Will the edge-banding ever end?

Yesterday and today was pretty much edge banding central. So far we are at 160' of edge band with more to come. I don't have an edgebanding machine, so we do it old school- an iron and a steel block! As all the plywood edges, inside and out, are being done, it's taking forever. I did get the nose cone finished, so thats ready for stain and the brass screening in the opening.

This job has been a fair amount of math so far. Even though I have a lot of extremely useful and powerful software at my fingertips, sometimes it boils down to good old math. As a kid, I hated math. I NEVER would have thought that my job would be using it all day long! It's funny how one's perception can change based on interest alone. I was also able to finish the tail section. This was a little complicated as well, but perseverance and a deadline always win. Tomorrow I will start the section where the seats are going to be, this portion is at least straight with no tapers, so it should go well. I haven't figured out how to make the wings removable for shipping, while keeping the strength, but as soon as it starts coming together, it will become apparent.

The tail is almost 12' long, so I didn't think it would stand up in the shop, but it did! The very bottom section will be covered in either a fabric or leather looking vinyl. I haven't totally decided yet. I also decided to add a propeller tower with a belt driven prop. This will spin rather slowly, like it has a clutch thats almost engaged. Kinda like a chainsaw blade spins fairly slowly when it's idling. I am also hoping to get the cable tensioners in tomorrow as well. Busy weekend for sure.
8)
JO