Step 8.3, Bulkhead F705

This posting mainly concerns the assembly of the F-705 bulkhead which is located just behind the seats.  I find bulkhead to be a somewhat curious term. Nautical of origin, no doubt, but what is it?  It turns out that a bulkhead is simply a vertical divider.  Usually a bulkhead is also a structural component that adds rigidity to the hull. So in our case, the F-705 is a major structural component that stiffens the cockpit and provides a mounting location for the wing's rear spar and the seat belts.

I begin the F-705 by match drilling the lower horizontal to the central bar.  The central bar attaches the wing spars on the ends and the lap belts.

Next some doublers are  cut from bar stock and match drilled to the central bar.  More on these later.

But first, we take some time out for an extended period of plan gazing.

It's a busy sheet and it takes a while to figure out what needs doing.  Eventually, we decide to press on with the lower seat belt attachments.

And then as usual, we prepare the matched drilled parts for priming.  My philosophy on priming has been to only prime the part's mating faces -- that is, the parts that come in direct contact with each other.  There seems to be many deeply held beliefs regarding primer among the online community ranging from "it's completely unnecessary" to "your plane with fall out of the sky within seconds if you don't use just the right brand of primer."  I find it difficult to get too excited about the subject.

I begin assembly with the central bar doublers that reinforce the rear spar carry through.

The plans call for a 4 degree bend on F705K and so I finally got to use my Harbor Freight brake.  The brake was not very expensive so I wasn't expecting much.  It worked perfectly although the C clamps are kind of a pain to use.

This is the top piece that closes the loop on the F705 bulkhead.  

Oops, I see it's time for a screw up:  It seems that I have added two rivets on each side that were supposed to be added later. No worries here.  I've become expert at removing rivets.

Carol adds the seatbelt tiedowns and presto!  We have a (nearly) finished piece.