Flap Actuation work

I am posting to bring things up to date a bit. I have received the finish kit, and it looks like the propeller will be here in October and the engine next year (2023). I am in no need for either of them as I have a ton of work to do, but the fuselage kit is coming to an end over the next month or so.

 

 Chapter 34 is a short one, but it starts with drilling the flap controls using the wing alignment template. I got creative a bit with the clamping using a board to secure things while I drilled the first hole and inserted a cleco. I also used BoLube on the drill bits which really helps a lot when drilling through the steel tubes. 

I sprayed primer into the tubes after, and let them dry.

I also drilled the hole for the flap position sensor, luckily in the RV-14 online blog it was mentioned to drill this now before installation. 

A lot of work has been done besides this, I just haven't blogged much. I was using the EAA builders log and was optimistic about it but it is just too rough around the edges, and seems frozen in web 1.0 land with not much improvement on the horizon. So I will stick with this blog.

Brake Lines

 I have been doing quite a bit of work on the plane over the last month since the finish kit arrived. Inventory is complete and there are a few things on backorder including the baffles which I won't need for a long time. There were a few things missing in the finish kit but no more than small hardware and a few bolts that were the wrong size (check everything - This happened on the fuselage kit as well - if it says three bolts/screws of a certain size make sure all of them are the same size).

I ordered one of the new gas struts for the canopy and asked that it be shipped with the other backorders. Vans recently introduced a new stronger strut so I figure it is best to install the stronger one at the beginning.

Over the last couple of weeks I have built the rudder pedals including painting them with rustoleum hand hammered silver color and they look great in my opinion. I ordered the brake cables from Aircraft Specialty as well. Steve is a great resource and really goes the extra mile to help if you have any questions. The cables are quite expensive but after receiving them I can see why. They are all stainless fittings, and quite strong. I am glad that I have them rather than the clear tubing.

You need to put thread seal on all NPT threads like these, so I used Permatex #2 which I had a tube of from a little while ago. The clocking of the fittings on the master cylinders is a little difficult to get as some of the fitting need to be torqued quite tight. But once you get it, everything really comes together quickly.