Jim's RV 12: December 2014

Pushing hard during the holiday break to get as much done as possible. This weekend I bent the longerons - a task that some say they have trouble with and others had no problem. Most of those that had no issues with the process didn't use the instructions (lay it on the ground and hit it with a hammer). Those that do use the hammer technique complain about the longeron looking like it was war torn. I used the dies to bend the parts and the vise and pipe process to open the angle. It took all day to get them finished but they came out fine. I should have the parts drilled out today and begin getting them ready for prime.

Mocking up section 23 parts getting an idea where everything goes.

New batch of parts deburred ready for next steps.

Decided to pull the inspection covers off the Cessna and repaint them. It was badly needed but it's really just a peek at the entire plane - which I hope to paint in 2015.

The left longeron in place - lined up pretty nicely.

There are several (10) holes that need to be matched drilled at the doublers.

One down (bent) and one to go. The dies work well but can quickly over bend.

Here's the pair. They are close enough to pull into shape.

A shot of the left side. Shows the arm rest, the longeron and canopy shelf match drilled. Just clecoing these parts really adds strength to the structure.

Section 22 complete - starting to look like an airplane! This section came with some warnings from the forums in that some felt there could have been more details in the plans. The section was only 4 pages long and I spent maybe 10 or so hours of the 28 for this section on one page. In contrast to the last chapter which had 28 pages I believe and took quite a bit of time. In any case, most of the complaints about the drawings were dated and I found it to be 80% there. At this point I think Vans assumes you'll figure it out which isn't hard to do. This will be the last section for 2014 and officially I'm at 2 years on the build which I do believe will complete in 2015. I have a hanger now at KCCR. I've been on the list for about a year at both Buchanan and Byron and both came up at the same time. I choose Buchanan since it's half the distance but it's nearly $120 more per month so the incentive to make use of it and move to Byron is there. For now the mighty C152 has a dry place to hang out. Perhaps a first for the 35 year old bird. I'll continue to keep the project at the house since it's so convenient. The coming steps will be mostly plumbing and the sides and roll bar. After that the tail will go on and it will have to be on it's wheels to make it manageable.

Some of the detail and parts fab. This little bracket was fabricated out of stock 6061 angle. It's cool to make the little parts.

Another part that needed some fab to complete. Once they go through this they can only be used on one place.

Prior to priming the components are assembled so that I can work through all the counter sink / dimple / drilling that needs to be completed. It works much better this way and by the time you've riveted anything permanently you have a good understanding of where everything fits.

All fab complete - ready to prime. This took a couple days to get to this point.

Out of prime - not too many parts on this section.

Starting the final assembly. The firewall is stainless so it doesn't get primed. Primer wouldn't stick to it and if there's ever a fire in the engine bay you don't want a bunch of nasty primer combusting and outgassing noxious gases into the cockpit.

All cleco'd up - last check before the rivets go in. It's good to triple check as replacing rivets is a drag.

Time for the rivet gun.

Pretty quick work, only a day. This is all on one page except for the diagonal piece which is a optional stiffener.

Ready to make the final joining. Last check of the documentation.

Purdy!

A shot of the engine mounts. These are the lowers. This is also where the nose wheel will attach.

Ready to attach the firewall shelf.

All rivets on the firewall will get fuel tank sealant. The directions didn't say to do this yet as I suspect they leave it for a one shot item. I looked ahead and couldn't find it but the firewall stiffener said to goop up the rivets since that's a retrofit. I've also read a bit about it on the forum. Some people said they made a big mess and others talked of punching holes in tape. I used hole punch donuts and it turned out they worked pretty well.

The forward and aft sections coming together.

Progress...

That's it - it's about 7 feet now. This may be the last time it will be belly up in construction. I can still pick it up by myself but it's awkward and I'd hate to drop it. I'd say it's less than 50 pounds.