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RV-8 N83274

riseric

Well Known Member
Patron
RV-8 #83274

Hi to all !!!

After finding and renting a garage to start this project, I finally finished organising the workspace, starting with this:

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and ended up with this:

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A bit cramped, but all needed stuff is there and after doing the Vans training kit, I started today on the empennage!!!

Here is the rear spar with the reinforcement bars clecoed, ready to drill !!!

IMG_0697.jpg


After drilling about 120 holes... I'll attack tomorrow the hinges!!!

Will keep posting !!!

Cheers to all !!

Eric :D
 
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Hi Eric,
Glad to see another RV8 building in France. You will see that it is a really nice airplane to build. I'm sure you will love it.
I just see on the map that you are "close" to Nuit-Saint George where will be held our next French RV Fly-in (from july 6th to july 8th) organize by the VCF (Van's Club de France).If weather is good, we hope to see 40 RV's (yes in France there is not a lot of RV's but it's growing).
I'm sure you could have a ride in an 8 (mine is still under building so won't be able to give you a ride but I'm sure you will find someone).

"Bonne continuation":D
 
Salut Bastien !!

Je suis content de faire ta connaissance, j'avais vu un reportage sur toi et ton projet et je ne peux que te f?liciter pour ton resultat !!!
(I'm happy getting to know you, I saw a news report about you and your project and I can only congratulate you on your results)

Je sais ? propos du meeting a?rien ? Nuit-Saint-Georges et j'aurais adorer y aller mais malheureusement, je suis d?j? pris ailleurs cette fin de semaine l?...
(I know about the Fly-In in Nuit-Saint-Georges and would love to be there but unfortunately, I'm busy elsewhere on that week-end)

Je ferai de mon mieux pour y aller l'an prochain !!!
(I'll do my best to attend next year !!!)

Bon courage pour la suite de ta construction, ?a doit ?tre tr?s exitant d'en ?tre l?... Moi je suis tr?s exit? d'avoir finalement commenc?!!!
(Hang on for the rest of your build, it must be very exiting to be there... Myself, I'm very exited to finally start !!!)

Si l'occasion se pr?sente, j'aimerais bien faire un saut chez toi voir ton b?b? et ? l'inverse, si tu es dans mon coin, fait moi signe, et vient voir mes d?buts. Ca te rappellera des souvenirs... :cool:
(If I have a chance, I'd like to drop at your place and see your baby and if you're near my place, let me know and come see my start. It will bring you back memories... :cool:)
 
Second day of work

Worked on the rear spar hinges and the central one with the bearing.

That one was a challenge, aligning all three parts without clecos to match drill them.

Turned out very good in the end with the help of vise grips!!!

After deburring, I primed the parts, taping the bearing of course, since some of the powder coating on the hinges was removed by drilling the holes. I used, for this time, spray primer in a can.

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Then came the riveting. Very easy with "Jaws" the squeezer...!!!

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Final result is most satisfying

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For the rest of the parts, I will use Stewart Systems Eko-Wash, Eko-Etch and Eko-Prime. The primer is water soluble, has no toxic effect and almost no smell. That's a plus for a cramped place like mine and the cleaning of the paint gun is a breeze !!!

PICT3810.jpg


Then on to deburring the spars, the stiffeners and the rest of the hinges with the magic tools...

PICT3817.jpg


On question on deburring the inside of the hole with the manual tool, I was wondering on it's necessity since the drill bit leaves a very smooth finish (inside).
Any comments on this ???


As for the electrically slow turning deburring bit, it does a really neet job on the surfaces and pretty quickly also!!

Everything is ready for the priming treatments but I'll wait for the front spar pieces and do everything in one shot.

I finished the session by match drilling the reinforments bars with the front spar and then rounding the bars.
I don't have a band saw, I know it would save me some time but I'm a bit short on worktable space. If there's more similar work to do on the wings, I might go for one and think about some creative way to find it some space...

So I used the ScotchBrite Wheel, and with patience, got very good results in my opinion. Took just under 30 minutes for the 4 cuts of one bar.
One important note would be to wear a good quality breathing mask while using the ScotchBrite wheel as you end up with an impressive amount of aluminium dust particules floating around !!!

PICT3830.jpg


The second bar will get it's treatment tommorow and I think I will be able to finish the preperations of the front spar also.
 
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Pics not working

Oh !!! :eek:

They seem to work fine from my side.

Anyone else not seeing the pics ???

If so, I could upload them again of course !!!
 
Maybe it was my PC at work. I am home now and they work fine!:confused:

Cool that it's working... You got me spinning there for a while!!!

I have the same issue at work, some theads I can see the photos, others not.

Maybe because of some sort of corporate firewall...

Maybe we have the same, even though we're not FAA.... ahahah ;)
 
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Off to a good start! What's the dimensions of that workspace Eric?

Also, who is your supplier for the Stewart Systems primer?
 
PICT3817.jpg


On question on deburring the inside of the hole with the manual tool, I was wondering on it's necessity since the drill bit leaves a very smooth finish (inside).
Any comments on this ???

...

The inside of rivet holes don't need to be deburred, only the top and bottom edges of the holes. The manual tool shown is used for thin sheet edges and the edges of holes larger than rivet holes. I used that tool to debur the edges of the pitot tube holes (7/16"), conduit holes (3/4"), and lightening holes in the main wing ribs.
 
Off to a good start! What's the dimensions of that workspace Eric?

Also, who is your supplier for the Stewart Systems primer?

It's a standard single garage for France, almost 3m x 6m (9ft x 19ft).
One wing a time will do it I believe.
I'm a bit sceptical for the fuselage...
I'll see when I get there if I need to move.

I think there are two suppliers in Europe, one in France and another in Holland. Here's a link from their site:
http://www.stewartsystems.aero/distributors.aspx

The inside of rivet holes don't need to be deburred, only the top and bottom edges of the holes. The manual tool shown is used for thin sheet edges and the edges of holes larger than rivet holes. I used that tool to debur the edges of the pitot tube holes (7/16"), conduit holes (3/4"), and lightening holes in the main wing ribs.

Thanks for your advice, I figured out the use of that tool today when I deburred the lightning holes of the empennage ribs.

Very nice Eric!

Thanks !!!
 
Here's today's progress...

Finished trimming the second reinforment bar of the front spar.

Then it was on to bend them and the spar.

Drawing time !!!

PICT3832.jpg


Ready to fold !!

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Excellent result !!

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A happy couple !!!

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Now for the spars

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Perfect !!!

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Finally, deburring, trimming and fluting the ribs

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I started to attack drilling the holes of the HS-405.
I must of read the instructions and looked at the drawing about 20 times.
I think I finally got it but being a bit tired (a sign being having to go through them that much), I decided to close up and strart fresh and relaxed next time...

I'm pretty happy of my progress and results so far.
 
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Mon & Tue

This is what was done these last 2 days, 10 hours of shop time total.

After spending about 1 hour figuring out the marking & drilling of the front flange of HS405, I went and did it. I'm off about 1/32" on one of the holes... Phwew!!! :rolleyes: The result can be seen on further pictures.

This was exiting, assembling the left side HS frame & skin.

PICT3841.jpg

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Then installing roughly the HS 404 & 405 and then marking approximately the holes.

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Drawing the center lines on the ribs.

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Drilling the rear flange of HS405

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Drilling the HS405, HS702 HS404 & the reinforcement bars together.

PICT3854.jpg

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Drilling with the angle drill.

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...Followed on next reply...
 
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Mon & Tue followed

And the final result, with as a bonus, all the aluminium shaving... ;)

PICT3868.jpg


Drilling the skin to the front spar
Before

PICT3855.jpg


After

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Match drilling all the skin holes

PICT3861.jpg


One small concern, this hole on the top flange of HS405 at the front. It looks a bit close to the edge but it was impossible to have it elsewhere...

PICT3860.jpg


And then, undo everything to drill the HS810 & 814 (no photos) and start all over again to do the right side... :eek:

And it was a lot quicker and with better results... Ahhhh, experience... :D

So the main word here DRILLING... Lots of it... :eek:
I believe it was at least 500 holes total... :rolleyes:

Next session in 2 days...

Have a nice day all !!!
 
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Re upload of photos

Apologies for the last 6 hours or so...

I moved my photos in PhotoBucket and had to re upload them again.

Hope it works OK now !!!
 
Finished work a bit early today and jump in the workshop for a 3 hour session.

Removed all the blue vinyl on spars and inside of skins.
Deburred all rib and spar holes.
Smoothed all edges on spars.

PICT3870.jpg


Removed the blue vinyl over the holes on the outside of skins using a hot soldering iron and a steel ruler.

PICT3871.jpg
 
Thursday

Today I managed 5 hour in the shop.

All skin holes were deburred and edges smoothed.

PICT3872.jpg


Shavings...
PICT3874.jpg


Then spar and rib flanges were dimpled.
Made easy with Jaws... :D

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For the tightness of the forward hole of the end rib, a close quarter die with a blind rivet puller is needed.

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This one needed a little extra pull...

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DRDT-2 doing it's thing !!!

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All HS parts now ready for priming.

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I wanted to prepare all the empennage parts then prime everything in one shot but I fear that I won't have enough paint booth space to do so.

So I'll prime this batch only, and then store the disassembled parts for future assembly. Space managing again. The disassembled parts take up lots less space.

Priming should take place next Thursday, in one week time.
 
Thursday

One week out of the shop.
Today I chose to attack the VS instead of priming.
There's so few parts in the VS and after one week of inactivity, I preffered working on aluminium.

After doing the HS, the VS is pretty easy, quick and simple.

First thing to do, in summary, cleco the rear spar with the doubler and the hinges and match drill the hinges.

Prepare the ribs and assemble the VS frame. Match drill the ribs and spars.
(sorry for the quality of the photos in this set, had to use my phone camera...)

IMG_0714.jpg


Put on the skin and match drill every hole to correct size.

IMG_0712.jpg


Then dissamble for deburring & edge smoothing.
The outside of the doubler was smoothed with the ScotchBrite wheel while the inside was worked with a rough then smooth file, followed by ScothBrite red pads. Learning to work with the files on aluminium. Remember that Al is pretty soft so go easy...!!!

Before & after

IMG_0716.jpg

IMG_0715.jpg


22 holes on the doubler must be coutersunk. I chose to use the press drill for this and while it's a bit longer to do, the countersinks are more consistent.

IMG_0718.jpg


Only dimpling is left to do, maybe on Friday...
 
Eric, if you CS 22 holes in the doubler then you CS 2 holes too many. The bottom 2 holes do not need to be CS. I did the same thing tonight but IIRC it doesn't really matter because those holes will eventually be filled with bolts. Is that how you read it?
 
Eric, if you CS 22 holes in the doubler then you CS 2 holes too many. The bottom 2 holes do not need to be CS. I did the same thing tonight but IIRC it doesn't really matter because those holes will eventually be filled with bolts. Is that how you read it?

Umm. Ooops!! Nevermind. I found my mistake as I started riveting. :D
 
Hi TK,
Thanks for checking up on me... 4 eyes or 400 eyes are always better than 2.

I did already check a few times the plan that shows the needed rivets for that area before CS the holes. You had me check it once more !!! ;)

We are correct !!:D

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I didn't drill the lower holes yet... Still need to study that plan and the instructions. Not sure if it has to be done at this time of later...
 
First boo-boo...

Well, it had to happen... And I'm sure it won't be the last... :mad:

While dimpling the VS skin, I must of slipped just a hair while the handle was going down. Don't know how that could happen as I always make sure the die is engaged before pressing down.

Anyway, it happened, and now one hole was dimpled just on it's edge.
I thought (or maybe not thinking, depends on how you see it :rolleyes:), of enlarging the hole to number 4 size rivet since it was so close. Dimpled it to the new size but it's ugly I believe.

I'm thinking now if I should order a new skin, if a new one can be match drilled to the original spars and ribs.

Or drilling cleanly that hole to prevent cracking of the skin and leave it without a rivet.
Or as above and putting one or two rivets just above/below that hole.

Here are photos for the experts here...
Waiting for your precious advice !!!

PICT3888.jpg

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On a happier note

After the dimpling incident, I brought home all my HS and VS parts for preperation to priming.

So all got cleaned with the degreaser, then rinsed, then etched, then rinsed.

Did this in my bathtub and shower. I don't have readily available water at the garage.
Here, some spars etching.

IMG_0720.jpg


And one skin in the shower.

IMG_0721.jpg


Just make sure to identify all your parts since the Sharpie ink will dissapear with the etching...

I used some thread and noted on a piece of paper what it means...
The left HS skin is marked while the right one is not.

IMG_0722.jpg
 
Monday

After etching all HS & VS parts, I attacked the priming of them.
I had primed the parts of the training kit about a month ago and I kept that prepared batch of primer. So I use that to prime my parts. Unfortunately, I didn't remix properly this "old" batch and after application this was the result, lots of runs and improper coverage.

I noticed after spraying all the residue left in the bottom of the first batch of primer. This explains that...

PICT3904.jpg


So after drying, I roughened up the previously primed parts with ScothBrite red pads and re-primed with a fresh mix of paint.
Much better results in my opinion!!!

PICT3910.jpg


Only one side was primed, the flip side will be done next time I visit the shop.

Even though priming/painting is kind of simple, it's not my favorite activity for the time, I hope that with practice I get better and enjoy it more !!!
I'm happy about the work, only down side is my little paint booth, allowing for slow progress.
Upside are the products, no smells to mention, no toxicity, and everything cleaned with water. If it were otherwise, I'd have to find another place to spray.

Last, I dabbed the hinges were the holes were drilled since the powder coat was removed in the process.

PICT3905.jpg
 
Bon travail Eric!!!

Eric....great job on your emp! The blundered dimple is just to keep you humble and human! Perhaps the problem is you are using american standard hardware in the land of the metric system....need to re-calibrate your dimple actuator:D
 
HS & VS parts primed!!

At last...

All the HS & VS parts are now fully primed.

I'm glad that's done with !!!

I originally wanted to prepare all the empennage parts and do some kind of one time priming to save time and paint.
I can't do it because of my too small set-up.
Yesterday I spend 6.5 hours priming the second half of the ribs, the spars, the doublers and the skins.
The paint booth works fine but at 1.5m x 1m, I can't do much at one time so there's lots of lost time waiting for the paint to cure a bit, getting it out of the booth, setting it up to dry, getting a new one (or more depending on size) inside and start over again...

Oh, and I changed my spray gun. Thinking wrongly that I could get away with it by buying a bottom price choice, it soon shown its limits by clogging up, not spraying evenly or doing any other nasty things you might think of...
Lots of time loss there also...
Didn't buy the top, top of the line, but definitely a much better one and its first 3 hours of spray went uneventfully !!! yeah !!!

Nevertheless, next time, I'll stay with smaller batches...

Anyway, all parts are now ready for final assembly, which will start soon !!!

Sorry again for the rough photos, didn't have my camera on hand...

VS skin in the paint booth.

IMG_0732.jpg


Spars and doublers

IMG_0733.jpg
 
HS assembly begins

So after a few days out of the shop, I had a go in starting the assembly of the HS.

First, clecoing the doublers to the rear spar, note the tape covering the holes NOT to rivet for now.
PICT3911.jpg


The rivets squeezed by Jaws... :)
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Then on with the hinges.
I was surprised on how low the torque (25 in-Lb) is on the center hinge bolts.
PICT3913.jpg


Here the completed rear spar.
After self inspection, I drilled out two of these rivets that I was not happy with. On one, the squeezed head was sideways, on the other, the manufactured head had a big "smiley".
Must make sure that the squeezer is dead center with the rivet and held perpendicular...
PICT3914.jpg


And the front side, showing the nuts of the center hinge plus some shop heads.
PICT3917.jpg


On to the front spar with the doublers clecoed and tape covering the holes for the HS404-HS405 ribs. Note that it's not mentionned in the instructions to cover these holes while they did mention it for the rear spar.
I'm glad I thought about it and didn't rivet these holes to find out the need to drill them out later for the ribs...
PICT3919.jpg


Here's the front view.
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And the back. Notice the 4 center flush rivets.
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...Followed on next post...
 
HS assembly begins...followed...

Then riveting the center ribs...

I didn't find it easy to do, I'm still learning to handle the rivet gun/bucking bar plus even with off center shaft, the ribs were still a bit in the way.
In the end, 2 rivets were drilled out and replaced.
Part of the learning expirience...
PICT3922.jpg


Now, normally the front rib in the center is riveted to the skin's top side.
Because I'm planning on having my sub structures inspected in Canada, I have to keep the top sides of the HS and elevators, and one side of the VS and rudder "open" until inspected. Thus, it was suggested to me to temporarily close the skin with aluminium bilnd rivets for easier removal later. Less damaging than leaving clecos on for such a long period.
Notice the scraches near the holes, these were caused by the male dimpling die. I was set up wrong sided with the male below so I had to "search" for the hole...
Just surface scraches... :-(
PICT3923.jpg


The bottom side skin was flush riveted. In this cramped space, it was once more a challenge for me, (big hands maybe...). In the end, 3 rivets had to be replaced... The second from left, three times... grrrr...
Learning curve again...
PICT3924.jpg


Here I show the HS707 & 708 blind riveted together with the front spar.
You can see some other rivets that came later in the building process.
PICT3925.jpg


Then the front spar's end was riveted to the end rib.
One small "smiley" again on the rib. Nothing serious I believe, just cosmetics.
Learning curve again...
PICT3926.jpg


The bottom skin flush riveted to the front spar and center ribs.
I had some apprehensions doing this because of the tough times I had previously (3 photos up).
But it went relatively well, no rivets had to come out !!!
My technique is maybe getting better !!!
Happy of the results.
PICT3927.jpg

PICT3928.jpg


The top side was secured with about 15 temporary blind rivets.
PICT3930.jpg


This is a rear view of the forward spar. Notice on the botom, the skin flush riveted and on the top, a few of the temporary blind rivets.
PICT3934.jpg


Some touch ups will be made to the primer where the bucking bar removed it.

On to the right side next time...!!!
I will get better at all this...!!!
 
Hi Eric,
Nice work for the most part and you are now well on your way.
I see there have been almost no replies to you lengthy and detailed posts. May I suggest that rather than posting all the build info here that you just post the link to your builder site?
Keep up the good work, we will enjoy following your progress.
 
Hi Rick,

Thanks for your encouraging words.

I get your hint....

My builder's site/log is planned to be online within a few days...

On another subject, would it be possible to modify the title of this thread?

It currently shows "RV-8 N83274"

The last part looks like a USA registration number (Nxxxxx).

Could you change or have change the N for a # ???

Thanks in advance.
 
The right side bottom skin is now flush riveted.
The top side is temporarily blind riveted as the left side.
I only need to flush rivet the end ribs and the ribs near the centre with Jaws the squeezer... :cool:

PICT3948.jpg


After riveting the HS707-702-708 together, I slowly realised that I'll most probably need to remove them later on both sides...

I won't be able to flush rivet the HS 707 on the top sides...
Oh well, 6 blind rivets to remove in about 4 1/2 years... :(

PICT3945.jpg


At least it made me think about flush riveting the bottom of the rear spar and leaving the top side only temporarily riveted. (Again for inspection purposes)
That's a no-go as I will face the same dilemma!!! Not able to flush rivet the top skin !!! :eek:
So temp. rivets only for the rear spar...

More pictures and descriptions on the PhotoBucket link in my signature below !!!
 
Look 'ma, no clecos !!

The HS is finally done as much as I can.
The bottom skins are flush riveted, the top skins are secured with temporary blind rivets.
The rear spar is temp riveted also.
Ready for storage, I will hang it on a wall while doing the elevators.
Then all will be crated for the future move across the pond.

IMG_0738.jpg


Next was starting assembling the VS.
Pretty simple to do, however I stumbled on 3 rivets that hold the bottom ribs to the front spar. Not happy with the result, will have to re-do.

The skin is flush riveted on the left side. The right side side will be temp riveted.
The rear spar is clecoed while I wait for tools and rivets to fix the boo-boo hole on the right side. More on this later...

IMG_0744.jpg
 
almost 3 weeks break

Well, after some well deserved holidays from my paying job and being away from the "factory", I was happy to resume the building process!!!

I mainly "fixed" things on the VS today.

First, I removed 6 rivets on the bottom of one side of the VS skin as they need to be left open for the future fairing... (Pay more attention to the plan Eric...!!!)
The removal was very straightforward and went well, no issues whatsoever. :)
PICT4005.jpg


When I removed the 3 rivets that hold together the bottom ribs and spar, I damaged a bit two holes, the centre and bottom one on the photo. The rivets were badly set in the first place. So I will enlarge the 2 holes from 1/8" to 5/32" and set them properly with the appropriate rivets.
PICT4006.jpg


Remember the missed dimple hole on the VS skin?
I am very fortunate to have a great buddy who submitted my boo-boo to airframe mechanics that repair Canadair CL-415 waterbombers. After analysis, they suggested to enlarge the hole to get it perfectly round and use a soft, easier to set "A" only rivet. Final size is 3/16". Got the rivet and the dimple die.
It is a big hole but I'm really confident it'll be repaired appropriately thanks to these guys !!!

Here you see the rivets with the dimple die, the skin and rib hole dimpled.
IMG_0747.jpg

PICT4015.jpg

PICT4012.jpg


The VS is almost complete now, one side is flush riveted, the other temporarily riveted with blind rivets for easy future removal when inspection time comes. I now wait for the larger diameter 5/32" rivets for the bottom ribs & spar.
PICT4016.jpg



Rudder is next !!!
 
Quick update.

I received and installed the larger 5/32 rivets to repair the enlarged holes on the VS.
I'm happy with the final riveting results as they were drilled out twice before.
I paid extra attention in keeping the bucking bar and rivet gun properly aligned with the rivet. Kind of challenging because of the angle between the spar and rib.
Now I have one 1/8 and two 5/32 rivets.
It does not make for a "even" look but I don't mind actually.
Anyone knows if this makes sense structurally? Should I drill out the smaller one and put in a 5/32?
I'm leaning towards letting it as is and stop tinkering with this area...
PICT4051.jpg


Then on with the rudder.
The stiffeners are trimmed, deburred, dimpled and primed.
PICT4033.jpg


The same with the skin.
PICT4034.jpg


The stiffeners back-riveted to the skin.
PICT4046.jpg


Here, all the other rudder parts are match-drilled, deburred and roughened with a ScotcBrite pad.
PICT4062.jpg

Following that photo, the parts are now dimpled and ready for priming but I'm blocked from further progress because of no electricity in my garage. No electricity=no compressor=no paint... :mad:
Long story short: The circuit breaker was tripped off by someone before leaving for holidays... I don't have access to the circuit breaker and have to wait for this person to come back from holidays... :eek:
 
Its looking great Eric, keep up the good work!
Thanks for your kind words nevetsw18 !!

Looking real good.

Thats a real pita about the circuit breaker. How long do you have to wait?

Thanks Justin, I don't know how long... a real bummer...
Last time I worked with power was Aug. 06.
On the 09, nothing.
Holidays here can last between 1 and 4 weeks...

I did manage 1 hour of dimpling in the dark with a LED headlamp and a small battery operated LED bar... :D No photos of course...
 
Grrrrrrr...

August 28, still no electricity..... :mad::mad::mad:

I took this wonderful opportunity to rearrange the factory.
I moved the work table to the wall and got rid of some stuff to free floor space in the center.
The wing kit is due here end of September!!!
Hopefully there will be some juice in the wires by then !!! :eek:

The idea is to have the wing cradle in the middle and work around it...

Here, the shop before:
PICT3778.jpg


And now, less cluttered!!!
Notice the HS against the back wall, it will be hung to the left wall.
The VS is on top of the paint booth.
The rudder skin by the tool chess is ready for assembly as soon as the insides are primed.
PICT4065.jpg


This week I should know when to expect electricity again.
In the meantime, I'll start preparing the elevators by bringing the parts and needed tools at home...!!! :D
 
Warning when fabricating E-720-J-K-L

Moved some parts and tools at home.
It's very nice to work outside when 20?C, no wind under the sun shades!!! :D
PICT4075.jpg


For you future builders, just don't repeat my recent mistake.
I misread the n?5 drawing, E-720 trim detail, and its notes.
It calls for shortening (2) E-720-D-E-F into E-720-J-K-L.
Pretty straightforward, mesure distance X from hole, cut, grind et voil?!!!

Unfortunately for me, I mesured from the SECOND hole from the end (as on the drawing),
PICT4077.jpg


Cut with shear scisors,
PICT4078.jpg


Grind and polish all nice,
PICT4080.jpg


Admire the results...
PICT4082.jpg


And then,.... why are these too short?!?!?!?
PICT4085.jpg


After rechecking I saw that on the drawing there is also Note 2 that says that the most aft hole is matchdrilled when installed on the skin... :eek:

So mesure from the FIRST hole and you're good...

Showed this to Van's and they obviously recommended to replace these.
$US 14.00 for the 2 stiffener bars.

I got away cheap this time... ahahah
 
Moving along

After one slow month because of lack of electricity (it's now back :D) and some holidays abroad, some progress was made on the elevators and rudder.

The lead couterweights were drilled to accept the bolts.
I drilled the holes using three increasing drill bit sizes.
Lead is soft so it tends to "grip" the bits.
Use of lots of Boelube, going in very slowly and removing the bit frequently from the hole did the trick.
PICT4095.jpg


Then sawing off the excess material for the right side weight with a hacksaw was a pain... One hour more or less...
I kept a bit more material on so final balancing can be made when all is done and painted.
PICT4109.jpg


I also kept the lead shavings and cut part in case of further need.
As you can see, after the lead was cut, I found an air bubble that extends inside by about half an inch the size of a cigarette.
Lead is fairly easy to melt so if the weight is too light, I could always fill in that hole...
PICT4110.jpg


I also built a trailing edge bender.
The wood beams are held together with a full lengh piano hinge behind and the bottom beam is bolted on my work table.
I used two clamps as handles close to center to prevent warping of the wood.
From behind, standing on a stool I had to use my body weight to bend the rudder edge properly.
If I had to do once more bending tool, I would choose bigger beams.
I will get longer clamps to get more leverage for bending the elevators.
PICT4124.jpg


Here's the rudder edge after bending.
Looks good to me, we'll see how well it goes later on.
PICT4122.jpg


After priming the rudder frame parts, assembly started.
Having the parts held solidly in a vise is a great help to get those rivets properly done.
PICT4132_zps747568df.jpg


I couldn't figure a way to get the squeezer or a bucking bar in the rudder horn hole so I installed the optional blind rivets.
PICT4133.jpg


The skin was solid riveted on the frame on one side and once more temporarily blind riveted on the other.
PICT4135.jpg


I installed wall backets to store the finished parts.
Looks neat, and they're out of harm's way...
PICT4137.jpg


October will be a slow building month also as I have a pretty hectic sched, but my wing kit should arrive somewhere in the middle of the month so I'm happy anyway!!!
 
Be careful!

Hi Eric,

Do not use the grinding wheel to grind aluminum. It will embed itself in the pores of the wheel and I've been told that it could explode with very bad consequences.

Best,
 
No kidding!

Hi Eric,

Do not use the grinding wheel to grind aluminum. It will embed itself in the pores of the wheel and I've been told that it could explode with very bad consequences.

Best,

A gentlemen here in town nearly lost an arm when the wheel on his grinder exploded. After several surgeries he is recovering and says he's fortunate that the fragments only hit his arm.

By the way, you're doing a great job on your -8! Thread back on track. :D
 
Hi Eric,

Do not use the grinding wheel to grind aluminum. It will embed itself in the pores of the wheel and I've been told that it could explode with very bad consequences.

Best,
Hi Pierre,

This is a ScotchBrite wheel.
Isn't its purpose to grind aluminium ???
It's what I use to smooth all the edges on the ribs, spars, etc...
If not, what would be its use???

Thanks for the warning in any case...!!!

A gentlemen here in town nearly lost an arm when the wheel on his grinder exploded. After several surgeries he is recovering and says he's fortunate that the fragments only hit his arm.

By the way, you're doing a great job on your -8! Thread back on track. :D
Hi Paul,

My best wishes of full recovery goes to this gentleman.
Of course, I always wear a protective suit, glasses and mask when grinding.
 
October update 1

The build continues!

This month, I mainly worked on the elevators.

The right side is pretty straightforward, as for the left side, that's another story!!

Here, the R elevator stiffeners in place:
PICT4141.jpg


Then, the bent skin:
PICT4142.jpg


The skin on the frame:
PICT4149.jpg


This is a modified bucking bar to acess the aft rivets:
PICT4150.jpg


The right elevator with its friends on the wall rack:
PICT4152.jpg


Now, the left elevator... starts with the tab bending.
I must say that the bending blocks technique proposed by Van's is probably a good one but I had all sorts of issues with it. If I were to do it over again, and it still might happen as I'll sleep a couple of days on my results, I would do it differently. See TK's post, (http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?p=710598#post710598) page 8, post 75, photo 5.

This is the final result on the second bending, I only need to drill the rivet holes. After a first try, I had to unbend them, and flatten the trailing edge that was deformed by the blocks...
Don't ask...
IMG_0816.jpg


The left frame assembled without the lead weight, (that was easy):
IMG_0817.jpg


The stiffeners and the trim servo plate. Notice the 6 missing in the middle. See above posting about my cutting them too short... The replacement stiffeners are ordered and will arrive with the wing kit expected shortly.
PICT4159.jpg


Waiting for the stiffeners...
PICT4162.jpg
 
October update 2

Next work was on the trim tab.
Again, I will have some sleep on it before I decide to do it over or not.

Here, the trim tab spar is counter-sunk on top to accept the hinge. A rivet is used to check the depth. Later, the bottom is normally dimpled.
All is ok for now.
PICT4165.jpg


Parts ready for bending/assembly:
PICT4168.jpg


Here's where I'm not happy.
The instructions suggests using 2 sided tape to hold all surfaces together.
It's a good idea except for the glue clean up aftewards...
And my top block didn't have a part to prevent it from slipping down and it dented the skin near the trailing edge...
PICT4169.jpg


The bending itself went fine though:
PICT4170.jpg


However, this is the tape glue/residue that was left behind clinging very nicely to the primed interior.
PICT4171.jpg


I don't need to explain the fun I had and the time I spent rubbing/wiping/scraping with and without mineral spirits to get it clean again... grrrr!!
PICT4176.jpg


The inboard side looks ok from the top. It's the bottom side that's dented a bit.
PICT4175.jpg


For the outboard side I didn't use 2 sided tape. As expected, even though I allowed a few 32nds as the instructions say, the blocks still moved inside so the bend line is a not quite where it should be. I don't think it will have too much of a bad effect but still, to be slept on...
PICT4174.jpg


Once the hinge was installed, alignment seems fine.
PICT4187.jpg


Here, one can see the dent in the trim tab bottom. Look top right.
It looks worst than it actually is on this photo. Maybe due to the lighting.
I'll decide later if it's a redo...
PICT4193.jpg
 
Eric, I can't tell but it looks like you need to install the nut plates for the electic trim access plate. I know you are still waiting for the new stiffeners so you didn't button it up yet.... just dont want you to forget. It seems easier to install before you close her up!
 
Eric, I can't tell but it looks like you need to install the nut plates for the electic trim access plate. I know you are still waiting for the new stiffeners so you didn't button it up yet.... just dont want you to forget. It seems easier to install before you close her up!

Thanks for the heads-up!!!

I'll look into that next time I'm at the workshop.
Gotta go move some aluminium tubes for now... ;)
 
So after TK's heads-up, I went ahead and finished the trim servo installation.
It's just not mentionned in the instructions so I hadn't done anything with it yet.
I just studied the plans, studied the parts and put it all together.

Don't forget to dimple the reinforcement plate also before installing the plate nuts... (as i did...)
I installed the plate nuts, then had to remove them to dimple the reinforcement plate... Then riveted the plate nuts again and bolted the trim plate to check its fit.
PICT4199.jpg


Then the servo brackets were drilled, primed and riveted to the trim plate.
Dimple the plate to accept the screws.
PICT4207.jpg


All was then put in place. There's still need for cutting the push/pull rod to the proper lenght. Then check the travel and trim around the clevis pin if necessary.
PICT4209.jpg


On another note, I received these goodies from Duckworks :)
IMG_0874.jpg


Here, I got some stuff to build the wing stand. The wheeled trolleys were about the same price as if I just bought the wheels... Saved some time there!!
PICT4211.jpg


Extended the 100" planks to 114"
PICT4214.jpg


The posts are bolted to the troleys by 3 brass angles each. By torquing the bolts correctly, I was able to square them preety nicely.
They are intentionnally off center as the wing will be assembled besides the posts, therefore, its weight will be in the middle of the trolleys.
2 of 4 wheels on each trolley have a friction brake.
PICT4220.jpg


The 114" plank bolted to the post.
PICT4222.jpg


The "Beast".
Now you see why I chose to put it on wheels. I'll have to move it around my small workshop.
I just need to install the aluminium angles.
I'm ready for the wings now.
PICT4224.jpg
 
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