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RV-14 Temporary Fuselage Flooring for Riveting

Meat

Active Member
Patron
Hi All,

I've got my aft fuselage clecoed to my front QB fuselage along with the adjacent bulkheads and now thinking about how to attack all the rivets. It's apparent that some sort of temporary flooring over the baggage floor and seat pan ribs will be needed so I can get into the fuselage for riveting. I'm a big guy at 6' 4", 260 lbs. The last thing I want to do is damage those individual and fairly flimsy floor ribs. I was thinking that 3/8" plywood cut to fit the floor would be rigid enough to distribute my weight adequately over all the floor rib flanges. Any feedback from those that have already crossed this bridge would be appreciated, particularly if you're on the bigger side.
Thanks for your time and advice.

Cheers,

Scott
 
Alternative idea

Rather than get in, I used some 3 ft. boards that fit between the spars. Then drilled 2 holes to correspond to the wing bolt holes. Put 2 long bolts with the threads cut off (drift pins). I had mine drilled so that the fuse/tail cone set around 6-8 inches off the floor. Placed a padded saw horse/table at the tail cone and rolled the fuse/tail on the side. The 3 ft boards offer stability and keep the airframe from rolling on over. I was able to roll and manipulate mine my self.

It really simplified the riveting, wiring, etc. it was much easier to sit on a stool and lean into the airframe than to get in. I’ll have to look and see if I have any good photos.
 
Alt idea photos

Found a few images - for some reason none while on the side.
A
 
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Photos

Thanks for the reply Byron. I've been thinking about a good way to manipulate the fuselage on its side for better access. I'm interested in any photos you have of your technique. Thanks for your time.

Cheers,
Scott
 
On my RV-3B, I made work platforms from 1/2" plywood. I designed the pieces so that I could install them one by one, since the RV-3 fuselage is so narrow. The only thing that I didn't get right is to make certain that the pieces can't tip. While it's not hard to un-tip them and change my position, it's often awkward and tools can slide under a piece, and it's difficult to get under a floor that I'm laying on.

26cv8uL.jpg


Dave
 
Hi Scott,
I JUST finished that step myself this weekend. I had thought about some sort of temporary flooring for riveting too, but the real answer turned out to be simply building a rotisserie. If you are able to roll the fuselage 45 and 90 degrees left and right you will be able to access all the rivets that join the tailcone to the forward fuselage. Not all of them are easily accessed, but they would be impossible otherwise. And if you start with a harbor freight engine stand, you will have very little to build to complete the rotisserie.
 
Images

I tried to pose a few images from Smugmug but had issues this morning.
Tried to PM to you a bit ago. Let me know if you don't receive
 
There are lots of ways to do it. Once upon a time, people use to set the fuselage upside down on sawhorses or other platforms, and buck the rivets while sitting under/inside the canoe.

Worked just fine.
 
Thanks for everyone's response. I appreciate everyone's time and advice. Things are moving forward on the fuselage.

Cheers,
Scott
 
put a sheet of 1/4" hardboard over the baggage floor. Even if you stand on a segment between the ribs, it held. Plywood would be better, but not necessary.

I riveted everything I could reach standing next to the fuse myself, then while I laid on my back underneath with my mushroom set, my 16 yo son bucked each rivet inside on the lateral joints. Worked great. 2 hrs.
 

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I did something similar to David for my aft fuselage. I made some plywood pieces to perform as a platform. What you can't see in the attached pics is that I put pieces of 1" foam insulation from HD aviation supply under the plywood.
This worked out great.

For the seat area where I have to climb in I use a combination of Harbor Freight moving blankets and 1" boards to distribute my weight. I used some of the old crate wood for these pieces. I put a moving blanket on the seat pan, then the boards and then another moving blanket. That way I'm protecting my seat area and the plane's. :D
 

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