·:[ Darryl's Coot Building Journal ]:·
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Here are some photos from the Coot-builders meeting in Arlington, WA. Richard Steeves will write a summary for the next newsletter, so I’ll just post the photos (click each photo for a larger version):

Two of the most difficult parts for a Coot builder to construct at home are the vertical “spars” for the engine pylon. Each is formed from a sheet of 0.125 2024-T3, and bent to a slightly greater than 90 degree angle. Your average sheet metal brake will not make these bends. A big hydraulic press with a radius die can.

My engine pylon is complete except for the front spar and the engine bed, that were both damaged in a trailer roll-over accident that a previous builder had. I’ve built the pieces for a new bed, and need to weld it together when I feel my welding is “aircraft grade.” This composite picture shows the damage to the pylon spar:

A big crack can be seen at the top (left side of photo). A new piece is need, manufactured by bending an 1/8 inch thick piece of 2024T3 to the correct dimensions.

Andy Adams found a shop that can handle this for about $100 (and the sheet of 2024 is about $100). So I bought a sheet at Wicks in Arlington at the air show today. Andy kindly agreed to take it to the machine shop and get it bent. (I suspect I’ll get it back from him when I see him next year at Arlington.)

Saturday, July 14th at Arlington will be a Coot builder’s meeting. We meet at noon this year in Forum Tent C. The host is Sean Wiens.