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RV-8 build begins...

Finally reached the QB stage (according to the build plan).

With some help from several friends this week, all side and bottom fuselage skins including the cooling ramp are now riveted in. The only clecoes remaining are at the firewall flange and they probably will remain there until the cowl is installed. It appears the next stage is mounting the gear legs. That should start tomorrow or Monday. I opted for the Grove airfoil legs so as to not have to deal with the fiber glass fairings or brake lines down the legs. Hope it is not big deal getting them installed and aligned.

Spoke with Craig Catto this morning about another of his props for the 8. This one will be the same as the -7A except it will have a the stainless leading edge. He commented the root has been improved and I should see improved take off performance.

The season has changed big time and some heat in the shop will be needed soon. The fuselage just fits in so the doors to the main hangar can be closed.

PS. It has been 7 weeks since my wife had the lumbar fusion surgery on her lower back. It was a complete success in that the original chronic pain is gone. Now it is physical therapy for 6 weeks and she is enjoying it.



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Here is a shot of a very simple tail pivot point with the rotisserie. I tried several other methods but this piece of old swimming pool raft material and the tail wheel spring work the best. The fuselage build would be very much slower without the rotisserie. It is most useful.



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This day began with a call to Van's for an explanation on the 4 string method of aligning the RV-8 gear legs. Gus answered, I confessed my brain was locked up and I did not understand what the instructions meant. He said they get lots of calls on that subject.

After discussing the matter a bit I told him I was thinking of a 3 string method - one vertical plumb line on each end to establish the center line and running a horizontal line across the top from the firewall to the tail aligned with the end drops and about level with the legs sticking up. That made sense to him so that's what I did.

A 4' level was bolted to the leg and measurements made to the center line string (which looks like 1/4" rope in the image only because the camera was close to it) from each end of the level.

After fussing with it most of the day, doing many adjustments, they check out this evening and are as parallel as I can get them. The left side is perfect, the right within 1/8". The 7/16" inboard attach bolts have been torqued down locking the legs in position and the holes will be drilled tomorrow.



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The Grove outboard attach bracket is thicker than Vans bracket because the leg is thicker at the curve. The cover will have to be modified to the situation. Some builders may not like that outcome with the Grove airfoil legs.



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Geat attach holes drilled.....

....16 of them.

This info is old hat for those who have built an 8 but for those following, drilling the gear attach holes is somewhat of a challenge, at least it was for me. Just the idea of drilling critical holes with a hand held drill is nerve wracking, there's no way the angle can be perfect. All that can be done is hold it as straight as possible relative to the surface and have at it. It helps a lot to have quality drill bits and some metal cutting juice handy.

The 3/8" holes are the most difficult but by running the drill slow and using lots of juice, it works.

The entire job, including taking one more toe-in, toe-out measurement, removing the legs and storing them in the Grove box and getting the fuselage re-attached to the rotisserie took 4 hours.

Next task is building the front pilot seat, now that's meaningful progress, a place to sit and practice imaginary greaser landings. :)




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Seat Floors, Foot Wells and Rear Baggage parts are completed and ready to install but the "plan" has a different plan.

I was looking forward to getting these pieces installed and done with but that can't happen until the exterior Flap Fairings are installed which can not happen until the wings are installed which won't happen until next spring some time.

So - it is on to other things like Consoles and Seat Ramp. I suspect there is enough to do over the chilly winter months until we move back out into the main hangar.

I like the foot wells. If there aren't back seat feet in them, they will make a good place to store stuff on a cross country. :)

I have been thinking, maybe delaying the installation of these parts is good - they might just get primed and painted once it warms up again.



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removable floor parts

David,

many of us make all the foot wells, floor panels, baggage parts removable by installing hundreds of plate nuts. It takes some time, but it has really paid dividends for me. Being able to install some avionics equipment under there, being able to inspect for maintenance, and retrieve an errant pearl earring from my wife, access for future wiring or modifications.

You don't need to put a plate nut in every hole that was to be riveted -- that's overkill. I did roughly every other one, just looking at spacing and need to hold corners and critical areas down.

But this way, you can do it now, and remove them later when you are ready to put the flap fairings on, and/or ready to paint them, and/or ready to install avionics goodies and do lots of wiring.
 
scsmith said:
David,

many of us make all the foot wells, floor panels, baggage parts removable by installing hundreds of plate nuts. It takes some time, but it has really paid dividends for me. Being able to install some avionics equipment under there, being able to inspect for maintenance, and retrieve an errant pearl earring from my wife, access for future wiring or modifications.

You don't need to put a plate nut in every hole that was to be riveted -- that's overkill. I did roughly every other one, just looking at spacing and need to hold corners and critical areas down.

But this way, you can do it now, and remove them later when you are ready to put the flap fairings on, and/or ready to paint them, and/or ready to install avionics goodies and do lots of wiring.
Click to expand...

Steve,
Thanks for the tip.
I will take a look at it, might take a few days but would be worth it down the road for all the reasons you mention.
dd
 
Hey Dave,

I'm sure you've thought about this, but what is involved in heating the main hangar?

JimBO
 
David-aviator said:
I like the foot wells. If there aren't back seat feet in them, they will make a good place to store stuff on a cross country. :)
Click to expand...

They are excellent water bottle and sandwich holders!

On the removable rear floor panels, well, that is one of those never ending debates in teh RV-8 camp. I have never had to remove mine, and I did them per plans with rivets. I know folks that HAVE had to remove them, and it took then less than ten minutes to drill the rivets out ....versus the time it would have taken to get the screws out. Just something to consider....then again, you have a long winter in which to install nutplates to your heart's content! :rolleyes:
 
on the subject of removing the rear seat floor - I have already had one case where I needed to remove them and will soon have another.

If you do absolutely everything during the build process and never upgrade or change things in the RV-8, then rivet them down.

I bought a flying RV-8 so some of my preferences were not "built in". I had to be really creative running the wires to the elevator servo. It is now a checkbox for every inspection since I am not 100% happy with the solution. Now, I am about to add a Garmin GDL-39 and perhaps a remote compass for an EFIS. These will both go aft so again I will be messing around trying to run wires under the riveted floor.

One option for future-proofing would be to add a chase tube. Then the riveted floors would be a non-issue ... at least for new wires.
 
Ironflight said:
They are excellent water bottle and sandwich holders!

On the removable rear floor panels, well, that is one of those never ending debates in teh RV-8 camp. I have never had to remove mine, and I did them per plans with rivets. I know folks that HAVE had to remove them, and it took then less than ten minutes to drill the rivets out ....versus the time it would have taken to get the screws out. Just something to consider....then again, you have a long winter in which to install nutplates to your heart's content! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

In perusing the situation, it appears Vans has provided a convenient alternative to installing so many plate nuts to be able to access the closed in area. There are holes in the bulkheads and aft spar under the floor panels that appear to be lined up for the installation of a conduit.

I really do not want to spend a lot of time on this issue, I'd rather be flying so am leaning toward a conduit of some sort the facilitate running wires.
 
My Comanche has many, many sheet metal screws in places that have held with no problem for exactly 50 years with nothing more than a hole and said sheet metal screw. Only in places that come apart for regular inspection are tinnermans or nutplates installed. I would not hesitate to run #6 sheet metal screws into the floor and be done with it.
 
rocketbob said:
My Comanche has many, many sheet metal screws in places that have held with no problem for exactly 50 years with nothing more than a hole and said sheet metal screw. Only in places that come apart for regular inspection are tinnermans or nutplates installed. I would not hesitate to run #6 sheet metal screws into the floor and be done with it.
Click to expand...

#6 sheet metal screws will never do in an RV-8, Rocketbob. :)

The forward fuselage panels where the fuel valve is located were completed and the plan shifted gears to install the HS and VS. I decided to skip it for now as there isn't space in the shop to do it. The next task is elevator flight control system so that's where I am now. The parts are cut to size, primed and riveted together. The sticks are in and float freely. The control rod between the sticks is pre set at 30-1/8" as per the plan and is about as close as it gets, the sticks are within 1/2 a degree of perfect parallel.

Don't know what is next with the plan but will find out tomorrow - one task at a time. :)





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Thanksgiving holiday is over and its back to work on the RV.

Yesterday the elevator servo was installed. I primed the parts in the cold hangar after a shop warm up and then moved them back to warm area for cure. That worked well with minimum primer odor in the shop area. I have a wood box warming oven with a light bulb cycling on a thermostat so the primer is always warmed up ready to go for small jobs.

Frustrating thing happened last week when assembling the servo push rod. One of the inserts to be riveted in the tube simply disappeared. I thought it dropped to the floor and spent over 2 hours on the hands and knees looking for it but it just was not there. Bummer. I contacted Jerry Hansen at Trio and he immediately sent another, being somewhat amused at the event having had it happen to himself a number of times. Yesterday, about one hour after installing the new insert and unfolding a small towel I use to protect the fuselage skin while working inside, there was the lost insert. Evidently it had dropped out of the tube while doing a trial fit last week. I was so impressed with Mr. Hansen's immediate response from Trio, I will return the found insert to him. :)

I am considering installing the flap fairings later with blind rivets so the floor panels can installed at this time. The plan calls for holding off the floor install until after the wings are installed so the fairings can be fit to the flaps. (the fairing rivet pattern is under the floor panel) Not only that, the flap mechanism would have to be removed also because the plastic bearing sit on top of the floor panels.

As I complained to Ken Scott yesterday, a real pain a builders butt. The question to Vans was are the RV-8 flap fairings cosmetic or of aerodynamic significance. The answer is they are not cosmetic.




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We used pop rivets on the flap fairings on the -3 David (we actually used -8 fairings) - worked well, and no one has remarked on it. Sure makes building easier!
 
Decision made.....

....the floor panels are going in.

But first there has to be a way to easily sneak wires aft under the floor. In looking around the hangar for something suitable to use, I came across a 6' section of left over plastic irrigation line. It is 3/4" ID, flexible and quite light in weight. Two runs of it were installed, on the left one for servo, elevator trim, nav lights and maybe a mag sensor; on the right one for future battery cables if the aft battery location is ever used. (My battery will be on the firewall as the Catto prop comes in at about 16 pounds) The conduits terminate up front where they are easily accessed, the left under and just forward of the aileron trim bracket, the right a bit further aft. The RV-8 center section has convenient holes in that area for running wires forward.

I considered going to a hardware store and buying some conduit pipe but that stuff is straight and rigid as can be. I also have some black flexible corrugated stuff from a previous project but that material is not smooth on the inside. This irrigation line is smooth, flexible and should make pulling wires through a snap, plus it terminates on the floor where wires will be run under the aileron push tubes.

.....movin' forward in a relatively warm shop. :)




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Use some string

When you add tubing for the wire run, either smooth or corregated, add a length of string and tie it off on both ends in the event you need to pull a wire thru in the future. To get a string thru the wing wire tubing, tie light string to a cotton ball (acquired from the wife's aviation department), loosly so it does not deform the cotton ball, insert in one end, have plenty of string unraveled and loose to reach the far end of tubing and use your air compressor nozzle to blow the cotton ball to the other end. Feed the string with an open palm as this will be at the other end before you can say "wow".
Now, if you ever need to pull another wire, the string is ready to use and you can add another length of string along with your wire you pull thru and you still have a string for later.

Pat Garboden
RV9A N942PT
Waiting FAA inspection
Katy, TX
 
The brake pedals are in. Probably should have gone with the in flight adjustable pedals but the switch from ground adjustable would have cost $550 up front with a rebate for the ground adjustable units. I wasn't thinking much about the pedal options when the kit was ordered but did consider it when reviewing the plan a few days ago. The in flight install would have been easier to do but I decided to stick with what I had out of a consideration of time and money. It would have cost close to $300 with shipping and a restocking charge. Not sure the in flight adjustable feature is worth it, the 7 did not have it and was not missed.

The reservoir lines are a mess right now but will be attached to a bracket on a baggage area bulkhead after it is installed. The pressure lines come with the finish kit and will be attached to that bracket also.

Also installed since the last post - the flap motor, fuel tank vent lines, fuel selector valve, the rudder cables, fuel filter attach bracket, and late this after noon, the right fuel line. Slowly but surely this thing is coming together. The fuel filter will be as per the plan (AFP) but the pump will be from Robert Paisley

http://www.flyefii.com/add_components/BPM/BPM.htm

Made that decision yesterday. The AFP pump works well but the pump system from flyefii is less complex and worth a try. Cost is about the same.



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Ran the flap motor up and down to adjust arm travel, it works. Sure hope the grease seals hold up with this motor. Friend Roger Mell has a new motor for his 7, it is less than a year old. I had trouble with the one on my 7 also.



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Most of this week was spent on the fuel system. As of the end of today, the plumbing is completed up through the left gear tower. Tomorrow the pump goes in and the final push to the firewall fitting.

It took about an hour to decided how to mount the Robert Paisley pump, about two hours to build the platform, and this is the result.



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The base of the pump has to be 7/8" off the floor to align the intake with the line coming through the gear tower. The objective here is to have as straight a run from the filter to the firewall when the engine pump is sucking fuel, it will minimize the vapor lock potential.

The little platform is made from 4 pieces of 3/4" angle, when they are riveted together the height is almost 7/8". After a piece of red baffle material is installed between the pump and the platform for a little vibration isolation, it will be right at 7/8". The pump is attached to the platform with AN3 bolts and platenuts, the platform will be attached to the floor with LP4-3 rivets.

Hopefully the fuel system will be completed by this time tomorrow.
VROOM-VROOM :)
 
Don't anyone copy this pump set up just yet.

I finally got around to reading the installation information from Robert and he suggests orienting the pump on the bottom over an issue of trapped air within the pump with it on top.

I have a query in to him about the matter an will report back. I do not believe it is an issue if the pump starts up with zero pressure in the system.
 
We put the Paisley pump in Tsam Dave - it sits flat, with the pump and valve modules at the same height - no issues. I have never looked to see how that would fit in the -8, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is room.

Paul
 
Ironflight said:
We put the Paisley pump in Tsam Dave - it sits flat, with the pump and valve modules at the same height - no issues. I have never looked to see how that would fit in the -8, but I wouldn't be surprised if there is room.

Paul
Click to expand...

There is room but not quite as easy to install and access.

Anyway, it should work vertically once the pump is wet....here is the quick response from Robert Paisley this morning.

Hi David,
Go ahead and try what you have. Just fill the pump with fuel before the first time you use it. If the air gets out once, then it will be fine.
The issue is when someone fires up a new dry pump for the first time. I had one guy leave the dry pump running until it burned up the motor.
After you get it wet once, you won't have an issue. The stock purge valve setup should be fine.
Robert
 
Fuel Pump In and Aft Top Installed

The Robert Paisley pump is installed. The pump-regulator package is bolted to the angle brackets which sit on top of baffle material (to dampen vibration) and blind riveted to the floor.

The pump install was relatively easy but the last 3.5" of fuel line to the firewall was not. I must have worked on it 3 hours - after 6 tries it finally fit and went in.



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With the help of neighbor Dale Baldwin, the aft top skin was riveted this evening. He's younger, thinner and an excellent rivet partner. I set rivets I could reach yesterday and we competed the inside job in 45 minutes.

Now on to installing the manual aileron trim and then forward to the instrument panel.



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Dave, you are making great progress! I suspect you'll be flying this year at this rate. Sorry I missed you at geezer lunch today. I'll have to swing by and take a look at your build if the wx exer gets better!
Bill
 
Any time, Bill. Your airplane is quit an inspiration.

Called the build off for Christmas but before doing so the windscreen roll bar was drilled and bolted in on Thursday and the top skin clecoed and final drilled on Friday. Looks like the forward baggage door is next.

Also ordered the finish kit last week.



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The top forward skin was riveted today, friend and neighbor Dale came again to help.

The plan advises delaying this task until later to facilitate installing wires and equipment. Other RV build plans say the same thing but the 8 has removable forward baggage panels which leaves the front section wide open - so it was decided to do it. It took about 2 hours as some of the rivets are a challenge to buck.

I've started to think about the electric system and the IP. The image shows the static line and wires for elevator trim and pitch servo which run under the floor aft and there will be more soon. In looking at images of other 8's, most have switches on the right console panel but some have them along the bottom of the IP....haven't decided which way to go yet. I have decided to go with spade fuses ala Van's, I noticed them in the RV-14 at OSH. There will be no circuit breakers except maybe one 50 amp for the alternator.

I'd like to send the IP to Stein and have something special done but this is a "budget 8". It will be bare bones for the first flight. I spoke with my DAR about lights and he said not needed for day VFR. The big-big expenditure will be the engine as it will be new, again from BPE with a Catto prop. I looked and looked for something decent used but good 0360's are rare, and expensive, if you find one. There are many 30-40 year old engines in salvage yards that would required tear down and overhaul - some without logs - I am not inclined to go that route. It could end up costing nearly as much as a new engine and still be a very old engine in the log.

Nav system will be a white mini IPad, Santa brought one for Christmas. :)




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The Door is Done...

First task of 2013 was to take on the forward baggage door. After all the parts were final drilled, de-burred, and dimpled the assembly process began.

(this is old hat for those who have been down this road but perhaps there is some useful information here for those starting the build effort)

The inboard and outboard support angles were easy to back rivet to the outside skin but it was clear the forward and aft ribs would be a challenge due to the surface curve and closed angle of the pieces. I decided straight away the rivets had to be bucked and it would take 2 guys to do it right so I called a couple buddies and the 3 of us got it done in about 30 minutes.

Once the outside skin is riveted the door takes shape and can be flexed nicely into the top skin opening. What i soon discovered was if the inside skin was clecoed on, the door became quite stiff, like it would not flex well at all. So how do you get it to fit the opening nicely before riveting it?

Jon Thocker has a good idea in taping the door in place with the inner skin prosealed to its ribs and let it cure a couple days. I decided to try Vans suggestion of taping it in place and riveting from the inside. The caveat being it would only work IF the inner skin were not completely clecoed in place so it could adjust to the contour of the opening. In fact I used just 2 clecoes to hold the inner skin as it went in. I taped the aft edge to the top skin with Gorilla tape and pulled it down with a cargo strap. The forward edge was clamped.

Then the fuselage was rolled inverted with Rick Galati's handy rotisserie. I wasn't sure there was room to do much riveting from the inside but it turned out all of the rivets were pulled except the those at the end support angles and one rib rivet. It took about 20 minutes.

When the thing was rolled back up right, the cargo strap released and the tape pulled off, it was a pleasant surprise to observed the door fit darned decent. It is not perfect, but decent. The edges will be rolled with a hand roller and I think it will pass muster.

The door lock is in shipment from Vans and will be installed as soon as it arrives.

Meanwhile, I am instalingl the aft rudder pedals, I may need some instruction from neighbor and friend Frank Baldwin in flying this beast. Frank flies anything - quite well. I've got umpteen hours of time but 99.9% of it is with a training wheel up front. I need all the help I can get. :)



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Birth of an Electric System

I've sort of run out of things to do without the finish kit so it on to the electric system and run a few wires.

First item it circuit protection and after thinking about it for a while decided to go with ATO fuses. The next decision was where to mount the fuse blocks. It looks like the best place is near the instrument panel and the right gear tower. The fuse blocks come from Stein and Blue Sea. http://bluesea.com/home

The Blue Sea device has 12 circuits including a grounding shown here with and without the cover. The smaller 6 circuit device will be the avionics bus.

Hope this works. :)




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Fuses

Hi David,

I have some empty space on the right side so thought I would install the fuse block so as to be visible and use fuses like these from B&C. They lite up when blown so hard to miss and handy to replace if you wish. A bit spendy at $2.75 tho...http://www.bandc.biz/atctypefuse-1.aspx

Your GPS on it's way...

.
 
Since the last post here I have been running wires, painted the interior, installed the fuel/oil pressure manifold and cabin heat valve on the firewall, and will begin install of the battery box on the firewall tomorrow.

I also sent the instrument panel to Up North for a cutting. (The job also included labeling the fuel caps) The panel came back yesterday and was painted today. It will accommodate the GRT Sport EFIS with EIS 4000, 2 fuel gauges, a Hobbs meter, a EIS warning light, Becker com/transponder, an ASI, and the Trio auto pilot - I have reached the age of deserving an auto pilot. :) The ASI will be at the upper left hole so the guy in the back seat can see it. The airplane will have a rear seat throttle and rudder pedals.

(The panel also has a hole for the KT-76A but will be covered since I made a deal for the Becker mode S transponder very recently. The panel was laid out in anticipation of the Becker arriving someday - it came early.)

Up North is a first class operation. Bill made sure everything would fit properly and I am most satisfied with the result.
http://www.upnorthaviation.com/




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The panel is very VFR simple. (VVFR) :)

The remaining 3 holes will accommodate the Becker radio/transponder and the EIS warning light. I considered passing on EFIS altogether but that made no sense considering the features of simple EFIS, like the Dynon D10-A or GRT's Sport. Both are very well designed. The Sport was selected, it dovetails in with the EIS 4000 which I've used previously and like it very much. It offers everything one needs with a fuel injected engine plus passive warning, a concept invented by Boeing years ago with the 767. A really good idea for flying VFR when one should be looking outside most of the time and not at gauges.



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This is the left side panel. The right side panel is similar with start ignition switch, master switch, avionics bus, and alternator switches. They are not installed yet, I ran out of paint and had to order more on line, it will be here tomorrow. (The paint is rustoleum "painter's choice" - not as good a epoxy paint but a lot better than no paint.) The lower right side panel where switches usually go with an 8 will have a cigarette lighter plug for charging the battery and other needs. Friend John Murphy at KSUS (one of last years calendar RV-8's) mentioned he did not like switches on that panel, they were difficult to see, so mine are up where they are.

The labels were made with the BEE3 labeler. Even though I had thin pencil lines to get them on straight, they are not perfectly straight as you can see. Frustrating. But then from what I read, according to quantum mechanics, nothing in the universe is straight - same thing here. :)

We are off to Florida for 2 weeks in March and will return around the 15th. The finish kit, engine and prop will be delivered about then - things are coming in and of course the money is going out. :)



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After some thought and a call to GRT, a location was selected for the Sport EFIS magnetometer. The preferred installation is out on one wing tip but since the wings are not attached I decided to explore installing it in the fuselage.

The aft plate area where the HS resides would seem a good spot but the iron elevator bell-crank just below it is no good. So I did some measurements just aft of the baggage compartment. If the unit is mounted on a platform attached to the upper longerons, the rudder cables and the elevator servo are some 17-18" from the unit. I called GRT on this location and they concurred it should work.

So thats where it was installed. I used aluminum blind rivets to keep ferris metal out of the local area. The device is mounted on a sloped platform of about 8? because the AHRS unit is in the display unit and it is mounted in the instrument panel which slopes forwards about 8?. The magnetometer should be aligned exactly with the AHRS where ever it is located.

Final fine tuning alignment with AHRS will occur later after the instrument panel is installed. For now the magnetometer is temporarily attached with one brass screw and the display unit is one a table.



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With the wires run, I could not resist connecting the d-sub connector to the display unit and powering it up with my trusty Odyssey. It was a good feeling to see it come to life, go through some internal checks and present a bright. good looking screen. I ran the GPS antenna out a window of the hangar and in scrolling through the pages found a map with our location, we were at home. :)

This unit has the optional internal GPS along with the internal AHRS and it works!



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The past two weeks has been about running electric wires.

All the major circuits are in and have been checked for continuity. Looks like there will be 17 circuits (as of now) 6 on the avionics bus and 11 on the main bus. The main bus is mounted near the top of the right gear tower and will have plastic cover. The avionics bus it attached to the aft wall of the forward bag compartment. There will be a live bus to a cigarette lighter receptacle for battery charging convenience, it will be protected with a fuse in the plug. The primary load from the alternator will be protected with a current limiter, probably 50 amps on the forward side of the firewall.

I have not yet decided where to penetrate the fire wall, the forward bag compartment complicates the matter. Some guys are going through it and I may do likewise. The matter will be resolved after the canopy is installed, the aircraft is on its legs, and the engine mount is trial fit. I should be on to that task by late March. (For the next 2 weeks we are off to SW Florida and Sanibel Island hoping to find no snow and warm air. :))

The orange and white wire across the main fuse panel is one of a number dangling wires yet to be secured. It is for auto pilot servo quick disconnect. Thank goodness for wire labeling or it would be total chaos at this stage.



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There will be 8 switches on the forward side panels plus a flap switch on the side panel below the fuel selector. I am trying to Keep It Simple, Stupid. There are however, a lot of wires even with a relatively simple single EFIS panel.

I guess one could always go NO ELECTRIC and really be KISS, but that wouldn't be much fun with all the neat electronic stuff available these days.


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This was yesterday. I got most of this mess sorted out today and secured behind the IP along the bag wall. It could be neater but it is functional.

There are connectors for EFIS, EIS, COM, TRANS, AP, and one coming aft for an old Garmin 295 which will be the back up GPS. It is powered off the avionics bus and sends NMEA data to the auto pilot for tracking. I decided to go that route for now rather than use the Sport EFIS gps because I know how it works - like very well.

The basic plan here is to be able to remove the IP without a hassle if necessary - everything is labeled and quick disconnect.



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I've been negotiating with Anne at the shipping desk at Vans and the finish kit will arrive in Troy, Missouri next Tuesday, just 2 days after we return from our 2 week visit to Sanibel Island, Florida. (this has been the coldest March here in the 12 years we been coming - but we will be back - this a special place for us)

We pack up today and hit the road tomorrow morning, should be home Sunday evening.

It is time to get back to work on the -8. VAROOM-VAROOM :)
 
Did you make any amendments to the kit? Added or subtracted certain items? I'm about to place the same order but there are many decisions to be made first.
 
tkatc said:
Did you make any amendments to the kit? Added or subtracted certain items? I'm about to place the same order but there are many decisions to be made first.
Click to expand...

The engine choice dictates finish kit decisions. You can not make those decisions until then.

I made no additions or changes once the engine choice was made.

The firewall forward kit is not available for a IO360 180HP engine so those parts are ordered piece meal.
 
Great day to hang out in the hangar, snow is coming down big time. There was no reason to go out and fight the mess on the roads so we stayed home. Looks like about 10 inches around here.

The electric system is about complete except for firewall penetration points and engine connections. The RV-8 does not have a firewall electric plan, not even for a battery, so the builder has to wag it. I do have the battery box located, but have decided to make the penetration decisions after the engine mount is installed which won't occur until the rotisserie is removed which won't occur until the canopy is completed - so it is on the the canopy.

First step is the slide rail centered on top of the aft fuselage. It gets drilled, bent and riveted to a spacer and then screw attached to the fuselage. My wife was kind enough to slog through the snow to the hangar and hold the screw driver while I crawled inside to attach the 4 aft #6 nuts, there are 9 screws total holding the rail to the top of the skin. The slider slides real smooth on the rail at this point. I notice the plastic block that receives the canopy frame pointy thing in the dog house is pre drilled - thank you Vans. With the 7 build it was quite a challenge to get those 2 side blocks drilled at the correct angle to receive the frame pointy things - which of course hold the canopy down when it is closed.

Tomorrow it is on with the side rails.

I still have not decided to rivet or Sikaflex the canopy. I noticed in the plan Vans says "no rivets" through the glass for about 6" at those aft weld joints, or the glass may crack. I assume most guys noticed that note but the glass cracks anyhow. I can see why some are trying the bigger rivet hole with a soft doughnut around the rivet shank. I wonder if properly sized "O" rings would work as the insulator?




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Canopy frame adjustment and install

First trial fit.

The front bar over lapped the roll bar and the aft bar was 2" above the slide rail. I wondered if the frame would bend enough to make it acceptable.

Also, the front tubes where the roller mechanism attaches were not the same length measuring down from the horizontal bar, the right was 1/4" taller upsetting the level of the frame. After much deliberation and a call to Vans, the left tube was cut down by 1/4". That lowered the front frame to where the bottom horizontal tubes just clear the fuselage which the guy at Vans said was ok. That bottom horizontal straight tube is not level with the fuselage, nor does it have to be.



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Six hours later it looked decent.

It did not take that long to get the front roll bar adjusted. That was easy by flexing it between some 2x4's on a open stair railing going to an upper level in the hangar. The curved aft bar was treated likewise and now resides 3/4" above the slider rail. Van's calls for 5/8 to 3/4.

The fuselage roller rails are permanently installed at 25.8" from one side to the other, just a little wider than the plan target of 25 5/8".

One of the trickiest tasks is getting the aft slider piece drilled to where the pointy piece ends up at 1/32 to 1/16" above the center rail. I thought I had made an accurate drill guide but it left the pointy piece just touching the rail and leaving a mark on it.

What now, Knute? I considered ordering another plastic piece and doing it again but the thing fit well otherwise including the blind cotter pin hole to hold the attach pin inside the slider piece. The problem was fixed by simply taking a file to the pointy piece and removing about 1/16" of it. It now clears the center rail just fine and also slips into the retaining hole just as nicely as before. The bottom horizontal straight tubes are pretty good but could use a little more adjustment which will also be attempted. There is only so much you can do with the frame along the bottom straight pieces, they do not bend as easily as the curved pieces.

Next task - the roller pieces will be drilled to the frame tubes and the plastic receptacle for the pointy piece will be drilled and attached permanently to bulkhead structure down inside the dog house.

Then it is on the to canopy glass install.



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Good work David. Good ol' fashion building prowess. Thanks for the inspiration.
 
First trial fit....

...and mighty rough at that.

Trimmed off the plexiglass flange this morning, what a messy job that is, and set the canopy on the aircraft for the first fit. At present the glass is over 2" above the top front frame - a lot of trimming up front is in order.

I'd really like to walk away from this task and come back to it finished. But that won't happen, not in a 1000 years, no one does canopy work if they can avoid it. So off we go one day at time, starting after Easter.

Vans likes to use a large cut off disk, there are 2 of them in the kit, but I've never done it that way. I tried their method again today with a die grinder but set it aside in favor of a dremel with a much smaller reinforced disk. It cuts quicker and with less residual matter as it is thinner.

To each his own on the subject of trimming plexiglass. This is the third one I've done and the dremel method has not failed me yet. Hope to be able to show a much better fitting canopy in a week or so and with any luck it won't be cracked. :)





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Front seat try out....

....and it feels like a real airplane!

While waiting for the new canopy and while some of you are enjoying SNF, a temporary front seat was installed to facilitate hooking up more wires. This time the ELT went in on the floor lower right side just forward of the spar, and com radio headset receptacles are being wired. A bracket holding the receptacles will be attached to the angle cross piece just below and forward of the IP. This nicely accommodates the prewired Becker com harness - no wire splicing.

In keeping with the KISS principle of this airplane, the intercom will be through the Becker with a PTT intercom button in addition to the transmit PTT. Since the back seat guy can not reach the radio to set frequencies I've decided to not have a PTT transmit button at that station, 98% of the time the seat will be empty anyhow.

I had to contact the Zulu headset guys to find out the difference between "standard" and "dynamic" microphones. The Becker has an input for either. Unless the headset is special order, it is a "standard" mike. The "dynamic" mike is used in military stuff, not in general aviation.

The center line and 3.25" mark on the masking tape is ready for the canopy. I should be back on that task within a week or so.

While working from the temporary seat, the view forward, stick position and general feel of flying settled in. It's enough to light anyones fire. I've always preferred sitting on the center line of an airplane and this is perfect. :)




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Toe-in Toe-out??

There will be some delay in getting a new canopy from Todd, so I decided to move on other things.

The fuselage is out of the heated shop area and in the main hangar to facilitate installing the Grove gear legs, wheels and brakes.

After some 10 hours of solo work and finally getting a helper, the gear legs are bolted in. I may yet remove the 2 large out board bolts and reverse them as torquing them with the nut on the inside is some chore.

Today the axles were installed after checking for toe-in/toe-out. A fishing line was run across the front of each axle from side to side as per Vans instructions to confirm the legs are set ok from the leg drilling event a few months ago. I spent quite a bit of time with 2-24" boards attached to the outside of each leg and tried to get them aligned with a center line string. It appears to have paid off, as near as I can determine with the fishing line check. The 1/2" wood piece taped to the axle as aligned quite closely with the string on each side. It is not absolutely perfect but it is close. I don't think shims are warranted at this time - tire wear will tell the story later.

Tomorrow the tires will be installed and then it is move on to installing the tail wheel and empennage. After that the engine will get hung, unless the canopy shows up.

If it doesn't, I may just fly the darn thing without the canopy. :)



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The past two weeks has been spent up front and back aft.

The firewall cowl hinges are installed as is the engine mount. The engine mount fits well and the hinges are ready for the cowl after engine installation.

The HS was somewhat is challenge to get aligned, drilled and installed as the aft top skin was installed. I can not tell if this is normally the case but the HS is in and won't be removed again soon. I could not reach the forward four AN3 bolt nuts under the aft deck and was about to get some help and go inside the fuselage but as it turned out one of my neighbors, Dale Baldwin, was able to reach in and we got the job done. It takes a flexible elbow and trim arm to get it done.

The VS has been aligned, drilled and is removed today to rivet the attach plate and spacer to the forward F-702 spar. I used Vans fishing line technology to align the VS with a rivet centerline forward on the fuselage, actually a screw hole on the canopy rail. It is interesting to note the RV-8 VS is not off set like the RV-7, it is aligned straight ahead.

One of the first items in the VS install plan calls for a 9/16" trim of F-702, don't be hasty with that task. I trimmed it 9/16" and then found almost no edge distance for the bottom row of four rivets after the rudder hinges were aligned vertically. (the forward edge of the VS had to be raised to get the rudder hinges aligned) A 7/16" trim would have been perfect. As it is, I am adding another row of four rivets (now 15 total) to compensate for the lack of edge distance on the bottom row. I do not believe the parts will ever come apart but the four extra rivets will add some weight aft. :)

The replacement Todd canopy has arrived but it is so cold here right now its installation will wait a bit. In the mean time it is back up front and get some electric stuff installed on the firewall.



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