motor

Completed!