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Mopar591

Well Known Member
Ok, so heres the deal..
I am purchasing a late 80s RV-4 wing and empinage kit. The horizontal stabs are near compete and the wing spars are built..
I wanted to know if anyone knew of any changes they have made to the kits. Are the older wings are compatible with the newer fuselage? Are the spars and center section the for the older and newer kits the same?
 
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Very little change overall

Have no fear ! I have a mid 80s empenage, mid 90's fuselage,and early 2000 finish kit..all will be fine. The major changes are in the long vs. short landing gear, and you will not have a choice..it will be long as is standard with finish kits now I believe. Also, the fiberglass (cowling,wheelpants,tips and fairings)is much nicer than days of old. The main airframe is unchanged. All drawing revisions are available, and you can update yours if you have them.
 
For the better

The firewall/longeron weldments in the newer fuselage kits are beefier, and the old ones can be retro-fitted.If you dont have a fuselage yet, no worries. Your wing should have the center fuselage bulkhead included,as they are made up match drilled. If you do not have that, Vans will need to give you an undrilled one. The fuselage kit does not come with it. I assume you have all that, as well as the spar mate-up steel plates and bolts the go at the center and tie the two spars together on final assembly. That is the only common denominator to the wing and fuselage.
 
I'm picking it up this week, as soon as I get it to my shop I'm gonna inventory everything and buy what is missing.. It seems everything is there except minor hardware. Thanks for the help!
 
Mopar591 said:
I'm picking it up this week, as soon as I get it to my shop I'm gonna inventory everything and buy what is missing.. It seems everything is there except minor hardware. Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

Make certain that the main spar carrythrough and splice plates are included. As mentioned before it is a matched-set with the wing spars. You can buy an undrilled one from Vans and drill it yourself. However, If I were in that situation I would pass on a kit missing the center section or splice plates.
 
Well, for $1,700 for an empennage and wing kit. Even if it's missing those parts and I had to find a spar set I still think its a good deal.. What's your opinion?
 
$1,700 sounds like a good deal. The latest kits include pre-punched wing skins. Note this is not matched wit the ribs or spar - you still need to drill the skins in place in some sort of jig. This proved a bit problematic when built my plane for the second time. If you follow the dimensions for attaching the ribs to the spar exactly you could end up with edge clearance issues with the pre-punched holes in the skins. Best to clamp the skin in place and mark the spar fir the hole location that is to be centered on the ribs and then attach the ribs centered at that location rather than use the dimensions in the plans.

I would expect the center bulkhead and attachment fittings that is matched to the spar would be there. It is not the end of the world if they are not but would prove a bit challenging to match drill a new one without screwing up the precision holes in the spar that the wing attachment bolts go through.

If you have a set of plans I'd study the wing attachment drawings so I would know what I am looking for.

But $1,700 seems like a good deal but RV-4s don't command the prices the later models do. Something to do with the fact you actually have to build it I suspect.

Richard Bibb
RV-4 N144KT
 
I will make sure it has everything. I know building it is gonna be a headache, but it will Be worth it. Does anyone have some pictures or drawings for an rv4 wing jig?
 
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