RV-7 Andrew Z #73658

[Bullseye]

Post Title: Rolled Rudder Leading Edge
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Fri, 02 Apr 2010 03:00:07 +0000
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All I came out to the shop today for was to roll the leading edge and set the 25 measly little blind rivets. This should be simple, right?

WRONG.

This was by far my worst building night so far in the project (although any night building is better than a night not building). So frustrating. There was a point where I thought I had mangled the skins so badly that I was going to have to build a new rudder. Read on.

First thing, I've read to go ahead and drill all of the holes to #30 and deburr now, because if you wait until after rolling, you may enlarge the holes and/or have a very hard time deburring the holes you've matchdrilled.
Two hard to reach rivets bucked.?


Here they are from the right lower side of the rudder skins. (I haven't been using blue tape on the rudder as much and this is a mistake. I know it would have been a lot of blue tape, but it makes the skins look so much nicer. I will be using tape again after riveting to protect the skins.) I don't think the rudder is going to end up polished, but I just hate the way those scratches look.
Nice and flush.


For the tip rivets (there were four that were hard to reach), I used a thin steel plate as a bucking bar for three of them, but then only had about 3/32" clearance between the unset rivet and the shop head from the set rivet on the other side. I improvised by using a backriveting plate, the right rudder skin, then the already set shop head, then a screwdriver, then the unset rivet, then the left skin and finally a flush set. This worked out really well.
My setup for riveting the last (aft) rivets on the rudder top.


Here's another shot with a flashlight assisting the digital macro setting on the camera. The point of the picture is the screwdriver, but it looks like I am going to have to replace that upper rivet on the right.
This worked well, but YIKES, look at that rivet on the right...also, the lower shop head doesn't look big enough. I'll get out the rivet set gage and test it.


Then, I turned the rod end bearings into the rudder by hand (I haven't made the rod-end bearing tool yet), and with about 30 seconds of trouble, I figured out a great way to slip the AN3 bolts into the hinges of the vertical stabilizer with the rudder attached.
Sweet. This is an awesome step in the project. My first assembly. And it moves!


The bearings aren't adjusted yet, and there are no fiberglass tips, but I'm so excited. More pictures!
A vertical picture. So nice...


And at the end of the night, I looked down and had spent an hour on the project. Look at that, I'm at exactly 100 hours! Two big accomplishments in one night. (Also, ten rivets. Don't want to belittle them by being more excited about the hours.)

To do:

?Clean up a few rivets
?clean and re-prime some bucking bar scuffing of the ribs
?Mount the fiberglass tips
?Figure out how the internal rudder stop works.
?Clean up some trailing edge dings.
?Do a couple more once-overs to clean up any edge issues throughout the empannage.
?Move on to the elevators.

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[Bullseye]

Post Title: Riveted E-615PP Trim Reinforcement Plate
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Wed, 07 Apr 2010 02:22:08 +0000
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WUHOO, tool order arrived!
3 things in the order, $154.90. Ouch.


Also included was this AWESOME sticker.
Where should I put this?

Here?

Here?

Here?

On the airplane? no.


Finally, the air compressor won.
Decorated air compressor.


Look at that beautiful tungsten bucking bar.
Old and new.


Also, I got two more dimple die sets. #6 and #8, on the right.
Just for comparison. #40, #30, #6, #8. Still need a #10.


Alright, back to work. First up, using the #6 dimple dies on the E-616PP Trim Cover Plate.
Nicely dimpled. I don't think it matters that you take off the blue vinyl. Maybe that was a bad idea.

[Bullseye]

Here's the bottom side (top side when mounted on the bottom of the elevator on the airplane).
Peeling off the blue vinyl.


Then, edge finished and scuffed for priming. I'm going to wait to prime this until I can actually by the electric trim motor since you have to drill more holes. Just thinking ahead: can I countersink and use NAS rivets for the trim motor mounting brackets? Nope. These are pretty structural (hold the motor, and therefore the trim tab, in place.) I'm sure those directions will confirm the need to dimple. I'll need to dimple E-616PP and the brackets that are used to attach the trim motor.
Ready for priming, except for all of the extra holes I have to drill, deburr, dimple, and rivet.



Same deal on E-615PP.
Ready for priming.

On the fancy priming stand.


After shooting primer to one side of E-615PP, I decided to add 4 holes for each of my new dimple die halves.
4 holes drilled.

Tada.


7/32" seems to work well for holes in a home-made dimple die holder stand.
7/32" is a good size hole for these.


Then, I shot primer on the other side of E-615PP. While I waited for that side to dry, I edge finished E-616PP.
Look at that nice edge. I love the scotchbrite wheel.


Now that E-615PP is dry, let's do some riveting! I grabbed the K1100-06 nutplates (or platenuts as Van calls them) and the 14 required rivets. Remember from March 28th, I am using NAS1097 rivets here.

I am going to be using NAS1097 rivets here (smaller head than AN426 rivets) so I can countersink (instead of dimple) the holes here. That saves me from having to dimple the nutplate ears, which will save me a lot of hassle.
I finally found the rivet callouts.

I thought that because I countersank (verb tense?) the reinforcement plate that the 3.5 would be way too long, but the -3 was definitely too short. I grabbed 14 NAS1097AD3-3.5 rivets.
-3.5 (length) should work here.

[Bullseye]

I put all of the nutplates in with a single cleco and a single rivet, taped into place before starting to squeeze them. I hindsight, I should have backriveted these. So dumb.
Half of them done.


Then I did the other half.
Nice and flush. There is one that is almost proud, but doesn't affect the cover plate, so I may not try to muck it up further by drilling it out. We'll see if I can sleep tonight.


Once I got those 14 set, I grabbed the An507-6R6 screws and got the cover plate screwed on.
Ready to screw down. see in the lower left where the shadow under E-616PP is a little bigger? The dimpling kind of warped the plate. I'll have to try to coax this flat again.


Instead of following the directions to start in on the stiffeners, I sorted through my lower workbench shelves and pulled out the parts for the right elevator skeleton. I just laid them on the (very dirty) workbench and grabbed this picture.
Right elevator skeleton, ready to rivet. Just kidding.


First up, prepare the two end ribs (edge finish, then flute).
Here they are (E-703 and E-704), sitting nice and flat with each other.


I can't remember why I took this picture. Maybe after I removed the blue vinyl?
right elevator spar.


Then, it's time to match-drill the two end ribs together.
The two end ribs clecoed together for match-drilling.


After that, they want you to cleco the two end ribs onto the rear spar. You can see some misalignment here.
See the spar flange hole and how it doesn't line up with the counterbalance rib?


I read on some other builders' sites that it was difficult to cleco the counterbalance skin on the rib assembly. I didn't have too much trouble, but it was definitely easier to work front to back.
Counterweight clecoed in.


Next (before going back to the counterweight for drilling), I clecoed on the inboard rib. These are matchrileld to #40, then dimpled and set with flush rivets on the front web of the spar. The reason? The elevator horn must sit flush on this surface. You'll see later.
E-709 Root rib clecoed on.

[Bullseye]

Now back to the counterweight. Van's wants you to matchdrill these to #12. I started with a #40 and worked my way up, blatantly ignoring the advice to use drill lubrication. Of course, I broke 3 bits before I subdued my own stubbornness and moved on to something else.
Broken bit, I need to get some Boelube.


I managed to get some locking needle-nose pliers around the bit and back it out slowly.


Anyway. I moved on to the skeleton.
Here's the skeleton clecoed together and match-drilled. You can see where the elevator horn will sit flush on the spar web necessitating the flush rivets between the spar and the root rib.


Then, I spent a little time inside on the stiffeners. I just rough cut them with snips to the general size.
These are for both elevators, some of these will be cut down further for the smaller required stiffeners between the trim spar and main spar on the left elevator.


2.0 hours today.
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[Bullseye]

Post Title: EAA 1426 Fly-in Drive-in
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Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:00:52 +0000
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So I'm writing this almost a week later, but I'll try to capture my experience last Saturday.

I woke up Friday afternoon set on having some contact with airplanes, so with a quick search of the EAA calendar, I had a fly-in-drive-in to attend. One of my buddies who owns a C182 was busy and said he wouldn't make it, so it looked like I would be driving.
Here's 7am in NC looking around my garage corner. Not too bad, although the fence needs painting. Maybe next year.


A half an hour (and Chik-Fil-A biscuit) later, heading north on 77 toward Pilot Mountain.
Look closely at the vehicle in front of me. ****, a State Trooper. no speeding today.

Another shot of pilot mountain.


Once in mountains, there are a couple nice vistas looking back toward the south and southeast.
77 looking south on the way up the mountains.


Once I pulled into the airport (Twin County, HLX), I met a couple people standing on the ramp and up pulls a beige 182 with a 3-bladed prop. Wait a minute, my buddy Jon has a beige C182 with a 3-bladed prop.
That plane looks familiar.

I wonder who is going to get out.

It's Jon!

(Had to get a picture of him standing straight up.)


Anyway, while I'm a member at EAA 1114, their meeting isn't until next weekend, and the EAA 1426 chapter fly-in promised pancakes. After some talking with Jon, we stumbled across this piece of machinery.

I'm going to try to capture the jokes about it. I take credit for none of them.
UFO (Unidentified Frying Object.)

[Bullseye]

So the joke goes that there was a retired Air Force officer who, as part of chapter 1426's winter activity list, designed and constructed this beast to contend with some of the other pancake cookers out there.

Someone made a pretty funny joke about it being a disc-shaped metal object seen near the airport, and that it was a UFO (Unidentified Frying Object.) I actually spilled a little coffee out my nose at this.

Somebody then pointed out that it must be an advanced design project from the Air Force.

The the Air Force guy piped up and said...
"Nope, it's leaking oil. Must be from the Navy."


Much giggling ensued. No offense to the Navy, or any armed services branch.

Anyway, I got a couple action shots. The cooking surface is a 3/8" aluminum disc (not aviation grade, the health department won't approve that as a cooking surface because of some anti-corrosion additives or something). I was interested in that, but couldn't find any more details. Anyway, th disc spins about 1 RPM, which, with 4 burners (note the manifold in the lower part of the next picture) at 90° from eachother, yields <counting>...18...19...20 pancakes every 3 minutes.

Two times around on the first side, then flip and one more time around.
Action shot! (That's a nice spatula, too.)

Look at how perfectly they are cooked.?


Anyway, I had to get a picture in front of it. Here I am, for only the second time in the blog. Sorry I didn't comb my hair.
Who, other than me, would say, "Hey Jon, take a picture of me with the pancake cooker!"

[Bullseye]

On the way home.


That's all. Now back to work on the airplane!
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[Bullseye]

Post Title: Right Elevator Stiffeners and Priming
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Tue, 13 Apr 2010 03:59:45 +0000
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Today was pretty boring. All I did was trim the aft end of right elevator's stiffeners and prime the two spar reinforcement plates.
Here's half of my right elevator stiffeners.


Of course, I finished deburring, edge finishing, and cleaning the two right elevator spar reinforcements. I even got the girlfriend involved. She took the parts inside and scrubbed them down with dawn. Now it really is "our" airplane.
Two spar reinforcements, primed on one side.


While that one side was drying, I finished up with the stiffener trimming. Here's a shot of my weapon of choice.
Stiffeners and snips.


After I finished my first 7 stiffeners, I laid them into the skin, just for kicks.
Stiffener work is boring, but it means that there is backriveting coming soon, and I love backriveting.


Drink of choice tonight (only during piddly stuff, never during "real" construction): Rum and Coke. Mmm. Rum.
Rum. Coke. Stiffeners. Sharpie. And a **** dirty workbench. (Those splotches are ski-wax drippings.)


Anyway, I think it was an hour tonight, including the 5 minutes of double duty with the girlfriend's help. I'm gonna get her to help more.
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[Bullseye]

Post Title: Right Elevator Stiffener Drilling and Dimpling
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Thu, 15 Apr 2010 02:10:48 +0000
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Another fairly boring night with right elevator stiffeners, but the end is near (end of right elevator stiffeners, not the whole airplane), so I'll keep plugging away.
My setup for drilling stiffeners. I used the cordless today so I wasn't making too much noise. I'm almost done with this side.


I matchdrilled every hole except for the last hole (closest to the trailing edge.) Some of these last holes are both pre-punched, and just need to be matchdrilled to final size, and some are missing the holes in the stiffeners. You have to use the skin to matchdrill the stiffener.
Down the right elevator.


I unclecoed most of the stiffeners and then re-clecoed the stiffeners (just at the ends) with the elevator off of the table so I can roll it over to drill.
Ready to flip over and matchdrill those last stiffener holes.


One picture of the last hole.
The hole at the end of the "3" is the one I need to matchdrill.


After that, I used a thick sharpie to trace the stiffeners to help with future devinyling. Then, I flipped the whole thing over to start on the other side. Same process, though.
About halfway done with this side.


Then, uncleco from the table to flip over and get the last hole.
Unclecoing from the last hole.


No big deal for you, but I marked all of the stiffeners correctly. The right elevator in the background is sitting upside-down (I just typed right-side-up, and had to change it. See, I'm still confused). Anyway, the ones on the table are on the top surface of the elevator, but the one in the foreground is marked the top ("Top, A"), but is actually the longest bottom stiffener.
This should be "BA" for "Bottom, A."


After finishing all of the stiffener drilling, I took them inside to deburr. After all of the deburring, I grabbed this shot of the placemat on the kitchen table. (Don't tell the girlfriend. I got it cleaned up.)
Aluminum shavings galore after deburring. This is kind of a stupid picture, but I already uploaded it, so I'm not going to hold back.


After deburring, I rubbed down the surface that needed to be dimpled, (not the perpendicular surface, and I definitely didn't do any edge-finishing).
Deburred and scuffed, ready for dimpling.