The bulkhead is the backbone of the airplane. Everything-wings, tail, cockpit, engine, landing gear-tie together here. A poor job of assembly could mean anything from a collapsed landing gear to a failed engine mount.
Here's what the bulkhead looked like at the start of the morning.
And by the end of the day. This is roughly where it will mount in the airplane.
A test patch of paint inside the nose. I want to refrain from adding weight to the airplane but painting the inside will make it easier to spot leaks or dropped objects when I'm working on her after she's built.
And the first bits of the landing gear start to take shape. These are the scissors to extend/retract the main gear struts.
Years ago I was fortunate enough to be selected to go to the Embraer factory in San Jose dos Campos, Brazil and pick up a brand new EMB-145. While there we were given a tour of the factory and at one point encountered an airframe that was designated for my company. They were just beginning to assemble the cockpit window frame and it was unexpectedly moving to touch the metal and know that in a few months I would be inches behind this assembly and it would be protecting me from hundreds of miles an hour of windblast.
I had that feeling again today after painting the test patch and setting the bulkhead in place. Even though I've been thinking about avionics, panel layouts and seats for months it's all been vaguely abstract. But today it really started hitting me about what I'm doing, that I am building my own personal aircraft and the choices I make will be ones I live with every time I fly.
Here's what the bulkhead looked like at the start of the morning.
And by the end of the day. This is roughly where it will mount in the airplane.
A test patch of paint inside the nose. I want to refrain from adding weight to the airplane but painting the inside will make it easier to spot leaks or dropped objects when I'm working on her after she's built.
And the first bits of the landing gear start to take shape. These are the scissors to extend/retract the main gear struts.
Years ago I was fortunate enough to be selected to go to the Embraer factory in San Jose dos Campos, Brazil and pick up a brand new EMB-145. While there we were given a tour of the factory and at one point encountered an airframe that was designated for my company. They were just beginning to assemble the cockpit window frame and it was unexpectedly moving to touch the metal and know that in a few months I would be inches behind this assembly and it would be protecting me from hundreds of miles an hour of windblast.
I had that feeling again today after painting the test patch and setting the bulkhead in place. Even though I've been thinking about avionics, panel layouts and seats for months it's all been vaguely abstract. But today it really started hitting me about what I'm doing, that I am building my own personal aircraft and the choices I make will be ones I live with every time I fly.
The cockpit was my office. It was a place where I experienced many emotions and learned many lessons. It was a place of work, but also a keeper of dreams. It was a place of deadly serious encounters, yet there I discovered much about life. I learned about joy and sorrow, pride and humility, fear and overcoming fear. I saw much from that office that most people would never see. At times it terrified me, yet I could always feel at home there.
— Brian Shul, 'Sled Driver; Flying The World's Fastest Jet,'
I got lucky, I got everything I wanted
I got happy, there wasn't nothing else to do
And I'd be crazy not to wonder if I'm worthy
Of the part I play in this dream that's coming true.
Kris Kristofferson, Pilgrim's Progress
I got lucky, I got everything I wanted
I got happy, there wasn't nothing else to do
And I'd be crazy not to wonder if I'm worthy
Of the part I play in this dream that's coming true.
Kris Kristofferson, Pilgrim's Progress
