We had to tape together 2 corners. Batten down the perimeter and then make a few tweaks to the starboard hull. (Note it's upside down and pointing into the garage so the starboard side is away from the camera.)
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| Inflated skirts |
Here's the timelapse:
The skirts inflated and could take some weight resting on them with just the shop vac!
Lessons Learned
There were quite a few lessons learned today.
- The port side skirt ended up 2" too short, so the front had to wrap around.
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| Missed front port corner. |
- The front batten port most screw got started cross threaded, and I tried to force it. Unfortunately the weakest point in the system is the wood the tee-nut is threaded into and I ended up with the tee-nut spinning behind the batten. It took some forceful work with vicegrips to get the screw out. And now the threads in the tee-nut are shot, so I think I'll be grinding that section of the batten out and gluing in a replacement segment with a new tee-nut, since the corner is the most critical portion of the batten.
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| Cross-threaded |
Adjusting the starboard side required a little scrunching:
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| Scrunched skirt under batten from shifting starboard skirt by 2 inches |
Also the rear starboard corner does not quite line up correctly. When transferring the template we need to make sure to take this into account.
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| Corner length miss alignment. The port side was folder over to match. |
Next steps:
Landing pads, to protect the skirt when landing.
Lift engine mount. I think I'll test it out of wood for quick fabrication and testing. Then move onto waterjet cut alumninum. I think the wood will be strong enough for initial testing.
