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dspender

Well Known Member
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Getting psyched up to place my first order with Van's for the 9A empennage. When I order this, along with all the tools I'm going to need to begin construction, are there additional considerations (ie purchases) I need to complete the empennage? Ie, do lights, antennas, autopilot stuff need to be installed in the empennage, and therefore be ordered, before the skins are finally closed over? I am trying to get an estimate what my cost may approach for completion of this first phase.
 
You don't need lights or antenna to complete the aluminum structure. Before you attach the the fiberglass rudder bottom, you need to determine which lights you want to use. Since there are a lot of advancements being made on lighting systems, it would be wise to delay that decision for a while. There are many other reasons to delay the install of the rudder bottom.

The only antenna consideration might be a VOR antenna - if you want one. Even for that you don't need the antenna until much later. If you think you may want a VOR antenna on the top of the VS, drilling some holes for the antenna wire and installing the grommets would make life easier when you get around to installing the antenna.
 
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I have always flown with a VOR. What are reasons I would not want one? Does having a glass cockpit, which is my wish, preclude having a VOR? Does the VOR antenna usually get placed in the HS? Wouldn't I need to install the VOR antenna in the HS before I close up the skins? Where would I drill holes for grommets if I wanted to do this in the future? I know this is a lot of questions, but I am just getting started. Thanks for your patience.
 
jbird

dspender said:
Getting psyched up to place my first order with Van's for the 9A empennage. When I order this, along with all the tools I'm going to need to begin construction, are there additional considerations (ie purchases) I need to complete the empennage? Ie, do lights, antennas, autopilot stuff need to be installed in the empennage, and therefore be ordered, before the skins are finally closed over? I am trying to get an estimate what my cost may approach for completion of this first phase.
Click to expand...

I have a mostly completed empennage that you could have for far less than starting one from scratch and am located in Wisconsin. Workmanship is very nice, only the fiberglass work needs to be done.
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dspender said:
I have always flown with a VOR. What are reasons I would not want one? Does having a glass cockpit, which is my wish, preclude having a VOR? Does the VOR antenna usually get placed in the HS? Wouldn't I need to install the VOR antenna in the HS before I close up the skins? Where would I drill holes for grommets if I wanted to do this in the future? I know this is a lot of questions, but I am just getting started. Thanks for your patience.
Click to expand...

Having a glass cockpit does not preclude having VOR.

Traditionally the VOR antenna would be placed at the top of VS (not the HS), similar to a type-certificated aircraft. If you choose this type of installation you would not need to install it before closing the aluminum skins.

Many RV builders are obsessed with avoiding all antennas or other protrusions from the skin. As a result, a different type of VOR antenna (the "Archer antenna") is placed inside one of the radio-transparent fiberglass wingtips.

The grommet holes would be in the ribs that run fore-and-aft in the VS.
 
Do the archer antennas work as well as conventional, external antennas mounted on the VS?
Would the grommets in the ribs be placed before the skins are attached(probably a dumb question) and would you run antenna wire through these to the fiberglass tips before place the skins on?
 
Dspender, as already said, you may want to place:
- a VOR antenna in the VS tip;
- a combo strobe/position light in the rudder fairing.

Now, at your stage, it is not necessary to buy them, since they will be simple upgrades.

I only suggest you, if you intend to install a VOR antenna, to pass a corrugated tube inside the VS leading edge (it is simpler, now), blocking it at least up and down. You will then easily pass through it the coax. cable later.

I guess a Bob Archer antenna will not fit inside the VS tip. The best place to put it is in one of the wing tips.

I put a "V" VOR antenna on the VS tip, making an U-shaped aluminium bracket to let its base rest on it. I then slotted the VS fairing to accomodate the base of the antenna.
 
VOR antenna

If you search the forum, you will find lots of discussion on Archer antenna vs. traditional antenna. I have an Archer antenna and it works but if I did it again, I'd go with a standard VOR antenna.

The down side of the standards antenna is that the base of standard VOR antenna's is larger then the top of the VS - so you have to fab a mount and cut the VS tip. Maybe new antenna maker, Don Pansier, will develop VOR antenna with a base that fits the top of our VS's.

Some people have put the VOR antenna on the bottom of the fuselage which also seems to work well.
 
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