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TK's RV-8

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Then we bubble wrapped all the control surfaces and wing tips. Placed them all in the back of the crew cab. They fit nicely and would not get damaged hopping around in the trailer.
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Next we padded up the cradle and loaded the wings half wrapped in moving blankets.
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The loading method proved flawless and the wings arrived safely to my airplane factory.
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I was super tired on the 9 hour trip home and had to load up on diet coke in an effort to stay awake. It was not pleasant but I kept telling myself it was either driving, or deburring all those ribs!!! I like to think I saved myself a LOT of work, time and money!!
 
Vlad's replacement??

So, is this guy the ground based alternate to Vlad???

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Probably does not eat as much:rolleyes:
 
hey Tony, congats on getting those wings, they sure look awesome !!!

You will truly jump way ahead from me... I'll be ordering the slow build wing kit this week.

I count 8 weeks lead time plus a swim across the Atlantic to get to my place...

I guess I should get them in October... Lots of time for me to finish the rudder and elevators !!! :rolleyes:
 
The heat has slowed my project a bit. Continuing with the rudder I was concerned about edge distance on the R-710 as many builders have made mistakes on this part. Armed with that information I was determined not to join the club. This side looks great!!
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This side? Not so much! :eek:
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While this is marginally acceptable by Van's...I decided to just order a new one and join the club. I ordered up some Oops rivets as well so I suppose I am "planning" to screw up some more! :p
 
Tony, you're going to miss building the fuel tanks, your RV education will be incomplete. :)

I still have to seal the tanks where the fittings attach. That should be sufficient education for me. I don't plan to build more tanks in the future...:D
 
The building resumes. So far, I think the rudder has become the biggest PITA to date. Maybe its just me...:confused:

Lightening hole on one of the ribs.
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Repaired!
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Rudder parts ready for primer.
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Building the skeleton.
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Good rivets!
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The horn is a bit tricky but the right tools make it much easier.
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No blind rivets needed.
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The skeleton is done!!
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Blue RTV for the trailing edge stiffeners.
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I modified a bucking bar on the bench grinder so I could reach the tight areas at the aft end of the ribs. I placed the skin on the back riveting plate and used the bar to hammer the rivet. It did the trick.
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(Shown here for illustration only. Do not rivet on carpet!)
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I could not get at the very last rivet on each side so I opted to use the pop rivet here. Still looks good!
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I still need to bend the trailing edge a bit more but I am going to wait for some help to arrive. When I dimpled the ribs I bent the aft portion apart so gain clearance. I tried to squeeze it back to its original shape but I left some slight waves in each rib. Not sure how to fix that yet. I need my expert to show up...
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Here is my leading edge bend set-up. It's a Dan Horton/Van's instruction hybrid. Can't say I am all that pleased with it yet. I made the bends but they definately need to be bent more. And I am not sure which edges overlaps the other.
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Glad to see you are working! I checked up on you yesterday as I flew into ACY airspace....

No TK the controller told me....he is OFF! I said "I know TK is a little OFF, but is he working?" ;)

Looking good so far! Looks like you will have the emp completed in a few more weeks.
 
Blue what?

Hey Tony.....are you using blue RTV on the stiffiners? Also here is a mod I did to my workbench....works great!!!!!


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Yep, blue RTV. Many believe RTV isn't needed any longer because the skins are thicker than previous models and less prone to cracking. But since the plans call for it, I added it. I read somewhere about certain RTVs can cause harm to aluminum but I think the blue stuff is fairly safe.

Nice bench mod. So far my locking wheels keep it fairly stable but today, while bending the leading edges, I wish it was more firmly planted on the ground.
 
Rolling the leading edges proved to be the most difficult task to date. I tried several different set-ups to make the bends. This is the final set-up used and this got me close enough to accomplish the task.

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Finally was able to get them close enough to rivet but it was a struggle.
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I am currently working on the elevators but in the meantime....this truck showed up!
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I rearranged the shop and built additional shelving. Then my famous cousin showed up!! He must have been very hungry or very thirsty! You can't drink AVGAS you know. (Of course Brutus the Pug must inspect contents as well.)
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Van's really packs this kit well. So much paper it filled my large trash can then we switch to trash bags.
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So many parts and sub kits and we just started!!
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Brutus wants to know how long will all of this inventorying take??
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We found the instrument panel!! Garmin here, AFS there, Trutrak this!! Etc Etc!
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And for the non-believers, Vlad actually did some work!! So what if he is a little short...that's why they make stools!
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Sub kit A, sub kit B, sub kit C.....blah blah blah....it never ends!
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WOW, look at all these parts! Just deburring will take me 6 months!
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A MILESTONE has been reached!! We discovered my first missing part!
F804-L is MIA! (I am amazed by Van's crating crew, only 1 part out of thousands!)
So we had to break out some bubbly to celebrate!
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Fuse inventory is complete minus the hardware which I plan to do this week. It's tedious but I can sit in front of the TV and take my time.
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Longerons

We didn't check that long tube with longeron angles. Open it and take a look and stop posting unshaven faces and lemonades :D
 
Been busy with life lately so I don't get to work on the airplane as much as I want to, not to mention posting my build progress here, but I thought I'd get caught up.

Only thing left to build on the emp is the elevators. I thought they would be really easy but it turns out they are somewhat time consuming.

First you make the stiffeners.
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Then you backrivet them.
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Then you locate the holes for the counterweight and drill. I suppose this step can be challenging but a drill press and boelube made it very easy.
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Dimpling the counterbalance skin proved to be a challenge because I don't have the correct dimple die.
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I read on VAF that you could just countersink the lead weight and then use the screw to create the dimple. I wouldn't say it was as good as a dimple die....but it did the trick.
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The instructions called for beveling the counterbalance skins edge. Since I had no idea what that meant...I got a bit scared. Nothing to be scared of though...a quick search on VAF and I understood.
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So then it's dimple, deburr, prime, repeat. Same old drill. Here are some pics.
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Skeleton is ready to go!!
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Bend the trailing edge of the skin and add RTV before riveting the skin to the skeleton. I don't think I ever bend the trailing edges enough so I hope I can bend them more later if needed.
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All clecoed in place waiting for rivets.
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I finished the riveting and now I'm starting the left elevator. many similar steps.
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The left elevator sure is different from the right!! The throw a few curveballs at you here.
My first REAL experience with the countersinking.
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Came out pretty good. You have to countersink vs dimple because the piano hinge for the trim tab need to sit flush.
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BUT...I learned on VAF that you could dimple the last four holes because they go under the skin and does not mate with the piano hinge.
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Another curveball was bending the tabs. I had read the plans and searched for tips on VAF. Many different opinions on bends vs riblets and/or technique. I decided to keep it as simple as possible but had to my method first. Here is some scrap about to be bent. Double sided tape from Lowes aircraft supply was good...too good!! I had trouble getting the part off the table each time!
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Here is my technique with a piece of hard oak, also from Lowes.
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It WORKED!! I was ready to move onto a real piece. But I opted to try the trim tab first as that would be less work and much cheaper if I buggered it up.
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First bend worked good. Now on to second.... I forced myself to take it slow after reading all the horror stories about bad bends and the 2 and 3 trim tab club.
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All four done!
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Now onto riveting the skeleton. Same as the right side...
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Before riveting I want to make sure I have everything done I need to before it's too late.
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All drilled, dimpled, and primed.
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I think I am ready to rivet but I just realized I forgot the RTV....and perhaps I want to fit the electric trim module before buttoning this up.
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TK, your project is going so slow it will be dont when vans is not making the kit any more! get going man. :D
 
Turbo, it appears that the little Russian has stolen your VAF password. I suggest you change it ASAP. Perhaps a short note to DR is in order. With his lifetime membership he thinks he cannot be banned!
 
Put the battery powered drill back in the wifes tool box and get you a good HIGH SPEED air drill :D
 
Lol. Walt, I have a Snap On air drill. Just fired it up first time yesterday as it was just sitting there. Sounds cool...but I wouldn't say it was HIGH SPEED.
 
Ok, I am trying to do this mod for securing the hinge pin. Safety wire works (I am flying with that method) but I think this option is a lot nicer. But as they say, deviate from the plans and you pay for it...with time and frustration.

The prepunched holes will not accept a nut plate...at least not any nut plates that I have. So I used a "Mickey Mouse" nut plate so I wouldn't interfere as much with the conflicting rib.
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I think it turned out pretty good as long as the hinge will line up correctly.
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Onto riveting the left elevator.
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So far so good.
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The trim tab is so small that I didnt think it would take all that long. I underestimated the complexity of this little thing. In retrospect, there is a lot to learn from building this small piece. Lining up the hinge was challenging for me since I wanted it to line up with my retaining clip/loop/hinge thingy.
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I terminated my hinge short of the last pre-punched pivet hole. So I decided to add a rivet between holes.
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There is a talent to good countersinking.
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Riveting the bottom spar and trim attach brackets were challenging because I didn't want to UNBEND the tabs or TAB itself.
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Lining everything up wasnt too bad but I worried about ruining the part. Or at least the hinge.
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I would rather that the hinge were pre-punched too. I can't imagine trying to build a kit before the pre-punch. THAT would be frustrating.

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In th eend, I think it came out OK. Far from perfect but acceptable.
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With the elevators finished the only thing left to do is bend the leading edges.
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Not sure why but these went a LOT smoother than the rudder leading edge!!
(Well, I did have to run out and buy a new broomstick for the last bend. My broomstick split lengthwise and was only bending the first 12" or so of the edge. Upon investigating I discovered the split. So basically I was only twisting the first 12" vs the entire 60". Good thing Lowe's aircraft supply is open til 9 pm.)

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I think they turned out pretty good!!
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Next was the electric trim. Fairly simple. I had read that Van's given dimensions did not center the motor on the exit slot. So I used Van's dimensions and nudged it over just a hair so it would be centered. I also made sure to CS the brackets on the last hole to allow clearance between the motor and those last 2 rivets. Mission accomplished.
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The obligatory completed empennage! (Minus about 20 hours of finish work!:D)

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So my Russian mentor says start the fuse! Plenty of time for all the rigging and glasswork later.

I spent a few hours just FINDING the parts and deburring them all. Then I clecoed them all together and came up with this.

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You already are Glen! Panel work is probably one of the biggest challenges there is in a build. Just ask Brantel!
 
Ahhhh .... ummmm .... There is no way to compare my panel work to the extraordinary panel Brian is doing.

Again, you're metal work is really progressing nicely!
 
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Grunt work today. Match drilled all the firewall holes, deburred then dimpled.

Then I made the bend!
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I bought this tool from the VAF classifieds and it came today just in time!! 8 degrees!
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Started to countersink the firewall frame work. This is my first time doing serious countersink work. I think I UNDER countersink for fear of taking off too much material. I have a bit of practice before I have this skill perfect.

Oh yeah...these came in yesterday from Grove.
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The firewall seems simple enough but there is a lot of prep work before these parts can be riveted.
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A lot of DIRTY prep work.
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Finally ready for priming and riveting.
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Riveting is challenging because of the flange on the firewall itself. Backriveting is the way to go...if you can!
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I must have drilled out 1 rivet out of every 3 I set. The drill bit head even broke during this removal. :eek: Another mild challenge!
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The corner brackets did not want to cooperate. The backrivet set that I have was only so long and those towering brackets interfered with the set procedure. Can you believe I ALMOST had to BUCK the rivets the old fashioned way? With a bucking bar. :eek: I have limited experience with actual bucking and I didn't want to learn the skill on these critical brackets so I came up with plan B. I have several LONG RIVET SETS in the tool corral, so I shaved the head perfectly flat and polished it like a back rivet set. This fabbed tool allowed me to clear the towers and set the rivets in a backriveting fashion.
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Finally done! I was worried I would run out of -6 rivets because i drilled so many out!
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impressed, Tony. You are making steady progress ... and you don't let yourself get bogged down.

... if I ever finish my panel, I'm going to make a trip up and check out the work first had !
 
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Started the forward floor assembly.
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Mistakenly I dimple the crossmembers instead of countersinking as the instructions call for. Checked with Van's and they say no problem here. Just make sure you lengthen the rivet call out if needed.
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Ready to prime.
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Riveted nutplates to the crossmembers and the countersunk to accept #6 dimples.
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Riveted ribs and crossmembers to floor.
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Done! Fairly easy.
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Cooling ramp done as well.
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Now onto the gear towers. It took my 30 minutes just to find all the parts! But they cool when they are put together.
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I really want to do the gear tower mod NOW because it would be much easier. I researched VAF and found several ways of doing it and decided I would rather just cut the webbing out from between the lightening holes.
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I figured I would fab a cover plate out of the .040 scraps I had laying around. I used a 1/2 overlap thinking that would allow for edge distance requirements.
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I don't have a protractor nor a 4 inch soup can so I made my own tool to draw out the curved ends.
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I used a punch in one end to fix the piece then a sharpie on the other end to draw the radius.
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Completed plate with overlap drawn.
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Next I had to disect the cover plate for screw locations.
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Match drilled the screw holes.
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Then drilled MORE holes for the platenuts and countersunk to accept the flush rivets.
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It took about 4 hours to fabricate this mod. Mods take alot longer than just follwing the plans. I think it turned out well and I am happy with the result.
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