Jim's RV 12: February 2015

Completed section 24 this weekend. It only took about a day to assemble once all the parts were ready. Some time was spent installing a rear bearing brace that's a retrofit from a service bulletin. That part was found cracking on a couple planes so Vans upgraded the part by using some 6061 angle. It wasn't too hard to put in since the back of the plane is still open. I wouldn't want to install it once it's assembled. I've bought every updated part since I bought the kit so that when it is complete it will be up to date. I also spent some time removing the lower firewall and forward skins. The fuselage nosed over off the saw horse and it bent it up a bit. The firewall hit hard enough to crease it and that would case an already thin part to become weak. The nose came off without a problem in a couple hours and all the holes were fine. The new parts were $178 and that's pretty cheap for a plane. I spent some time getting them ready for prime and set them aside until I'm ready to paint. I've been reading about painting since I've been painting acrylic urethane on the Cessna in areas of corrosion. I've been choking off my paint gun trying to conserve primer and keep it light but for finishes you need the gun wide open. I tried this while spraying primer and ended up going through 17oz for just the small batch of parts that is section 24. I'll try turning the fan down next time but I'm sure I'll have to back off the paint also. Full open works good for large areas but for small parts there's too much overspray. The roll bar went in and looks fine. It's starting to look like a plane.