Sequoia Aircraft Corporation F.8L Falco, Construction Manual

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F.8L Falco Construction Manual 4–5 Revision 4, March 1, 2002
the frame and tightened with a knurled knob. “A highly recommended tool for those fed up with
K-mart coping saws”.
Stationary Belt/Disc Sander
This is an essential tool, which you will use very often. It is not particularly important whether
the sander is a belt, disc or combination of the two. We prefer the stationary belt type as it cuts
more evenly due to the fact that the cutting speed of the sanding paper is the same across the
belt, something not true of a disc sander. The disc sander has the advantage of being able to sand
a wider piece, and this may weigh your decision in that direction. You will use this sander to do
the final fitting of wood pieces.
It is very important that the sander have an adjustable table so that you can set the angle of the
table. The table should have a “way” machined in it for a table square. This feature is very
important when you are doing the final sanding on the ribs. Without this feature you will have to
work free-hand (not a good idea). We prefer the Rockwell-Delta combination belt/disc sander,
which has adjustable tables for both sanding faces.
Scarfing Jig
A scarf is a tapered joint of two pieces of wood. You will need some way to scarf plywood and
spruce. Plywood scarfs are normally sanded. Many builders make their own scarfing jigs, using a
hand drill or an electric motor with a drum sander. You make a table with a fence, and the drum
is positioned so that it sands the plywood as it is pushed by the sanding drum. The simplest way is
to use a radial arm saw, with a sanding drum mounted on the “other” end of the motor.
If you are working from the complete kits, there will be few occasions when you have to scarf
spruce. Scarfs for spruce are normally cut with a saw set at the correct angle and may be finished
with a sanding block.
Air Compressor
Before you finish your Falco, you will own an air compressor. This is essential for painting the
airplane and is also an invaluable thing to have around. It is handy for blowing away sawdust,
cleaning yourself off before tramping into your living room, pumping up your car tires, using a
long list of pneumatic tools, etc. We would not have a shop without an air compressor. Be sure to
get a tire valve to inflate the tires and oleo struts.
If you plan to paint your Falco, you should size the air compressor to the requirements of the spray
gun. The best spray gun is a Binks No. 7, which requires 14 CFM. Since you will be triggering
the gun, the gun will not be used continuously. For a professional set-up, you should have a 3 hp
compressor (Quincy is a recommended brand), with a load-less start 220 volt motor and a 60
gallon tank. You can paint an aircraft with a smaller compressor by going to a smaller nozzle and
intermittent use of the gun. This method, however, will defeat the design of the paint system and
detract from the appearance of the paint job.
Pneumatic Staple Gun
When you build a Falco, one of the most essential tools is a pneumatic staple gun, in fact most
builders will tell you that you are out of your flipping mind if you don't have one. To skin the
Falco, you will have to use small nails or staples to hold the skin in place while gluing. Most hand
staple guns use large staples that will split the spruce. You could use an office stapler, but this is
very slow and tedious and the staples would not go through the thicker birch plywood. Similarly,
small aircraft nails take forever. The pneumatic guns will shoot staples as fast as you can pull the