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Progressive Aerodyne SeaRey
Page 3
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It's getting hot here, which is great for soaring. I had a two hour flight Friday afternoon and got close to 10,000 feet. Once my feet reluctantly returned to Earth . . . it was back to the SeaRey. We started the Gentle Persuasions to the Turtle Deck. The right side lined up great, but the left side is another story. The top edge of the hull is wavy, straight up and higher than the right side, while the lower center edge of the Turtle Deck is longer. I'll have to grind fiberglass. Great! I love fiberglass---- yeah right.
 Beginning Gentle Persuasions. |
 Right side lines up. |
 Right, inside. |
 Left, inside: Note the top edge of the hull. |
 Left side. |
 More Gentle Persuasions. |
 Some Tail Feathers. |
 OOPS! We have a problem: It won't fit! |
Fitting the turtle deck: Wow! What a task getting the left side to fit correctly. It took a while — on & off, on & off, on & off again — then, after putting it on with the root beam and turtle deck angles, it all started to fall into place. It had to come off one more time for a little more grinding, filing, and a couple new holes. TURTLE DECK IS DONE! Thanks Pillsbury. After cleaning out the mess in the hull, I then checked all the bolts, cables, cords, seals and wires; followed by three coats of White Lithium grease (spray) to all the bolts and tube ends. THE HULL IS DONE! Add the two together and we hit another milestone: the first 100 rivets (assorted rivets and two broken rivet guns ( It's hell when a rivet on the rivet gun breaks) :-) Thanks Dave. Next week we'll work on the tail boom covers then it's back to the cockpit. We hope to have the seats delivered soon.
 Pillsbury |
 Turtle Deck is done. |
 A fitting Supervisor |
 Cleco's at work. |
 Ready to close. |
 Thanks Dave! Only Fourteen Hundred more rivets to go! |
Holes. Lots of holes. After I installed the turtle deck bulkhead, I went back to fit the boom covers. Awww... sheet metal and fiberglass—this was more fun than those two years of Nascars. I'll rivet the boom covers in place later after I paint them, and finish the vertical fin. I don't like the way the tail wheel hits the retract cable. I'll do something about that later, but for now, it does look good. Next weekend I'll start fitting the pylon covers and fuel filler/vent.
 Bulkhead front |
 Bulkhead rear |
 Boom cover fitting |
 The Supervisor again. |
 The Bulkhead Inspection. |
 Right side |
 The underside. |
 Underside with splash shield and rudder. |
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