[dnimigon]

Hi All
Building the RV-9 empennage and got to the point where I got to consider wiring for the strobe/tail light combo. I'll be mounting it on the lower portion of the rudder but would like to know where a guy should be running his wiring. I've got the wiring kit from Van's and it doesn't really show where these runs should be. I guess I'm asking where the wiring comes into it from the fuse. Any one with pics would sure help.

 

[craigvince]

It will come right out of the tailcone on the fuselage, into the rudder. There is no prep needed during the construction of the empennage. Just don't do your lower fiberglass piece yet, since that's where the light gets mounted. I'm sure others will post pictures of how they routed the wire into the rudder.

 

[dnimigon]

Thanks

Thanks. That's all I needed to know. Very simple and to the point. Why doesn't Van's tell you that in the instructions.

 

[airguy]

There's a LOT of things Van's doesn't tell you in the instructions - wait till you get a little further along in the empennage. Lots of steps get left out and glossed over on the elevators, you're just expected to figure it out. I can't wait to see what the wing build manual looks like...

If (when) in doubt, put down the tools and study the diagrams very closely, that has saved my bacon a couple times already.

 

[DaX]

I can't wait to see what the wing build manual looks like...

I just started my wings and I can tell you this, there are no neat little check boxes by steps. The instructions are more paragraph style. There is a lot more reading the paragraph, then looking at prints for 30 minutes and visualizing.

 

[airguy]

That's about what I was expecting. Even on the elevators, following the directions explicitly would leave me with about 2/3 of the rivets not in place, half of it not deburred, and about 1/3 of the skin (and none of the spar/ribs) dimpled. At this point in the kit you're expected to just "get it" and do some (or most) of the steps without having to be told specifically to do so. You end up spending a lot of "Kumbaya" time with the manual and the drawings, and I spent probably 45 minutes yesterday dry-fitting all my elevator trim tab parts with my servo to make sure I understood exactly how it would come together before picking up any tools.

It makes me wonder if I'm going to get to the section on building the flaps and the manual will tell me "Examine the drawings and build as indicated."

 

[Brantel]

It makes me wonder if I'm going to get to the section on building the flaps and the manual will tell me "Examine the drawings and build as indicated."

Naaa, they help you a little more than that on the wings, its the fuse where they do that to you! Wait till you have to guess what raw stock to make a part out of to be sure you don't accidently cut up a long piece that will be needed sometime at a later date!

 

[Jim Harchanko]

Some other things to consider: Where are you putting your tail strobe power supply? In the rear of the fuselage shifts the CG to the rear because of the long moment arm. I put mine under the seat floor pans and used shielded wire back to the strobe. Keep the strobe wire separated from the Comm antenna if it is mounted on the bottom of the airplane. I discovered Comm noise from the strobe even with shielded wire but as little as one inch separation from the Comm antenna terminal eliminated the noise.

 

[morlino]

The instructions are more paragraph style. There is a lot more reading the paragraph, then looking at prints for 30 minutes and visualizing.

Building my left aileron was a disaster it took me a really long time and I had to drill out a bunch of rivets because I didn't do it correctly the first time.

After that experience, I took five minutes to translate the few paragraphs in the build manual into a list format (just hand written in my log notebook). I didn't really change the instructions, just the format.

My right aileron when together much more quickly and with no mistakes.

So before I started my flaps I rewrote the instructions preemptively and it seems to have helped a lot. It basically allows me to spend time studying the instructions and plans once before I start instead of doing it constantly as I'm building.

I don't understand why Vans writes step-by-step instructions in paragraph format?

 

[Ron B.]

On our elevator trim tabs, the plans did not call out to dimple the close up tabs. We had the foam ribs glued in when we looked at the rivet layout and noticed countersunk rivets. Now, that was fun dimpling those holes. Seems to me a little more typing would save a lot of builders a lot of mistakes.
Ron

 

[Bill Wightman]

Mine failed...

... after 350 hours. I'm talking about the strobe wire I'd routed through the lower rudder cap and into the fuselage through the vertical stab spar. It was simply run through grommets in both holes and the movement of the rudder eventually broke the wire carrying power to the tail Nav light.

My 8, in the shop now, has a similar run but the wire goes through a slot in the fiberglass rudder cap to help minimize bending with rudder movement.

And yes, Vans doesn't tell you much about how to build a finished airplane. Lots left out. I've been sorta disappointed over the years seeing that Vans hasn't stepped up to the plate and really put some effort into a nice set of instructions.

 

[dnimigon]

Thanks all you guys for the replies. Sounds like I have to watch my step as I go along. Raed ahead and understand something before doing anything. Probably a good idea though as it makes a guy understand the whole process.
Dave