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RV-7A #74583 N12VD

Draker

Well Known Member
Thought it would be fun to start one of these threads and take a trip down memory lane. I'll post a few major milestones from my RV-7A build and see if I can keep it up to date!

2016-11-12: Obligatory first rivets:



2016-12-10: First complete assembly (HS):



2017-02-19: First mod of many: trim tab riblets:



2017-10-29: First job finished that I never want to do again:



2017-12-22: First time I wanted to quit building:



2018-07-08: Wings done (with witness dog):



2019-01-01: First panicked call to Van's thinking I ruined the whole project

2019-03-09: Canoe flip:



2019-03-30: First airplane noises with copilot:

 
2019-05-19: Plumbing fun:



2019-06-25: Most interesting side project (courtesy baggage lights):



2019-07-16: First time it started looking like an airplane:



2019-12-29: First electronic gizmos:



2020-02-22: Fiberfrax firewall insulation applied:



2020-05-16: Panel complete:



2020-06-19: The Big Cut:



2020-07-07 [today!]: Tipper canopy bonded:

 
Great Post, Great Photos

It's incredible how much work these projects are.

I think the greatest satisfaction is getting from OMG :confused: I reached my level of incompetence, too, OK, that worked out pretty well
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2019-05-19: Plumbing fun:



2019-06-25: Most interesting side project (courtesy baggage lights):



2019-07-16: First time it started looking like an airplane:



2019-12-29: First electronic gizmos:



2020-02-22: Fiberfrax firewall insulation applied:



2020-05-16: Panel complete:



2020-06-19: The Big Cut:



2020-07-07 [today!]: Tipper canopy bonded:


Does the plastic still peel off the canopy easily ?. I spent 2 weeks getting it off mine after it had literally welded itself on. My advice would be to check it's OK and keep an eye on it until it's time for the big reveal.

If it is stuck (or leaving adhesive behind) I found that I could get it off by "waxing" it with gorrila tape - stuck it on then sharply rip it off (no scratching or solvent exposure)
 
Does the plastic still peel off the canopy easily ?. I spent 2 weeks getting it off mine after it had literally welded itself on. My advice would be to check it's OK and keep an eye on it until it's time for the big reveal.

If it is stuck (or leaving adhesive behind) I found that I could get it off by "waxing" it with gorrila tape - stuck it on then sharply rip it off (no scratching or solvent exposure)

I peeled back about an inch of plastic before taping and bonding. I made the mistake of taping over the plastic, and the electrical tape i used was STRONG! It pulled a lot of plastic up when I un-taped. I'm trying to keep as much plastic in place now until the end of the build, to protect the canopy.
 
2020-08-29: Riveted aft top skin and bonded rear window:



2020-09-02: First avionics power-on:

 
So exciting to power on for the first time! I have powered everything on but my EFIS will be here Tuesday so I can really get things going! Keep up the work and she will be flying in no time.
 
Engine Mount

What a great accomplishment! It feels great to get the project up on wheels and the engine on. My 9A build log has lots of head scratching hours in it. One of them was something I think I see in your photo. After installing the engine mount, hanging the engine, running CHT and EGT wires and other assorted wiring and plumbing, I looked at that row of clecoes holding the bottom skin to the lower firewall flange and wondered how a bucking bar was going to fit between the lower engine mount tube and the flange. The short answer was that it wouldn't. As I think back on it, I can't think of a reason not to rivet the lower firewall flange before installing the engine mount. For future builders, this is one of the places where the plans should have a note: "Before installing engine mount, figure out how you are going to set the bottom row of rivets".
Keep building! One day, we will be reading about your first flight!
 
Good to see you are making great progress Ryan. We have finished putting the engine together and are headed to Lycon next week to run it on their dyno. Then we will hang it and attach all the accessories. Keep up the good work.
Bob
 
2021-05-01: Induction and baffling done (seals probably could use more love)



2021-06-05: Hangar move-in

 
Cool iMac in workshop

Really like your iMac mounted for easy plans access (my paper plans sure take a bench of their own).
 
Thanks for posting these pictures. I am fitting my cowl and they really help me understand the intake section

It remains to be seen if my baffle seals work right. I don’t think i did the front seals correctly and may have to redo.
 
Oh **** yeah

It will not be long now!!!!!!! If you are like me, you will get to the point of being done and ready for first flight, and not believing it. Hope that day is as good as mine was!!!!
 
2022-04-13: Interior installed. Excellent quality seats and carpet by Flightline Interiors.



2022-04-15: Construction complete. Ready for taxi tests, weigh-in, and airworthiness inspection.

 
Nice work. Since those air dams are just screwed on, consider leaving them off for the first flight or two. They block a lot of airflow, and you may need it.
 
Here's a post for the data geeks. Took a little time to plot my project's progress over time, grouped by subassembly. May be useful for people who haven't started yet, trying to guess the amount of work required for a (typical?) slow-build tip-up RV-7A. I was blessed with a greater than average amount of free time available to build this, without much delay between sub-kits.

Total hours building: 2,828 (2,358.5 home, 469.5 hangar)
Calendar days from start to finish: 1,996
Days worked: 725 (591 home, 134 hangar)
Average hours per work day: 3.9
Longest day worked: 12 hours, 19-Apr-2020, avionics wiring
Most consistent building: 19-Mar-2019 through 17-Apr-2019, worked 28 out of 30 days, Baggage floor/flap area
Longest break from building: 38 days, wait for finishing and fwf kits

 
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Thanks everyone! Won't be flying it any time soon though.The plane is airworthy but so far I am not. Phase 1 begins when I'm good and ready. Super-busy local rentals mean I'm not getting as much stick time as I'd like.
 
Congratulations, Ryan! I've been following you for quite some time and July 1st will be my 5-year anniversary from the day I started on the tail.

btw...I'm going to have that same problem here very soon too! My plane will be ready before I will. I just take it one step at a time and to me it doesn't make sense to start TW training until the plane is completed and A/W certificate issued. I don't have that much spare time on my hands!

Ryan
 
Good attitude

Thanks everyone! Won't be flying it any time soon though.The plane is airworthy but so far I am not. Phase 1 begins when I'm good and ready. Super-busy local rentals mean I'm not getting as much stick time as I'd like.
I was in the same boat, but do not fear, you will be amazed at how well you fly when it is your creation. Good luck. You are going to be blown away at how much nicer an RV is compared to your average rental..
 
First Flight

N12VD is now a flying RV-7A. Conducted the initial test flight on 22-November-2022 at around 2:15PM at Livermore (LVK). I was accompanied by fellow VAF member Vince Wawrzynski as an additional Qualified Pilot (AC 90-116 Additional Pilot Program) and fellow VAF member Bill Bencze manning the camera on the ground. A few people joined from Livermore’s EAA chapter, too.

RPM maxed out at 2630 RPM on takeoff (after adjustment from this thread). CHTs rose sharply during climb, topping out at 441/427/423/419. Pitching to increase airspeed arrested that rise, and by maintaining a nice fast airspeed, CHTs dropped significantly throughout the 45 minute flight. Hottest cylinder remained above 400F for 4 minutes max.

No heavy wing. All control surfaces behaved as expected. Trim works, flaps work. A lot of right rudder is required during takeoff, and quite a bit more than I expected even cruising at 160knots. Might need a little rudder wedge later to help with this.

Decided to experimentally verify stall speeds on this flight, prior to landing. Clean stall speed is 54knots indicated, and full flap stall speed is 50knots indicated. No surprises there.

Flared a bit too high and had a little bounce on landing but I got it down. Overall the flight was uneventful, only a few minor squawks to take care of:

  • G3X AHDRS incorrectly displayed a roll during takeoff. Display corrected itself eventually, but consistently happens under acceleration.
  • Cracked wheel fairing on landing due to shaping it too close to the tire combined with bad landing flare
  • Various G3X alarms are set too conservatively, sounding earlier than they should
  • Van's stall warner tab alerting way before approaching stall (20kts above actual stall)

We did a second flight this morning which was even less eventful and I greased the landing this time.

Big thank you to Vince for agreeing to go up with me as a second pair of eyes. Good in-flight coaching and help with safety preparation. Even just reading out CHTs every few seconds was super helpful. Thanks to Bill for flying all the way over from HMB and waiting while I trickle charged the battery!

Flight track: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N12VD/history/20221122/2234Z/KLVK/KLVK

After takeoff:


No takeoff video, but we got the landing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FB5rqFhuqk

Taxi back home: https://youtu.be/4c5bFDZ6gdo

RV Grin:
 
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2022-12-17: First solo test flight

Weather has been crappy on the weekends and I live 80 miles from the airplane now so it took a while but I managed to get up in the airplane by myself last weekend. Did a simple, easy flight with gentle climbs and turns to convince myself I could fly and land the airplane myself.

Collected some data that I can use to verify pitotstatic system, but the primary mission was to 1. eliminate the nerves about soloing this thing and 2. continue engine break-in by blasting away on the throttle.

I’m still constantly surprised the plane stays in the air. Don’t know when that feeling goes away! Great flight though, and I can’t wait to continue Phase 1 testing.

Flight track: https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N12VD/history/20221217/2003Z/KLVK/KLVK

Video of takeoff and landing: https://youtu.be/xuyRuDnGV3Y
 
A few observations after about 6-7 hours of performance testing. I wonder if these numbers are close to what other similar -7A's are seeing.

IO-360-M1B + Hartzell CS Prop

Summary: I'm seeing a flat ROC curve and a flat AOD (glide ratio) curve, making Vy and best-glide tough to call. I've started a separate thread to discuss my methodology and results so far.

I determined my stall speeds much earlier during testing. Clean (52 KIAS) and full-flaps (48 KIAS). These seem in line with what others report and Van's suggested speeds.

Cruise performance so far seems to be severely limited by CHT. I've got another dedicated thread about cruise/range testing.

Overall, I love the airplane's performance so far! But I'm concerned with CHTs. I need to crack this nut.
 
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Ryan, a few thoughts:
1. CHTs can be expected to be high if you have a new engine, but by now you should have seen them drop. Are you using some type of electronic (variable) timing? Either way, re-check the timing. Advanced (too early) timing will increase CHTs. I’m particularly puzzled by your cht data at 23”/2500 rpm vs 24”/2400. These are essentially the same power but show a 40 F difference in CHTs. Something is strange here.
2. Vy and best glide certainly are not flat between 75 and 95 knots. I wonder about your methodology here. Are you using the rate of climb indicator? IMHO it is more accurate to use the autopilot (if available) to hold a fixed airspeed, and use a stop watch to measure the time to climb 500 or 1000’, repeat for other speeds. For best glide use the stop watch to measure the time to descend a fixed distance (holding airspeed constant), repeat at other speeds. Plot the data, and find where a straight line from the origin just touches the data (lowest possible slope), that’s no-wind best glide. While it is not very peaked you should see a difference between 75kias and 85kias. Of course you’ll want a day with minimal up/down drafts, which may pose some difficulties in your new location in the foothills.
 
Hey Ryan,

Are the gear leg fairings, intersection fairings, and wheel pants installed?
 
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