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Van's practice kit not very useful (for an RV-12 build)

FlyingDiver

Well Known Member
RV-12iS kits on order, got the practice kit and toolbox in and started to work on them...

Can't do the practice kit per the instructions. I don't have any way to dimple the interior sections of the skins, nor rivet anything that can't be reached with a squeezer. :(

I have some cheap aluminum pulled rivets, so I'm considering just using those and pretend they're real rivets.

The toolbox looks doable per the instructions. Except maybe the handle clips.
 
Wouldn't do me any good. I don't have a c-frame or DRDT-2, nor a rivet gun. Not needed for an RV-12.

Oops. I misunderstood what you linked. Yeah, that would let me dimple the skins. Then use pull rivets. Not sure it's worth the effort since the RV-12 doesn't do that.
 
Best prep I did for building the 12 was the EAA weekend course on RV building. They provided all the tools and the instructor was great.
 
Synergy Air classes

I took the fundamentals class at Synergy Air in Newnan, Georgia, not that far from Florida. They do builder assist, and have a BUNCH of RV projects there!
They provide all the tools to complete the one day fundamentals class. Plus, they manufactured SLSA RV12’s for quite a while, so you can pick their brains all day long, and get real answers. (No, I have no interest in them, just my opinion.)

https://synergyair.com/
 
Not sure it's worth the effort since the RV-12 doesn't do that.

I could swear there were at least one or two places where l had to dimple where a squeezer wouldn't reach, but I could be losing my mind.

There are multiple solutions, but I prefer this bucking block set that you just use with a hammer. It's also handy for dimpling nutplates if you don't want to countersink them. Personally I found countersinking them to be a PITA and very hard on the bit, but a lot of people prefer that method.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/pages/to/buckingbars/buckingblocks.php
 
I did just what you are proposing. I dimpled everything, then squeezed all the rivets I could reach (then drilled them all out and did it again), then I ordered some inexpensive flush blind rivets from McMaster-Carr to finish the project. I figured it's a practice project, and blind rivets are what I'll be using, so why not? It was a little disappointing that the project didn't indicate that it couldn't be done with the same tools needed for the RV-12, but in the end I got to try all the techniques I hope I'll need for riveting. Now I'm using it to try different primers and paints. It won't be a pretty toolbox when I'm done, but for me the point was to have an inexpensive way to learn and make mistakes that I won't fret over later.
 
For future reference-
The OP-51 practice project is the one that was developed specifically for someone planning to build an RV-12.
It actually originated for use in the first RV-12 teen build project done here at Van's Aircraft, and has been used in 50+ since then as well as by many solo builders.
 
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