BearHawk #1352

BearHawk #1352 Chronicling the adventures of scratch building a Bearhawk.

Assembled the main spars for what should be the final time today. We'll be using Dave's method of back riveting so they ...
03/29/2017

Assembled the main spars for what should be the final time today. We'll be using Dave's method of back riveting so they should be riveted tomorrow or Friday. Then it's on to the rear spars.

Finished remaking the left attach plate today. It took less time and came out better than I expected so I'm pretty happy...
01/28/2017

Finished remaking the left attach plate today. It took less time and came out better than I expected so I'm pretty happy with it. Here's hoping the right one goes as smoothly.

As I was upsizing the cap strip rivet holes, I found a mistake I made when making and drilling the attach plates. The ed...
01/25/2017

As I was upsizing the cap strip rivet holes, I found a mistake I made when making and drilling the attach plates. The edge distance for the bottom/top outbound rivet is well below minimums. Since I used the same template for the right spar, it's got the same issue so I'll be fixing both of them over the next few days.

The bottom is an easy fix by just adding some extra material when I make the new one. To fix the top I need to add some extra material as well, and that means I'll have to the end of the upper cap strip. This will put the split halfway between the rivets and give good edge distance to both sides without reducing structural integrity.

Unfortunate that I missed it until now, but I'd rather find out and fix it now rather than during an inspection or worse in the air.

01/17/2017

After a rather long break for life, we are back at it again! Stay tuned for updates.

Been keeping busy the past two months. Got the right main spar ready to prep for priming and the second should be there ...
08/20/2016

Been keeping busy the past two months. Got the right main spar ready to prep for priming and the second should be there in a week or so. Then it's on to the rear spars.

There's no going back now. I drilled the first holes in the main spar today. I must've checked each measurement against ...
06/27/2016

There's no going back now. I drilled the first holes in the main spar today. I must've checked each measurement against the plans 4 or 5 times before finally committing to drilling each hole since if these holes were in the wrong place, I'd be making some new spars. Fortunately that won't be necessary.

I was finally able to pick up my bent spars today. I had to switch shops since the first shop got extra busy and didn't ...
06/25/2016

I was finally able to pick up my bent spars today. I had to switch shops since the first shop got extra busy and didn't have time to get to them any time soon. The second shop I went to did an amazing job. The ribs fit great. No wiggle room, but not so tight that I can't get them in place.

Got the cap strip material in today. Only took them out of the box and checked them over for scratches and such today. M...
06/24/2016

Got the cap strip material in today. Only took them out of the box and checked them over for scratches and such today. Mostly just some minor stuff, but one piece does have a decent gash in it. Hopefully I'll be able to buff it out. Should start cutting to size tomorrow.

While my spars are being bent, I've been working on all the attach plates, splice plates, and spacers for the spars and ...
05/27/2016

While my spars are being bent, I've been working on all the attach plates, splice plates, and spacers for the spars and got them all finished up tonight. Now to start making more attach angles.

The past few weeks have been pretty busy. Finally got our tables built for the future fuselage build. Took a lot longer ...
05/13/2016

The past few weeks have been pretty busy. Finally got our tables built for the future fuselage build. Took a lot longer than expected. Most of the extra time was trying to get the leveling system figured out and installed. The tables need to be perfectly flat and level so I made sure to get it right the first time. The reason for having three smaller tables joined together instead of one large table is portability. I'm expecting to move at least twice before the build is finished and three 6' tables are easier to move than one 18' table.

We also laid out, cut, and deburred all the spar blanks over the past few days. I'll be taking them to a shop tomorrow to get them bent.

04/20/2016

So we're finally back at it after a few months away from the project. We managed to get all the rib stiffeners riveted on over the last month so it's about time for the next order of aluminum to get to work on the spars. Before we start that we'll be building some new worktables to accommodate the length of the spars. They'll be a bit overkill for the spars, but eventually these will be the tables used to layout and tack the fuselage so they'll need to be sturdy. Hoping to have the first one finished later tonight

We've been laying out stiffener holes and starting to rivet them onto nose ribs. With both of us out there working we ca...
11/12/2015

We've been laying out stiffener holes and starting to rivet them onto nose ribs. With both of us out there working we can move right along on them.

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Wheatland, CA

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