I am still working on the 14A, though at a bit slower pace. Family commitments and business travel have slowed down progress however I am starting to get my head back into the game.
Leading edges are 80% complete at this point and I am beginning to debur the tank ribs.
One interesting problem I am encountering with the leading edges is the lower rivets where the leading edge begins to curve (the forward portion of the leading edge). There are alignment issues between the splice strip and the dimples on the skin. I am going to remove the improper rivets (Tails squashed in an inappropriate way) and check the alignment. Will post the solution when I get back to it.
Other than that things are working well. I have been looking at lighting options but am thinking I will wait and purchase those at a later time perhaps next oshkosh.
By that time I may have even started the tail and will be able to purchase all the lighting at the same time.
With regards to tanks I am considering using a method I have seen posted recently on Vans Airforce. This uses around six smaller proseal bottles (3 oz each) rather than purchasing a Semco gun and packing the cartridges yourself. The specific thread is here:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=118078
Stay tuned!
Friday, October 10, 2014
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Time flies
Time is moving quickly, but wanted to put an update out to tell everyone that I am still here and building away. The summer was productive but less than I had thought. A few vacations, and less building than I wanted due to lack of a second set of hands.
Update on the project:
Top skins are complete, and riveted on. I still have around ten rivets to drill out and fix but the skins are on. Was not painful at all. I found that depending on the level of skill I had with the other person I ended up using a combination of back riveting as well as conventional flush riveting with a bar. The Cleavland tools large back rivet bar came in handy and the small tungsten bar also worked well. There were times where the 3.5 rivets felt a bit too short but everything specs out well and while a few of them are ugly, they do appear safe.
I was unable to get the j-channel to line up well on the right wing. The rivet holes all lined up well however the bent portion appeared to have a different profile on one of the pieces. Sterling at Vans thought this was strange but after looking at the pictures told me he thought it would be fine as it is just a stiffner and I did not have to preload it to rivet it together.
I have started the leading edges as well, and am already starting to think towards the dreaded tank building which looks like is going to be my winter project at the rate things are going. That may work out well considering I am away many of the weekends in the winter skiing so that gives time for the proseal to set up prior to riveting.
Having fun, but I will say that the wings are a looooooong process with lots of repetition.
Update on the project:
Top skins are complete, and riveted on. I still have around ten rivets to drill out and fix but the skins are on. Was not painful at all. I found that depending on the level of skill I had with the other person I ended up using a combination of back riveting as well as conventional flush riveting with a bar. The Cleavland tools large back rivet bar came in handy and the small tungsten bar also worked well. There were times where the 3.5 rivets felt a bit too short but everything specs out well and while a few of them are ugly, they do appear safe.
I was unable to get the j-channel to line up well on the right wing. The rivet holes all lined up well however the bent portion appeared to have a different profile on one of the pieces. Sterling at Vans thought this was strange but after looking at the pictures told me he thought it would be fine as it is just a stiffner and I did not have to preload it to rivet it together.
I have started the leading edges as well, and am already starting to think towards the dreaded tank building which looks like is going to be my winter project at the rate things are going. That may work out well considering I am away many of the weekends in the winter skiing so that gives time for the proseal to set up prior to riveting.
Having fun, but I will say that the wings are a looooooong process with lots of repetition.
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Ready to rivet top wing skins
Another brief update:
Mounted the left spar on the bench and clecoed the skins to it. Everything looks good, with what I think is a little oil canning on one section in the middle of the long W-0003 wing skin. I am looking closely at it to see if perhaps the wing ribs are not exactly bent properly but it seems like this is the only place I have this currently.
I have to draft some helpers to rivet these skins as it is close to impossible to do alone mounted vertically from what I can tell.
One small mistake which looks like it will be a non-issue (cosmetic if there even is an issue at all) is that I did not roll the edges of the overlapping skins prior to dimpling. They do appear to lay flat though at least now prior to riveting. So for other builders it is important to do things in the order that the instructions say as in this case if you dimple first the edge roller will get caught on the dimples. I had gotten into the habit of reordering some of the steps when building the RV-9 Tail and that worked fine, but this kit is different. One thing I changed the order on which did work is dimpling the ribs prior to installation. I am glad I did that.
Here are some pictures of the progress!
Mounted the left spar on the bench and clecoed the skins to it. Everything looks good, with what I think is a little oil canning on one section in the middle of the long W-0003 wing skin. I am looking closely at it to see if perhaps the wing ribs are not exactly bent properly but it seems like this is the only place I have this currently.
I have to draft some helpers to rivet these skins as it is close to impossible to do alone mounted vertically from what I can tell.
One small mistake which looks like it will be a non-issue (cosmetic if there even is an issue at all) is that I did not roll the edges of the overlapping skins prior to dimpling. They do appear to lay flat though at least now prior to riveting. So for other builders it is important to do things in the order that the instructions say as in this case if you dimple first the edge roller will get caught on the dimples. I had gotten into the habit of reordering some of the steps when building the RV-9 Tail and that worked fine, but this kit is different. One thing I changed the order on which did work is dimpling the ribs prior to installation. I am glad I did that.
Here are some pictures of the progress!
 |
| Sandpaper (60 grit) on a wood block to thin the corner where three surfaces meet - worked well |
 |
| Masked off for priming the W-0002 skin where it lies under the other skin |
 | |
| Long sheet set up for dimpling - swirls are thicker primer areas - coverage was good need a better gun/technique |
 |
| Inboard spar clamped |
 |
| Outboard spar clamped |
 | |
| Backside |
 | |
| Frontside clecos in progress |
Monday, July 7, 2014
Top skin dimpling complete
Quick update:
Had a productive weekend. Despite the windy conditions, I thinned the mating skins, primed all skins, AND completed all the dimpling in the skins. All of that took around 7 hours. I found that the DRDT worked best as compared to the pneumatic squeezer for dimpling. I dialed in some preloading on the DRDT so that the jaws flex a bit and although that works your hand harder, it creates a very nice dimple. The C-Frame would have been fine too, but it was nice to work in the nighttime while everyone was asleep with the DRDT.
Next up is mounting the spar on the bench and starting the skin riveting. I am trying to recruit bucking partners for this next phase.
Also really studying up on the fuel tank process, as I need to decide ASAP if I am going to enlist someone else to build the tanks. I am swaying currently towards building them myself based on some of the feedback I have read from other builders who said it wasn't as bad as they first thought.
Had a productive weekend. Despite the windy conditions, I thinned the mating skins, primed all skins, AND completed all the dimpling in the skins. All of that took around 7 hours. I found that the DRDT worked best as compared to the pneumatic squeezer for dimpling. I dialed in some preloading on the DRDT so that the jaws flex a bit and although that works your hand harder, it creates a very nice dimple. The C-Frame would have been fine too, but it was nice to work in the nighttime while everyone was asleep with the DRDT.
Next up is mounting the spar on the bench and starting the skin riveting. I am trying to recruit bucking partners for this next phase.
Also really studying up on the fuel tank process, as I need to decide ASAP if I am going to enlist someone else to build the tanks. I am swaying currently towards building them myself based on some of the feedback I have read from other builders who said it wasn't as bad as they first thought.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Time Flies
Time flies when you are having fun.
Updated progress report:
Ribs are all on the spars, rear spar has been attached as well.
There are a couple of rivets in the rear spar that I am not happy with, and one hole on the rear spar that I know is too large although there is an ugly rivet in there right now. Vans told me to go ahead and put a structural screw in there as well, and I am looking at what size would be appropriate.
The top skins and doublers are also drilled, and countersunk. Despite the warning to pay attention and drill the correct screw hole on the inboard nutplates in the center (single leg nutplate there) I drilled the wrong hole. My new policy is that unless I am 100% certain what I am doing late at night is planned and brainless I quit working on the project early. I thought I would have to purchase new skins, etc but of course this has a fairly simple fix with a patch to that area. This will be covered with a wing root fairing anyways, and is only there to keep the fairing on, so I am fine with that fix.
Up next is the endless dimpling that needs to be done on the skins, and then riveting. I bought a 12" back rivet set and a handheld back rivet bar from Cleavland tools in preparation. I will recruit a helper or two for the holding of the bar when I get there.
Having lots of fun with this build, I can see why people say that the wings are monotonous. For me the key is to do something almost every day and it does move along. Some of the steps take so long that when you get to the end of them you are in disbelief that you get to move on to something else. I think when I finished the countersinking of the spar I just stared at it sure I had missed something. Dimpling is going to be another one of those... Need to get the bench cleaned off and the wings moved to the rack in order to put the DRDT to use.
Updated progress report:
Ribs are all on the spars, rear spar has been attached as well.
There are a couple of rivets in the rear spar that I am not happy with, and one hole on the rear spar that I know is too large although there is an ugly rivet in there right now. Vans told me to go ahead and put a structural screw in there as well, and I am looking at what size would be appropriate.
The top skins and doublers are also drilled, and countersunk. Despite the warning to pay attention and drill the correct screw hole on the inboard nutplates in the center (single leg nutplate there) I drilled the wrong hole. My new policy is that unless I am 100% certain what I am doing late at night is planned and brainless I quit working on the project early. I thought I would have to purchase new skins, etc but of course this has a fairly simple fix with a patch to that area. This will be covered with a wing root fairing anyways, and is only there to keep the fairing on, so I am fine with that fix.
Up next is the endless dimpling that needs to be done on the skins, and then riveting. I bought a 12" back rivet set and a handheld back rivet bar from Cleavland tools in preparation. I will recruit a helper or two for the holding of the bar when I get there.
Having lots of fun with this build, I can see why people say that the wings are monotonous. For me the key is to do something almost every day and it does move along. Some of the steps take so long that when you get to the end of them you are in disbelief that you get to move on to something else. I think when I finished the countersinking of the spar I just stared at it sure I had missed something. Dimpling is going to be another one of those... Need to get the bench cleaned off and the wings moved to the rack in order to put the DRDT to use.
Monday, June 2, 2014
Wing Ribs Primed, Riveting begins
Since the last post, I have completed the priming of the ribs and flap brackets. I used Sherwin Williams P60G2 which I really like once you get the hang of it.
I chose to use a small Harbor Freight gun which is really a touch up gun and only holds 4 OZ of mixture. It has a .8 mil tip and seems to work well. You do end up having to reload quite a bit but I have found so far that the overspray is minimal and it not that inconvenient to mix again. I may invest in a larger gun but for now this will do. Initially I had too thin a coat of primer on there. I could feel it but there was no real noticeable green color. I resprayed and am happier with the coverage.
For the flap brackets I first started with the Pneumatic Squeezer which I found to be difficult for this in terms of reach and my ability to align everything straight. I went back to a method which I really like a lot which is to backrivet using a c-frame. It keeps everything aligned and gives me more control. I did notice that there seems to be a small gap between the thick flap material and the rib on at least one rib so far, so I am going to again check that the flap brackets are flat/straight.
Pictures will be up when I have some more time.
I chose to use a small Harbor Freight gun which is really a touch up gun and only holds 4 OZ of mixture. It has a .8 mil tip and seems to work well. You do end up having to reload quite a bit but I have found so far that the overspray is minimal and it not that inconvenient to mix again. I may invest in a larger gun but for now this will do. Initially I had too thin a coat of primer on there. I could feel it but there was no real noticeable green color. I resprayed and am happier with the coverage.
For the flap brackets I first started with the Pneumatic Squeezer which I found to be difficult for this in terms of reach and my ability to align everything straight. I went back to a method which I really like a lot which is to backrivet using a c-frame. It keeps everything aligned and gives me more control. I did notice that there seems to be a small gap between the thick flap material and the rib on at least one rib so far, so I am going to again check that the flap brackets are flat/straight.
Pictures will be up when I have some more time.
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Wing Ribs Complete
Ribs complete!
Since my last post I have completed the prep of the ribs and also started deburring and preparing the flap brackets and all other small pieces for the rib attach. My thought is to prime all at once.
I am using the Sherwin Williams P60G2 Wash primer, and am going to use a small Harbor Freight gun given the smaller compressor that I have. This should do the trick for the priming.
The ribs were very tedious and it seemed for a while that I was repeating steps and doing things inefficiently until one day I just found a rhythm that worked for me. I did each rib individually rather than batch together each process and repeat the same thing for each rib. The only exception to that was the drilling. I used a reamer to ream all the #40 holes on all the ribs with the exception of the portion of the flange that slides into the spar.
I spent a lot of time worrying about how to debur the small tabs on the ribs, until I realized that running them through the corner of a soft scotchbrite wheel quickly did most of the job. You don't want to leave it on there for long though as you run the risk of weakening the material and grinding too much but the corner of the wheel does make it in the gap and remove the majority of the burrs. Anything left over I used the 240 grit emery cloth for.
I bought a Black and Decker RX dremel clone for $29 which works great, but did not find the deburring bits to be useful at all. It came in very handy though for trimming the tip flange off of the outboard wing ribs though. Do yourself a favor and get a full face shield if you are doing any cutting like this. Debris can go everywhere and your eyes come in handy for later.
The ribs take a long time because for each you need to:
- 'break the edges' - ie bevel each of the edges a bit to remove the burr.
- Remove the cut marks from the edges with a wheel + scotchbrite pad or sandpaper
- Bend the edges to 90 degrees
- Deburr all the flange crevaces
- Flute the ribs so that the web lies flat (not the whole rib just each flange/web)
- Drill all holes to #40
- Deburr the holes you drilled
- Dimple the holes
I would estimate that it took a minimum of 15-20 hours for all of that spread over several sessions. The last session that really got things moving was five hours long and that provided motivation to complete the task, as prior to that I at least could understand why the Quickbuild makes sense. I am sure I will write something similar when it comes time for the tanks :( It is about the journey though of course :)
For all that work, I have a single picture to show the end product. This picture was taken just before I dimpled.
Since my last post I have completed the prep of the ribs and also started deburring and preparing the flap brackets and all other small pieces for the rib attach. My thought is to prime all at once.
I am using the Sherwin Williams P60G2 Wash primer, and am going to use a small Harbor Freight gun given the smaller compressor that I have. This should do the trick for the priming.
The ribs were very tedious and it seemed for a while that I was repeating steps and doing things inefficiently until one day I just found a rhythm that worked for me. I did each rib individually rather than batch together each process and repeat the same thing for each rib. The only exception to that was the drilling. I used a reamer to ream all the #40 holes on all the ribs with the exception of the portion of the flange that slides into the spar.
I spent a lot of time worrying about how to debur the small tabs on the ribs, until I realized that running them through the corner of a soft scotchbrite wheel quickly did most of the job. You don't want to leave it on there for long though as you run the risk of weakening the material and grinding too much but the corner of the wheel does make it in the gap and remove the majority of the burrs. Anything left over I used the 240 grit emery cloth for.
I bought a Black and Decker RX dremel clone for $29 which works great, but did not find the deburring bits to be useful at all. It came in very handy though for trimming the tip flange off of the outboard wing ribs though. Do yourself a favor and get a full face shield if you are doing any cutting like this. Debris can go everywhere and your eyes come in handy for later.
The ribs take a long time because for each you need to:
- 'break the edges' - ie bevel each of the edges a bit to remove the burr.
- Remove the cut marks from the edges with a wheel + scotchbrite pad or sandpaper
- Bend the edges to 90 degrees
- Deburr all the flange crevaces
- Flute the ribs so that the web lies flat (not the whole rib just each flange/web)
- Drill all holes to #40
- Deburr the holes you drilled
- Dimple the holes
I would estimate that it took a minimum of 15-20 hours for all of that spread over several sessions. The last session that really got things moving was five hours long and that provided motivation to complete the task, as prior to that I at least could understand why the Quickbuild makes sense. I am sure I will write something similar when it comes time for the tanks :( It is about the journey though of course :)
For all that work, I have a single picture to show the end product. This picture was taken just before I dimpled.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Update, Chapter 13 complete
Just to update everyone on the project status:
- Chapter 13 complete
This consisted of LOTS and LOTS of countersinking. In my previous project I had used the air drill for this purpose, however this time around I took the good advice of other builders and invested in a decent cordless drill (DeWalt 20V Max). Makes a big difference. Also invested in a WEN drill press which despite being imported and inexpensive appears to be well built.
Ended up with one countersink cage with a wobble in it, but Cleveland tools exchanged that quickly for me.
Still have one rivet I am not happy with on the nutplates but from what I understand the rivets really are there to hold the nutplate in place, and it is the bolt/screw itself that is the real structural member here.
One particular set of rivets I had a tough time with were the fuel tank attach nutplates in the middle of the spar. No matter what I tried, I constantly ended up with a proud factory head. I am going to invest in a flush set without the rubber ring in the hopes that it will help here. Another builder mentioned the ones with the rubber ring typically are better for the wing skins. I solved this riveting problem by using the c-frame to rivet which is a trick I have used before for difficult to set rivets.
After completing chapter 13, I built a simple wing rack so that I can get the spars out of the way and begin the wing rib prep. Other builders have said that it is workable to have the wings this close together, however I am still worrying about access when I start to rivet on the skins. Most likely I will have to go back to putting the wings on a table at that point for riveting. One step at a time.
Here are some pictures! Send some feedback if you are reading this, would be curious to know what you think.
- Chapter 13 complete
This consisted of LOTS and LOTS of countersinking. In my previous project I had used the air drill for this purpose, however this time around I took the good advice of other builders and invested in a decent cordless drill (DeWalt 20V Max). Makes a big difference. Also invested in a WEN drill press which despite being imported and inexpensive appears to be well built.
Ended up with one countersink cage with a wobble in it, but Cleveland tools exchanged that quickly for me.
Still have one rivet I am not happy with on the nutplates but from what I understand the rivets really are there to hold the nutplate in place, and it is the bolt/screw itself that is the real structural member here.
One particular set of rivets I had a tough time with were the fuel tank attach nutplates in the middle of the spar. No matter what I tried, I constantly ended up with a proud factory head. I am going to invest in a flush set without the rubber ring in the hopes that it will help here. Another builder mentioned the ones with the rubber ring typically are better for the wing skins. I solved this riveting problem by using the c-frame to rivet which is a trick I have used before for difficult to set rivets.
After completing chapter 13, I built a simple wing rack so that I can get the spars out of the way and begin the wing rib prep. Other builders have said that it is workable to have the wings this close together, however I am still worrying about access when I start to rivet on the skins. Most likely I will have to go back to putting the wings on a table at that point for riveting. One step at a time.
Here are some pictures! Send some feedback if you are reading this, would be curious to know what you think.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Inventory Complete
I have reorganized the garage, and the inventory of the Wing and Tail kits is complete. I didn't count every single small screw but the only discrepancy I could find was an extra hardware bag of a few bolts and washers.
I have settled on what I am going to do for a wing rack. Planning on using the one that Derek used for his project.
I still need a few tools and need to decide on a drill press.
Setup is complete for the project start, the Left wing spar is on the bench and just about ready for the start of Chapter 13 :)
I have settled on what I am going to do for a wing rack. Planning on using the one that Derek used for his project.
I still need a few tools and need to decide on a drill press.
Setup is complete for the project start, the Left wing spar is on the bench and just about ready for the start of Chapter 13 :)
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Kits have arrived!
I guess I got what I wanted, both kits arriving at the same time.
All three crates arrived in perfect condition via ABF yesterday. Here is the issue I have: SPACE.
My plan is to start with the wings first, so that I can build them and get them out of the way as in move them to another garage that I have available (but far away). My problem is that I don't really have a good place to store all the large skins while I am building other than in the crates. The crates take up valuable building space.
So I will take a bit as I do inventory to figure out how I am going to juggle all of the pieces here and leave enough room to build. Good problems to have as they say :) What I am considering doing is combining the skins into one crate if possible and shelving all of the other parts. That way at least I can get rid of one crate. Another alternative will be to inventory the tail kit, and then move that crate to another garage until I am ready for it.
Pictures will be up soon.
All three crates arrived in perfect condition via ABF yesterday. Here is the issue I have: SPACE.
My plan is to start with the wings first, so that I can build them and get them out of the way as in move them to another garage that I have available (but far away). My problem is that I don't really have a good place to store all the large skins while I am building other than in the crates. The crates take up valuable building space.
So I will take a bit as I do inventory to figure out how I am going to juggle all of the pieces here and leave enough room to build. Good problems to have as they say :) What I am considering doing is combining the skins into one crate if possible and shelving all of the other parts. That way at least I can get rid of one crate. Another alternative will be to inventory the tail kit, and then move that crate to another garage until I am ready for it.
Pictures will be up soon.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
More Prep
Have been cleaning out the garage in preparation for the arrival of the kits this week. It looks like I will need to unpack and dismantle most of the two large crates so that I can have space for the wing stand when I eventually get to that stage.
The long crate will be able to stay intact out of the way, so most long pieces I can keep in there still until they are needed. I will figure out what to do with the skins shortly after I see how big each one is.
Have been spending some time figuring out if I want to use the Cleaveland Substructure dies or just get a tank die and use that on the substructure. I will also need a few more odds and ends, like dies for the screw holes. I ordered the roloc pads for edge deburring, as a fellow builder recommended them more than the wheel I had been using, especially for the wing ribs.
I have also figured out what I am going to do for the Wing spar prep. Both my regular EAA table as well as the smaller but same height table I currently have my bandsaw on will go together and will provide enough length for the spar while I am countersinking, etc.
Stay tuned!
The long crate will be able to stay intact out of the way, so most long pieces I can keep in there still until they are needed. I will figure out what to do with the skins shortly after I see how big each one is.
Have been spending some time figuring out if I want to use the Cleaveland Substructure dies or just get a tank die and use that on the substructure. I will also need a few more odds and ends, like dies for the screw holes. I ordered the roloc pads for edge deburring, as a fellow builder recommended them more than the wheel I had been using, especially for the wing ribs.
I have also figured out what I am going to do for the Wing spar prep. Both my regular EAA table as well as the smaller but same height table I currently have my bandsaw on will go together and will provide enough length for the spar while I am countersinking, etc.
Stay tuned!
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Kits en route already
Just got word from Vans that the kits have shipped, so now I need to get moving on re-organizing the garage/workshop. It will be tight but because I am starting with the wing kit I should be able to complete those and then move the wings to another location.
I have emailed a few builders to see what they did for the wing stands while building.
I have emailed a few builders to see what they did for the wing stands while building.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Ordered Wing and Empennage Kits
I have put the 9A tail kit up for sale on VAF, and this marks the official start of the 14A build. Update: This was sold to a builder from New York and I wish him the best of luck.
The sale of the tail kit was a great experience, unlike the experience I had when I went to purchase an almost complete RV-9A kit. I ended up having to back out only hours after sending a deposit and the person on VAF kept my deposit after saying he would return it (he had people lined up to purchase this so it went quickly). I debated posting on VAF to talk about the bad experience but I think I will just keep it to myself for now. If I see him post anything for sale though I will comment in the post as he is not trustworthy at all.
For those that are curious as to why I am switching, in my case it is the following:
-New builder (have some experience from the prior tail kit) so a quicker more thought out full design does appeal to me. As much as I like thinking about how I am going to run the wiring, plumbing, etc I am also the type that will quickly fall into analysis paralysis and drag the build out for 4000 hours. If I see something quick and obvious here that is worth deviating for I will but at least the main structures are thought out and in place. (Example: I would change the brand of lighting perhaps, but not move it's location completely or even have to figure out where I want to put it)
- Improvement in assembly techniques (both written directions as well as some final drilling done)
- Nosewheel "improvements". Appeals to me even though I know that many builders say there is no problem with the prior design.
I am planning on building the wings first with the thought that once they are complete I can move them out of the workshop and free up space to work on the Empennage/Fuse which are more related in this design as the Empennage comes with the tailcone.
I am building in one half of a two car garage. Space will be a challenge but I am able to move the other car outside temporarily when needed to work.
TEST IMAGE
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