PreCover Inspection Question

[stigaro]

I started my -14A in October in Grimsby, ON and haven't received a lot of advice from MD-RA. Basically, they said all rivets must be seen. I took this to mean visible but not necessarily easily accessible. So, I riveted my skins on, but have not rolled my leading edges on the rudder or elevators or riveted in the spars on the VS and HS. This enables the inspector to assess the skin rivets as well as the structural rivets. There are a couple places that may require a borescope (eg rudder counterweight), but I am building an airplane not an inspection training device. Haven't started my wings yet, but I expect similar.

[Ralph Inkster]

Originally Posted by stigaro

I started my -14A in October in Grimsby, ON and haven't received a lot of advice from MD-RA. Basically, they said all rivets must be seen. I took this to mean visible but not necessarily easily accessible. So, I riveted my skins on, but have not rolled my leading edges on the rudder or elevators or riveted in the spars on the VS and HS. This enables the inspector to assess the skin rivets as well as the structural rivets. There are a couple places that may require a borescope (eg rudder counterweight), but I am building an airplane not an inspection training device. Haven't started my wings yet, but I expect similar.

I suggest you call MD-RA and ask them specifically what to leave open. Maybe they can give you the phone number of an inspector close to you that you can consult with. Much better strategy than building too far and having to re-open a structure (& getting mad at them because you have to redo something).

[RV7 To Go]

I am working on a 4 project which was fully closed in the US before being imported to Canada. The MDRA required the bottom wing skins to be de-riveted along the rear spar and half a dozen rivets up the ribs to open the area for inspection. All control surfaces had to be opened on one side as well. Best to check with the MDRA inspector assigned to your build to see what they will require or you may end up doing a lot of rework.

[Weefle]

Originally Posted by stigaro

I started my -14A in October in Grimsby, ON and haven't received a lot of advice from MD-RA. Basically, they said all rivets must be seen. I took this to mean visible but not necessarily easily accessible. So, I riveted my skins on, but have not rolled my leading edges on the rudder or elevators or riveted in the spars on the VS and HS. This enables the inspector to assess the skin rivets as well as the structural rivets. There are a couple places that may require a borescope (eg rudder counterweight), but I am building an airplane not an inspection training device. Haven't started my wings yet, but I expect similar.

I’m building a 10 and am basically at the same stage you are. I called the regional MDRA office and got the song and dance about leaving everything open and that legally the inspector won’t use a borescope to examine it.
I followed this up with a call to the local inspector of whom I explained my situation. Skins closed but leading edges not rolled. He was great to talk with and suggested going forward to leave skins open and not close stuff up. He also suggested that with mirror and a flashlight he’d likely be ok with what was closed up. He also said that because it’s an RV it’s overbuilt and a bad rivet wasn’t going to cause it to fall out of the sky. In speaking with some other builders it seem like it’s the inspectors discretion as to how picky they will be.
Hope this helps.

Keith