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Steps for 9A

Bmac

Member
Patron
Maybe it is too early in the morning… It is not apparent to me that I have a narrative for installing the steps. Is there guidance somewhere for that? I am beginning to assemble the center fuselage and want to make sure that I get it right for sequencing in the step assembly. Thanks
 
I have the RV-9 taildragger and no steps so I may be wrong but the steps are not part of the standard kit. They are a (I forget what Van's calls them) accessory. So the instructions are probably a separate addendum like most of the other accessories.
 
Maybe it is too early in the morning… It is not apparent to me that I have a narrative for installing the steps. Is there guidance somewhere for that? I am beginning to assemble the center fuselage and want to make sure that I get it right for sequencing in the step assembly. Thanks

I just did mine on my 6A this year. Lesson learns for me: make the cut out hole bigger than you think. It's scary but it's needed LOL. Do all bending, testing fitment before any paint. You will need to primer then ASAP as they will start to rust within a week or so from arrival.

DO NOT do any final paint work before they are installed. I finished mine and it cost me many hours of redoing paint. Lay 1-2 coats of base paint , install them, tape off and cover the airplane and finish paint/clear coat. What happened to me was when driving the rivets it flake the paint. I tried touching up and it looked like ****. so I had to strip the plate and fad the paint to the leg support and reclear. What a PITA!!!

Buy stubby drill bits and a right angle drill attachment.

I doubled up on the UHMW blocks , a lot of stress in that area that I wanted distributed out for my heavier passengers that fly sometimes.

My Wife is small, so she was able to finish all the pop rivets for me and did a great job putting the baggage compartment back together.

I'm not a builder or have ever bucked a rivet in my life so you pros take it easy on me :D

Attached is the PDF for installing the steps from vans.
 

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RV9 Steps

After the cracking of the early iteration, I decided to put mine in with AN4 titanium screws. Now, they can be removed for repair or repainting.
Terry
 
I have steps on my 6. I had them cut 4” shorter by the manufacturer but had to order thru vans. Makes entry much easier for me and my passengers. Good luck.
 
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