RE: RCM Plans Corkscrew
Spent a lot of time on the Corkscrew project today since the weather was too cruddy to fly. Sanded the bulkheads flush with the fuse top. Used the scroll saw to cut the forward fuse bottom, fuel tank compartment floor, and cockpit top cover from 1/32" plywood. Glued the fuse bottom sheet over the landing gear support plate and reinforced from the inside with epoxy and tri-stock. Then I epoxied the fuel compartment floor in place. This plane is built like a tank, very strong(and somewhat heavy) structure.
Next, I worked on the engine mount setup. Drilled the rails and made some angled downthrust shims from 1/16" plywood by sanding them to a sharp edge on one end, and match-drilling them to the engine. Used 4-40 hardware. The muffler fit with no issues but I had to notch the cowl cheek for the mixture knob. I made an extension for it from music wire.
Made a trip to the hardware store for some 1/8" music wire. Bending the gear was a challenge for me as there are 8 angles to bend and making it come out symmetrical was a tedious exercise. Used a vise and hammer for most of the bending. I had underestimated the time it would take to make the gear but it came out decent enough after a lot of headscratching. Luckily, I had the wheels, collars, and gear straps on hand so I could go ahead and mount them.