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South African RV-12 Enthusiasts Build Group

RudiGreyling said:
Build Sunday 9:
(Total of 641 Airplane Building Man Hours)

We had 9 members present.
3 other RV builder/owners came to inspect and learn.

End of day Result:
- Joined the Tailcone to the Fuselage
- Completed the Fuel System
- Installed a park brake system (We need one if we want to present the airplane for ppl training approval to our CAA=your FAA)
- Completed the left wing tip installation, meaning the left wing is now 100% complete.
- Completed the tailcone fairing installation.
Click to expand...

Beautiful job! What a difference it makes to have a bunch of people working together! Just 9 days and you have THIS.
About the park brake system... how did you do it? Could you share some details as I would like to do that modification as well.
 
MacPara said:
Beautiful job! What a difference it makes to have a bunch of people working together! Just 9 days and you have THIS.
About the park brake system... how did you do it? Could you share some details as I would like to do that modification as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks,

Park Brake is a CAA requirement here for PPL training...That and a Physical Magnetic Compass ;-(

Park Brake and install kit is available from VANS for other RV models.
You will need 4 additional straight brass fitting for plastic pipe since the kit comes with connectors for alu tube.

We fitted it inside the center tunnel Right hand side just above where you are suppose to clamp the brake lines with a P-Clamp. The yellow string in the photos are mimicking the route the rudder cables travel. Make sure it clears it. We will then re-use the existing P-Clamp and clamp both brake lines slightly lower down to ensure it clears the rudder cables.

So bassically your brake line routing stays exactly as is you just insert & attach the park brake valve in the tunnel RH top side.

We still have to figure out the best place to put the engagement cable on the panel somewhere...

park_1.JPG


park_2.JPG


Regards
Rudi
 
Great pictures. Thanks for sharing this Rudi! I put this on my list of modifications. It's really nice to have a parking break and not having to fly around with you own chocks. Looks like this could also be easily installed after certification (losing the brake fluid though).
 
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RudiGreyling said:
Thanks,

Park Brake is a CAA requirement here for PPL training...That and a Physical Magnetic Compass ;-(

Park Brake and install kit is available from VANS for other RV models.
You will need 4 additional straight brass fitting for plastic pipe since the kit comes with connectors for alu tube.

We fitted it inside the center tunnel Right hand side just above where you are suppose to clamp the brake lines with a P-Clamp. The yellow string in the photos are mimicking the route the rudder cables travel. Make sure it clears it. We will then re-use the existing P-Clamp and clamp both brake lines slightly lower down to ensure it clears the rudder cables.

So bassically your brake line routing stays exactly as is you just insert & attach the park brake valve in the tunnel RH top side.

We still have to figure out the best place to put the engagement cable on the panel somewhere...

park_1.JPG


park_2.JPG


Regards
Rudi
Click to expand...


Do you have to put the park brake control on the panel? Could you not "slot" the tunnel and extend a lever out of it?

Marshall Alexander
 
Sunday Day #10

Build Sunday 10:
(Total of 721 Airplane Building Man Hours)

We had 10 members present.

End of day Result:
- Right Wing Skinned
- Finished turtle deck and rear window installation
- Installed seats and safety-belts
- Installed upper firewall
- Assembled all the wheel assemblies and installed the nose gear and nose wheel.
- lots of small bits and pieces.

Peter busy with the rear window installation, we drilled and tapped it and then stored the window away till late in the project, cause having access helps a lot.
day_10_01.JPG


Julius and Martin's son ready to rivet the bed of nails. See even a kid can do this :twisted:
day_10_02.JPG


With the seatbelts fitted we wanted to see what the seat would look like. This is it...we noticed the bottom cushion that VANS supplies is extremely thick and our tallest pilots might have a problem with head room, so we are going to make new thinner bottom cushions specifically for the gravity defying pilots.
day_10_03.JPG


We installed the upper firewall and the nose gear and nose wheel is attached.
day_10_04.JPG


Next build Sunday is in 2 weeks time.
Regards
Rudi
 
Thanks for the update!

Rudi,
The build group RV-12 project is looking good. The quality of the construction looks excellent in the photos. Your experience and advice to the group is apparent.
I and many others, I am sure, are looking forward to seeing more as the build progresses.

Tony
 
Tony_T said:
Rudi,
The build group RV-12 project is looking good. The quality of the construction looks excellent in the photos. Your experience and advice to the group is apparent.
I and many others, I am sure, are looking forward to seeing more as the build progresses.

Tony
Click to expand...

Thanks Tony. We do it just one way, the best way, cause we are building for 9 other people...Glad it shows.

Glad you enjoy the reports. I will report back again after or next build day.

Regards,
Rudi
 
Do the guys rotate...

...and do a little bit of the wings, then go to the fuselage, then the tail, and so on, or do they stick with their one project?

It's really fascinating and very encouraging seeing the airplane come together!

Thanks,
 
pierre smith said:
...and do a little bit of the wings, then go to the fuselage, then the tail, and so on, or do they stick with their one project?

It's really fascinating and very encouraging seeing the airplane come together!

Thanks,
Click to expand...

Hi Pierre
No each team of 2 is responsible for an entire section of the Manuel. This way they can focus on one piece of the airplane puzzle at a time and take full responsibility for that piece throughout the life of the airplane
 
Build Sunday 11

Build Sunday 11:
(Total of +/-800 Airplane Building Man Hours)

If you exlude the first build day that was an educational day then it means,
WE ACHIEHVED THIS in 10 BUILD DAYS (and the wings are done too!)
day_11_01.jpg


We had 8 members present.
End of day Result:
- Fuselage on wheels
- Both wings now complete
- Started with fuel tank
- Made progress with control system installation
- Made progress with wiring harness installation
- Made progress with instrument panel installation

Next build Sunday is in 2 weeks time.

Regards
Rudi
 
Thanks Pierre,

we got an open day here in 2 weeks time to display it at our EAA chapter for future builders / groups. I will take some pictures of the event cuase we will dress her up nicely and hope to fit the wings for the event.

Rudi
 
Rudi,

what is happening in South Africa? It feels like I haven't seen an update from you guys in quite a while.

Torsten.
 
Missing the Posts

Rudi,
I have been faithfully following these posts throughout the build process. I haven't seen any posts recently. Are they relocated to another site or you just haven't been building?
Best regards,
Dan
 
Build Sunday 13:

Gents we had summer holidays here in South Africa, so we were enjoying some time off...

Anycase We crossed the 1000H man hour mark. The end is in sight, but as the saying goes 80% done and 80% to go...
It is clear we loose effiency building in 2 man teams of 5 and all on the same day, but the social side outways the negative on time spent.

The milestone for yesterday was that we fitted all the avionics in the pannel. Sorry for the crappy cell phone picture.
Yes before you ask: Compass, Gizmo and Fuel Pump switch modifications:
- Compass mandatory by our CAA for Learning to fly
- Gizmo for ease of GPS access use between 10 members, some have their own GPS they want to swap out.
- Fuel Pump switch because we can and it helps with tradition flight training procedures.
rv_12_panel.jpg


In addition:
- The wiring has been tiedied up with cable ties , and looking neat as a pin.
- The Engine Preperation work has started in ernest.

I will see if I can source more pics from the other members to post here...

Regards
Rudi
 
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Rudi,
Ten volle toegerus en baie mooi!

Did I say it right?

Tony
 
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Some more photos from one of our members Peter L from the past build sunday:

PS: Don't you Northern Hemisphere guys envy us now: Pictures short sleeve shirts, short pants, green grass and sunny outside...i believe it is wet, cold and white outside most places north ;-)

the flaperons are done (we ran out of LP4-3 rivets and had to borrow from a fellow builder
rv_12_2.jpg


Start on the engine: Just out the box
rv_12_3.jpg


Splitting it to do the cooling shroud
rv_12_4.jpg


Then we had a visit from the locally produced South African Sport Plane "The Sling" who came to show us 2 examples. We are toying with the idea to start a 2nd build group and the Sling is on the shortlist as a potential candidate. http://www.airplanefactory.co.za/
rv_12_1.jpg


Regards
Rudi
 
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Those guys from the sling are my heros! What they did behind a Rotax is nothing less than spectacular!
 
Sunday 14 & 15

I have not posted for a while so I will just copy some of what one of our members Peter had to say on a South African Aviation Forum:

The guys are so excited we did some un-official ad hoc building on our off sunday. 1/2 the team came in.
BIG MILESTONES Reached:
1) The Rotax Engine is hung.
2) The flaperons and Wings has been connected tested and taken appart again for painting
3) The Autopilot Servos and Magnometer has been installed.

Getting ready to hang the engine
rv12_engine_1.jpg


It is on:
rv12_engine_2.jpg


Peter:
"We had eight members of the group building over the weekend. Alan continued his great work on the engine on Saturday, installing the exhaust system, control cables and a host of sensors.

Martin & Rudi worked hard on the fibreglass engine cowls and did the "install, mark, trim, reinstall" dance throughout the day. By the evening the lower cowl was in position and work had progressed on the upper engine cowl.

The stabilator, vertical stabiliser, & rudder were removed from the aircraft, bubble-wrapped and packed with the wings to be sent to the paint shop

Small, time consuming, jobs were done on the panel. We have a working Garmin GPS now & it has made friends with the Dynon D180.

Most of the small jobs in preparation to installing the canopy onto the canopy frame have been completed, so the Plexiglass should be on by the next official build Sunday.

Finally, the pitot tube mounting bracket, spinner back plate & propellor hub were installed.

The next official build day is Sunday 13 March but a number of the team members want to work this coming weekend too ... they see landing lights at the end of the tunnel

Regards

Peter"

The Exhaust Done
15_1.jpg


Martin working the bottom Cowl
15_2.jpg


Dynon and Garmin Talking to each other.
15_3.jpg
 
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more..

Fitting the bottom cowl. Man am I glad we waited to fit the cowls until the engine is hung and we have a reference of the prop back plate. These cowls are very flimsy compared to other RV cowls. So deviate from the plans sequence and wait with the cowl mounting, you will be well rewarded.
15_4.jpg


More trimming and fitting to ensure it fits perfect behind the spinner
15_5.jpg


We fitted the top cowl loosely over the bottom, and had some fun with a blue sharpie! Presenting Miss Piggy, soon to be turned into a Flying Fairy.
15_6.jpg
 
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Hi Pierre, yes the guys said is some of the most rewarding things they have done in a long time, and a chance to make new friends too. Rudi
 
Sunday 16 & 17

Hi Guys,

well here is the info on Sunday 16 & 17, we also put some time inbetween with the canopy fiberglass work, cause it takes many short work sessions for the glass work to cure and can't wait 2 weeks each time....

Fitting the cowls, we deviated from the plans and wanted a spinner backplate fitted on engine to ensure perfect alignment...(I did not trust cut to the line and hope for the best the plans suggested hmmm....) This is me having fun
sunday_16_01.jpg


Then we drilled the canopy plexi to the canopy frame
sunday_16_02.jpg


The Top Cowl and Canopy drilled in place
sunday_16_03.jpg


Gerrit fiddling with the cooling hoses.
sunday_16_04.jpg


Fitting the propellor and spinner
sunday_16_05.jpg


Perfect! But we had a loose blade! Sensinich is shipping a new hub.
sunday_16_06.jpg


Testing the Radio and intercom with Martin
sunday_16_07.jpg


Gerrit fiddling with the oil Cooler...Jip we had to do cut-outs in the cooling shroud to clear the exhuast and rocker covers. The areas marked in blue.
sunday_16_08.jpg


The Canopy all riveted UP
sunday_16_09.jpg


Open Sesame!
sunday_16_10.jpg


more....
 
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Sunday 16 & 17...continue

...more....

Me looking confused trying to figure out the canopy side skirts
sunday_17_01.jpg


The foam side inserts glued into place
sunday_17_02.jpg


Fitted and sanded to shape on the canopy. Note additional foam inserts below, just to temporary to bridge the gas shock gap.
sunday_17_03.jpg


5 layers of fiber glass and some peel play
sunday_17_04.jpg


The result after adding all the glass layers
sunday_17_05.jpg


Me cleaning off all the dust (Sunny South Africa good weather were having)
sunday_17_06.jpg


Filling the low spots
sunday_17_07.jpg


Blending in the rounding to get a good transition between canopy and fuselage
sunday_17_08.jpg


Peter inspecting the work, he is just to happy the FG work is almost done
sunday_17_09.jpg


The canopy after it has been popped of the fuselage but before any trimming.
sunday_17_10.jpg


...more...
 
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Sunday 16 & 17...last

....last few pics....

The cutting is done...lots of sanding and smoothing ensued!
sunday_17_11.jpg


Then we packed the fuselage on a trailer ready to be sent to the painter today.
sunday_17_12.jpg
 
PS: we got our personalised registration number too
ZU-XII
ZU for South Africa and a Roman number - 12
Our group already fondly nick named her "Sexii" too :D
 
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Great job!

This is great! I've been following your posts and am happy you're seeing good results. Before you know it you will have it in the air and everyone will be arguing over who gets to fly next.
 
No comments yet...so here is Paint Teaser #2...
rv_paint_teaser_2.jpg



The fuselage is also been painted all white yesterday before we add her make-up
rv_paint_white.jpg


Kind Regards
Rudi
 
dit lyk skouspelagtig, Rudi, kan nie wag om te sien dit alles saam. ...

Tony
P.S. Hope this translates OK :p
 
:D if not, just run it backwards through Google Translate, worked for me :D :D :D
And on another note, I totally agree with Tony here. Show us the whole thing, Rudi!
 
Today the weather played along so the painter made some progress on the fuselage. ZU-XII aka Sexii is getting her make-up done, here are some more teasers...
rv_paint_teaser_4.jpg


Then one more for today, tomorrow I'll post some more...
rv_paint_teaser_5.jpg


PS: Sorry! for more pics of the wings you'll have to wait for the weekend, since I dont have any more pics of them...SOON all will be revealed...us 10 guys are having so much fun now that is almost done, so indulge us! :D

Kind Regards
Rudi
 
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Tony_T said:
dit lyk skouspelagtig, Rudi, kan nie wag om te sien dit alles saam. ...

Tony
P.S. Hope this translates OK :p
Click to expand...

Hi Tony Thanks, and well done you kan speak Afrikaans and it came through load and clear, only one small mistake:
"dit lyk skouspelagtig, Rudi, kan nie wag om DIT alles saam te sien nie"
TRANSLATED: "It looks spectacular, Rudi, cant wait to see it all...

Kind Regards
Rudi
 
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This one is too funny and can't wait until tomorrow...

This Little 1400cc pick-up-van with a serious tail wing :D
rv_paint_teaser_8.jpg


Ha ha it was the perfect spot to mask out the paint lines for the H-stab but it looks funny now looking back at the pictures:p

Rudi
 
Good Morning,

I talked to the painter early this morning and he says we can come to collect Sexii later this afternoon, he should be done with the Fuselage :D we cant wait.

Anycase here is Friday's Teasers below...taken with my grobby cell phone in a dark spray booth just before dark last night.
rv_paint_teaser_7.jpg


rv_paint_teaser_6.jpg


Rudi
 
Nice paint job

That looks fantastic Rudi!

Who is painting it for you?
I am in the process of planning the paint job on my RV-8 and am looking for a reputable painter in Gauteng.
 
OK, OK, here are some more pics, but we still have not got our canopy back, and somebody poured hot wax all over the pictures. :twisted:

rv_paint_teaser_15.jpg


rv_paint_teaser_16.jpg


rv_paint_teaser_14.jpg


Rudi
 
Proving Flight Authority

Great NEWS!

We received our Proving Flight Authority Certificate today from our CAA (Your FAA equivalent). This gives us the permission, as soon as a test pilot has flown the first flight and found the airplane in order to commence our 25 hour testing phase. Horray ! Home stretch :D

To Celebreate here is another sneak peak to carry you over until the test flight reveal...
rv_paint_teaser_9.jpg
 
pierre smith said:
...a government employee, or a civilian with RV experience?

Looking really good,
Click to expand...

Thanx Pierre,

Test Pilot = A Civilian with enough Experience (500H+) and that has jumped through all the Government (CAA) hoops to be rated as a test pilot, and has such a rating endorsed on his pilot?s license to give him that privilege.

Regards
Rudi
 
I already posted at the "Show your Status" Post but Posting here as well just to keep all our info together...

Home Stretch...We holding thumbs for the Weather and the busy Test Pilot to co-ordinate their diaries... :D

frontal3.jpg


Rudi
 
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Glad to report that the engine started on first turn and she purrrrsss...

I leave it to Rudi to upload a pic or two.

1st flight very very soon!

:D
 
volucre said:
Glad to report that the engine started on first turn and she purrrrsss...

I leave it to Rudi to upload a pic or two.

1st flight very very soon!

:D
Click to expand...

Hi Gerrit,

I can do one better, follow the link for the first Engine Start Movie you took.
"Sexii" 's engine took instantly and purrs like a kitten.
The video also shows our entire airlplane paint design, with a 360degree walk around. Hope you guys like it...Watch up till the end to see our exitement!

Here is the link to the UNEDITED Video, it is HD so scale the Youtube video to the resolution you want best is 1080p and FULL SCREEN.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AW2dN5dCJ6w

first_engine_start_small.jpg


Here are some more pictures of the event Gerrit took,
Our Panel
start_01.jpg


The Big Vans Grin Ready for the start...Wow that is a big grin and we haven't even flown yet.
start_02.jpg


Concentrating hard wathcing the Temps and Pressures.
start_03.jpg
 
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