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I got some Main Gear Mounting action going on today! Check it out below:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LNtSx3XreU[/youtube]

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Sorry gang, short video (my battery was dying...) Anyway, I got the air cylinder attached to the nose gear door. Check it out below:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNSrCdyldIM[/youtube]

NOTE: The title in the video says MAIN GEAR CYLINDER... it should be NOSE GEAR CYLINDER.

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I figured out how to fix the gap in the nose gear door! Woohoo! Ok, so it wasn't really rocket science, but check it out.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2nH45SYTRg[/youtube]

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I bit the bullet and ordered my Airpower 5-Action valve. There goes the Stumax for this month, but we'll shoot for next month maybe. I think this will really make for a clean install. I have family over this week so I haven't gotten a chance to make any videos. Will try this weekend.

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Ok, I'm back! I hope to make some good progress this weekend. Check out the video update to see what I've got planned:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSZtvOuRvQ4[/youtube]

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I got my 5-action valve from Airpower... here's a quick unboxing and some assembly of the gauges and filler valves.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSsv1Jp9IGM[/youtube]

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On with the Main Gear Doors!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVjbypXQ9qA[/youtube]

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Here's the finale of installing the main gear doors.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjaV2h0yF_I[/youtube]

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The latest in a series of many :-)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tqdf99z7qOg[/youtube]

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Here's the latest and greatest. Installation of the stumax duct!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UFStHa11jE[/youtube]

Shaun Evans

Hi,

Truly terrific work! Bravo.

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Thanks for the input! We're getting closer to finishing every day!

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Here's some more good stuff.  I cut down and shaped the inlet duct.  I do need some help, though.  The edge is uniform around the outside except for the bottom left side (when looking into the duct).  Do I just use Bondo on the inside of the duct and feather it smooth?  The thickness is about half that on the left than on the right side.  Please advise.  Thanks!

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Near final shaping of the inlet duct. Tried my hand at Bondo... Great stuff! It turned out really good. I'd say the inlet shaping is 99% complete. I hope to reinforce the duct, install the inlet spike, and glue in the bulkhead tomorrow (well, actually today... but I should sleep at some point. When I wake up I'll consider it tomorrow.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27XJAlaFtqc[/youtube]

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Now some work on the inlet spike. If you haven't been following along, the inlet spike serves 2 purposes: '
1) It is scale, the real f-16 has one.
2) It keeps the weight of the airplane from collapsing the duct area possibly causing cracking.
Everything turned out great, check out the video and see! Pretty much I just need to reinforce the duct then I can put in the forward bulkhead! Woohoo! I love progress!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J83_wLfWj60[/youtube]

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Well, I finally finished reinforcing the duct. That was a pain for sure! With a little bit more planning I could have made it a lot easier... now I know for the next one! Check it out:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUt1xtcU-QY[/youtube]

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Installation of the Forward Bulkhead. It's Hysol gluing excitement for all!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvWCQyq43r0[/youtube]

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On to the Rear Bulkhead installation. Man I'm getting so excited because we can make some real progress once this dries! (i,e. Finish building the wings, glassing the wings, install servo trays, etc...) The crappy thing is I can't make any progress for 4 days because I'll be out of town! Doh!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vSdleqr_as[/youtube]

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Ok, I'm back and ready to rock and roll. In this video we'll glue in the wing mounting blocks/rods and align the wings while it dries.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUHH9ShdB98[/youtube]

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Taking a break from the wings until I can get some more fiberglass cloth... my LHC is out!  Spending some quality relaxation time cleaning up the pilot and getting him ready for service.  Take a look!

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Here's the latest on finishing the wing. I just got back from the hobby shop with some glass cloth so I'll be starting Part II soon.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeUIxvFJZFk[/youtube]

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Time to glass the wing!  We're 3 sides from panel lines baby!  I can't wait to put that first coat of primer on.  That's when things start to really look like they are getting close to finished!  Check it out:

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Continuing the wing... there was a small incident, but nothing major (its already fixed!)  See my question on the main hatch... I want to know what some of you have done to get a nice near seamless hatch.

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Ok, on to panel lines! This takes a lot of patience, but I think once we do one side of the wing we can trace the measurements. This is part one of at least two. It's turning out really good so I'm glad I took the time to do this. Have a look!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ1iF1UJVXQ[/youtube]

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More panel line goodness! This time we tackle the "hinges" on the leading edge slats.