[Andrew Griffin]

G'Day all,

I am about to attach the Vertical Stab to my RV-8 QB fuse however I have found something that I think may be a mistake from the QB factory. I have emailed Vans and I am waiting for a reply however in the meantime I thought I would get your thoughts.

The instructions on page 8-55 clearly state that you drill the 3 quarter inch bolt holes through the vertical stabilser rear spar, the F-812-1 Bulkhead assembly and the WD-409 Tailspring mount only once the vertical stabiliser has been attached to the fuselage using the #30 locating hole in the VS rear spar, clamped the front spar and the VS measured for equal distance to the horizontal stabilser ends. It says to drill the bolt holes first in #30 then in 1/4 inch through the vertical stabiliser rear spar, the F-812-1 Bulkhead assembly and the WD409 tailspring mount from the outside in.

Here is my problem: My F-812-1 Bulkhead assembly and WD409 tailspring mount have already been drilled 1/4 inch by the quickbuild factory (See attached photo). I am unable to get a drill into the space to drill from the inside out of the fuselage to match drill these holes into the Vertical Stabiliser as the Vertical Stabiliser will be in the way and the space is too small for anything I have to drill with. Can anyone please advise me if this is/was the same with their QB fuselage?

Does anyone have any suggestions regarding drilling the holes to match, either some sort of drill to get into the fuse so I can match drill using the existing holes or some ingenious way of match drilling the holes from the outside in. I have ruled out marking the holes with a marker and drilling the VS rear spar off the fuse as I don't think it is an accurate enough method for this particular application.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I will post the response from Vans when I get it.

Regards,

Andy Griffin

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[phapp]

90 Degree Drill

Andrew,

If it was me, I'd use a 90 degree drill, (included in my initial tool set from Avery). I also have an inexpensive 90 degree attachment for my cordless from a building supply / hardware store.

I checked on my QB and both would fit/work. If it was me, I would probably only get the center marked with a larger bit, and then work up from #30 to final size. Perhaps move to drilling from the VS spar side after the first hole.

Vans or someone more experienced may have better advice.

 

[skyking902001]

Had the same issue

I had the exact problem on my -8. I called Van's and they said some of the QB's had slipped out of the factory with this issue. May or may not have been corrected in the later kits. Check following link to my kit-log as to how I handled the issue. Turned out to be a non event. Good luck with your build.


http://www.mykitlog.com/users/display_log.php?user=skyking90200&project=832&category=6867&log=133760&row=180

 

[Kato's 8]

Mine was the same too. Take a look at Steve's log for a fine example of how to do it. I think its a good idea to line the tail wheel bracket holes up and tighten some bolts up and then install them keeper rivits to keep it there when the bolts are out. Then find an angle drill attachment for the drilling from inside. A bushing guide that fits in those 1/4 inch holes works well.
Good luck!

 

[Andrew Griffin]

G'Day Steve, Bill and Phapp,

Thank you for your replies. I am yet to hear from Vans however I have started planning the process for attaching the VS based on your advice.

I had a very good look at your kitlog Steve. It was very helpful. When I compared the condition of your WD-409 Tail Spring Mount to mine I was once again disappointed. Whilst I have been very happy with the overall quality of the QB kit so far, this area has been sub-standard on my particular kit. My tailspring mount weldment has not been properly primed before being installed and hence now has surface corrosion where there was no primer, the edges of the weldment have not been edge de-burred and therefore have cut marks on them and the weldment needs shimming as it does not sit against with the bulkheads perfectly. (This last one is not a biggy, it was also mentioned in another thread about possible oversights people were experiencing in the RV-8 QB fuses circa 2010.) Here in the link:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=70213&highlight=2010

I spent today sanding off the corrosion and making the shim for the gap. I managed to get the dremel flexi hose attachment into the space and have cleaned up the edges of the tailspring mount as best I can where it hadn't been deburred. I then bolted the shim in and with all the bolts/holes aligned properly I have installed the countersunk keeper rivets between the rear bulkhead and tail spring mount. Tomorrows job is to spray the area with fresh primer and then work on attaching the HS. Following that I will be drilling the VS attach holes as you guys have suggested (90 deg drill and bushings ordered today).

Once it is finished I will post some pictures of the finished job in case anyone else has this problem.

In the meantime are 2 pictures of the condition of the tailspring mount before I set out rectifying the problems. As a quick side note I checked out a mates RV-8 QB fuse kit yesterday. His Tailpring mount also isn't primed properly and has surface corrosion forming, however it is on the flange, not on the tube like mine. For such a critical area and on a component that has no other corrosion protection I thought more attention would have been paid to this by the QB factory.

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Once again guys, thanks for your replies and help!!

Regards,

Andy.