Tim Gill
Member
I thought I'd start a new thread to document the build of my SA-100.
Last year I finished restoring a Grega GN-1 Aircamper (i.e., Pietenpol) and have been flying it a lot. The aerobatics bug bit me, and I picked up some parts from a previously started SA-100 build off of Barnstormers.
View media item 7357
The project came with a welded up, powder-coated fuse on the gear, tail feathers, firewall, fuel tank, and windshield, as well as a mostly-completed set of lower wings. However, I need to build up the upper wings as they were never completed.
It did come with a right-hand upper-wing remnant which has some severe dry rot and warping, but it is intact enough to grab some dimensions to make sure my new wing will be built to fit the cabene struts correctly. My first discovery is that the builder used 7/8" thick spars, not 1". Not quite sure this decision was made, but hopefully it won't compromise the design strength.
This is mirrored in the Cabene bushings, which were built up Starduster Too-style. They confirm the spar dimension.
I'm building up stick-built ribs in a simple MDF jig with 4mil plasic overlaid on top of the rib drawing. I carefully measured the spacing between the existing spars to make sure they match the drawing dimensions.
The nose block pattern was carved by hand. I oriented the grain the wrong way, and had some chip-out, but it should serve as a good pattern for the router table to make 14 identical copies.
I am pre-bending capstrips on a simple Bingelis-style block. More pics to come once I have the first rib built up, after which I will confirm it fits the existing Cabene dimensions correctly before continuing.
Last year I finished restoring a Grega GN-1 Aircamper (i.e., Pietenpol) and have been flying it a lot. The aerobatics bug bit me, and I picked up some parts from a previously started SA-100 build off of Barnstormers.
View media item 7357
The project came with a welded up, powder-coated fuse on the gear, tail feathers, firewall, fuel tank, and windshield, as well as a mostly-completed set of lower wings. However, I need to build up the upper wings as they were never completed.
It did come with a right-hand upper-wing remnant which has some severe dry rot and warping, but it is intact enough to grab some dimensions to make sure my new wing will be built to fit the cabene struts correctly. My first discovery is that the builder used 7/8" thick spars, not 1". Not quite sure this decision was made, but hopefully it won't compromise the design strength.
This is mirrored in the Cabene bushings, which were built up Starduster Too-style. They confirm the spar dimension.
I'm building up stick-built ribs in a simple MDF jig with 4mil plasic overlaid on top of the rib drawing. I carefully measured the spacing between the existing spars to make sure they match the drawing dimensions.
The nose block pattern was carved by hand. I oriented the grain the wrong way, and had some chip-out, but it should serve as a good pattern for the router table to make 14 identical copies.
I am pre-bending capstrips on a simple Bingelis-style block. More pics to come once I have the first rib built up, after which I will confirm it fits the existing Cabene dimensions correctly before continuing.
