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  #11  
Old 02-02-2008, 07:03 AM
8CW 8CW is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Posts: 317
Default Turning down rivets?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mel View Post
The hardest part for me was the hours and hours sitting at the lathe turning out rivets.
It just keeps getting deeper and deeper...
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RV-8 N38CW (Reserved)
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  #12  
Old 02-02-2008, 07:29 AM
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flion flion is offline
 
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Location: Flagstaff, AZ
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Default

After making the wire at the forge, I found it extremely tedious getting it into the insulation. And don't get me started on the shielding ...
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  #13  
Old 02-02-2008, 10:14 AM
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rvbuilder2002 rvbuilder2002 is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Hubbard Oregon
Posts: 9,035
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by AMURRAY View Post
And you had only one choice of canopy. The tip up.
The sliding canopy option became available for the RV-6(A) sometime in 1991.
The trigear option became available in 1988.

Quote:
Originally Posted by yakdriver View Post
A friend of mine got RV6 kit #7 actually #207 in the Van's numbering system in 1986. It came in flat boxes with almost no prefabrication. How he didn't cut a finger off fly cutting all those lightning holes in the ribs I'll never know. He did get one of the first Phloginston spars but otherwise it was all built by him. He finished it in 1991 and flew it for almost 10 years before selling it when he hung up flying at age 79. N number is 207DC and its still out there flying. Don
I built my first RV-6A from an early emp. kit. It was serial # 10 (20010) I purchased it in 1988 from a gentleman who had bought it when the kits first became available in 1986 (but he never did any work on it). I and Tony Bengallis were two of the first builders to recieve a sliding canopy kit. At that time the manual for installing it was one typed page and two blue print drawings.
Side note...up until the early 90's all plans sheets were done on a blueprint machine. They were often hard to read and would fade somewhat over time.

My airplane was one of the first cutomer built RV-6A's to fly (after Alan Tolle's). First flight was March 27, 1993 (will never forget it). Airplane is now on its forth owner. Current owner in northcentral CA has had it for about 10 years.
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Scott McDaniels
Van's Aircraft Engineering Prototype Shop Manager
Hubbard, Oregon
RV-6A (aka "Junkyard Special ")
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  #14  
Old 02-02-2008, 12:38 PM
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sprucemoose sprucemoose is offline
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: MKE
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mel View Post
The hardest part for me was the hours and hours sitting at the lathe turning out rivets.
Turning out rivets wasn't too bad, as aluminum machines pretty easily. The hard part was, in the days before rivet guns were invented, you had to hold the part with one hand, the bucking bar with the other, and hit the rivet head with your forehead until it set.

3/32 flush rivets weren't too bad, but back riveting was really a pain! Thankfully some smart guy with a severe headache came up with a better way.
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RV-6, RLU-1 built & flying
Tech Counselor, Flight Advisor & President, EAA Chapter 18
Milwaukee
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  #15  
Old 02-02-2008, 01:02 PM
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Rick6a Rick6a is offline
 
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Location: Lake St. Louis, MO.
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Default Hey Sonny......

Yessiree....back in the day, (reaching for the tebacky) it was electric that powered our drills and rivet guns. (spit) Getting wifey to pedal that generator faster was the real challenge. She shore was a hard worker and purdy one I'm tellin ya! I reckon ya'all kinna spoilt now. (spit)
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RV6A N307R"Darla!"
RV-8 N308R "LuLu"
EAA Technical Counselor

Last edited by Rick6a : 02-03-2008 at 04:26 AM.
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  #16  
Old 02-02-2008, 08:19 PM
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rzbill rzbill is offline
 
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Location: Asheville, NC
Posts: 2,692
Default Whippersnappers

Hmphh. Rivet guns driven by belts hanging from jackshafts in the ceiling was where it started.....
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Bill Pendergrass
ME/AE '82
RV-7A: Flying since April 15, 2012. 850 hrs
YIO-360-M1B, mags, CS, GRT EX and WS H1s & A/P, Navworx
Unpainted, polished....kinda'... Eyeballin' vinyl really hard.
Yeah. The boss got a Silhouette Cameo 4 Xmas 2019.
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  #17  
Old 02-03-2008, 11:38 AM
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grantcarruthers grantcarruthers is offline
 
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Location: STL/3K6
Posts: 399
Default

I'm drilling wing skins on my -8 right now and SERIOUSLY feel like it's cheating. My guilt is my penence and I'll carry it forever and hang my head low in the presence of REAL builders.

I'm gonna have to build a -3 next so I don't have to make excuses for the rest of my life to the real builders out there.
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RV-8, Both wings with top skins on

-4 bought flying
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  #18  
Old 02-03-2008, 12:20 PM
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bsacks05 bsacks05 is offline
 
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Location: Warner Robins, GA
Posts: 1,187
Default cheating

Yeah, I definately feel that building a plane from the new kits is cheating. That's a big reason why I am building a plane from nothing but plans now. I used to build R/C planes that way.
Hopefully, when I complete my current project, I will be able to look myself in the mirror again.
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Bruce Sacks
RV-9 N659DB - Flying since 7/1/06
Hatz CB-1 - Fabric covering with Polyfiber.
Warner Robins, GA
A&P
APRS KJ4EFS
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  #19  
Old 02-03-2008, 12:36 PM
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Jerry Cochran Jerry Cochran is offline
 
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Location: Sherwood, Oregon
Posts: 981
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rzbill View Post
Hmphh. Rivet guns driven by belts hanging from jackshafts in the ceiling was where it started.....
Sure,

...and I hear from the really old guys around EAA105 that they helped Van chisel out those first few canopies from a solid block of plastic, then smoothed it all out over the campfire...

Jerry

Last edited by Jerry Cochran : 02-03-2008 at 12:37 PM. Reason: <sp>
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  #20  
Old 02-03-2008, 05:55 PM
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Mikey Mikey is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Dayton, NV
Posts: 57
Default You builders think you had it tough????

Hey, I remember having to taxing three miles through belly-deep snow to reach the runway for my first flight!
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RV6 born flying in April 1990 (4th kit out of the factory)
3000+ hours
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