Matt's RV-8 Project



Matt Dralle's RV-8 Project
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Date:  6-21-2014
Number of Hours:  2.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Rounding Bottom Flange of Baggage Door - Part 01

For the RV-8 Rebuild I decided to build a new front baggage door for a number of reasons. The main reason was due to the less than stellar job I did with the bottom flange that intersects with the top of the fuselage. On the Ruby 1.0, when I finished the baggage door, I found that the bottom flange of the baggage door was sticking out away from the fuselage by about 3/16" and just looked stupid. At that point the door was already built, so the only option I really had was try to put a bend in it using the bending brake. The bend came out fine, but from the first flight to the mishap, I always hated the way that crease looked since it didn't match the rest of the fuselage.

So, on Ruby 2.0 I decided I was going to make a new door and hoped that the first one was just a fluke. Unfortunately, after I finished door #2 I found that I had exactly the same problem with the 3/16" gap at the bottom! Rather than using the brake, this time I clamped the flange between two 1/4" thick pieces of oak wood and tried to bend and stretch it so as to not leave a crease. The good news was that I did get a better fit and the crease was much less, but the bad news was that I didn't use enough clamps and the bend came out inconsistent front to back and, frankly looked a lot worse that the original one. Rats. Another one for the scrape pile.

Cont Next Log...
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First Attempt (Ruby 1.0)

First Attempt (Ruby 1.0)

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Second Attempt (Ruby 2.0)

Second Attempt (Ruby 2.0)

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Third Attempt - Virgin Skin, Initial Fit

Third Attempt - Virgin Skin, Initial Fit

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