Great Lakes 2T1A-VR I-ESON "the Outatime Flyer"  |
March 4th - 2008
Tonigh has been the last English wheel session.We have shaped the very bottom panel and the engine cowl panels are now over. The job has taken over two months and hours and hours of challenge, but what at beginning was frustrating later turned into amazing, with quality increasing panel afet panel and, on the other hand, time reducing panel after panel. I have already trimmed the 4 quarters panels of the cowl along the cowl longerons (see copper clecos) and they are now ready for the floating anchor-nut and screws (top and bottom panel) and camloc fasteners (right and left side panels); The side panels will be removed often for engine inspection etc. so I opted for camloc here. Each quarter of the cowl is made of two halves (except for the botton panel which is composes by three) which need to be joint together into one single piece. (hold together with silver clecos) Now I have to decide how to do this; I have used weldable alloys (6082 for top panel, 5754 all other panels) so TIG welding could be performed and the seam later hammered with dolly and sanded/filed. Alternatively, I could rivet the halves together with a couple of inches strip riveted all along them. Will decide with Matteo next week, depending also upon the Welders' quotation..
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