Hi Ari;
Looking good, keep her going. When the wings start to go together, it looks and feels more like an airplane. Great work.
Bob

Hours on Thursday: 1
Running total: 368

We glue ribs to the rear spar on the left wing.

Thank you for your encouragement Charlie, Larry and Bob. It motivates me to keep posting these photos.

We nail two little blocks of wood to the bench to hold the spar in place while we maneuver the ribs on it. We decide to glue the rear spar first, thinking it's easier to deal with the simpler butt join on the front when the back is in place.

It is looking wingier and wingier.

Ari.

winger and winger Yea I like that  Smells good too does'nt it. Charlie

Hey Ari;
Brings back fond memories.
Bob

Hi Ari,
I liked the way you build. It's pure without contamination. Keep it up!
Phil

i think his building is to neat and perfect, makes the rest of us look bad, lol. just kidding man, you should be very proud of the high quality of your work

Thank you for your encouragement guys. You do realize I shove all the garbage out of the way just enough that it's not visible on camera, and then reposition it again if I take a shot from a different angle.

Ari.

Hi Ari;
Hey, don't think you are the only one, LOL.
Bob

hi ari
have you fitted the diagonal members?these are ment to be fitted in the wing when glue is wet

sky dragon

Time today: 0.5
Running total: 368.5

Whoops. I just glued in the front spar, and now, after reading sky dragon's post, I see that the plans do say "fit all drag braces before gluing, see construction manual." Sadly, the manual says nothing about gluing in braces before gluing ribs to spars. I was going by the manual, didn't look at the plans today.

OK. Wait till the morning to figure out how to go from here.

Ari.

Ari, I did same thing on one of my wing panels, you can get them in it's just a little more difficult. Just don't get too rough with it.  It was one of those OH CRAP moments..

Ari, I put mine in the Airbike wings this way. Take a 1" hole saw and put a hole immediately beside where the front diagonal goes and then you can have an access point to slide the piece into the wing, then carefully measure and fit the diagonal to the rear spar point, remembering to leave a bit of an angle difference because when the diagonal goes in the front will be slightly to the left of the hole. If you choose to use a hole just above the location of the diagonal no angle difference is required. With the diagonal fit at the rear spar and the front of it sticking out the hole cut it almost parallel( remembering the angle will change slightly because of the offset hole) to the front of the front spar. Carefully trim the length of the front of the diagonal and keep fitting it till it will go inside the hole and fit the front spar. The wing will move slightly if you apply a little force to the spars and this will help getting the diagonal inside. #1 diagonal is easy but #2 and 3 are the ones that will take a bit of time to get right. I then made a round piece of 1/16 and glued it to fill the hole and put a 2 1/2" gusset to go over the hole area. It sounds harder than it really is. You could cut the 1" hole in the spar above where the diagonal goes, fit it then fill the hole and put your gusset to cover. Some others on here may have a better way. I could not get the diagonals any where close with out using the hole method because of the spar caps in the way. Sorry I didnt take any pics of this method. I did mine this way just to see if I could figure out a way to put the diagonals in place, experimental you see, actually I think the directly above method for the hole would be the overall best technique.

Thank you for sharing your process Tom. To clarify, the 1" hole you mention is in the front spar web, right? I remember seeing photos (Larry's maybe) of "light" spars with 3" or so holes in the webs. I wonder if the gussets you are describing are necessary for rigidity.

Ari.

Ari, I dont believe the gussets are necessary for strength, it was just my A&P background kicking in. If it dont move paint it, if it has a hole cover it up.The spars of the Legal Eagle are built with these lightning holes you describe. I used the front spar as I thought the vertical members of the ribs aft of the rear spar might interfere with inserting the diagonal properly, might not tho. I just used a 1" hole so I would have some "wiggle room" to move the diagonals around some before I trimmed the front to fit. You could, if you cut the initial hole right on the front vertical of the rib, use a coping saw and take out the ply straight from the upper and lower part of the hole to the rib and have plenty of room to get an exact fit of the diagonal and remove very little ply in the process.

Thank you for your advice Tom.

Ari.

Time today: 2
Running total: 370.5

We put in the diagonals, cutting holes like Tom describes. The holes look ugly.

Ari.

Well, we goofed up again. The 4 diagonals we put in, we put them in backwards. We have 4 anti-drag braces instead of anti-drag braces. Argh!

Some components go together easily. Others, seemingly arbitrarily, feel like pulling teeth.

Ari.

Time on Wednesday: 2x1.5
Running total: 373.5

We cut out the diagonals and put new ones in the way the plans show them. Second time around seems to go a lot smoother. The wing looks shameful with all the holes in spar webs and the remnants of old diagonals and their retaining blocks.

Ari.

Hi Ari;
Not to worry, when you get the fabric on, who's going to know, LOL. You know it is built right and and your quality of work is top notch. We all learn from our errors and go on. I don't think there is one person on this board that can say he never made an error, LOL. Keep her going. I know there are times that get you down some, but be assured that when you fly this little bird, it will all have been worth the effort. Just take a look at what you have done so far. You will gain the experience to enable you to build another plane if you ever want. We all have learned skills we didn't have before. Chin up bud, your doing great.
Bob

Thank you for your encouragement Bob.

Ari.

Time on Wednesday: 2x1
Running total: 375.5

We install compression rib members.

Ari.

Hours on Tuesday: 2x1
Running total: 377.5

We turn the wing around and glue in the trailing edge.

What ever happened to this thread?

Dave;
I don't know, he was doing such a great job. By logging his time and his pictures on the board, he was doing many people a great service. It would be the only complete log on any board, I think. The value to people would be great. Not to mention he would have completed a great flying little plane.
I hope he is OK and not sick or something bad. I have tried a few times to get in touch, but no return.
Iter, you are part of us here, come and say hello.
Bob

I hear ya, this thread has really helped me in my build.  I reference it frequently.

I have been in contact with Ari. If anybody is interested in his project he can be contacted at ari@lib.aero. I believe that he may entertain offers.

Sadly, the day has come when I must admit that I'm never finishing this airplane.

With a divorce and co-parenting a 4-year-old child, and now running a business, the airplane fits about as well as a round peg in my square life. In a few years Leah might be old enough to take an interest in the project. But this is a single-seater, and it would be another 11 years before she can solo in it. As it stands, I prefer to spend what free time I have with her on things we can enjoy together, right now.



So on to the airplane. I am willing to entertain any serious offer. The alternative is a charitable tax write-off. I need to move the fuselage out of its storage space this month. The people who are generously letting me store it in their warehouse need the space.

The fuselage is on gear; tail is complete; control linkages are in place for elevator and ailerons; all spars and all ribs complete. Left wing is complete through trailing edge installation. I have all remaining wood and hardware, fabric and covering materials. I also have a factory wheel brake kit. Entire build process is visible in this thread, but if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them.

The airplane is in Sunnyvale, Calif.

Again, I am willing to entertain any serious offers. As is, where is. Must go this month.

Ari.

Hi Ari,

Well so sorry to read your last post. I too am divorced. I brought my daughter up myself as the Ex didnt want her at all, and of coarse I did. (no Comments respectfully). I have spent the last 8 years single raising a child and working and flying both my Minimax and Rans S6s...Life does go on....and so do the adventures...in the Sky..and other places

Good luck with your choices.

Shame you have to let your aircraft go.....my Jodel is still in the workshop

regards Arthur

I hung my fuse in my Den for 2 years....
Stripped the gear and tail feathers off, stuck it thru a window and just hung it from center and tail spring......
Worked out well......
If you have room, it doesn't weigh a lot.

Ari, i am sure you will sell it but unless you really need the money it won't justify the time, love, and the desire to fly. you have done a great job building it so hang it up, go and enjoy raising your beautiful daughter. it will be waiting for you. if you still decide to sell it i will put the word out.