Fuselage Prep for Wing Attachment
TLDR
Worked on a few misc items before mounting wings
- Rod ends on flaps
- Passenger row leather panels
- And air vents
- Wiring for fuel pumps
Details
Rod Ends
Installed the last few rod ends on the flaps and test fitted the flap on the wings. With flaps on and torque tubes connected, I got an idea of how long the torque tube extends out of the wing root, and temporarily installed the locking collar for the flaps.
Rear Row Leather Panel
The two leather panels for the rear row are huge. I want to install them while it’s still easy to get in and out of the cockpit.
The pilot side was pretty easy. Most of the holes for the rivnut still lined up. I used black M4 screws to mount the panel and only had to grind a few holes slightly to make them align.
The copilot side had more misalignments. Probably because the ELT antenna was interfering behind the panel so it couldn’t stick to the skin flat. I cut a few places around the panel, and made a notch where the ELT antenna is. After that, the panel fitted better but most of the screw holes needed some grinding to align.
Air Vents
After the leather panel is in place, the 2” holes I cut a few months ago lined up with the leather perfectly. I finally get to install the air vent for the rear passenger row. The installation is pretty easy. The vent is just a plastic piece that snaps onto the wall.
Fuel Pump Wiring
I need to find a routing to get the fuel pump wires from the cockpit side to the wing side. Since all the existing holes are already used or will be used for torque tubes, I decided to cut a new hole.
I picked a location between the fule inlet and return lines. First I drilled a 1/4” pilot hole, enlarged it to 1/2”, then used a small hole puncher to make it large enough to feed the fuel pump lines over. Then I added a rubber grommet for wire protection.
