The Things Builders Do With No Help

[BlackhawkSP]

I've reached the stage where I'm fitting the cabin top to the fuselage tub. Not Fun. Now I know why Van hates fiberglass. Anyway here's my solution to getting the top off and on when working solo. It's worked out great for all the many trial fitting, sanding, and repeat iterations. I'm so glad that the guys in my hangar had an engine hoist .

In the Army we had a saying that went something like "If it's stupid and it works, it ain't stupid".

I did find though that the QB guys make mistakes too. The were nice enough to put the heads of some AN 470 rivets in the perimeter of the door opening when they should have been AN 426's-not nice when trying to fit the top.

 

[rleffler]

Larry,

You just have to eat more Wheaties in the morning. You'll be taking the cabin cover on and off so many times, it will become habit forming. I got pretty good at taking it off without assistance.

bob

 

[TS Flightlines]

Ok---from a dumb hose guy---Why hasn't Vans of someone come up with an aluminum top, maybe with a weldment rollover bar eek?
Just asking--
Tom

 

[DanH]

Not Fun. Now I know why Van hates fiberglass.

News to me. Van started out selling fiberglass parts.

 

[awmuhs]

Cabin top fitting

I didn't have an engine hoist when I was fitting the cabin top so I bought some rope and pulley blocks. I secured it all to a roof truss to raise and lower the top about a thousand times.

If you use a couple pulley blocks you can increase the purchase making it easy to raise the top.

 

[BlackhawkSP]

Alan:

That was my first thought-a pulley system, but the hangar beams in the ceiling are WAY up there. The engine hoist is neat because I can wheel the thing over to the open door and sand/grind on the fiberglass just outside the open door and keep most of the itchy/messy dust outside.

 

[N15JB]

I am an old, short guy, but had no trouble just lifting the top off from the side. C'mon guys; get a grip. Actually my grip was much better when I was squeezing rivets.

Jim Berry
RV-10

 

[aerhed]

I just portage that sucker on and off like a canoe. You can set it on diagonally, get inside, stand up and lower it in. Maybe ten times as fast as pumping a hoist.

 

[flion]

Ok---from a dumb hose guy---Why hasn't Vans of someone come up with an aluminum top, maybe with a weldment rollover bar eek?
Just asking--
Tom

This is from memory from a while back (which means it's totally unreliable), but I seem to recall that Van was unable to get a shape that would blend smoothly with the doors (not to mention the doors themselves), still be structurally strong enough, and be within the capabilities of the AVERAGE RV builder (emphasis mine). Notice that in the other RV models, the aluminum structure does not have much, if anything, in the way of complex curves. Where those are necessary, plexi or fiberglass are used. Speaking personally, having to purchase and learn to use an English wheel would probably put an RV-10 out of my reach. On the other hand, I believe Alan Tolle made an aluminum cowling for his Mazda RV-4 (again, my memory may be deceiving me) and I expect that a determined builder could do a custom aluminum/steel cabin top for the RV-10.