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Looking Good

Jim,

It looks like we are about at the same point. I haven't riveted my bottom wing skins on yet because I want to install stuff like AOA lines, autopilot and antenna cables in the wings and haven't made provisions for the runs yet. I've decided to make a mount for the magnetometer in the fuse instead at the wing tip.

I'm bummed:(. Your probably going to fly before me. But on a positive note I should get my finishing kit in the next few weeks if Tony can get it picked up at the warehouse:).
 
You will get a form to sign before they fill the order

When I sent my final payment in I got a form back I had to sign to finalize what was in the kit concerning the spinner, cowl and engine mount before the order was filled. Its hitting about 8 to 9 weeks lead time.
 
RV-9 flying

Hello,

I finally got my 9 flying and WOW it is a great airplane. 4 years and 2300 hours and this finally makes it all seem worth it. Would I do it again, probably not, one airplane is enough for me.

So far with 6:00 X 6 tires and wheels and no gear leg faings or wheel pants the 9 cruises around 150 mph. I have seen cimb rates between 1,000 and 1,500 fpm pretty regularly. The other day I got a healthy tailwind and was showing 166 mph on the GPS for ground speed.

What a great little airplane. It flies better than I do. I suspect I will catch up though. The landings are easy if I do wheel landings, the airplane just lands and tracks straight ahead.

Keep building it will all be worth it when you fly.

Mike Ice
Anchorage, Alaska
 
I sent the money for the whole finish kit when I placed the order hoping it might help the delivery a little bit. If it was anyone but Vans I would not have sent all the money up front but in this case there was no reason not to. We'll see if it makes any difference. It only takes one supplier to hold up the whole train. After I mounted the wings to the fuselage I got excited about the prospect of actually having an airplane to fly in this lifetime. I really have plenty of work to do in the next 8 weeks.
 
RV-10 builder and tech counselor Gary Speckter came over tonight and helped me hang my engine. Thanks Gary!

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Riveting some pesky rivets

Got some help from a buddy recently. He is a riveting machine!

Still stuck on one side of a 2 car garage

 
Looking good Brice!

Were the heck did you get that rivet buddy? It looks pretty official, was it used for parts of the movie?

This model works well with the 7 so it would probably work on the 9 too. :D

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cardboard cutout

Wall-e is made of folded, printed cardboard, and was a movie theatre prop that the garage collected for the local PTA for the start of school.
 
Cowling - Spinner Ring

Today was one of those days where your smile is far larger than the chore just finished. I think that's an indication of how much I love building. I've been working the cowl front ring, compensating for a slight mis-fit that resulted in an uneven gap between it and the rear of the spinner plate.

I had read on another VAF posting that someone had used balsa ring segments, epoxied to the cowl ring, to build up the thickness and reduce the gap. As a former R/C airplane builder, this made some sense to me so I thought I'd give it a try. I used a thick slurry of West Systems and microballoons to fair out edges.

The pictures show the results just prior to a final coating of the balsa with a brushed application of epoxy and flocked cotton to give it some protection. There is a bit of final sanding to do but that can wait until paint prep. Anyhow, I was pleased and smiling when I left the shop. What better attitude to have on the way to the day job!

Just thought I'd share it.
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First taxi

We did our first taxi tests on Saturday - it was great to see the aircraft move under its own power. I'm really excited now that completing the project seems achievable.

I found the steering really easy (I thought the castoring nosewheel would be more difficult, but I could steer on the rudder even at walking pace) and the acceleration was impressive, way better than a PA28, and I was never anywhere near full power.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBV9zlm5FMI


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Dave
 
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ProSeal party

I will never again question those who choose to buy a QB fuel tank. I now fully understand the agonies of ProSeal. I won't be following that route, but I promise to never again laugh at those who do. The color is alodine, I treated all the fuel-wetted surfaces since I'm planning to run ethanol mogas.

This is my right (first) fuel tank with all internal ribs sealed in place, ready to close out this week.

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Looking like a wing!

Almost time for Proseal! Both wings have skins match drilled 1 with leading edge and fuel tank ready to assemble for the last time. Still need to take the skeletons apart and prime the ribs, just figured there was no hurry. Gonna have to rivet some of this sucker together to reclaim some of the cleco's!

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RV-9A Cloaking Technology?

So I recently riveted on the next to the last skin on the fuselage. I rolled it out into the driveway to give it some air while I cleaned the garage. Of course I decided to take some pictures. I found in one of them something very peculiar. If you look at the left side of the fuselage in this photo, you'll notice that the airplane is attempting to blend in with the street very much like a chameleon. Is there a switch somewhere to turn this feature off?? :)

 
Here's the status of my RV-9A :
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:) Just received the boxes for the empennage kit!

Inventoried everything...

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I'm ready to start!
 
Have there been any discussions about what is the best color for the instrument panel? Flat black?

Dean Eiland
RV-9
Emp
 
Half Way to a Quarter of the Way...

Wings are Done... (except for the tips)

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Fuse is well underway. Bulkheads are ready for priming and riveting. I've got the tailcone cleco'd together to adjust flanges and such. Hopefully bending the longerons this weekend. :D

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Status Report

Below is the result of approximately three years. One year of fiscal planning and two years of building. 99.9% is done by myself. My precious helper Ed Fetchko, a Korean veteran,former pilot and good neibour, did excellent job helping me in tight places. Though bucking bar was too heavy and slippery for him and sometimes his oxygen system got on the way, he did outstanding job and helped me to be at this stage. I will post more about this hero as soon as he recovers from the cold. Thank you Ed!
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The die has been cast!

Today I joined the ranks of the proseal-initiated - I closed my right main fuel tank. I'll do the right auxiliary tank tomorrow, then give them both a couple days to cure up before pressure testing.

I also got an almost perfect first tech advisor inspection, the only thing he found that I needed to fix were about a half-dozen rivets that he did not think were quite kosher. It's been a good day....

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How do I spell relief?

Ahhhhh, 1 down 1 half way done! Now that's relief!
Now as long as it doesn't leak:)

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Center section well on it's way

I got the center section skeleton all riveted together today. I pretty much used my 4 inch yoke on the pneumatic squeezer for this whole riveting session. Once I got on a roll, it wasn't so bad.

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The I clecoed on the bottom skin. Time to give my riveting buddy a shout! Hey Norwood! Ya' ready for another free hamburger and a beer?

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A look from down under. No, it's not upside down. It just looks cool, so I took a picture.

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Go Smitty Go!

Smitty - you can easily rivet those by yourself... if you have long arms :D

The clecos left on the top are the only ones that I'm going to need to ask my riveting (and marriage) partner help with.



I'm almost done with all the cabin covers, etc (too many nutplates)... then it's on to the flap motor!
 
SmittysRV said:
I got the center section skeleton all riveted together today. I pretty much used my 4 inch yoke on the pneumatic squeezer for this whole riveting session. Once I got on a roll, it wasn't so bad.
Click to expand...

Wow, this looks great. By the way, right now, your website is really usefull for me! (just sent you a PM, I've got a question ;))

Just completed the horizontal stab(the rear spar is still attached with clecos, we still have pre-close inspections here in Canada)

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and started the vertical stab

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Fuel lines installed

I wouldn't normally post something this small but this nearly kicked my tail before I finally got the lines bent to my satisfaction. I made them over three times.

 
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llavalle said:
Wow, this looks great. By the way, right now, your website is really usefull for me! (just sent you a PM, I've got a question ;))

Just completed the horizontal stab(the rear spar is still attached with clecos, we still have pre-close inspections here in Canada)

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and started the vertical stab

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Click to expand...

looks great!
how far did you do the rivets on the underside of the skin? did you close up both sides and just left the read spar clecoed on? and the nose ribs, did you rivet those up both sides as well.
i'm not sure how far we can close these parts up so the inspector can have a look inside.
thanks
 
swixtt said:
looks great!
how far did you do the rivets on the underside of the skin? did you close up both sides and just left the read spar clecoed on? and the nose ribs, did you rivet those up both sides as well.
i'm not sure how far we can close these parts up so the inspector can have a look inside.
thanks
Click to expand...

All the rivets are in except the ones on the rear spar. The inspector need to be able to see all rivets. With this setup, the only ones not accessible directly are the middle nose ribs. By looking down in the holes in the front spar with a mirror and a flashlight, you can see all 10. This is OK.

Remember that if the inspector finds a bad rivet, you'll have to redo it... give yourself some room to do so.

Contacted the MDRA inspector and told him about the nose ribs, after all, if you have to leave the front spar unriveted... what is he going to look at?

I plan to leave the rear spar off on the VS too. For the rudder, I'll leave a couple of rivet holes empty near the trailing edge, and leave the trailing edge clecloed. Same for the elevators.

The trim tab can be closed up, there is no internal structure.
 
thanks Philippe, makes perfect sense to me.

when i tried to get in contact with our inspector they told me at MDRA i wasn't able to talk with him until i booked the inspection!??:confused:

they didn't want a line of communication established or 'help' assisting us. just sounds crazy if you ask me, i've never built an airplane before so i was hoping they might offer at least what they need to look at.

but you've answered it for us. merci philippe.
rivet on...:)

pete
 
Progress... Part II

Rivets are in and the Stab is very close to being finished.
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Riveted top aft skins on - starting canopy

Thought I'd post pictures of my progress. Another RV-9A builder (Mike Humphries) helped me get my aft top skins on so I can start the canopy. I have mounted some of the firewall forward components in anticipation of getting the engine mount on sometime in the next few months.




 
llavalle said:
Nice! You'll see, after that, the VS will go up real fast!
Click to expand...

thanks Philippe, we used your technique for the right side of the inward rib... the left one gave us some grief:( mainly because we didn't have a smaller bucking bar to use(have one now), nor an offseat for the gun. so thanks for the tip on that!!
just need to round up a #12 drill bit and then we'll bolt on the hinge bracket.

i've already got some of the vertical fin parts polished and deburred, then will match drill those and see how she fits in the skin.
 
500 hours!

The build time just clicked over 500. For that I have two partially completed wings. The left wing needs the outboard top skin riveted on, the tank, leading edge, and inboard skin are done. Working on the right tank for the next couple of weeks.

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Chip, you're a plane building MONSTER! I'm still trying to sneak some work in on my wings - time permitiing. You're going to pass me in no time. Good job. :D
 
Thanks, Fred!

FredMagare said:
Chip, you're a plane building MONSTER! I'm still trying to sneak some work in on my wings - time permitiing. You're going to pass me in no time. Good job. :D
Click to expand...

Yah, I was able to hammer on it over the holiday break. Most of the dents are on the bottom where they don't show:rolleyes:

It helps that I only have three modes right now: work, build, sleep. I need to get the fuselage ordered very soon. With this economy, if I'm suddenly down to just two modes, I don't want to run out of things to do on the plane!
 
Vertical Fin almost done.

Getting through the Vertical Fin... still need to cleco on the Rear Spar after inspection and drive the top nose rivets. not sure yet how i'm going to reach those two.?? a very thin bucking bar i suppose.

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swixtt said:
not sure yet how i'm going to reach those two.?? a very thin bucking bar i suppose.
Click to expand...

I was barely able to buck them using my small thungsten bar. The first one was fine but once installed, it blocks the path to the 2nd one.

They turned out OK using the following technique :
1-Put the rivet in the hole, not all the way
2-Squeeze it a little
3-Push it flush against the skin
4-Finish the squeeze

I did that by installing the really thin flush set (1/16") on my 3po yoke. I ordered 2 new yokes last week, a longeron yoke and a 4" no hole yoke. I'll probably drill the 2nd rivet out and squeeze it back with the 4" no hole yoke. It's fine (within spec) but the head is a bit squashed and I don't like it!

Ho, and, where's the primer on the ribs :p
 
llavalle said:
I was barely able to buck them using my small thungsten bar. The first one was fine but once installed, it blocks the path to the 2nd one.

They turned out OK using the following technique :
1-Put the rivet in the hole, not all the way
2-Squeeze it a little
3-Push it flush against the skin
4-Finish the squeeze

I did that by installing the really thin flush set (1/16") on my 3po yoke. I ordered 2 new yokes last week, a longeron yoke and a 4" no hole yoke. I'll probably drill the 2nd rivet out and squeeze it back with the 4" no hole yoke. It's fine (within spec) but the head is a bit squashed and I don't like it!

Ho, and, where's the primer on the ribs :p
Click to expand...


thanks, i'll see what we can do... i unfortunately don't have any other yokes for my squeezer though:(
may have to investigate getting some more. i have the one from Isham.

primer is only on the matching surfaces for us:) we debated long and hard over that... and that's what we settled on. :D

thanks for the tips!
pete
 
got em' done... squeezed the two upper ones and then bucked the others. a modified bucking bar did the trick. so, it's sitting off to the side now.

we had a look at the Rudder plans, making the stiffeners,etc. and noticed a couple of pieces that need to be made up. the r917-shim is made from .032 2024... is that from the Trim Bundle that came with the Emp kit?

so... now we start the process over again. still waiting for an avery delivery with a few important items:) they took forever, or are taking forever!!:(
 
swixtt said:
the r917-shim is made from .032 2024... is that from the Trim Bundle that came with the Emp kit?
Click to expand...

No, look at your parts, you'll find a ~4ft long strip of .032, that is already the correct width. You'll also use it for the lower attach strip.
 
ahhh...OK... thanks Philippe. i had just assumed that entire piece was for 918. i have been visiting your build too, but my french to english translator hasn't been used in a long time!:)
got your wings on order? you'll be done with this emp. in a few weeks at the rate you are going! good work!
pete
 
If you have anything you need in english, let me know, I'll just translate it for you ;) The translator won't work right because the French on my website is very casual... the type you would hear in a mechanic's garage... a mix of french and english words... :D

As for the wings, I'll probably make the order AFTER April 1st... the department I work in will get job cuts in April and I don't know if I'm affected or not... I'd feel better with $10k (Canadian dollars) in my account instead of a wing kit if I loose it!

I'm still waiting for my back riveting plate to rivet the rudder stiffners but haven't had the time yet to pick it up... I got my new garage computer (laptop) and still playing with it... There was also a big snow storm 2days ago and it took me 3-4h to clear everything out using my snow blower. We were expecting 10inches of snow.. we got 15... and my house it at the end of the street, the wind packs everyting real good... I had over 30inches to remove...
 
Wings Started

So I have the Empennage done and the right wing underway. the more I continue on this project the more fun it becomes. I couldn't help myself last night, I had to attach one of the lower skins to the right wing. I also got a chance to set the tank (factory finished)


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