This is a major milestone in the project. Known in the trade as ‘flipping the canoe’ it’s that time when the fuselage gets rotated the right way up for the first time.
With lots of careful planning and communication my Dad and I were both set to flip the canoe. So here goes…
There was a big sigh of relief shortly after this last picture. The canoe was now upright. But we weren’t done yet as there is no way those saw horses can hold the fuselage safely. Luckily another RV builder had kindly donated their fuselage stand and it had been sat in my garage for a couple of years. So in short order it was dusted off and assembled.
And after a bit of chit chat the fuselage was moved to the stand.
Next came the job of levelling the fuselage. The trouble with a digital level is it can really cause OCD. In the old days builders used a bubble level and close enough would do. With the digital level it’s easy to chase 0.1 degree all day long.
But it was done and I was happy with 0.00 degrees at the front, middle and back. No twist in the fuselage. Yay!
Later in the week I made the canopy gusset.
And then fitted the aft deck.
I wrapped up the week by marking out which rivets would also hold the static tube clips.
Overall a very productive week.