Reinforcement
The forward part of the fuselage frame is doubled with hardwood.
We have all bent balsa and light ply but bending hardwood is another matter altogether. I have done it by soaking the wood in water. However, Peter Barth went one better. The hardwood is a two-piece laminate which he bent and glued into shape. This bend is necessary to allow for the tight roll-in at the forward fuselage.
Admission of Guilt
When I glued the hardwood to the left frame of the fuselage…I did it wrong. I did not want to oil the plans and flip them over. So I proceeded to build in the inverse only to have the hardwood on the wrong sides of the longerons. Doh!
So I slide a #11 along the hardwood to separate the pieces. Thankfully the wood glue had not fully cured.
Start over. Re-glued the hardwood and DAM…I did it wrong again! Mental back-asswards thinking was not working for me. So, third time was the charm.
The balsa pieces at the front will be cut back to leave about 1/4″ of hardwood to key into the firewall.
