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The Ultimate Homebrewed Cockpit
by Gene BuckleNow that I've bored you poor people beyond any reasonable expectation of survival, let's get on to why you're REALLY reading this!
Front-Left Corner
The fuselage section is really in remarkable condition. There has been no damage beyond the cosmetic and even that is easily repaired. The interior structure of the airframe is as solid as the day it left the McDonnell Douglas factory.
The image above shows the condition of the front-left quarter. You'll notice that most everything has been removed. Fortunately, things were unbolted and not torn out. What you see in the circular area is called Station #1. [Each fuselage former has a number that indicates its position along the centerline of the airframe.] There is a 1/4" hardened aluminum plate riveted to Station #1 that is used to support the attack radar antenna and its attendant hydraulic actuators that move the antenna in a stepping zig zag pattern, very similar in the way your television paints the screen every frame.
The only other thing of note in this area is the little flap of metal on the left side of the image. This is the hinge that supports the radome or nosecone of the airplane while the crews work on the radar antenna. The two square holes on the near side of the fuselage are where the pitot booms are located.
You can see that at the top of the fuselage, in front of the windscreen, panels have been removed. Since I don't have these, they'll have to be fabricated by hand. I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to use metal or some kind of hand laid fiberglass to construct the missing covers.
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