Engine bearer supports

Well, the Jenny is back at the shop now. It's been a busy couple of weeks - the kids are home from school (say family vacation time), the swimming pool is open, neighbor kids sleeping over.....and the wife wants the stone fireplace done before July 4th. Hence, the slow progress on the aeroplane!

I did cut the threads on the engine bearer supports. They will be drilled for the cotter keys next, and then then heat treated.



I used a 1/4 in. 28 thread die.



Here they are.



I did get a chance to set the Hisso in place and line up the radiator. But, I got so wrapped up in measuring the lower spider plate support, I forgot to take pictures of it!

Be patient - the fireplace is almost done.

Enjoy

Brian

Display at fly-in

Since the fuselage was out of the jig, I thought I might as well do something with it. The Jenny was on display at the Peach State Aerodrome's Fly-In last weekend. Despite the 96 degree heat (hey, it's Georgia in the summer) we had a record crowd of fly-in traffic.



It was neat seeing the tail on the Jenny. Now it's time to get back to work.

Brian

Engine Mount rings

My next step is to put the engine in place and get the radiator/ lower spider plate lined up. So, I decided to firm up the engine bearers. They are held together with some bracketry, U-bolts and some thru-bolts.


To make the U bolts, I got a big bar of 2 in. steel stock and rounded the corners. Then, some 1/4 in. round steel was bent to the U shape.





You will need four U bolts. I left the legs longer than needed to make the bending process easier. The legs were then cut to 7 1/16 in.





The U bolts sit on top of the engine bearer. There is a small 3/8 in. wide plate the will be brazed to the U bolt. These were cut out of .060 sheet steel, drilled and filed with a bevel.






Here's the plate ready for brazing.









This is how it goes on the engine bearer.

Thankfully, I had a drawing for this!

Next step is brazing and cutting the threads. Till then,

Brian

Out of the jig today !

All right - the final fuselage structure wires have been made.



The cross member behind the front seat is recessed on a Jenny. Some Jennies have a curved bar at this station. Others have a strap - style spruce cross member. I decided to use the strap style. The drawings called for a 1 1/4 in. cross member, but the longeron are 1 1/2 in. wide. So, a shim had to be made.



And the shim sanded to a taper.



And put into place.



Ok, no more excuses - the fuselage came out of the jig today!



Here's another shot.



"Hey Dad. What's with the new swing set?"



Rear view.



Enjoy

Brian