How far can I rivet?

[lShadowl]

Hello guys,

I have a question regarding how far can I rivet the elevators for the MDRA to be able to inspect.
Can I rivet the ribs on each end?
Should I leave it as is for now?

Here's where I'm at :

[C-GRVT]

For the pre-cover inspection, the inspector must be able to inspect your workmanship. For the first inspection of the wings and tail, I had completed the underlying structures, and the skin on one side of each flying surface was riveted. The other skin was left clecoed.
You may wish to speak to the inspector in advance to confirm his expectations.
Bill Brooks
Ottawa, Canada
RV-6A, still in progress

[rv8bldr]

As Bill said, the MD-RA guy needs to see every nut, bolt, and rivet. When I was building my -8, I finish riveted one side of of the control surfaces, wing, and horizontal stab, then I had my pre-cover inspection.

If you have the storage space, you can save yourself a bunch of $$ by waiting until your wings are ready for a pre-cover inspection and do them and the tail at the same time.

My inspector wanted the rear baffles off of the tanks and no ProSeal on the shop heads inside the tanks for the inspection. Once he signed off I could then ProSeal the shop heads inside the tanks and put on the rear baffle.

I would recommend that a.) if you want a critical second set of eyes to look at your workmanship, get a local RV builder or a recommended person from your local EAA chapter to come and have a look. We don't have "Tech Counselors" per se in our Canadian EAA chapters, but there are always smart/experienced guys around happy to help out.

b.) Find out who your MD-RA inspector guy is and give him a call/email. Ask him what he likes to see/how he does his inspections. It varies from inspector to inspector, and there are one or two around that are just a pain in the... you get the idea.

Cheers

[terrye]

I asked this question of MDRA headquarters when I was about to rivet the fuel tanks. They advised me to talk to the inspector they assigned. He told me I could fully rivet the tanks and proseal them, he'd look inside the filler hole and the inspection cover on the inside rib.

As others have said, the inspector has to look inside the structure to verify rivets and bolts, so my empennage, flaps and ailerons had the closing skins only partially riveted so he could see inside. The wings had the lower skins off altogether. This was better for me as I wanted to leave the skins off for electrical wiring and equipment installation.

Every time you call for an inspection, it costs the same $$$. I could have waited until my fuselage was nearly complete. As it was, I paid for two inspections.

I complained to MDRA that since there were so many RVs being built and inspected, they could publish a document that said what had to be open and what could be closed. Haven't seen one yet.

[SMO]

As has been suggested, talk to the assigned inspector. Different inspectors have different requirements - there does not seem to be a "standard". Yes, they have to see the workmanship, however some are comfortable using inspection mirrors and such for inspection, some require being able to see everything with the naked eye.

In my case MDRA would not assign an inspector until I called for the inspection. I did that, got the inspector assigned, and then delayed the actual inspection until I was ready. I was then able to discuss the inspectors requirements with him and when he showed up all was in order.

[lShadowl]

Thank you all, I will get in touch with my inspector. I think it's the best way to go!