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Looking at a partially complete -7a

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philip_g

Well Known Member
I have some photos of the build but I haven’t seen it in person. I have some concerns but not really a lot of knowledge. Would anyone be willing to look over the pics and tell me what you think? I don’t want to spam the guys google photos link on the web, but maybe I could pm it to someone that wouldn’t mind taking a peek? I’ll see if I can find someone local to look it over with me if it proceeds to that
 
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Wow, there are a lot of photos!

Curious that the steps are being screwed on via the shown nutplates. Some of the rivet spacing distances look a little close there. Not a big deal since the nutplate rivets don't take much load?

This is the 2nd RV I've seen lately where they did the forward top skin and windscreen before the avionics and wiring. Seems that would make things a lot tougher to wire/install.
 
grayforge said:
Wow, there are a lot of photos!

Curious that the steps are being screwed on via the shown nutplates. Some of the rivet spacing distances look a little close there. Not a big deal since the nutplate rivets don't take much load?

This is the 2nd RV I've seen lately where they did the forward top skin and windscreen before the avionics and wiring. Seems that would make things a lot tougher to wire/install.
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Are the Philips head screws on the wing skin standard? I can’t say I’ve noticed that before

I’d have stein or someone build and wire the panel, I think. Maybe that would make it easy enough to work with as is
 
Unusual

Having the canopy on and top front skin on before any of the wiring is in will make installation much more difficult. I wouldn't want to do it that way.

Also, hard to tell, but it appears that the canopy doesn't fit very well, especially at the back.

Interesting that they chose to prime already.
 
Gnvflyer said:
Having the canopy on and top front skin on before any of the wiring is in will make installation much more difficult. I wouldn't want to do it that way.

Also, hard to tell, but it appears that the canopy doesn't fit very well, especially at the back.

Interesting that they chose to prime already.
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The canopy fit is definitely suboptimal

The primer coat looks awfully thick to me. Did they prime it to try and hide something?
 
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7A

Frankly, I've seen far worse. I don't see anything that screams "run away". BTW, my forward skin and all the canopy work was done before the panel. It allowed me to put off the big purchase. Yes, it was a bit more laying under the panel. Make a platform and get a kiddie fold up matt. No worries. Honestly, working sitting up is far more painful.
I suspect the step mod was done because of all the issues with cracked steps. In order to be useful, the baggage floors woule need to be removable too.
It has the old style nose gear is on it. I recommend installing the elastomeric mod.
It does seem to have a lot of primer on it. No idea what can be done but it's quite likely, a pro shop will strip it before painting. You could strip it as well. It's probably a lot of work.
Lots of photos?
Take a look at my blog! :D
 
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Size matters

philip_g said:
Well it’s not so easy for me to work under the panel at 6’2 270
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Yea. That's totally different but removing the forward skin and windshield would be a big job. Two access panel kits from Vans would help alot.
 
wirejock said:
Yea. That's totally different but removing the forward skin and windshield would be a big job. Two access panel kits from Vans would help alot.
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If I had stein prebuilt the panel you think it would be pretty easy? What are you doing tomorrow afternoon? Wanna come to Brighton 😂
 
philip_g said:
Are the Philips head screws on the wing skin standard? I can’t say I’ve noticed that before

I’d have stein or someone build and wire the panel, I think. Maybe that would make it easy enough to work with as is
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Standard way to install the fuel tanks to the wings....
 
Looked at it today and am afraid I’m no more enlightened than before. It looks ok. Most is primed but some is not. The bad there’s a dent on the bottom of the tail cone. Some corrosion around the base of the canopy hoop for lack of a better word… and the canopy is cracked pretty bad. On the right side there are two 3-4” cracks and then across the top there is a 8-10” crack right through the middle left to right

He did install nut plates for the steps as someone noticed. I do not know why. Also it has four static rivets for some reason. Maybe that’s another thing that’s normal and I’ve just never noticed before or I’ve mis identified them….
 
Oh I spoke to vans. It was a quick build. It is registered to the guy selling it (he isn’t the builder) and no engine was purchased with this s/n
 
Stein

philip_g said:
If I had stein prebuilt the panel you think it would be pretty easy? What are you doing tomorrow afternoon? Wanna come to Brighton 😂
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Dang that sounds like fun! I spent my day cleaning and resetting my shop. What a pig pen!

Stein is one of my favorite vendors. Seems like every time I call, he answers. Pretty cool.
The Stein panel would be complete, but I suspect other stuff would need to be finished by the builder. Light harnesses, stick harness, trim and AP harnesses, ADAHRS, and FWF.
You might also look at Advanced Flight Systems complete panels. They are similar, but make use of their Advanced Control Module. Basically a VPX. Electronic breakers. It handles all the audio, data and serial as well so it really is plug and play. Builder has to terminate the aformentioned harnesses. My panel is built on the ACM. Either one will save a ton of work.

I saw the later post. Canopy is a big hit. You may want to call Vans on the cost. I would consider replacing the weldments too and bonding the new canopy. Check my blog for a Kitplanes article I wrote on Sikaflex bonding the canopy.
 
wirejock said:
Dang that sounds like fun! I spent my day cleaning and resetting my shop. What a pig pen!

Stein is one of my favorite vendors. Seems like every time I call, he answers. Pretty cool.
The Stein panel would be complete, but I suspect other stuff would need to be finished by the builder. Light harnesses, stick harness, trim and AP harnesses, ADAHRS, and FWF.
You might also look at Advanced Flight Systems complete panels. They are similar, but make use of their Advanced Control Module. Basically a VPX. Electronic breakers. It handles all the audio, data and serial as well so it really is plug and play. Builder has to terminate the aformentioned harnesses. My panel is built on the ACM. Either one will save a ton of work.

I saw the later post. Canopy is a big hit. You may want to call Vans on the cost. I would consider replacing the weldments too and bonding the new canopy. Check my blog for a Kitplanes article I wrote on Sikaflex bonding the canopy.
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I’ll call tomorrow. They close at 4 pacific. Thanks for the input

I’m pretty cheap, I should probably do the wiring myself. If I did an advanced setup I’d start hemorrhaging money plus the seller has two dynon hdx screens the adahrs trays remote radio etc etc basically everything but ap servos and a gps navigator

Edit for 4k or so the advanced jumpstart might be my huckleberry
 
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philip_g said:
Seems kind of odd the way he did it. Probably work fine
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That is not how I did it - I used mostly the same pattern and just used screws and nuts rather than rivets. With nutplates, that is a lot of holes pretty close together. If it ever was a problem I think you could easily construct a larger doubler and be fine.

As for the access panels in the foreskin, defiantly add them. Especially if you are going to use the Vertical Power system. It makes wiring a LOT easier. good luck.
 
Here’s the canopy and a bent hinge that I find annoying also. I wish I had taken a further out photo so I can remember which wing it was on. I had forgotten the flap hinge is bent. Can that be straightened or should it be drilled out and replaced?
 

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I'd think that piano hinge could just be bent back. I's only one segment out of many. But I welcome input from experts. :)
 
Canopy weldment

Just a few things to look closely at.

Is that canopy weldment bare?
I would ask the builder to remove that baggage bulkhead to look at the tail cone.
Check the holes for the seat belt cables. Not easy to drill.
Check the rivet work on the bulkheads and the conical bend.
Check the HS mounting holes. It's one of the most difficult holes to drill with zero room for error.
Check the two aft spar carry through holes for the wing. Make sure they are within edge distance in all directions.
Have the tanks been pressure tested?
 
Talked to Larry at length and got awesome advice and some free knowledge. I’m almost dangerous now

The kit is much older than I realized at s/n 71878. I’ve got the builders phone number I might give him a call. Has anyone ever heard of a guy named Nicholas lesh? I don’t think I explain myself well sometimes. Nick bought the quick build kit and built it to where it is, then sold it to the guy selling it now. The seller has done nothing. He claims Nick has built ten airplanes. Maybe. Maybe not ��*♂️
 
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Picture review

Riveting looks good and consistent. Appears that some of the work has been done out of sequence. Wing rear spar fuselage holes have been drilled before lower wing skins are riveted . May not be an issue but worth checking that wing incidence is the same for both wings if the lower wing skins are now riveted. Replacing the fuselage carry through is a big job if needed. There is very little room for drilling errors in the rear spar fuselage/wing attach and lots of work to put it right. Some wing spar bolt holes have been opened up on the main gear fitting, others haven’t and don’t appear to line up with the carry through holes. May not be an issue but worth checking. Lots of hours to remove the gear fittings and open up the spar bolt holes in the gear fitting if they don’t line up ( can’t be done in situ). No pictures of the stabilizer forward spar/ fuselage attach area. This is a critical area that requires a lot of rework if not done right. Check if the stabilizer spar reinforce doubler service bulletin has been done. Getting someone that has built a 7A and knows all the critical build areas to check for common errors is definitely worth the effort.

KeithT
 
keitht said:
Riveting looks good and consistent. Appears that some of the work has been done out of sequence. Wing rear spar fuselage holes have been drilled before lower wing skins are riveted . May not be an issue but worth checking that wing incidence is the same for both wings if the lower wing skins are now riveted. Replacing the fuselage carry through is a big job if needed. There is very little room for drilling errors in the rear spar fuselage/wing attach and lots of work to put it right. Some wing spar bolt holes have been opened up on the main gear fitting, others haven’t and don’t appear to line up with the carry through holes. May not be an issue but worth checking. Lots of hours to remove the gear fittings and open up the spar bolt holes in the gear fitting if they don’t line up ( can’t be done in situ). No pictures of the stabilizer forward spar/ fuselage attach area. This is a critical area that requires a lot of rework if not done right. Check if the stabilizer spar reinforce doubler service bulletin has been done. Getting someone that has built a 7A and knows all the critical build areas to check for common errors is definitely worth the effort.

KeithT
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Thank you

Where he has it I won’t be able to mate the wings and check anything. I haven’t found anyone local to look at it with me, I’m leaning towards passing on it. Too many what ifs. Mainly I don’t really know what should and shouldn’t be done and the seller has done no work on the kit and doesn’t know what should be there and what’s missing. Sounds like a recipe for disaster and me getting ripped off
 
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