Fuselage Structure

Dennis: This really is just like building a wooden model. The sticks were cut 3/4" square and 3/4" x 1/2" and, fitted into the jig to make each side just like a model.  We cut the sticks with uncle bill's Shop Smith using a hollow ground planner blade.  It gave a very smooth finish.

.

Dad: The glue we used was Weldwood Resourcenal, a two part glue, which was a white powder and an a maroon colored liquid, which I think was a mix of 50 % each.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dennis: Plywood was glued and nailed to the sides with a 12:1 scarf joint at the middle. All this nailing is one thing I would improve on with the nailer I've been using on my WACO NINE wing ribs.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dennis: With the sides finished, some simple jig boards made from pine 1x3's allowed the sides to be stood up in position to add all the cross members. Anyone who has built a stick model has done this. A little checking with a carpenter square kept everything square.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

One thing you don't have with models is all the gussets at the intersection of all the sticks. Lot's of time was spent cutting half and quarter circle gussets on the band saw we borrowed from our neighbor Wally (& Agnes) Morgan. Making these gussets is another thing I would do differently. Now I would make a router template for these and the wing ribs and route them from the plywood sheets like the nose rib gussets for the NINE.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Dennis: I believe the person working on the other side of the fuselage is uncle Peter, a regular helper while building. I don't know if he ever got to fly the plane. He flew police helicopters after he got out of the Army. His wife Sharon played match maker for Patricia and I a few years after this.

At this point the basic structure is complete. There are metal fittings which still need to be added for attaching the gear, etc.

Dennis: On the table is the start of the metal fittings. We tried using the band saw to the left but, it was not up to it. That's when Wally's saw got improved. The fittings are mostly from .095" cold rolled steel. Later we switched to 4130 steel but it is not required. Back when all the GM plants still existed in Flint cold rolled steel was easy to get locally.

Dennis: The last thing on the fuselage was the Instrument panel. Now you could sit in it and make airplane noises. Could life possibly get better.

24 Jan 64 - Starting To Build

Dennis: President Kennedy had been assassinated and the Beatles were on the Ed Sullivan Show, but we were going to build an Airplane. I think we wore out the plans looking at them. The first thing to do was to make a table to build the fuselage. It was made from plywood and 2x4s. It was winter in Michigan so this was inside work. The table was built in the recreation room in the basement. A full size drawing was made and stapled to the table. Blocks were nailed to the table to create a jig for building the sides. We were ready to build that Airplane.

1963 - The Plans

Dennis: The plans came in a nice 8 1/2" x 11" book with this inspiring picture of Pete flying his Baby. It just looks like something we could do. The book was divided into 8 sections ending with Assembly, Test, Flying.

Each section started with a list of of all the materials needed. The wood came from the local lumber yards, bolts often from the A & N (Army & Navy Surplus, pre Nike days) store, and other surplus stores in Detroit. We borrowed uncle Bill's Shop Smith to cut all the sticks and a nice Delta band saw from Wally, our next door neighbor. We slowed down the band saw to cut steel with a couple washing machine pulleys from the junk yard. I still use the pulleys for that purpose on a Craftsman band saw. My brother David eventually bought the band saw from Wally.

Each section had step by step instructions which were very clear and written for the novice. It truly was a matter of doing each step and checking them off the list. We never really worried so much about the big project as the next thing on the list.

Along with the instructions were clear simple drawings. Many were isometric drawings so it was easy to visualize what we were trying to do.