Got my shipment of Rocketpoxy so I started assembly. I glued the forward ring of the electronics bay in place, then the fuselage. This led to an oops moment.
One of my recovery controllers is the TeleMetrum which also has a HAM band telemetry link and GPS tracker (I really, really like getting my rockets back!) With the antenna, it's longer than my ebay. I usually use a hollow plexiglass rod poking through the ebay to hold the antenna in place and prevent any ejection gases from entering the ebay. Gases won't be a problem in this case as it will be in an enclosed compartment, but I still need it to keep the antenna in place and to keep my ebay within the limits required by my vent holes. I had intended to drill the hole in the CR before gluing it into place but forgot. So off I go to the hardware store to get a very long drill bit. Crisis averted. Using epoxy, I plug one end of the tube and glue it into place.
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You can just see the opening of the rod through the access panel. It's bigger than it looks. I then glued the rear ebay centering ring into place. I still need to add the fillets to the CR. Here you can see it with the access panels in place.
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Speaking of access panels, I'm using the access panel on the real S-IVB interstage to access my electronics. You can see the hole cut here. I have a FG reinforcement that will go around the inside of the fuselage at this point to both strengthen the fuselage, and to give me a place to mount a nut-bolt combo that will secure the hatch in place. That's next, but not today.
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Well, that's it until after the new year. I'm on the road in south east Asia for the next six weeks for both work and vacation. It really is going to be tough to get this flying in time for URRF. I'm home for a full month after that though so we'll see how much I can get done then.
Happy building season to one and all!