RV-7 #74023 - Page 10

longranger · #91 07-28-2014, 10:08 AM

Thanks Doug.

I just made a sharpie mark across both halves of the cage where it was set perfectly for a #3 rivet head, and reference the various sheet thicknesses and dimple die combinations from there. I like the temporary nature of the sharpie mark, as I just started using a different brand of #3 bit that happened to be longer than my old one. I just wiped off the old mark, experimented until I found the new setting, and marked it.

longranger · #92 09-21-2014, 07:19 PM

To cut down on the sheer boredom, I'm scuffing, cleaning, and priming the main longerons in sections. I did the inside faces of the forward half of both longerons in one session, then the inside of the aft half in the next session, etc, etc. As of today, I have the inside faces DONE, and the forward half of the outside faces.

In this photo I've already done the inside of the forward half of the right longeron, and am about to do the aft half. My wife's potting table doubles as my scuffing/cleaning table, and is only about 5 ft long, so I had to tie the longerons to the BBQ to maintain control...

Here, I've scuffed and cleaned the outside faces of the forward half of the left longeron, and am about to shoot primer.

wjb · #93 09-21-2014, 08:02 PM

Looking good Miles! I'm still on your tail .. been prepping fuse bulkheads all day. I'm looking forward (??) to doing the big bends. Keep it up!

BruceP · #94 09-21-2014, 10:47 PM

Very creative use of your BBQ!

longranger · #95 09-22-2014, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wjb

Looking good Miles! I'm still on your tail .. been prepping fuse bulkheads all day. I'm looking forward (??) to doing the big bends. Keep it up!

Thanks Bill. I had hoped to be ready to order the finish kit by now, but the issues with the 170 have taken a little time and a lot of motivation away from the project. I did finish getting the bottom skin replaced on the center fuselage a few weeks ago. Since then I've been piddling with getting all of the myriad ribs, angles, clips, and spacers ready for fuselage final assembly.

Don't let the longeron bending scare you. I used the "Orndorff" method, and though it was a bit harder for me as a first-timer than it was for George, it wasn't bad at all. I think I spent more time measuring than I did bending. The best part of that method is that it uses no hammers and no dies.

longranger · #96 11-24-2014, 12:55 AM

.... except for the firewall, for which I'm still waiting on high-temp sealant, and making a final decision on a cowl attach method.

Before starting on riveting the forward side skins, I measured the twist of the fuselage at the firewall, the F-711, and several bulkheads in between. Just like last time, I measured about 0.5 degrees clockwise twist of the firewall relative to the F-711. I was hoping that clecoing in the F-772 forward bottom skin would correct at least some of that twist but it didn't. The manual says that twist can be removed after riveting the side skins, but I wanted to get the fuselage as straight as I could before riveting. I was able to untwist the fuselage and hold it in that state by clamping the aft deck in place. I overshot by about 0.2 to 0.3 degrees on the first try, but got all bulkheads within 0.1 degrees of each other on the second try. l sharpie-marked the top of the longerons along the edges of the aft deck to see if anything moves as time goes by.

I then took the rivet sizes and lengths from Dwg 28, and wrote them on the side of the fuselage. Following the riveting order called out in the manual, I started by riveting both side skins to the F-704 bulkhead, then riveted them to the main longerons back to, but not including the F-705 bulkhead. From that point aft to the F-709, the main longerons will remain unriveted until the aft and rear top skins are installed (except for the 6 "keeper" rivets along each side of the aft fuselage). Note my alternative method of attaching the forward fuselage stiffener to the F-704. The original part wouldn't allow the skin to sit flush to the stiffener at the transition, and caused an unsightly "wave" on the exterior. This is just an angle clip and an 0.62 spacer.

I had a little extra time, so I riveted the left side skin to the F-705, F-722, and F-724 aft fuselage bulkheads in the baggage compartment area. I've been told it's a good idea to not install the arm rests yet to allow a bit more elbow room for working in the cockpit.

Av8torTom · #97 11-25-2014, 02:10 PM

Hey Miles,

I'm about at the same stage as you are right now with my 9A - Thanks again for all your advice over the past year.

P.S. I made myself a rotisserie for the fuselage. Cost me about $50 in wood and other bits and pieces. This morning I saw that Harbor Freight has their 1000 lb engine stand on sale for 50 bucks. Think I'll go buy one and use the one I made for the tail. (if you want a coupon for the engine stand let me know).

Cheers,

Tom

longranger · #98 11-25-2014, 09:26 PM

Thanks for the kind words, Tom.

I thought about making firewall and tailspring adapters for my rotating wing stands, but with my el cheapo Harbor Freight sawhorses at their lowest setting I can stand on the floor and solo rivet down to the level of the cockpit floor. Any lower than that I'll need a riveting partner anyway, and we'll just roll the fuselage over on its side on the sawhorses.

rockwoodrv9 · #99 11-25-2014, 09:52 PM

Miles,I got one of the HF engine stands and made the extensions for the engine to fit. It works better than I could imagine. I believe it is plenty sturdy to spin the plane on. I
As said, it is on sale now. Worth it even if just for the engine. It is fun spinning it around and since we are bothe building 9A's, it is the only inverted time the engine will ever have. Well, as long as we don't hit a bump on the runway! Ha!

longranger · #**100** 07-16-2015, 06:04 AM

WOW! I can't believe it's been nearly 8 months since an update here!

The holidays account for some of that, but the main "excuse" is that back in February my wife and I decided to pull the trigger on starting the retirement process. Since then we've sold the house and hangar in Tehachapi, sold the HRII project, off loaded a couple thousand pounds of junk, finished our careers, and said our good-byes.

In the meantime, I managed to get my RV-7 fuselage well into the quick build stage, and clecoed most of the remaining parts on in prep for the cross country move. It was a no-brainer to contact Tony Partain to arrange for the move. I have nothing but good to say about the way Tony's driver Michael Rabe loaded, secured, transported, and unloaded my project. He could not have been more professional.

It is a tribute to the very real sense of community we have here that fellow VAFer Gary Konrad graciously offered to store my project in his shop on the receiving end until Karen and I can get settled in a new home (and shop!). Even though Gary and I didn't meet until a week after he took delivery of my project, just a few emails and phone calls with him gave me the assurance that it would be in good hands. Thank you Gary!

We crossed the California state line eastbound for the last time on June 27, and arrived safely in Howell, MI on June 30 with two cats, a few house plants, and everything else we could wedge into an Accord and a Civic. Our plan was to wait until after attending our Cessna 170 Convention (this week) to get serious about house hunting, but while we were introducing ourselves to the locals after a breakfast at the Brighton Airport (45G) we were introduced to a gentleman who was planning on putting his house with attached hangar on the market the following weekend. Long story short, we expect to close about mid August and move in sometime in late September.

We look forward to integrating into the SE Michigan aviation community soon, but I imagine it will be well into fall before there's much progress to report on the RV-7.