[Mark Albery]

By way of background, I've been building upto now in a small (european style) single garage with additional workshop and storage space.

I've done most of the fuselage and have the finish kit due to ship in a couple of weeks. In order to have room to fit the empennage, I'm opening up the wall between the garage and adjacent workshop, but that won't yield enough space to install one, let alone both, wings.

So the question is - how far can I build on and what do I need to leave un-done before the whole project gets moved into a hangar for wing-fitting and completion?

I'm guessing that the main floor panels should be left uninstalled, but is there anything else that I should consider?

 

[Jaypratt]

wings

You should not rivit the baggege floors in yet. The fuel lines will be in the way of the wing bolts. Pick a nice couple of days and fit your wings out side. Fit the flaps and the tank brackets, drill the root farings. You can do ALL the nut plates [wing root] on the wings before the first fitting'
Remove your wings and move ahead.....

 

[Rick6a]

There's No Place Like Home

Mark,

My workspace situation is not unlike yours. Attaching the wings in my so-called "2" car garage for final fit is out of the question. The airplane has to go in nose first and sideways with the spinner touching the wall just to get the door closed. After fitting and rigging the elevators, I had to remove them just to provide adequate walk-around clearance. Still, it is entirely reasonable to have most tasks completed in your garage short of fitting and attaching the wings at the hangar. That means over 95% of the work can be done at home which includes hanging the engine and prop, all FWF work, all plumbing, the instrument panel, interior, canopy/windscreen, and fiberglass work on the wheel pants, canopy skirt, wingtips, empennage and gear leg fairings. In my case, I made all floors removable with screws and nutplates and associated wing wiring and accessories will require little more than "plugging in" the various circuits which include nav lights and strobes, OAT, VOR antenna, AOA, and the pitot system tubing mated to a bulkhead fitting at the wing root when the pre-wired wings are permanently attached. I happen to agree with the widely accepted notion that most builders tend to get things done better and more efficiently when the project is at home as opposed to coping with the time/distance equation and inherent distractions of a typical airport environment. Count me among those who enjoy the convenience of working on the project at my pleasure amid the comforts of home. This time around I feel no sense of urgency to make that big move out to the hangar and then almost certainly finding myself experiencing the "empty nest" syndrome all over again.

 

[Rivethead]

HUh?

Wait a minute Rick. Is that a magnetometer? If it is; doesn't it need to be turned 90 deg. to have the socket pointed forward?

 

[Rick6a]

....Is that a magnetometer? If it is; doesn't it need to be turned 90 deg. to have the socket pointed forward?

Jim,

Its just sitting there temporarily so I could fire up and test the Dynon. That remote compass module will be permanently installed on an outboard wing rib when its proper orientation relative to the D100 can be more easily determined.

 

[Mark Albery]

Jay, Rick,

Thanks for the responses. I'll heed your advice and carry on with as much as possible without wing fitting.
Rick, your workspace looks positively commodious compared to mine, but I think I'll manage for a while longer. Unfortunately, I don't have the outdoor space for the job either.
On another point. I notice that your dummy spars have been taken out of the centre section. Is that OK to do once all the surrounding rivetting is finished?
I would presume so, but haven't seen any comments on the matter.

 

[Rick6a]

False Spar

......I notice that your dummy spars have been taken out of the centre section. Is that OK to do once all the surrounding rivetting is finished?.......

Mark,

Actually, four small wood blocks planed to spar thickness are installed and will not be removed until the wing fitting.

​

 

[glider4]

Hope you guys are right about waiting!

My RV-8A is on the gear and I'm in the middle of wiring. I was not able to get the wings mounted before moving everything to the hanger. Fuselage floor is open and I can get to where the spar bolts are suppose to go.

I assumed that I would have to raise the fuselage a couple inches to get it off the gear off the ground and get everything level. For those of you that have done this, how hard is it to attach wings with the fuselage raised this high?

Albert Thomas
N880AT
RV-8A QB
Never ending wiring