I installed one cross-member and now clearly the next open bay flexes.
Adding floorboards for 24-inch on center will add some weight, but will add more structure. Another $200 of aluminum is on order. I've spent a considerable fraction of the cost of building Goat on the trailer to carry it. I've heard planes are 1/3rd for the airframe, 1/3rd for the engine, and 1/3rd for the avionics. Since Goat doesn't really have an engine, maybe that third is for the trailer.
Anyhow, the extra cross-member in the front let me add a few support welds to transfer loads from the hitch into the frame. Welding in these corners is challenging, as it takes full 200A to get enough heat into the thick c-channels to melt either side. These are gross welds, but I am happy to have them.
In other locations, I repaired the broken welds and tried to get in more heat to have better penetration depth. I'm sure it isn't enough for the long-term, and it'll be wonderful to weld along the inside as well (how?), but more is better.
That's all for today. Just a quiet Saturday afternoon clearing my head of work for a bit.
No comments:
Post a Comment