Flattened tubes ends as per blue prints, but found they tend to crack at the hole. I don't think T6 is meant to be crushed in a vise. I will have to ask FFP if theyhave a new design, or come up with a new way myself, like bolting 1/8" plates to the side of the tubing.

Drilled 1/8" holes all the way around cockpit openings , 3/8 " from the edge, to lace the future leather trimmed padding.

Cut out luggage compartment door in bulkhead behind pilot seat, and made an aluminum door with aluminum piano hinge mounted with brass screws.

Varnished bulkhead, turtledeck, front seat, pedals, and rest of floor .

Cut a piece of padouk to panel size and planed it down to 3/32", after attempting uncessfully to slice it in half . Drilled 3" holes to match 3 1/4" holes in plywood panel , added 2 1/8" holes and matching 2 1/4' holes in plywood .Mounted airspeed and vertical speed gauges with brass acorn nuts. Looks real good!

Sanded overlapping circles on luggage compartment aluminum door with 1" disk on drill press, sealed it with clear gloss lacquer, and installed with brass screws and copper washers. Looks real good!

Added missing blocks and ply gussets to top longeron at firewall. Gussetted tank support, added spacers in front.

Varnished the 2 frames.

Made new larger brackets for front of cabanes out of 1" channel.

Finished cabanes , took down the plywood jig and put them back up with 3/4" spacers between plates.

Installed turtledeck aluminum pieces, cut holes to get cabanes through.

Worked on cardboard pattern for front turtledeck. The holes for the cabanes have to be very oblong. Cut 2" hole for gas tank neck. Traced pattern on a sheet of .020 thick 6061T6 aluminum.

Cut out of .020 thick 6061T6 aluminum the front turtledeck cover. Light, but plenty stiff once bent around the curve.

Sanded and varnished frames a second time.

Cut , fit , and install firewall aluminum pieces .

Spackled and sanded elevator and stabilizer unit before second coat of varnish.

Cut tentative cardboard patters for winshields. I like the swept back look. A simple curved piece of plexiglass should do it , attached to the turtledeck with small angle brackets. Or better, a fitted copper piece all the way across the bottom of the windshiels. The bent in the plastic should keep it stiff enough.

Cut a padauk circle with a 2" hole to fit compass in aluminum bullet I had , re-enforced with 1/16" plywood , and mounted above panel on turtledeck in front of windshield with two long metal screws through 3/8"x 3/4" tubes. Padded interior with cotton to suspend compass and protect it from vibrations.

Stretched fabric on one of the frames after coating it with 2 coats of diluted Poly-Brush. Used Poly-Tak to attach the fabric , and pressed it down in the wet glue. Pulled it flat , but not tight. Messy, I need to get rubber gloves! I also need to get an iron and a thermometer to calibrate it.

Sanded and put a second coat of polyurethane on one side of stabilizer/elevator assembly.

Added 3/4"x2/4"brace to mount pilot throttle quadrant lower , more or less at elbow level, where it fits comfortably in the hand. The front quadrant will move down too, but not so low as to interfere with the rudder pedal.

Cut and bent a 3/4"x1/16" aluminum strip and brackets to attach bent plexiglas windshield.Cut out pattern out of an old piece of 1/8" plexi .

I may end up using a thinner and more scratch resistant polycarbonate . Will use a 1" strip of brass or copper in front of the plexi.

Made 5 small angled aluminum brackets to attach it to the turtledeck.Went by the tin shop to have neat 1" copper strips cut. Used a 1 " wide plexi strip as a spacer to drill the holes through the copper, the alu strip and the brackets, keeping everything nicely curving around the deck with a good slant. Installed windshield.

Added 1/4" spacer and 1/8"ply plate to bolt quadrants to. Installed quadrants in new lower location. Much better, they fall naturally under the hand.

Added 1/2"x1/2" strip on top of existing strip on top of boot to have something to screw the aluminum firewall panel to(the screws just went through the 1/8" plywood firewall).

Debated with Gib wether the trim lever I got would work the right way: lever forward>push cable> tab up> elevator down>nose down, seems OK. I guess I will use that locking lever even though it is heavier than the advertized 8 oz. Glued a 1/4 strip to the side of the member to the right of the pilot seat to be able to bolt to it.

Installed front windshield, same as back one, only smaller.

Installed aluminum plate on floor below rudder pedals , and moved pedal back and a little in so bolt would clear member. Also had to trim the passenger seat a little on each side so the toe brake bracket would not rub.

Shortened travel of pedal by moving the bracket up about 1" to the level of the hinge bolts.

Made right rudder pedal with toe brake to match the left one.

Shortened push/pull rods so neutral position of pedals is more vertical, so the toe brakes can be operated with full rudder.

I need to figure out the best way to attach the tail wheel to the rudder push/pull rods. Just to see, I made two flat 1/2"x1/8" connecting rods attached to each side of the rudder horn , and to the brackets of the tail wheel with the supplied springs.Kinda works...

I got the idea from Buddy Tollison to use sheep skin guides for the push rods, as was apparently done in olden times. So I ordered some scraps from Tandy, and tried a piece screwed to the seat cross brace. I may have to spray the wool with WD40, or grease it, but it seems to work, and Ilike the idea....

Cleaned up and organized tools.

Spackled other side of stabilizer/elevator unit .

Fit plywood sides. Had to cut forward pieces a little longer . Traced position of all longerons and members on the inside . Drilled small holes at key locations to line up decorative nails with center of members. Sanded all panels inside and out.

Varnished inside of panels except where they will be glued to the frame.

Cut, fit rod ends with rivets and installed final linkage between front and rear rudder pedals.

Cut, fit rod ends and install final linkage for right rudder pedal.

Gave a second coat of varnish to inside of side panels except where they are going to be glued to the frame.Gave 2 coats of varnish to outside of side plywood panels.
Sanded and second coated other side of stabilizer/elevator unit

Attached side panels with temporary screws and put cowling back down over their top edge. Cut slots for wing attachment to rear spar carry thru .

Trimmed four 3/4"x1/4" stringers down to 1/2"x3/16" to glue to geodetic in tail section so the fabric touches those instead of the geodetic . I definitely like the way the light shows the structure through the clear fabric in the picture, and that confirms me in my desire to just clear coat the fabric.

Made new wider aluminum bracke.t to replace the heavy steel bracket and attach the trim lever. Installed the Bowden cable with fittings. Had to enlarge the hole in the Bowden cable clamp to fit the 7/32" casing and the hole in the B-nut to fit the .078 cable.

Tried fitting the trim tab brackets with a B-nut and cable housing clamp. My only concern is the short travel of the trim tab lever in the cockpit . I may have to make a taller bracket to mount to the trim tab to increase the lever arm and therefore the travel . I could also drill a hole closer to the axle of the lever in the cockpit.

Made and installed two aluminum backing plates for the third cabane member.

Used iron to stretch fabric, first at 250F, then to 350F twice . I used the littlecoiled spring thermometer, which seems to work fine. Brushed a coat of Poly-Brush on one side, glued rib tape and 1" pinked tape.

Brushed a coat of nitrate dope on the other side, then a coat of butyrate. Polybrush seems best, goes on smoother, doesn't smell as bad.

Gave a second coat of Poly-Brush, OUTSIDE !

Lined up stringers on sides of geodetic tail section , and glued in place , with little spacer blocks where necessary.

Dave Melvin came by to look the plane over, and seemed to like it. He pointed out the pedals were narrow, which I know. You have to fit two pedals and a seat in 24'',so you either need very narrow shoes( I looked at driving shoes on the internet) , or passengers with very small butts! Actually, preferably both...Also, the bolts on the side of the rudder pedals tend to catch on the vertical member. We looked at a way to attach the brakes, either a bracket, or bolts through the washer welded to the axle. Decided to drill 2 holes , after grinding away part of the lip, and bolt them.

Sanded stringers and geodetic on tail, and gave a coat of varnish. I will have to turn the fuselage sideways to do the bottom, but first need to decide whether I leave it flat as the sides, or round it, even build a fairing for the control stick connecting rod that sticks out under the bottom of the fuselage. I may have to make a turning jig to cover it anyway.

Cut and installed sheep skin guides for the push/pull tods, screwed to wood blocks glued to the side of the bulkheads.

Started designing the Artwork for the name of the plane: Spirit of Thomas?  Espiritu Tomas? Spiritus Tomas?

I called Fisher about thee drums brakes being identical, and Gene tried to sell me the new hydraulic disk brakes. I would like them, but that's what I got, and will try to do with them. Having trouble with the alignment of the brakes though, that are not well centered with the wheels. Loosening the screws attaching the drums helps , but I don't like that much. If I were to go with new wheels and brakes, I would love some big WW1 spoke wheels, so I did some research on the net. Not much to be found , except some nice sturdy 24" ones designed and made by Airdrome Aeroplanes for WW1 reproductions. The only problem is they cost about $250 each(not assembled) and also weight 18 lbs each! The wheels I have actually only weight 11 lbs... That would be 14 lbs extra, and would raise the axles 5". I suppose I could extend the tail wheel spring down... That would be the right look...

I am going to first finish the wing that Tom Hall built, and make the aileron, before building the remaining 3 wings.

Glued 3/8"x1/16" strips to 1/4"capstrips on the top side of the wing, to re-enforce the ribs(Fisher now uses 3/8" instead of 1/4" capstrips), to make plywood leading edge wrap and wing walk level with ribcaps, and to have a 3/8"wide rib lacing stitch over 3/8" cotton tape.

Started shaping profile of wing tip bow.

Designed Artwork for name of plane: the Spiritus Thomas . I will cut it out of thin aluminum sheet and glue/nail it to the side of the wood fuselage .

Started on the aileron this morning, and finding a lot of discrepancies between the blueprint and the reality. The aileron spar is not quite wide enough (because the ribs are a little taller than they should), and if I notch it by the blueprint, it will be loose. The plywood end ribs for the aileron are on the small side too, and the leading edge shape is more eliptical , which diminishes the angle of travel up and down. Should I trim them into a perfect circle as per blue print.

Also wondering just how much clearance to leave on each side. Chuck said 1/4" would be good.

I went ahead and installed the hinges to see how the aileron is going to fit and rotate, and what the gap is going to be as it moves up and down . I cut a temporary bevelled strip, and bevelled it at a sharper angle and moved it back and forth until I got the best possible fit. That gives about 1/4" gap at neutral,almost no gap on top with aileron up 28 degrees, and about 1/2" gap on top with aileron down 25 degrees. I suppose that is satisfactory.

It seems to me though that the gap could stay about the same through the rotation if the hinge pin was moved further back to the center of the circle. But that means the hinge would have to extend farther and the hole in it be moved back too. That would require new hinge brackets. I will make it work with what I got!

Varnished other side of wing and aileron.

Dry fitted 1/32" plywood leading edge of aileron and marked glue lines. Varnished inside parts except for glue lines.

Finished varnishing wing. Gave second coat to inside of aileron leading edge plywood.

Screwed beveled 2x4 to table and nailed trailing edge of right top wing to it. Slid 11 ribs over front spar,and glued them in trailing edge slots, using rubber bands to hold them tight.

Glued all ribs on main spar. Used 1/8" plywood spacers to fill gap between top of spar and rib cap, with additional 1/32" or 1/16' shims.

Slid in rear spar , and glued ribs to it . Beveled a 1/8" strip to make little wedges to fill gaps.

Trimmed half ribs and glued them on.

Glued the two 1/4" beveled strips at the front end of the ribs .

Started cutting and gluing in geodetic.

Finished geodetic on top side of wing.

Glued nose ribs, holding them in place with masking tape.

Fit and glued in wing tip bow, after notching first nose rib. Added 2 blocks at each joint and a flat 1/8"x3/4" strip between the last rib and the tip.

Cut a bunch of 1/16"x3/8" strips to cap 1/4"rib caps.

Glued 1/32" plywood leading edge of aileron . Masking tape worked great to hold it in place to dry.

Wet plywood for wing leading edge and put it in the trough to dry overnight.

Turned wing over , cut and glued 4 compression members with gussets, and geodetic on bottom side of wing.

Started buildind aileron. Cut 2 new larger end ribs out of 1/4" aircraft plywood.

Drilled rear spar for wing attachment brackets. I should have done it before on the drill press, but did not realize it had not been done. Enlarged holes to 3/8" and glued in aluminum sleeves for 1/4" bolts. Mounted wing attachment brackets to both spars.

Cut out end of root rib and part of the trailing edge to allow for 45 degree cutout in wing and hatch. I would rather make a larger rounded cut out with 2 layers of laminated 1/16" plywood and may be dispense with the hatch altogether. It would look better than that straight cut .

Blew up the design for the name on the computer and taped it to the side of the fuselage to see how it would look . That would be cut out of thin aluminum flashing material , glued, and nailed with small brass or copper nails to the plywood side . I might spell Thomas with no h as latin Tomas instead.

Installed hinges to build aileron, cut trailing edge to fit end ribs, notched aileron spar and glued it in place with blocks. Drilled end ribs for hinge pins and glued them to spar and trailing edge.

Cut and planed a bunch of 1/8"x1/2" strips out of larger stock and cut geodetic for bottom side of aileron.

Notched front of trailing edge piece 1/4" and glued in the extra plywood rib and doubler to attach aileron horn at midway point of aileron.

Added two extra 1/8" ply nose ribs were the 48" sections of skin meet . Cut 1/32" plywood skin sections to fit . Taped leading edge skins to the front ribs and marked the glue lines on the back side.

Sanded nose ribs for smooth transition to rib cap. Glued nose skin sections in place and held them tight with a lot of strips of 1"masking tape. I would rather do that than shoot staples, which are more destructive, and then have to be pulled, and leave holes that are a pain in the butt to fill.

Glued aileron 1/4"x1/4" spar cap strips, and geodetic pieces on the bottom side.

Glued aileron nose ribs after cutting new ones out of 1/8" plywood.

Glued the 1/16"x3/8" strips on top of the 1/4" rib caps. Taped those on too instead of stapling.

Talked to Gene about a round top wing opening instead of the 45 degree cut and no hatch, and he is OK with it. Cut a piece of 1/8" ply to make curve.

Glued more of geodetic on top side , as well as aileron spar cap pieces.

Glued 1/16"x3/8" strips on rib caps on top side of wing. Marked scallops using Tom Hall's template, and cut them with a sharp knife.

Sanded and spackled lower right aileron leading edge and ribs.