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Losing steam

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Acrosport2

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The fabrication of aileron control parts has almost completely sapped my enthusiasm for this project. Every time I try to make progress, it's a setback. Now while the machine shop was trying to make a form on which the control horn (1/4" 2024T3) could be bentthey cracked the piece! And it still wasn't bent enough!Granted they did it on the blank marked "practice", but still I am finding that this one part is becoming THE stumbling block. Although if I were actually going to make a stumbling block, I'd choose a material that was easier to work with.


What gives? This same part is on every Pitts. These airplanes were designed to be built in high school shop classes. If I throw this part at a 15 year old today, he won't even switch offhis iPod before tossing it back at me.


I am trying to stay on task so as to finish the required sub assemblies in some semblance of order. I will be the first to admit that I am not one of those guys who would rather build than fly. I thought going into this that with the bulk of the more difficult work done, it would be a matter of assembly more so than raw construction and even less so a matter of re-engineering. While I aspire to be the old salt smoking his pipe while building a wingas is depicted in the plans, I am not there yet and have not found one confidence inspiring thing about this airplane that leads me to think I ever will. The project isn't tucked away in a hangar far from home. I trip over the damn thing every time I get in the car.


As if you can't tell already, thelittle support from the family for the biplane swung away when they got to sit in a Cessna Cardinal, which soon found tremendous support. "You mean we could actually fly in it together, to a place we wanted to go in a reasonable amount of time? And there is financing available so we don't suddenly go broke the day the engine gets bought? And this project is not on eBay, why?"


Why indeed.
 

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