N34KP's rebuild

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 3:14 pm

I have to scarph 2 pieces together for the floor board. Here goes nothing!

taildrags · Post by **taildrags** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 4:50 pm

Wish I lived closer to you. I have the plywood that you'd need without having to scarf it. I have the plywood for the sides, too. Leftovers from the Piet project that Corky started but never finished.

-Oscar

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 5:32 pm

I appreciate the thought, Oscar. I have the sides and everything else. I just didn't have the 1/4" for the floor. I ordered 2 pieces of 1/4" x 2 x 4 because it saved me a bunch of shipping cost.

Speaking of shipping cost. I'm doing a road trip to Wicks tomorrow, for lift struts. It's 5 hours away. Shipping for the struts, from one side of Missouri to the other, was going to be $280! Over half of the price of the struts!

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 5:35 pm

The second one (left) turned out nicer than the first. I'll clean up the first one and glue tomorrow.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Thu Sep 12, 2024 1:59 pm

Attempting to glue the two pieces together.

taildrags · Post by **taildrags** » Thu Sep 12, 2024 3:55 pm

"Do or not do. There is no try." -Yoda

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Thu Sep 12, 2024 9:52 pm

No X wings here! In a swamp, or otherwise!

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Fri Sep 20, 2024 3:52 pm

I was mulling over a change to the engine mount brackets at the firewall. I've decided to increase the brackets bolt patterns by one bolt, both horizontally and vertically. So I pulled the existing corner gussets off and I'm gluing new ones on sized to the new bolt pattern. This is in case I decide to change the engine installation down the road.

taildrags · Post by **taildrags** » Sat Sep 21, 2024 5:22 pm

Now there's a forward-thinking man...

-Oscar

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Sun Sep 22, 2024 12:58 pm

Years ago I redrew the steel tube drawings stretched to the long piet length. My thought was to use a 60° V6 on it. I'll probably never built it. But who knows, a V6 on 34KP?

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Fri Sep 27, 2024 8:26 pm

I picked up a piece of white ash today to make the engine bearers and landing gear stations pieces.

taildrags · Post by **taildrags** » Mon Sep 30, 2024 3:24 pm

...and who doesn't love a nice piece of wood? Especially if it has an airplane part inside it!

-Oscar

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Tue Oct 01, 2024 7:15 pm

I forced myself to do something today on the Piet. I cut out the ash cross members for the landing gear and started the glueing of the forward cross piece. The floor board is ready to glue on as soon as I get the rear one in.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Wed Oct 02, 2024 9:22 am

Forward cross piece glued in.

Chuck in Indiana · Post by **Chuck in Indiana** » Thu Oct 03, 2024 7:48 am

Thanks for taking the time to document this. It will be a good resource when I get there.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Thu Oct 03, 2024 12:17 pm

The rear crpss piece is in and I'm fitting the floor board.

taildrags · Post by **taildrags** » Thu Oct 03, 2024 3:18 pm

Well come on, Richard... floor it!

-Oscar

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Tue Oct 08, 2024 7:33 am

Glued the floor board on just now. No help, that was a busy 30 minutes!

taildrags · Post by **taildrags** » Tue Oct 08, 2024 11:32 am

They don't call it "working time" for nothing. Spread and smooth on all glue areas for all you're worth... you can feel it starting to get a little tacky... get it into place... lift and shift, align and clamp, unloosen and readjust... hurry! Hurry!. Then it's past the point of no return and you just have to clamp and staple and figure you can shave any little overhangs and squeeze-out later. Don't you love it?

-Oscar

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Tue Oct 08, 2024 5:14 pm

The glue up on the floorboard worked well. I've planed the edges flush and removed the staples. Several staples broke while trying to remove them. Glued in I guess. I'll have to think about this a little.

Chuck in Indiana · Post by **Chuck in Indiana** » Mon Oct 14, 2024 11:37 am

I wonder if you could heat the staple with a soldering iron to soften the epoxy locally?

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Mon Oct 14, 2024 12:42 pm

I'm going to ignore the broken staples. They broke off flush with the plywood, and I can't get hold of them short of digging away some of the plywood.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Thu Nov 07, 2024 3:01 pm

Slow progress. I've flip the fuselage back upright and started the last gussets. Currently glueing the last two inboard splice doublers.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Mon Nov 11, 2024 3:11 pm

Plugging along.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Wed Nov 13, 2024 9:09 pm

taildrags · Post by **taildrags** » Wed Nov 13, 2024 10:59 pm

It's a wonder that the entire world isn't held rigidly in place with gussets. Got to have them!

-Oscar

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:21 pm

I decided to block the corners of the firewall station truss.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Thu Nov 21, 2024 2:12 pm

taildrags · Post by **taildrags** » Thu Nov 21, 2024 3:05 pm

I'll bet that fuselage frame is stiffening up nicely, what with the blocking and crosspieces and gussets getting installed. One of the most comforting things about a Piet is the robustness of its basic structural 'cage'.

-Oscar

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Thu Nov 21, 2024 3:21 pm

Yes. It's getting pretty sturdy even without the side plywood.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Tue Dec 03, 2024 8:22 am

While test fittings controls today, I discovered the aileron torque tube between cockpits was bent a little in the crash. Always something.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Mon Dec 16, 2024 1:48 pm

Test fitting rear cabane attach fittings in the upper longerons. Nice fit.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Mon Dec 16, 2024 4:14 pm

Test fitting cabane attach fittings in the upper longerons. Nice fit.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Wed Feb 19, 2025 12:03 pm

Test fitting the front cockpit seat back.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 8:16 pm

I glued a wedge into the area of the seat back to the gear/liftstrut carry though. Also cutout the torque tube opening.

taildrags · Post by **taildrags** » Thu Feb 20, 2025 11:11 pm

Richard; the area that I had some problems with over the years that I flew N41CC was the front seat's front face vertical support plywood. On more than one occasion it got kicked by the pilot hard enough to break the plywood free (not by me though). I finally ended up tearing out the entire assembly including the passenger's seat bottom, which didn't have adequate uprights to hold it up, in my opinion. Especially as I had a passenger over 200 lbs get in and out of the front by stepping onto the seat. It didn't give under his weight and strain to climb in, but I didn't want it to. For the front face plywood, I added a block outside the front face of it, secured to the floor.

Oscar Zuniga
Medford, OR

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Fri Feb 21, 2025 1:12 pm

Glued up and curing.

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Sat Feb 22, 2025 11:32 am

Done.

taildrags · Post by **taildrags** » Sat Feb 22, 2025 4:43 pm

I see that little wedge shim filler at the bottom

Nice work.

-Oscar

Richard Roller · Post by **Richard Roller** » Fri Mar 07, 2025 1:47 pm