Hatz Biplane Association

When I built the top right wing, I rough cut the trailing edge wood stock on my bandsaw then hand-planed and sanded it to final form. This took a lot of time. To make the other 3 trailing edge pieces, I used my portable planer. I produced 3 perfect trailing edges in just a few minutes. See more at my new construction photo gallery http://www.thehatz.com.

-Scott

Oppps. I just learned that the redirect didn't work on some browsers. The URL http://www.thehatz.com should work now.

Hi Scott,
My spars arrived this week and I'm getting ready to start wing assembly right away. Do you have any pointers, ideas, do's and don't do's in getting started?
Your galley is a huge help to me and I really appreciate you sharing your great workmanship with us.

Ron,

I'm humbled by the knowledge and craftsmanship of others on this forum and I feel inadequate to offer advice but here goes.

• Study the plans well and realize that they have mistakes. There's a thread on the old forum with some of the errors listed such as the aileron spar taper. Overall, the Classic plans are pretty darn good but always measure and verify before cutting.
• I had to make the root fittings on the upper wings twice since the first ones did not line the wing to the center section perfectly. This was my fault for not properly accounting for the 1.5 degree dihedral.
• The #10 outboard rib, in my case, needed some minor shape tweaks to fit properly. I didn't build the #10 rib until after most of the wing was assembled so that I could take actual measurements.
• Accept the fact that you will make some parts more than once to get them right. This is part of the fun.
• The ply leading edges were easier to install than I had thought.
• I used System Three Clear Coat to seal interior spaces like the leading edge sheets before assembly. According to System Three, you can glue directly to Clear Coated parts with T-88 -- something not recommended with other wood sealers. I found Clear Coat to be the perfect companion to T-88.
• Use Clear Coat and a pipe cleaner to seal the wood inside all spar holes where bolts pass through. Moisture in wood can, over time, cause the metal bolts to corrode even if the bolts are cadmium plated.
• It takes about a quart of T-88 to build one wing.
• Not everything you read on the Internet is right. Imagine that! This forum is blessed with good people with good advice so you shouldn't have a problem here.
• Ask questions and have your EAA Tech Counselor come out for frequent visits. I'm a Tech Counselor and 5 of 10 visits I make, the plane is covered and ready to fly. Call your Tech Counselor well before you get to this point.

That's it for now. I hope others will chime in with more tips and pointers on building the Hatz Classic.

Scott
http://www.thehatz.com

Scott,
Thank you very much for your input. I started on the spars yesterday and will be building the right top wing first also. I will be sure to keep a close eye on your progress and pictures through your builder site, great workmanship.
The center section was just inspected buy my IA/AP/DAR and he will be doing inspections along the way for me throught the entire build.

Just a reminder...be sure to build 2 right AND 2 left wings. 4 right wings don't work very well.