Original Posted By: Doc Mosher
Subject: Pietenpol-List: Rear fuselageI can't quite make out what's going on on the plans with the rear "tail plug." I assume there is a solid piece of wood, vee shaped, that fits between thelower longerons, from the very tail up to the side struts, or up to the first bottom cross brace, which my plans say is to be 3 inches ahead of the side struts. Can someone make this a little more clear for me...I was having trouble figuring out how much to plane the tailposts to get the right angle for joining them. Had an engineer figure it out trigonometrically (about 5 degrees) but then he said, "Why don't you just do what the ancient Incas and Egyptians did when they had to get those big stones to match up perfectly in their pyramids?" Well, I'm a sucker for any method that's really simple. Basically, I just put a big spring clamp on the rear fuselage to hold the tailposts together -- the front fuselage sides had already been joined at the firewall and seat back bulkheads. Then, I fastened 100-grit sandpaper to both sides of a two foot long by about 4-inch wide strip of 1/4-inch plywood. I slidthe "sandpaper tool" between the tailposts and using a sawing motion, staying lined up with the centerline of the fuselage, gradually sanded just the right angle into the tailposts -- and of course, they match perfectly. Great exercise, too! I imagine the "pros" on the list already know about this method, but thought I'd share it. Will send some pics when I get the film developed...Anyway, she's starting to look like an airplane fuselage...many thanks for past advice -- and no doubt, future advice! Fred B. ________________________________________________________________________________Date: Tue, 07 Dec 2004 20:44:37 -0600