Van's Air Force
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prepunch
- Thread starter 6 Gun
- Start date
Kyle Boatright
Well Known Member
The -6 was never fully prepunched. IIRC, the only prepunch part I had in my kit was the firewall, and I'd guess my fuse kit was circa 1998? There were also prepunched empennage and wing skins by that time, but that was pretty much it.
A search of the matronics archives would probably give you a very accurate picture of when various prepunch upgrades were announced.
chriscencula
Active Member
RV6 prepunch start
I have one of the early RV-6x pre-punch kits (wing skins only).
The spars were also pre-drilled for the bolt holes and 3/16 rivets.
I received my wing kit in 1996, I believe... I don't think I even knew they were planning to release pre-punched skins; it was a surprise when the kit was received.
There was an error in the pre-punch pattern on inboard-most rib of the leading edge skin that resulted in the forward most rivets (top & bottom) being 'biased' in the 'wrong' direction.... Most (nose) ribs have the forward most-rivets biased toward the 'web' since the flange of the rib is narrower than the rest of the flange at this point... With the rib flanges facing outboard, the forward-most top & bottom rivets are biased inboard slightly, however the 'splice rib' where the tank joins the outboard leading edge had the leading-edge rivet holes biased in the other direction, even though the rib attaches with the flanges facing the same way as the rest of the leading edge ribs!
I have one of the early RV-6x pre-punch kits (wing skins only).
The spars were also pre-drilled for the bolt holes and 3/16 rivets.
I received my wing kit in 1996, I believe... I don't think I even knew they were planning to release pre-punched skins; it was a surprise when the kit was received.
There was an error in the pre-punch pattern on inboard-most rib of the leading edge skin that resulted in the forward most rivets (top & bottom) being 'biased' in the 'wrong' direction.... Most (nose) ribs have the forward most-rivets biased toward the 'web' since the flange of the rib is narrower than the rest of the flange at this point... With the rib flanges facing outboard, the forward-most top & bottom rivets are biased inboard slightly, however the 'splice rib' where the tank joins the outboard leading edge had the leading-edge rivet holes biased in the other direction, even though the rib attaches with the flanges facing the same way as the rest of the leading edge ribs!
Prepunch...
My emp. kit (early 2000) was MOSTLY pre-punch (skins and rear spars). As I remember the rest of it was not, and I had to jig it to get everything lined up. The wing skins (late 2000) were pre-punched, but nothing else was. In my opinion, that made the job harder because I had to make sure the ribs lined up with the holes in the skins. Nothing in the fuse was pre-punched except the firewall, and it was a lot easier fitting the skins and back-drilling them to the holes I'd drilled in the bulkheads. All I can say is I wish I'd known the -7s were coming; I could have waited a year and still been ahead of the game.
My emp. kit (early 2000) was MOSTLY pre-punch (skins and rear spars). As I remember the rest of it was not, and I had to jig it to get everything lined up. The wing skins (late 2000) were pre-punched, but nothing else was. In my opinion, that made the job harder because I had to make sure the ribs lined up with the holes in the skins. Nothing in the fuse was pre-punched except the firewall, and it was a lot easier fitting the skins and back-drilling them to the holes I'd drilled in the bulkheads. All I can say is I wish I'd known the -7s were coming; I could have waited a year and still been ahead of the game.
az_gila
Well Known Member
The spars were always pre-drilled - the option was to get them per-assembled from Phlogiston...
Gary Baker
Well Known Member
The first prepunched empennages...
came out in January/February, 1996. When I placed my order in January, someone in Van's office told me of this new product. I received my tail kit at the end of Feb, 1996, and the skins only were prepunched. I don't believe that the ribs/spars were ever prepunched. I received my wing kit in December, 1996, and again, the skins only were prepunched.
came out in January/February, 1996. When I placed my order in January, someone in Van's office told me of this new product. I received my tail kit at the end of Feb, 1996, and the skins only were prepunched. I don't believe that the ribs/spars were ever prepunched. I received my wing kit in December, 1996, and again, the skins only were prepunched.
