I finally managed to build some wing stands so I'll be able to get the wings assembled. Van's instructions specify using upright 4x4s for mounting the spars, but being in a garage instead of a basement means I don't have any exposed 4x4s to use.
Instead, I put together some free-standing wing stands by squaring up some 4x4s with some 2x4s and fastening it all together with deck screws. Once I put everything upright I added small wood shims under the bases to make sure everything was as close to perfectly upright as I could get.
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| I needed to reorganize things a bit to make these things fit. It's starting to get a little tight in this single bay... |
I don't quite need these just yet, but I needed an excuse to get back in the shop and back in the groove. There's still quite a bit of work I need to get done on the wing ribs before I'll be able to get the skeletons assembled and mounted to these things.
On a semi-related note I've pretty much decided that I'm going to be ordering a quickbuild fuselage instead of going with the slow build kit. It's definitely a premium over the standard kit but I'm trying to set a completion goal for myself: getting this airplane flying within the next two years. We'll see how realistic that is, but if I can keep a steady pace and a steady income then it may still be doable.
As far as the fuselage goes, I'm going to need to either get REALLY good at working in tight spaces or I'm going to need to store the wings and empennage somewhere else once the fuselage arrives. Probably the latter.
