Re: wing / strake incidence

["James F. Agnew" <RRT0162@IBM.NET>]

HYTEC45@aol.com wrote:
> 
> I know this is to late for Andy, but for others;
> 
> I am just going for memory ( I think the manual say so), but I bondoed a
> quality "machine leveling" level on top of the battery bulkhead (shimming to
> indicate fuselage level before bondoing) and it stayed there until the wings
> and canard were fitted.  You never have to check the canard or wings against
> each other, just the master level.  I never was able to mount the canard or
> either wing at the same time (two car garage) until the project went to the
> airport to fly.  I was overjoyed to find the thing flew straight and "hands
> off" out of the box, as it does today.
> 
> I machined some "pillow blocks" that clamped to each of the main gear axles,
> and one for the nose strut.  Welded to the bottom of the blocks is a small
> plate with a steel caster wheel welded to the bottom of it on one end, and a
> 7/8" hole on the other end with a 3/4"nut welded over the hole.  A 6" piece of
> 3/4" allthread is threded into the nut pointing down.  The main gear blocks
> were milled on a 10 degree angle so the plate would be parallel to the floor.
> With these things clamped to each gear, I could caster the fuselage 360' in
> the garage, and once positioned, screw the 3/4" allthread down to contact with
> the floor razing the casters off the floor.  This would allow me to level the
> thing in all directions, referencing the master level on the battery
> bulkhead,and provided a solid position.  I had to caster the fuselage sideways
> in the garage and attach each wing one at a time to fit, and install the
> strakes.

Anonymous, at last another person that knows how to machine fixtures.  

As far as the leveling goes, there is a very easy way to use your level
for fore-aft leveling that I have suggested a number of times, however,
with the turnover a lot of people miss the notes.  Take two pieces of 2"
aluminum angle or some hardwood blocks about 2" long.  You can glue them
(with something you can remove) or install them with nutplates for
future use.  Place one just behind the stick on the keel (so it will not
interfere with the stick) then having  carefully leveled your plane use
the forward block as a stop for your level, place the second block/angle
under the back of the level and slide it forward and aft until the level
reads zero.  Attach the second block at this point.  You now have a
permeant place to check the plane for level longitudinally.  Once you
have installed your spar correctly, the top center will act as your
lateral checkpoint.

For quickly leveling your plane nothing beats a set of the aluminum
screw jacks that they sell at RV places for RV leveling.  They run about
$40 a set of four and I had a set bolted to the four corners of my
cradle which was on casters..  I could level  the aircraft using a
SmartLevel in less than two minutes.  You quickly learn how many turns
translate into 1 degree  longitudinally or laterally.

Jim
-- 
//------10--------20--------30--------40--------50--------60--------70--------80
// James F. Agnew
// Tampa, FL
// Velocity 173 FG Elite ( http://www.VelocityAircraft.com/ ) under
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