Nose Gear Mechanics

Looking back over the year of Cozy making, we've accomplished quite a bit. Certainly quite a bit more than what I've shared through this blog. Despite my lack of Cozy updates, I'm calling this year a success in terms of airplane building. Sure, we still have a lot of work ahead of us, but it's nice to look back at the beginning and see how far we've come.

Speaking of the beginning, here's a little post about the work that was done back in January of this year. (Yikes! You mean to tell me this year is over already?!) I skimmed over this particular subsection during the nose gear box build, but feel it's an important assembly step to cover.

The nose gear reminded me of one of those kits you purchase that has all of the components in it and you just have to put the pieces together. Except bigger and a bit more labor intensive. And I don't believe it was really a kit you could purchase and know that everything you need is in a box. In fact, the nose gear is nothing like those kits, so nevermind.

Enter the glass strut:

This was a purchased piece that alleviated the need to spend hours putting together (and potentially messing up) a very critical piece of the airplane. Plus, we would not have been able to make it with the equipment we currently have, anyway. In order to discourage delamination, the plans call for wrapping the strut with two plies of BID. Before getting around to applying the additional glass, the strut had to be checked for fit and trimmed a bit. Once that was taken care of, the first layer of BID was laid down with peel-ply. Once that cured, the peel-ply was removed (leaving behind a lovely surface for additional bonding), the strut was flipped over, and another ply of BID laid down.

All the while the strut was curing, the NG-30s were coming together. With those figured out, the MKNG-6 (the metal piece below) was fit checked.

The purchased electric nose gear drive was also fit in place and everything bolted together. From there, the strut was placed and aligned.

When everything looked proper, the strut was bonded into the MKNG-6 with flox.

As the flox cured, Ced put together the "backup plate NG-5" which is the "plate (that) protects the strut after the puck is gone" during a nosewheel up landing, should one occur.

Not pictured are the bonding of the MKNG-3, -4, and -15A. These are the metal bits around the middle of the strut and at the end of the strut. Just imagine some sanding, fit-checking, and floxing and you'll be caught up.

From here we got into putting the nose gear floor and walls on, but I'll show you the nose gear wheel because it's so shiny.

Ah, isn't that better? There's the mostly complete nose gear minus an airplane. It certainly looks like it can get some maneuvering done, right? I think so. 

Oh, and in case you'd like to see the gear retract (minus the wheel), here you go:

GahGuilt

Every now and then I get overwhelming bouts of guilt for not drawing, so I force myself to neglect certain tasks for a bit so I can sit and draw for a period of time. I have not picked up charcoal since 2006/07ish and have been itching to try my hand at it again. With subject matter chosen (something small so I could actually complete the drawing), I set up a quick studio in a cat-free zone and set to work for an afternoon. This little guy is around 6" x 4" on Canson Mi-Teintes paper. Mmm canson mi-teintes.

I feel there is a certain fragmentation in my drawing style(s). I think that's ok. It really just depends on the mood I'm in as to what will go down on paper. Yeah, let's go with that.

After talking to a coworker about his upcoming nuptials, this little fella told me he needed to exist.

So I made him exist.

This is about as sweet and sappy as I'll get. On certain days, anyway.

Installing the Canard

With the canard complete it was time to fit the canard to the fuselage. Remember the lift tabs that were bonded in? Well, those are now coming into play.

Bonded lift tab just hanging out in the upper right.

Before taking any action, one has to make sure the canard lines up perfectly on the fuselage. It had to be level, centered, and perpendicular to the fuselage. Unfortunately, the F-22 bulkhead was a bit twisted, so the attach points had to be evened out before proceeding.

While the added glass cured, Ced cut out alignment tabs to bond onto the canard's trailing edge. These tabs will mount to the F-28 bulkhead (the bulkhead in the photo below that has a "P" on it).

The canard is upside down.

Curing alignment tab

 With things squared up and the tabs cured, it was time to fit the canard on the fuselage.

Ced carved the side wall foam of the nose and marked out where the torque tube will slide into the fuselage wall.

 Fits like a glove (with the appropriate wiggle room).

 With the canard sitting well on the fuselage, the elevators needed a trim.

Trimming complete, hardware was ready to go in.

The four attach points (two in the F-22 bulkhead in front and two in the F-28 bulkhead behind) were prepped and ready for the canard to be mounted.

Look! A lifting surface!

Things fit well together and the "boat" was looking more like a plane. Well, it did for a few hours. Once everything was sorted, the canard was unbolted from the fuselage and put back into storage.

(Quick summary:  The canard was squared up to the fuselage, holes were drilled in the two bulkheads that the canard attaches to, and hardware was installed.)

Don't judge me by my poorly drawn bulkheads.

Craft Nerd

Making "crafts" can be treacherous territory; one glitter sprinkle too many and you're in the world of garish kitsch. People will never take you seriously again and your whole career as Craft Extraordinaire is doomed for failure. Your opinions and design input will always be ignored and no one will want to visit your home for fear of being "gifted" with floral painted mason jars meant for storing change or other knick knacks.

Despite the stigma of "crafts," I decided to let my craft-nerd run free and make a fall wreath. Sure, I could have purchased a wreath online for $40+, but I'm cheap. Perhaps I could have put that floral design class to use and made my own. Unfortunately, we do not have many mature trees and shrubs to harvest enough material to make a decent wreath. What was I to do? Well, we had a ton of cardboard boxes lying around and I had a lot of fabric waiting to be used.

I measured the front door to get an idea of how large a wreath I could make, grabbed some string and a pencil, and marked out several circles on the cardboard. After hacking away with my #11 X-acto, I had a stack of relatively concentric circles. These were sandwiched with classic Elmer's glue and left to dry while I grabbed various fall-ish fabric swatches and cut out approximately fifty leaves. 

Once all my materials were ready and the rings were dry, the "wreath bones" were wrapped in fabric strips.

The leaves were then layered in alternating colors and styles. . .

. . . and hot glued in place. You can't make a craft without hot glue.

From here I scrunched the tips of the leaves a bit and tacked them in place to add a little dimension to the wreath.

Satisfied with the final product, on the front door it went.

I understand not everyone has a love for crafts and I may have sealed my fate as "tasteless country girl" by hanging a cardboard wreath on the front door. I think I'm ok with that, though. I do promise not to go too overboard with the crafts and I want you to know that if you stop by you won't be leaving with an empty floral painted mason jar. It'll most likely have homemade jam in it.

Cause and Effect

Because of this:

I relocated the hummingbird feeder,

and this happened:

Four!

Five!

Evolution of Pig

Who doesn't love pork?

Ok, plenty of people do not love pork. Some even loathe pork. Some can not fathom the idea of slaughtering such precious piglets while others can not fathom the idea of not indulging in a meal of pork.

I tend to find myself enjoying pork more and more. Pork and I had an on again/off again relationship for quite some time, but I'm learning to appreciate pork for what it is. Delicious. (At least when prepared properly.)

My cooking adventures are leading me to new and exciting recipes that delve into using cuts I've never considered before. Cuts I'd shy away from while perusing the meat department. Cuts I'd stare at questioningly, wondering what part of the pig it came from and why anyone would bother with it when there are perfectly good (and familiar) pork chops in the next refrigerated section over.

As pork and my relationship grows stronger, I decided to dedicate a small drawing to this tasty meat.

Because I could.

Wishing I didn't pen the outlines. Yuck.

Bossy Bird and Other Tails

A few weeks ago my neighbor told me a recipe for homemade hummingbird food: mix three cups water with one cup sugar, boil, cool, done. So I bought a feeder and made the food and lo and behold . . . hummingbirds appeared!

These little guys are quite entertaining.

I never realized how territorial hummingbirds are. There are around five that rotate out the role of "Bossy Bird." Depending on the time of the day, one bird will stake claim of the feeder.

The bird in charge will perch above the feeder and twitter on about his new found fountain of deliciousness.

Blabbering on like that attracts other birds to attempt a drink. The bird in charge then chases off the intruder bird all the while a second intruder bird comes by for a sneak swig.



This pisses off the bird in charge, who will hover behind the offender, twittering on about theft and fanning his tail feathers.

Bossy bird eventually gets over it and realizes he has a drinking buddy

This lasts for a few seconds until the next bird comes by and claims ownership.

For such tiny birds, they consume a lot of sugar water. I had initially estimated the handful of birds to go through a feeder full of food every ten days. Their appetite has picked up and they're now draining a feeder every few days.

See, they're expanding at an extraordinary rate!