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Legs on the mistress!

Took some time between showers to get a picture. Spring is slow in comming this year :mad:

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More, please!

Wade - please keep posting pictures. You're trying some new or at least slightly different things on your -8 that are very interesting.
 
Moving Day

I ordered the tail kit at Sun and Fun in 2004. On April 29, 2011 the plane was moved to TAN. Custom chocks were made to allow us to securely strap down the mains for an uneventful slow ride to the airport.

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For anyone interested and who don't mind seeing rough work in progress..... I unmolded my exit tunnel and nozzle, located it on the fuselage, and then seperated the configurable outlet.

The side view from inlet to exit nozzle.



The view fwd looking of exit nozzle A.





The end nozzle removed. I plan to take data with this config and then with various different end nozzle designs.
 
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French RV Factory

Hello all,
THis is a picture of "French RV Factory" in RSA Hangar at Nangis Airfield ( LFAI), south of Paris
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F-PREM " Aluminium Lady"'s engine has run for the first time today!
Amazing first start , just to turn the key, bravo to Pmag and Ellison!

2 other RV ( 7 and 7-A) are on the way to be finished in the next hangar
Summer 2011 sky will see plenty of RV
 
Moved to the airport

Finally got as much done as I could conceive at home - time to go to the airport. I carefully planned the operation:

  1. Custom airplane enclosed trailer from an AvidFlyer buddy - check
  2. Friends lined up to help - check
  3. Good weather forecast - check

About an hour before the guys showed up Saturday morning I heard thunder, then it started raining. Oh well, it was bound to get wet sometime. I had the wings wrapped in plastic so we moved them 1st hoping the rain would be gone for the 2nd load with the fuselage. The drive to the airport is :25. That was not to be, it was raining even more when we moved the fuse. All-in-all it went very well. I had to remove the horizontal to get it in the trailer (1" too wide!) I'm happy to have it at the airport after 4 yrs and 9 months of construction and 2300 hrs of labor. Still have to put it all together and make sure all those loose ends are tied up.
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Wings are in (1st load)

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Horizontal won't fit - rats. And it's raining buckets!

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Taking off the vertical and horizontal stabs

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2nd load with the fuselage in

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On the ground at it's new home! The trailer was a god-send! - worked perfect!

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These guys did all the work! L-R Jeff Doran, Matt Koenig, Mitchel (my son)

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Me

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So, Scott, how is that -8 project coming? Here are a couple of pictures taken in the shop moments ago. Gear leg bolts have been drilled, skins are being riveted on. What you can't see is all of the completion details that have already been dealt with inside the canoe. Such as wiring runs planned out with holes drilled and adel clamp nutplates installed. Ground locations already prepared. Servo brackets all installed. Com antenna locations and doublers are all done. Forward and rear baggage access mods complete. AHRS and Mag mounts complete. ALL plumbing is already done (fuel tank plumbing, fuel supply, filter, pump, return, vents, brake lines). After the skins are all stitched up in the next week or so, we'll flip it, do a little pre-wiring in the tailcone and stitch the top aft skin on. Then I'll attack the showplanes canopy fiberglass work. Ordered a Todds canopy for that...
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Out of my paint shop!!! and just about made it to Oshkosh!! Thought I might have some roll issues, so C-GOGO won't make it THIS year!
See you all at the RV-8 meet on the 25th!
 
Mods to the baggage area

Scott, I am building an 8 as well and have heard about mods to the baggage area but don't know what they are. Any insight? Can you give me some suggestions? My fuse skins are on at this point and I'm starting on the wiring.

Dave
 
Almost done!

Since I weighed the aircraft this weekend and thus it was all put together I thought I would snap some photos (read 'glamour shots')

It was a little heaver than I would have liked, of course, 1144 empty. I have the big IO-360 A1A with hartzell and inverted oil system. I did bias everything I could to the back so my CG is slightly aft of the Van's examples, which in my initial analysis will put me more to the center of the envelope solo - that's good.

My FAA inspection is scheduled for this Friday (Aug 5th) - wish me luck!

Barring any unforeseen issues I hope to fly within the next 3-4 weeks!

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Awesome

Looks super Brent! You are about to embark on some awesome 40 hours ahead. They are so fun and fly just great -- it's a very rewarding time. Dave
 
Congrats!

Brent, very sweet looking ride you've got there. You have done an amazing job on your build. Can't wait to see her in the air--bet she flys as good as she looks! :D

Steve
Skyking902001
 
Gear leg alignment.

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I sanded the gear with 600, 1000, 1500, 2000 on an orbital sander. Then Test polished with a small buffer wheel in my electric drill. Results look promising, but I will need a much larger buffer wheel.

Any suggestions on the buffing our to a polished shine? Any product links would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott
 
I just wet sanded mine up to 2000 grit by hand and then hand polished them using an old cotton shirt. They look almost chrome. No scratches whatsoever.
 
I just wet sanded mine up to 2000 grit by hand and then hand polished them using an old cotton shirt. They look almost chrome. No scratches whatsoever.

Old cotton shirt... check! :D

What brand or kind of polish did you use?

Thanks,
Scott
 
I'm coming along...slowly!

Here is a quick shot of where I am. I started the project last March and hope to have the wings done early next year...being conservative I guess. ;)

Loving every minute of it!

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Thanks

Thanks Steve,

Have to tear down the Leading Edges, debur, prime and so on..You're smoking along I see!

DP
 
Looking great Brent

Brent,

Your plane looks great! Best of luck with testing. Since I'm using some of your clecos, I'm hoping mine will look that good :p
 
Engine Hung

Well with all the rain we had here from the tropical storm and the fact that i was tired of running wires, i decided it would be a great day to hang the engine. Its an O-360 A3A. Instalation wasnt as bad as i expected. We mounted the engine mount to the engine and then hung it as an assembly to the firewall. Thanks to all of you that helped me! I started on the slow build fuselage march 12th of this year. Im almost 6 months into it. This is my first attempt at loading pictures. sorry for the photo quality, The room is pretty small and its hard to take good pictures.

Thanks....

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My god child Julien setting the altimeter.
 
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Looking good

Yep I would definately be setting in it making airplane noises when its my turn after your god child:D. Keep up the good work

bird
 
My mistake, they look like the chrome covers from a millennium edition Cessna.
Your project looks to be at a very fun stage, can't wait!
 
Hey Calvin, it has millennium cylinders. And Mike, what's up with the vacuum pump? I am using a standard 6 pack panel. Just wondering....???
 
And Mike, what's up with the vacuum pump? I am using a standard 6 pack panel. Just wondering....???

Nothing up, just a comment. Dont see a lot of them anymore.

Most of the engine photos here are minus a vacuum pump, as it seems most folks use glass instead of steam.

Lookin good, carry on.
 
I see Mike, that's what I figured. I've been scraping up pennies over the years and buying used steam gauges here on VAF. I figure a panel upgrade may be a good project a few years down the road after I fly it for a while. It was nice to pay as I could afford it buying these steam gauges.

Thanks.
 
Nothing wrong with steam gauges, I have both steam, and efis.

I still use the round stuff more than the square corner stuff when I am flying.

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Beast has arrived!

Got a phone call that Mattituck had finished my IO-360 made from Superior parts 5 weeks earlier then expected... guess they want the rest of that money!?:eek:

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Seriously! What a great looking piece of Machinery!

9:1 pistons, cold air induction, roller tappets. FP prop setup with CS crank (Expect 3 blade Catto)

I have to say, you gotta trust a guy that convinces you not to spend more money with him. I talked to Mahlon a couple of times and discussed my typical mission profile. He saved me a lot of money when he talked me into just going with standard Mags. Because of the type of flying that is expected I wouldn't benefit that greatly from the other (more expensive) choices.

Dont even think about it! I put the Guard Dog on high alert...

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Moved the wings from the garage to the hangar and the fuselage to the garage a little while ago.



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Nutplates for the floor ..soooo many
 
Time to mount the Beast!

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This was actually more work then I had expected.
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All snugged up
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I tried following the directions and mount the top then lift the engine higher. This was not even close and not working. I had read on the forum about mounting the bottom first, then lifting higher... this worked perfect. Of course I had to undo my previous effort. The Dyno mounting took a bit of head scratching!
 
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