More Small Victories

One Wing Stand down, one more to go, and then a few other minor details, etc., etc.

Working last night and again tonight, I was able to finish fabricating the threaded rod brackets and drilling the remaining holes in the other side of Wing Stand # 1. So the supports are essentially done for one wing stand. this first pic of the threaded rod brackets after I drilled one 1/4 inch hole and one 5/16 inch hole for each bracket.

Next is a series of pics showing the completed assembly of one support:

I just noticed that the store label on the outside of the support angle gives an optical illusion of the angle being slightly bent in the above photo - wierd! I will remove this later to keep it from paying tricks on my mind as I build the wings.

With that side done, it was time to finish the other side. First was the bottom side hole - same as the first side - 9.25 inches below the mounting hole for the support angle. I measured and marked the spot just as before, and drilled the hole on the first side of the stand. This next pic shows what I think I tried to describe in earlier posts but may not have done so very clearly. Pics are worth a thousand words. THis shows how I measured the precise location of the first hole so I could transfer the dimensions over to the other side with reasonable certainty that they were the same. The straight edge is clamped so that it serves as a hard stop for the tape measure.

I transferred the dimensions over to the other side of the stand. This time the hole lined up almost perfectly. I then drilled the other 1/4 inch mounting hole in the angle bracket, and it was time to assemble the hardware for that side.

And then the final touch. To prevent the rough steel angles from scuffing the wing spars during assembly on the stand, I placed Gorilla tape over the tops of both angle supports. The spar will be clamped in place on one end, and the outboard end of the wing will be attached to the opposite support angle via yet another support angle that will be drilled and mounted to the last wing rib, and susequently to the top of the attached support angle bracket. Again, easier to see than to describe.

Anyway, feels good to complete the brackets for one wing stand. Now I just have to measure and drill and mount the supports for the other stand. Since tomorrow is Valentines day, adn the following day is my local EAA chapter 301 meeting night, I may not get this done until this weekend, but it will get done. You keep celebrating the small victories, and one day they all add up to one huge victory celebration when that first flight is entered into the logbook and engrained into your memory forever. Still looking forward to that day, whenever it may be.