The last task to complete for the F-705 bulkhead (seatback support) was to drill the holes in the big pieces of angle that sit on the top outside corners of the bulkhead. These also have a slot cut in them for the canopy latch.
The slots ended up being more of a pain than I would have thought. I drilled two holes for each end, but then of course had to somehow get rid of the material left between the holes. The small files I have proved to be almost useless because they have super fine teeth and polished more than removed material. But since that's all I had (or so I thought), I settled in for the long haul. The slots sure are ugly, but it was as good as I could do given the tools. When I was done, it dawned on me - two days ago I had sharpened my chainsaw! The chainsaw file would have worked perfectly and probably resulted in a much prettier product. Oh well.
I was a little worried about the egg/tilted shape of the slots relative to what they are supposed to be, but another builder sent me this picture and assured me the shape of the hole really doesn't matter much. He said the hole in the angle (the angle is behind 3 other pieces of sheet that have a pre-punched slot) is purely there to allow clearance for the tip of the canopy latching pin when the canopy is closed.
Next up was starting on the F-706 bulkhead, which is the bulkhead at the back of the baggage compartment. It's going to be interesting to see how all of this stiffens up when it's put together. The bulkhead material is incredibly thin and wobbly.
Three pieces of angle and two ribs attach to the back of the bulkhead. They support the elevator bellcrank.
I was getting antsy to prime before the sun went away, so I neglected to take any pictures of the 706 put together. I scuffed and cleaned up the 705 and 706 bulkhead parts and primed them with the Ekopoxy primer. The sun disappeared as soon as I started though, and the temperature dropped to about 50. It probably isn't fair to judge this primer when the temperature is 20 degrees cooler than it's supposed to be, but I'm really not liking it. The non-epoxy Ekoprime lays down so much nicer. The Ekopoxy is just hard to get a good finish with. I was really hoping I could get away with just the Ekopoxy for a final coat in the cockpit, but now I'm not so sure. I may have to rough it up down the road and spray some actual paint. I would only have to do a very small number of areas though. Most will be covered by panels and carpet. I'll see what it looks like tomorrow.
