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RV-8 build begins...

Dave,
Looks like great progress. I sure need to get out and take a look. We need to first stop the rain for a few days. I ran Roger up to Madison to pick up the Pietenpol and it turned out that it would not fly! Long story! It's still there:mad:
Bill
 
I've been measuring, trimming and smoothing the edges after each cut of the Todd canopy. It started out 4" above the roll bar and is now down to 3/8". The aft end has been trimmed once and now rests on the canopy frame rather than the fuselage. About 3.5" of material has been removed from the front of the canopy.

This is a messy, unpleasant job and I will be pleased when it is completed and can move on to more civilized, clean work.

The Todd canopy is higher aft of the roll bar than the Vans canopy. I like that and perhaps will see over the nose better by sitting up higher. But the down side is it appears when the canopy finally gets trimmed down to the roll bar, it will still be above the canopy roll frame aft of the roll bar. I guess the entire frame can be raised up a bit at the roller brackets but i wonder if it will be enough as there is not much wiggle room vertically with those brackets. We shall see how that plays out. If nothing else there may be a need for some shims between the canopy and frame in the top area.

I flew Jim Bower's RV-6A back to KSET last Monday. That flight reenforced an old feeling I've always had about this business, I'd 10 times rather fly than build. So I am motivated to get this 8 together and flying. :)



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Looking good, Dave. I hope all goes well with this canopy. If you remember, you are the guy who inspired me to stop building and start flying. I could probably have fiddled around with fiberglass for another year or two, but I got my RV into the air as of August, 2011. Of course, I'm having too much fun flying it to stop and improve the fiberglass or even polish the metal! I need to do all that, and maybe I will be able to start soon.

Once again, thanks for providing my RV with a dry place to ride out the recent flooding of our home field. I think there was probably only 2-3 inches of water in the hangar, but it would have been messy.

Jim Bower
RV-6A N143DJ
 
Hey, Jim, it was a pleasure flying the 6A. Next time the Mississippi floods, we will do it again.

After some 20 hours of "Measured, trimmed and smoothed canopy" as in the build log, I called it quits today. The canopy is about as good as I can get it and it is time to glue it to the frame. The Sika should be here in a day or so. (I considered 3M 5200 until I read a spec sheet on the product, it is not recommended for glass or plastic.)

The cut separating the windscreen took about 15 minutes once it was set up. I used the card board template to locate the center, laid a black tape along the line and simply cut it, no big deal.



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After several side and aft cuts, slot enlargements, and lots of edge smoothing, I called it quits today with the canopy clamped to the frame. I used the Jon Thocker technique of clamping from the aft end working forward, it worked well. The canopy was removed and trimmed several times but I cancelled the last trim which would have removed the remainder of the glass below the bottom horizontal tubes, the reason being, approximately 3/8" of glass below the tube will provide a bit more area to feather the Sika. The area is hidden under the skirt so it is of no consequence with or without it being that way.

An old garden hose was cut up and used to provide 1/8" stand off so the Sika can flow under the frame tubes.


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The windscreen ended up 1" aft of where the plan calls for it to be. But as Mr. Todd said, it really matters not, what matters is the canopy finding its "sweet spot" as he says. I drilled 2 #40 holes through the screen and into the roll over bar and clecoed to keep the whole thing from moving while the cut was made. It is also a reference of where the screen will later be attached. I've about decided to Sika it to the roll bar rather than use screws. I figure with all the glass across the outside top and along the forward edge, the wind screen will not be going anywhere.


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PS to the last post - I am having second thoughts about trimming the bottom edge one more time. Seems there is no need for a lot of feather edge for the Sika, looking at pictures of installations, the bead is very small.

If the edge were cut one more time, it would be neater.

Also, probably can get by with fewer 1/8" shims. Some have done it with no shims.
 
Canopy and frame joined with Sikaflex

Except for the 1/8" spacers, the frame is glued to the canopy.

I don't think it will ever come apart but it could be neater. Sikaflex is easier to work with than pro-seal, but not much. I got a little of it on my hands and it will be a while getting rid of it. I did wear surgery gloves but they don't last long.

Most of the edge smoothing was done with pop cycle sticks. I found a wet, soapy paper towel removed surplus stuff quite nicely and left a fairly smooth surface. The application of the 295 went well except in the aft end where the curve of the canopy prevented getting to the inside joint with the calking gun, there I had to apply the stuff with a stick and smooth it as best I could.

I did not mask off the frame tubes but instead sanded them and applied the primer as a paint. It seemed a waste of time to mask off 1/2" and 3/4" tubes just to preserve the powder paint look. The intention here is to get this machine flying ASAP. Structurally it certainly does not matter although I admit, it could look better - but one will have to look hard under the skirt to not see the powder coat paint. The primer is an added corrosion inhibitor. :)

Thanks to everyone who ever posted information on this forum about the Sikaflex process. There is a ton of good information available for those so interested.

This is an image of the aft end of the canopy. As you can see, the canopy length has been shortened in the trimming process.

Tomorrow the 1/8" spacers and clamps will be removed and the gaps filled and smoothed. Then it is on to installing the skirt.



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I've been working on the canopy install since May 15 (some 57 hours) and here's where the effort is as of today.

The Todd canopy is Sikaflexed to the frame and the skirt install is coming along ok. The skirt comes in 2 parts and the first fit is just like the canopy, it needs a lot of trimming. Seems like the trim pile is about as much material as what is finally attached.

I decided to do the skirt install in 3 parts, not all one piece. There is the left side, right side and aft. The reason being, the aft end just did not fit no matter how it was positioned, so it was cut out and set aside. I then did numerous trim jobs on each side and finally got it clecoed looking fairly decent. The final attach was Sika to the glass and Sika and rivets to the metal frame. And I did it off the airplane on the work bench. That worked well and also made it easier to flex-bend the aft ends up a bit to bring the sides in close to the fuselage. As of now the aft end of the skirt lies nicely against the fuselage side skin.

Today I tackled the skirt aft end. I had 2 pieces that fit, sort of, which were cut from the original skirts and took the one that was best. It was trimmed 5 or 6 times until it fit decent also being installed with 3 clecoes. I then Sika attached it to the glass and aft frame tube and used West epoxy with flox to get the seams lined up. There is 1" wide strip of skirt trim material glued to the inside of the seam and held in place with clamps. After it is all cured, there will be a 3 or 4 ply lay up across the area up over the glass to firm it up and also form the little dog house over the rail.

I don't know yet if doing the skirt in 3 parts is a good idea. But it is lying in fairly well at this point and sure is a lot easier than doing it all in one piece.

There is some cosmetic work in the future, like I screwed up the Sika prime line inside and there will be 3/4" dark shadow of black paint above the tube frame to make it look better than it does now, which is kind of irregular. Also, the skirt exterior top Sika line at the glass needs some work. But it is all structurally very sound IMHO. I like the Sika process but I should have slowed down somewhat so it would look better. It is not unlike working with proseal except the working pot life is only about 15 minutes. if you don't have a nice trim line by then, it is mostly too late.

The wind screen will go in next week. That will go quicker than the canopy for sure. I've already decided to Sika it to the roll bar instead of using the #6 screws.





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Yes, it is coming but slow. This task takes time to get it reasonably decent and even at that, its like being a successful politician, there are compromises along the way, especially when being driven to get the beast flying sooner than later.

The aft part of the skirt is attached to the sides and it all lays fairly close in the the fuselage. It this point it is rough and in need of filling and finishing which will come later.

One can always find fault with the skirt, after a couple days I decided it could fit better. A common problem with the aft part of skirt is getting it lay in close to the fuselage where it curves up to the rail. I found with the -7 build a metal shrinker at work along the offending edge worked fairly well. But how does one shrink the edge of the -8 fiberglass skirt?

After mulling over it for a day I decided to do something radical. I marked the offending edge with a line 1.5" in and then drew a line at .5" intervals to the 1.5" line from the edge. I then cut the lines from the edge to the line creating .5" tabs than could be bent in. Then mixed up some flox, spread it between the cut marks and did a lay up inside and outside along the cut area and covered it with peal ply. The the canopy was slid closed and some weight was placed against the skirt sides bending the edges in against the fuselage sides covered the duck tape where the skirt made contact and hoped for the best while it cured over night.. Two folded saw horses were used to hold the weights as they rested against the skirt sides.

It worked, the skirt sides are much better fitted against than the fuselage than before.

The dog house over the rail was fashioned by using a 1/8" piece of ply wood wrapped with duck tape and taped to the top of the rail. The 3 ply lay up over it created what you see, the gap is about 1/8", not as neat as Dan Horton work but after fill and finished it will be ok.



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One step closer....

...to installing the engine. :)

Yesterday the windscreen was Sikaflexed to the roll bar. Also micro ballooned the forward edge of the screen to the fuselage skin by closing the opening between the bottom of the glass at the fuselage joint. Tried to make a nice smooth contour from glass to aluminum.

Today 6 plies of glass in tapered widths were laid in the glass-skin joint and then peel plied for a smooth finish.

Next step will be to install the fairing across the top of the windscreen back over the canopy. After that it will be a couple days micro filling and sanding smooth for final finish later. This area will get painted, probably silver, have not decided. But the engine goes in after that for sure.



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Wedding Cake Frosting

After installing the fairing across the top of the windscreen, the wedding cake frosting was applied. This is something I learned from Burt Rutan years ago building the LEZ. It is simple but tedious and there probably are more efficient ways to do it today but I am not spun up on them. The material is West slow epoxy with lots of glass micro balloons mixed up thick so it will stand up like frosting.

The fiber glass fairings are epoxy glued to the plexi glass and skin and also secured with 5 CS-4 rivets just to make sure they will not leave the airplane.

The lay up across the top of the wind screen is supposed to be about .080 thick. One ply of Rutan BID is .013 so 6 plies should come out to .078, I measured it today, it is .125. What happened is I did a number of 15", 18" and 24" lay ups over lapping and it got built up - and is solid as a foundation. That fairing is no wimp and will not break if someone touches it.

The canopy was started on May 15, 36 days ago. Total time 89 hours and I literally quit it today, I am totally burned out with making dust, it took an hour to clean it out of the hangar today. There is some cosmetic work remaining but that can wait for now. I need desperately to move on to something else - like install the engine.

Sikaflex is OK, I'd use it again and do a neater job for sure. The skirt fits but not well. It looks OK but up close it could be better. Lots of guys have done it better for sure.




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The engine is attached to the mount as of early this morning. It took an hour to get the bolts through the bushings and the attach holes on the engine. A hydraulic engine hoist from Harbor Freight makes the job relatively easy compared to using a chain hoist from the ceiling which was used with the -7 engine install previously.

The engine (IO-360X and similar to the IO-360 B1A for AD purposes) is like the -7 engine except it is Superior rather than Lycoming. It has horizontal induction with an AFP 150 injection system and was assembled and tested by Allan Barrett at BPE. I was present in Tulsa for the dyno run with both engines, the entire process at BPE is first class from start to finish.

Earlier this week I spent much time rigging the elevators and rudder. What cost some time was having to remove the rudder and VS to rivet the elevator stops. When the HS was installed the plan said the stops could be riveted later so it did not get done since the elevators were not attached at that time. I promptly forgot to do it until setting he elevator up-down limits. The plan is correct in stating the stops can not be riveted in with the VS attached.

The left rudder stop had to be rebuilt as too much of it was trimmed the first time around. Hint - it does not take much trimming to move the rudder from 2" elevator clearance to .75" clearance. The plan says 1" is minimum so the darn thing had to be redone.

Now that that canopy is relatively completed, I feel like I have a get-out-of-jail pass. The canopy is my least favorite task right after pro sealing the tanks. But it is all part of the 51% rule, so we do it and move on. :)

Actually, this is a slow build from the get go and is at least a 75% build, but still a dream compared to the 98% build of the -3. My hat is off to guys doing it, I do not have the patience to manufacture all the parts.




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You are one speedy builder David. Not so long ago (Jan 2012) you had the only empennage. First flight Jan 2014 is my guess :)
 
Began the cowl install today after taking some time off to enjoy a visit of granddaughters and their parents from California. They were here a week, sure is quiet since they left. :)

I did get some things done during that time - mostly wiring. So far all circuits work including the starter. Would you believe an Odyssey 680 purchased in 2005 is still holding a charge,I may just go with it for a while to see how it holds up.

Fuel lines were also installed. Decided to mount the red cube vertically between the FM150 controller and the purge valve as per AFP recommendation. Fuel lines were made up by Tom at TS Flightlines, excellent service, ordered on July 4 and they were shipped on July 5. One of the lines to the red cube was 1.25" too long due to my error but it is being shortened at no charge - what a deal!

Catto shipped the prop, a 3 blade with nickel, it will be here on the 19th.

Wings will go on as soon as the cowl install is completed.

Moving forward - no OSH for me this year - like I told one inquiring mind on that subject, to go there and look at flying RV's would be a downer. I need to get this machine flying, not waste time looking at airplanes.

NOTE: the spinner to cowl gap is set at .25" and it looks a bit out of wack at the bottom. That's due to the clamps holding the cowl to the back plate. When they are removed the that part of the cowl lip goes back where it belongs, quarter inch from the back plate. The aft edge of the cowl was trimmed late today and fits quite well but will fit even better with a little more sanding of the edge. The front of the cowl is set about 1/8" to 3/16" below the spinner back plate to allow for engine sag as per the plan.










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34 hours and the cowl is hung

It took more time than anticipated.

The oil check door took 5 hours today, I'm slowing down, maybe its the heat.

The hinge pins are tight but that's how it is at first. After a few flights, the Lycoming will shake them a bit and they loosen up.

Speaking of the Lycoming, I sure hope it settles a quarter inch or so. It is riding high right now in accordance with the plan.

The overall install went well after I figured out how to get started. The plan is rather primitive and the best info available is right here under "cowling" search. Dan Horton has an excellent image that was worth many words, at least to me, on getting the two pieces aligned for trimming. I had the parts on and off at least 10 times sanding edges and like the canopy, finally quit. It is not perfect, but perfect enough for me.

I like the front area shot - this airplane does not have much barn door effect, its frontal area very appealing. :)




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Dave,
The cold front has come and the temps are now acceptable. No excuses for the heat this week! Seriously, it looks great! IIRC, my engine dropped around 1/8".
Bill
 
This RV-8 has brakes!

The Grove gear leg with internal brake fluid routing is not Vans standard so the line to the brake housing had to be created or use a flex line of some sort. The line I made is longer than what would exist with a Vans leg so I believe there is plenty of flex. It also fits nicely inside the strut between the wheel pants bracket and the leg.

Servicing the system took less than 10 minutes with a hydraulic service kit borrowed from friend Roger Mell.

The brakes work, my wife pushed the RV and it stopped it immediately with peddle pressure. No leaks so far. :)

Note: If you go with the Grove system, do yourself a favor, install the fittings before the wheels are mounted to the leg. I had to remove the entire wheel system to get the fittings installed.



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tkatc said:
Looks good David. How did you route the brake lines at th top of the Grove gear legs?
Click to expand...

Installed a 90? fitting, aimed it up, enlarged the floor hole bit and connected the aluminum line coming down in the tower. So far, so good, no leaks. I was concerned about getting the connection tight enough as it is a tight area.

Got the idea from another guy here on the forum, I am not the first to do it that way.
 
You wouldn't have a picture would you? I just installed the fuel pump and filter. Tomorrow I start bending and flaring fuel lines....then it's on to the brake lines.
 
Tony,

This is the best I can do on an image of the connection at the top of the Grove gear leg.

The line coming down in the tower is pretty standard, just leave it long enough to get a fitting on it.

I had to remove some material to get the fitting turned up, if it is installed before the leg goes in, that won't be necessary. I can not remember for sure but I think the hole in the floor was there for the fitting if Vans gear system were used.

I tried a photo from inside the tower but it did not come out.





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Loud and Clear....

....always a good response to hear on first radio check. One of my neighbors did the honors broadcasting from one hangar to another.

I spent most of this week in the electric system including installing antennas for the Becker Com and Transponder and the ELT.

The Becker 4201 has an intercom feature so there are separate PTT's for it. The back seat guy can talk on intercom but not the radio.

It all works, I lucked one more time wiring the headset jacks and PTT's.

There aren't many options for antennas with the 8. All have to be aft of the spar as there is a double floor forward of it. I ordered 5' antenna cable from Stein thinking it would be plenty long - wrong, a couple extensions will be ordered next week.

Next week will be wing install or engine baffle, have not decided yet.
 
So far, 47 hours installing the baffle system. Seems like it would never end but there is rubber going in on the top so it must be coming to a conclusion.

It is one tedious, repetitive, boring task getting the aluminum parts to fit inside the top cowl. One day it was on and off at least 29 times.

Finally, enough is enough and removed the entire system, trimmed a quarter inch to half inch all around, smoothed all the rough cut edges, reinstalled it, and hallelujah - the top cowl went on all around with about 1/2" clearance except one little hang up at the front.

Then it was get the oil cooler brace and doubler installed and rivet all the corners that had been clecoed. Today I manufactured the 4 rods and cut the 6-40 threads. That took 4 hours.

This evening the baffle rubber material install was started, 3" strips riveted every 1.5". This part is really easy and should be knocked off tomorrow.

It's been 17 days since the baffle effort was started but some of that time was spent flying. One day it was an instruction period in an RV-6, I can land that beast if I put my mind to it, and yesterday it was with a friend in the Cozy MKIV I built 16 years ago. That machine still takes 3000' to get off with 2 guys but once in the air zips right along like always. At one point years ago, I knew the airplane intimately but now it seems foreign after the RV experience. It definitely is COZY with 2 guys.










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The baffle install is finally completed after some 51 hours. I tried to do it by the book except the inside front end. Not too sure which way air flows in that area and the plan is not much help. There is an opening going down toward the alternator, than can't be all bad.

Today, friend Dale Baldwing stopped by and in 45 minutes we had both wings installed, although temporarily. Now that's progress compared to the time to do the baffle. :)

I tried every way to figure a method to get the bottom skins drilled and plate nuts attached to the wing rib without removing the wing, but it can not be done. So the wings will come off in a week or so to install the necessary fasteners. There is a lot of other stuff to be accomplished, like rig the flaps, rig the ailerons, install fairings, check wing incidence, drill the aft spar, attach the forward fuel tank bracket and fit each fuel line to its respective tank. But it is interesting stuff and should move right along.




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Dave,
It sure looks good! I bet it feels even better than it looks! It won't be long now before its flying and the build will be a memory. I almost flew over today, but ran out of time.
Bill
 
David-aviator said:
...I tried every way to figure a method to get the bottom skins drilled and plate nuts attached to the wing rib without removing the wing, but it can not be done. So the wings will come off in a week or so to install the necessary fasteners. ...
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I may regret it when it come time to fit the wing root fairings, but I'm installing those nutplates during wing construction.
 
This is the F-872CPP (flap fairing) installed on the right side.

Evidently this fairing is important on the RV-8, that's why it is there but not on the RV-7. As you can see, I attached it with LP4-3 blind rivets. Here's why.

When installing the aft floor, the plan calls for riveting it later. But it also calls for installing the flap bearing blocks so the flaps can be installed and rigged later. The problem I had with all this is it is a lot of work installing the flap bearing blocks and removing them so I opted to rivet the floor and install the blocks and not have to remove them or the floor later. The reason for all this extra work are the flap fairings, the plan calls for them to be installed with -3 flush rivets which need to be bucked from below the floor.

The fairings will not leave the airplane installed with LP-4 blind rivets, I am certain of that. I also roughly calculate the LP-4 rivet drag will result in a loss of .00001 knots of airspeed. Who knows, the mysteries of air flow and drag are profound and there may actually be an increase in speed. :) The issue here is getting this machine certified and flying ASAP. As I recall, a call to Vans on this issue revealed it is not big deal.

Rigging the flaps also required a call to Vans.

The flaps are rigged in the up position to the ailerons. The ailerons were rigged according to the specs in the plan, max up and max down, the same on both sides, etc. The problem was the flaps up did not fare against the bottom of the fuselage, they were down about a quarter inch. The ailerons could have been rigged up more to get the flaps to come up to the fuselage but that would have resulted in the ailerons being out of tolerance, so the answer I got was, this is kind of normal, it is no big deal. The flaps could be pulled up more to meet the fuselage but then they would not be aligned with the ailerons. It is better aerodynamically to have them aligned with the ailerons than not. So that's how they are rigged.

The wings are almost ready to be removed so the all the plate nuts can be installed on the inside. Also, the fuel lines will be cut to length, and flared with appropriate fittings. Next time the wings go on they will be there permanently as far as I am concerned.

Oh, another issue with stick length has come to light. The front stick for sure is too long, it will not clear the instrument panel without cutting it down. I cut it down but after installing the PTT cap, it is still too long by about 1/8th of an inch. When you cut yours down, make sure to take enough of it as doing it the second time after the grip and PTT are installed is a pain in the butt. Also, check the back seat stick, my DAR does not like it hitting the front seat back rest.






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longranger said:
I may regret it when it come time to fit the wing root fairings, but I'm installing those nutplates during wing construction.
Click to expand...

Miles, it probably will work but you will have to match drill those holes in any event and also, the wings will have to come off to install the plate nuts for the aft and forward fairings on the the top and around the leading edge of the wing. If you have not installed the plate nuts, it would be better to wait. The forward screw hole is use to align the fairing coming around the leading edge and a number 30 hole would be easier to cleco.

PS Back up one page for commentary on the flap fairings and flap alignment...it went in the same time as this message.
 
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I DID say I might regret it...

My thought was to back drill the fairings through the plate nuts if necessary. A #30 cleco works nicely in a #8 plate nut. I'll keep what I have for now and see how it goes.
 
Since the last post about 3 weeks ago, the wings have been reinstalled after match drilling for the farings and installing many plate nuts. (I put out a local call for a couple guys to help with the wings - six showed up, it took all of 20 minutes to do the job. It was in the evening and the day was closed out with one beer each, its all I had on hand.)

The ailerons and flaps are rigged and hooked up and the center section wires are connected for nav/strobe lights. Wires are also connected for landing lights but the lights will go in later. I hooked up the pitot source in the left wing for the Vans ASI and also installed a pitot tube in the right wing for the GRT Sport EFIS. I figure it makes no sense to have two ASI's connected to the a single pitot tube. A couple adel clamps were attached to the floor to keep the wires and pitot tubes below the aileron push tubes.

The air filter (snorkle) for the horizontal FI intake was installed today after a lot of work. It fits well except for the bottom starter attach lug that is not used. I considered cutting it off, but decided to cut a hole in the snorkle to make provision for it and glassed the hole shut using removable ping-pong ball to make the indentation. The metal work at the intake was extensive and slightly not like the plan drawings. The filter area is somewhat forward and left of where it shows in the drawings but I've installed the lower cowl and it firs nicely - lucked out on that one. :)

The snorkle is painted on the outside but not the inside, don't want anything coming loose and jamming the fuel controller.



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Several tough tasks were completed recently.

The AFP system I have has the purge valve so a return line is necessary. When the tanks were built, a fitting was installed at the top inboard baffle of the left tank for that purpose. This week a line was routed from the flow divider to that tank fitting so that is accomplished. From the divider to the aft engine baffle a piece of Vans 1/4" oil pressure line was used to a pass through fitting and the same on down to the firewall to get the flow aft of the firewall. From there back through the left gear tower a piece of 1/4" fuel vent line was used to the fitting at the fuselage side and then to the tank. By-pass fuel is not much so it is no big deal going to one tank, but it is also not a big deal to keep the fuel valve on the left tank if it is full.

The throttle and mixture cables are installed. There is no pre manufactured bracket for the Superior horizontal cold air sump that I know of. I had the same set up with the -7 and had to make the bracket. It is of 1/8" 2024 T3 and almost as strong as steel. The only issue is vibration and it will be an item of inspection. I am confident it will be OK. Hear shields will go in as the exhaust system is within an inch of some parts of it.



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I did a trial fit of the Catto this week...it fits just fine. :)



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First engine run...a-ok

The engine came to life today.

The only discrepancy was an idle speed of 1000 rpm, which is easily fixed. It ran so well, I taxied it for about 10 minutes.

Notice the wing tip fairings are missing, it occurred to me this could be the first clipped wing RV-8. :)

The engine is a Barret Superior XP IO360 with a cold air sump, AFP fuel injection, a purge valve and roller tappets. I like the purge valve and used the same procedure as starting the -7A, it worked today, the engine came to life with no trouble whatever.

BPE is the cats meow for an engine, you know the thing is solid after an hour and half on the dyno including a power run at 75%.

The engine is running but there is much work remaining including all those plate nuts to be installed on the wing tip fairings. That will begin tomorrow.




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Well, I did not go to the wing tips and plate nuts as planned. but installed the cowling and spinner instead and went on a short tour around the airpark.

The bottom cowl was very difficult to get in place with the prop and spinner installed, some adjustments with the cowl and the forward engine baffle will be made to make that task a bit easier. The spinner needs trimming as it extends aft of the aft bulkhead about a 1/4", it makes for a mighty tight fit.

Also, the rudder pedals were moved aft so I can reach them better. TIP: stay with the inflight adjustable pedals, the ground adjustable pedals are not easy to move. I still do not recall why I made the switch to what I have - I know before installing them I called Vans about switching back to the kit standard which is the inflight adjustable unit, and it would have cost over $500 to do so, so I did not go that route. I must have had a senior moment when deciding to do what I did with the original order.

Taxiing this beast is a lot different that the -7A. The nose is high, I have to do slight S turns to see where we are going. There is a lot to learn before I launch this machine. Fortunately there is a very good tail wheel instructor local, so I will be getting acquainted with this configuration in his -6 and he also has a cub.

The airplane is not ready for certification, I don't even have the N numbers installed but it is registered as N37DD. I did weigh it a few weeks back and it came in at 1020#. The RT wheel was 485, the LT one 483, and the tail 52. I have not run a CG calculation but do the have the reference numbers to do so one of these days.




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TIP: stay with the inflight adjustable pedals, the ground adjustable pedals are not easy to move. I still do not recall why I made the switch to what I have
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I did weigh it a few weeks back and it came in at 1020#.
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I would guess you went for the "Ground Adjustable" for weight reasons, given the very impressive low weight you have achieved ;)
 
Andy Hill said:
I would guess you went for the "Ground Adjustable" for weight reasons, given the very impressive low weight you have achieved ;)
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Could be that was the reason as weight control has been a priority.

I was a little surprised at the 1020 number myself but the scales from Chapter 32 are electronic and no one has questioned their accuracy. The wheel pants and fairings were loaded on the airplane as were interior panels and seats. There's no paint and the IP.is bare bones VFR with the GRT Sport EFIS and EIS 4000, one Becker radio and transponder, and a Trio auto pilot.

The proof of the matter will be how well it performs with the Catto. :)
 
David-aviator said:
the ground adjustable pedals are not easy to move.
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David, I will soon order the fuse and was debating with myself about the pedals.

I beleive that I will the sole pilot about 95% of the time.

I don't mind the extra cost, but would prefer not spending cash on something I or others won't use...

What are the difficulties with moving the pedals??

Thanks for your time!!

Best regards
 
riseric said:
David, I will soon order the fuse and was debating with myself about the pedals.

I beleive that I will the sole pilot about 95% of the time.

I don't mind the extra cost, but would prefer not spending cash on something I or others won't use...

What are the difficulties with moving the pedals??

Thanks for your time!!

Best regards
Click to expand...

The pedal assembly is bolted to the floor structure and can be adjusted fore and aft by removing 4 bolts. The bolts can be reached by wiggling forward from the front seat area or by reaching down from the forward bag compartment with the bag area panels removed. I did manage to get both arms down to the floor through the bag door but it was tight.

Actually, it is no big deal once they are set.

I think some pilots like the in flight adjustable version because the pedals can be moved forward for more leg room on a long flight. The ground adjustable version is old plan, it is not part of the current plan and has separate install instructions. The fuselage is drilled and ready for the in flight adjustable version. I have holes in the floor that are not used with the ground adjustable pedals.
 
David,

Nice build! I've enjoyed reading this thread and checking out the pictures. Are you building at M71? I've been considering joining EAA 32 at the encouragement of a couple coworkers.
 
pilotpip said:
David,

Nice build! I've enjoyed reading this thread and checking out the pictures. Are you building at M71? I've been considering joining EAA 32 at the encouragement of a couple coworkers.
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Phil,
I live at the Troy Airpark MO2 which is about 10 miles north of MO71. Chapter 32 is located at Smartt Field as you probably know. There also is a chapter of local guys at Troy.
 
Ok. I've been out of GA for years but M71 used to be my "If you can land here without my intervention you are ready to solo" airport.

Again, very nice aircraft!
 
Both wing tips are now installed with 38 #6 plate nuts each.

Also installed are the nav/strobe/tail light assemblies - and they work. They are AVEOFLASHLP LSA from ACS. They draw 1.65 amps max, are hooked up with #20 wire, require no remote power source, lighter and less complex than Whelan systems I've used in the past. The strobe flash is so strong one should not look at it, I am amazed this is possible at such a low power level. The nav lights are also quite bright.

RED is left and GREEN is right, right? :)

No landing lights but there is wire from cabin switch to wing tip for now.



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The number one exhaust pipe is about 1" from the FM150 fuel controller so some heat shielding is in order. The fuel line running up to the flow divider is wrapped with fire sleeve and 2 Vans heat shields are installed on the pipe. There are 3 more heat shields on the pipes protecting the throttle and mixture cable assemblies. There is little guidance on this stuff so one has use common sense and protect what needs protecting. I like the Vans heat shields.

The cabin heat system is installed and so is the alternate air feature of the snorkel intake. The RV-8 plan gives no guidance on where to run the cables for these systems so one has to wag it, cabin heat is on the lower right console, alternate air and the purge valve are on the the lower left console.

The "EXPERIMENTAL" placards are installed. The only place with enough area is on the interior side walls at the back seat. I looked at many RV-8 pictures on the forum and did not see a single experimental sticker but I am sure they are somewhere in the cabin.

Getting closer to final inspection....:)

But it is also getting closer to winter around here, temp was 65F today and it will be in the 20's with snow in about 48 hours.



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Colder than a well diggers butt....

Just 8 days ago when my wife took this picture it was 69?. It's about 2 above this morning. What ever happened to global warming?!!

The hangar is cold, mighty cold right now but I am getting some tasks accomplished. The empennage fairing has been trimmed and match drilled and nut plates will go in next. Also installed a canopy aft stop so it will not contact that fairing when full open. The engine is running ok but I have not had it to high power yet, just up to 1600 rpm for a mag check. Fuel pressure, oil pressure, and temperature indications all appear quite normal at this point.

Other than that, I've been making beeswax candles for my grown kids for Christmas. One of them requested same so I finally got around to a back burner project of making candles - I've had a supply of raw beeswax for about 28 years since leaving Connecticut, it came from a beekeeper I knew in those days.

Amazing stuff, it never gets old or wears out. Honey bees are wonderful creatures. My oldest son owns a bee-honey business on the big island in Hawaii. We were over there for a visit recently and came away knowing a lot more about bees than before. www.rarehawaiianhoney.com



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