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Soft thing soft and squishy this way comes
5/10/18 Fokker D VII progress. I stitched up the seat today and looks like I have some adjusting to do. The last pic shows that the cover doesn't stitch to the frame or the aluminum. There are holes spaced every 30 mm and double waxed cord is wound every 5 holes. This way if the cord gets cut by the aluminum it only fails in a small area. The stitching from the cover to the under cord is one piece and I have not finished off the two ends. I will un-stitch the one side of the seat, pull it forward, and then restitch. I think this is going to work out.
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5/17/18 Rainy days and tail skids. Part of making the tail skids meant making a swiveling mounting lug which required a new tail post. Hence, tonight I am making this post about a post. :D
The concept here is that the tail skid lug can rotate about 15* to 20* side to side. The T slot allows you to insert the lug and then rotate it 90* and then mount your tail skid. I could have drilled and added a T to the old lug but thought this would be a cool project. The T is not load bearing other than the weight of the tail skid in flight.
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Fantastic work, as always.
I wouldn't worry too much about getting that leather perfect on the seat. It's going to stretch and move on it's own as one gets in and out of the aircraft, as well as while sitting in it.
The tough part about getting it better is learning where to put the tension to bring out the folds. But you're in great shape - none of the ones shown are where the pilot is putting weight.
I would also suggest taking the seat assembly into the house and sitting in it for at least half an hour. You may find that there is zero lumbar support and your lower back will start to ache.
The funny thing about that is that one will not feel it while flying. But then, after taxi to the hangar, shutting the engine down, pushing the goggles up, one finds they suddenly have a set of minor spasms in their back as one stands up to dismount.
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Sitting in it for awhile will also let you know if you have enough stuff in the rear third of the bottom of the seat. This is the "crush zone," as you'll be wiggling your butt against this part as you work the rudder during taxi.
I'm thinking of pulling mine back out and putting another 1/4 inch of foam there.
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The blue sleeping bag pad at Walmart makes excellent seat padding. It is 'temper-foam-type" material that is dense enough to not collapse under, uh, heavy load. Just add as many layers as comfort dictates. Here is a photo of the D.VII seats in progress:
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Three layers on the seat bottom and one on the back were about right.
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Nice. I just bought a memory foam pillow and cut it to size; oddly enough, it was in layers!
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Thanks Frank and Sam,
Sam I learned while building rigid frame custom motorcycles to put soft, open cell foam under a 1/4" layer of either minicell or neoprene foam. The softer under foam acts like a shock absorber.
6/3/18, Finally, a tail wheel bracket I can live with. First is a close up of the final bracket and the second pic is of the entire tail skid and all the failed parts.
I did start messing with those long over due wheel hubs. I hope to be ready to do a mock up on the lacing later this week before I start on the elevator.
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I know you've done all the geometry, but that wheel looks awful tilted from the axis of forces.
Are you mostly going to be flying off of grass?
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How can you tell Frank? It's not on the plane yet.