Cheerful Curmudgeon
At long last, I am doing something large that actually looks like an airplane part! I am making the flaps for my Bede BD-4C airplane. The wings are 10 feet wide; the flaps are made of two 40 inch wide halves and the aileron is another 40 inches. To make each half of the flap, I [...]
I am bemused to realize that I started this blog a little over eight years ago and this is my 600th posting. I remember being nervous back then, wondering if I would be able to find anything to write about. I made a commitment to try it for 90 days and then decide whether to [...]
Last night I installed the outer aileron support bracket on the right wing of my Bede BD-4C. Here is a bonus photo with all of the brackets labeled so you can see what all I have been babbling about for the last couple of weeks. Click on the picture to see a larger version.
The [...]
Having completed the mid-flap support brackets on the wings of my Bede BD-4C airplane, I continued working along the wing to the inboard aileron support bracket, which supports the outboard end of the flap and the inboard end of the aileron, and then to the outboard aileron support bracket. The outboard bracket [...]
The original wing design for the Bede BD-4 used a one-piece flap, about seven feet long. The new metal wing on my Bede BD-4C airplane uses a two-piece flap, with each half being about 3.5 feet wide. The ribs at the ends of each half are tied together with a pair of 1/4 inch steel [...]
I get to use some cool tools while building my Bede BD-4C airplane. The latest acquisition has been a Circular Hole Cutter. By adjusting the arm, I can cut a hole up to four inches in diameter. In these photos, I have it adjusted to cut a hole 1.5 inches in diameter.
The [...]
It’s hard to believe that I have been writing this blog for almost eight years and that WordPress (the software which drives this web site) is going on ten years old. To celebrate both, I just ordered my WordPress 10th Anniversary T-Shirt.
I built a jig to help me assemble the flaps and ailerons of my BD-4C. Note the use of aviation-grade aluminum gutter flashing to face the jig, obtained from the aviation aisle at the local hardware store.
Here is a shot with a flap skin and three ribs set into the jig.
I started on the flaps for my Bede BD-4C airplane this week. The adventure began on Monday when Jim and Patrick and Rich very kindly came over and helped carry the wings out of the basement and into the garage. Each wing is 10 feet long and weighs about 85 pounds. The weight isn’t so [...]
I am finished working on the controls for my Bede BD-4C airplane! (At least for awhile.) The last month has seen a bunch of fiddly little stuff that has been hard to photograph so I have not posted anything. Tonight, I finally wrapped up the controls. The rudder pedals are hooked up to the rudder. [...]
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