From these photos you might see some divergence from 1911 practices. For example, I added fiberglas diamond patches to the bottom of the rear spar joints to strengthen the bond with the short ribs connecting the rear spar to the trailing edge. I also wrapped the front spar with fiberglas at each end. This will beef up around the wing panel connect fittings. The Schultz Plans call for 1/2" outer ribs and 3/8" inner ribs, but this replica will have 1/2" ribs throughout. Spruce is called for in all wing parts. I used laminated ash spars for the main center section wing panels and spruce for all other spars. Ash was used in the center to better support the loads imposed by the engine and landing gear.
The seat is different, in that it has a tempur-foam padded seat vice a canvas sling, it is leather covered, and the shoulder yoke is lowered and fixed into an armrest. This replica will have conventional flight controls, with the control wheel used for the ailerons instead of a shoulder yoke. Hence, no need for an articulated shoulder frame.
The empennage is exact to plan with one change. The rudder pivot fitting in the original used a bolt rotating in a hole bored in the wooden stabilizer gusset. With the prop blasting this area and the vibration back in the tail, this just didn't look correct. I countersunk a 1 1/8" diameter sealed bearing in the top of the stab gusset for the top rudder pivot shaft to bear down on and also overbored the pivot shaft hole to accept a sintered bronze insert. Now the pivot shaft turns in a bushing and rests on a sealed bearing.
Given the slow speeds we're anticipating, this may all be over-engineering, but there aren't any penalties for safety! Since we plan to fly the wings off this bird, why not!
If anyone with experience in these matters sees something in the photos or has some technique that will make this a safer airplane - please speak up! Thanks in advance. Bob C.