RV-3 Plans - 'Clarifications'

[mvs163]

Peter,
I cut mine to plans length also because I didn't want to change the ratio between stick travel to elevator deflection. In hindsight my elevator stick forces are higher than I like, leaving the horn would have reduced them with a little more stick travel. Its frustrating to pay for parts that don't fit and then have to troubleshoot a fix.
Mike

[PeterP]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the heads up on the stick force, will work with horns as they are. I think I will be able to get 2 1/16 or so between spars and still get the 1/4 bolt through the centre bearing with a metal lock nut [ smaller o/d ]. Considering swapping bottom two bolts with countersunk, I think AN 509 10, same shear strength as AN 3 but not sure what difference the head makes in this case. Any engineers out there.

Peter

[KatieB]

"Just a warning to anyone else who might start believing the RV-3 parts will fit - The top (narrow) end of the VS-307 is too wide to fit inside the VS-303 spar. You have to taper the top end of the VS-307 to make it fit. This isn't a big problem unless you follow the instructions and fabricate the VS-307 per the drawings. When will I learn " -From 13brv3 a long time ago

Thought I'd paste this from the VS-307 thread into this one so it's easier to find before any metal gets cut!

[PeterP]

Katie, if you think the emp drawings leave a bit to be desired, try the wing drawings and I'm sure the fuse drawings are a bit worse. The Q/B wings are a little more expensive now, and especially to AUS with freight and GST, so slow build for me. I think the drawings still refer to fuse fuel and old spar because not many of the dimensions on the rivet layout drawings look anything like whats supplied but a bit of double checking and forge ahead.
Even the manual refers to holes in the spar for the fuel tank attach brackets which are non existent so all we can do is measure twice and cut/drill once.
But you know what, I'm having fun and enjoying the challenge.
Sorry for being a little computer challenged but I would post a piccy.

Regards Peter

[Louise Hose]

Peter, you just made me happy that we got QB wings....despite having to re-do some parts of the wings. If you ever need photos of completed wings, let us know.

[FLAPSHAWAII]

New here !
Building the VS and it seems the skin really needs to be squeezed at the top
where the fiberglass-tip goes. To keep a 1/8' overhang at the main spar seems
to have left the top to high / not forming to the rib. I guess we will shim this
to fill the gap.

Where did I go wrong ?
Paul
Honolulu

[Ironflight]

Originally Posted by FLAPSHAWAII

Where did I go wrong ?

You didn't.....the RV-3 is a "trim and shape to fit" airplane kit....

Expect more of the same, and you'll be a good builder when you finish.

Paul

[David Paule]

When I inventoried the RV-3B empennage, standard-build wing and tail kits which I received May 10, 2012, there were a few things which were not clear. I called Van's and got some information.

1. The F-303 bulkhead came disassembled and the pieces had a serial number. So did the wing spars. However, the serial numbers didn't match. Van's says this doesn't matter since they are drilled precisely using CNC equipment, and that they haven't been shipping matching serial numbered parts for some time now. No need to panic, they'll fit.

2. Some parts had no RV-3 part number but were labeled as RV-4 parts. Van's assured me that these would fit. Here's a connection:

F-407 is F-305
F-425 is F-323
F-426 is F-325
F-433 is F-328C
F-461 is part of the seat back.

3. There was an "extra" bag of hardware in the wing kit. It's bag 498, containing four bearings and a small handful of rivets. These aren't extra at all. They are for the aileron mounting brackets, which have their own plans in with the inventory list, not rolled up with the wing plans. These are some of the few parts which are prepunched.

4. Since the tailwheel is included in the fuselage kit, that's where you'd need to make the substitution for the lightweight tailwheel.

5. The flap control, WD-305, is 23.5" side to side. The plans say it should be 24". Van's says that the correct dimension is 23.5", as supplied, with the plastic block mounts and that they've been supplying them this length for 20 years.

Dave

[David Paule]

Now that I have all the plans, I checked the revision level and drawing dates against my preview plans. The preview plans are dated 9-15-2010 and the full-size plans are current.

These preview plans are out of date - the rest are current: 8, 10, 11, 12, 21 and 36.

It appears as if the last plans update was February 2003.

Dave

[David Paule]

Looking at drawing 15, the rear edge of the HS-301 skin overhangs the rear spar. The dimension is shown as 1" from the rear spar web in the top left-hand corner of the drawing, but on the top right-hand corner, with the HS-310/311 figure, it's shown as 7/8".

A discussion here:
http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ghlight=HS-301
suggests that the overhang be trimmed when the elevator is being fitted.

It would sure be easier to trim the skin before it's riveted to the frame. Anyone have any tips on trimming them after it's riveted?

Thanks,
Dave