Right elevator (cont.)

Bending the trailing edge is a bit unnerving the first time you do it.  You've put in a significant amount of time into the stiffeners and skin at this point, and the last thing you want to do is mess it all up.  I constructed a bending brake from a set of 2x8s connected at the back with evenly spaced door hinges.  I clamped the brake to the table top, and placed a 1/8" dowel in the trailing edge to prevent over bending.  It's surprising how much force it takes to complete the bend.  I made the first bend with the trailing edge close to the hinges, then slowly moved it out on following bends.  Soon, the skin was open just enough to sit on top of the spar when the skeleton is placed in the skin. This method worked well.

Bending trailing edge

Bend complete - straight edge sits flush to point where radius begins

Just a few rivets left, and the right elevator will be finished

Right elevator complete - yeah baby!

Right elevator

After finishing the majority of the prep work on the rudder (cutting and deburring the stiffeners, match drilling the skin to the skeleton, and dimpling and priming the skin), I started working on the right elevator.  The skins on the rudder are only .016" think, so I wanted to back rivet the stiffeners on the elevators before attempting the same on the rudder skins.  This is probably an unnecessary step, but I thought the extra practice on the slightly thicker elevator skins would be useful.

Similar to the rudder, I started the right elevator by cutting and deburring all of the stiffeners for the top and bottom of the skin.  The notches Van's makes in the stiffener aluminum makes this a straightforward, albeit time consuming, process.  I also deburred the counterbalance skin and ribs, as well as the elevator spar.  After that, the stiffeners are match drilled to the top and bottom of the skin, the ribs are fluted, and everything is assembled and match drilled.

Stiffeners cut for top and bottom of skin

Assembling skeleton

Skin attached to skeleton and match drilled

Priming stiffeners

Stiffeners back riveted in place

Blue vinyl removed - I love how this looks!

Ready to bend trailing edge with bending brake

Rudder Time!

Things are progressing nicely now.  I started cutting and deburring all of the stiffeners for the left and right rudder skins, and then removed the vinyl from the rivet locations.  After that was finished, I started working on the skeleton.  A few pieces of aluminum need to be cut from scrap to be used as shims, but this is a straightforward process.  The counterbalance skin is then clecoed to the top ribs and everything is match drilled together.  It looks like the biggest challenge on the rudder will be riveting the trailing edge.

Stiffeners cut and deburred on right side skin

Removing the blue stuff

Both skins match drilled and ready to go

Drilling R-918 bottom attach strips to R-904 rib

Skeleton ready for disassembly, dimpling and priming

Vertical Stabilizer work

Compared to the horizontal stabilizer, the vertical stabilizer seems to come together very quickly.  It's probably a combination of getting used to working with aluminum and understanding the plans better - it's nice to see things take shape more rapidly. 

Match drilled skin to skeleton

Priming internal components

Skeleton primed and ready for riveting

Riveting spar doubler and hinge brackets to rear spar

Riveting skeleton together

Final assembly

Finished Horizontal Stabilizer

With the nose rib riveted to the horizontal stabilizer skin, things move along pretty quickly.  Jim and I riveted the internal section of the skeleton, which went really well.  With that completed, I was able to squeeze the perimeter rivets with my hand squeezer.  It's cool to see the first section of the empennage finally complete.

External view of nose rib rivets

Early internal view

Riveting bottom left skin
 

All internal rivets complete

Horizontal stabilizer finished - very cool !

Proud owner of a completed horizontal stabilizer.

Horizontal Stabilizer work continues

I haven't been good about posting information about my progress, but fortunately I have been good about working on the horizontal stabilizer.  At this point, I'm nearly finished with the HS, so I will make an entry to reflect the things I have done.  Here are some of the tasks I have completed: 

• Notched left and right HS-702 where bends will be located (a rat tail file and a pair of aviation snips makes this a straightforward task - much easier that a unibit).  Bent tabs 6 degrees.
• Tapered front spar reinforcement pieces (HS-710 and HS-714), bent them 6 degrees, and match drilled them to HS-702.
• Clecoed left and right HS skin to understructure and match drilled all holes.
• Disassembled everything, prepped and primed spars, ribs, and skins.
• Riveted spar reinforcement bars to rear spar.
• Riveted HS skeleton.
• Began riveting ribs to skin.

First rivets

I prepped the HS411PP elevator hinge bearing, and primed with SEM primer.  Here is the procedure I use to prepare parts for priming:

• Deburr with single or double edged deburr tool
• Use emery cloth to remove any irregularities on edges or surfaces
• Scuff with maroon Scotch Brite pad
• Clean with acetone.  Following this step, part will only be handled with gloves to prevent contamination of surface.

Bearing ready to be installed in HS411PP hinge bracket

I back drilled the HS411PP bracket (only one side has the holes pre-punched) and installed the completed bearing.  I used my pneumatic squeezer to squeeze the AN470AD4-5 rivets, which turned out well.  I know some builders use -6 rivets here, but the instructions are very specific here, so I used what was specified.

Completed hinge bearing assembly

New workshop, new table

Following the move to my new workshop, I went ahead and built an EAA Chapter 1000 standard table.  As per the suggestion of a fellow builder, I constructed the table top with a two inch overhang on each side, which will allow parts to be clamped to the table if necessary.  I was very pleased with the results, and the table has turned out to be a terrific addition to the workshop.  I like the table so much, I may build another one in the future if necessary.

Rear spar work

It's been a little while since my last post.  I moved my workshop recently, and also moved into a new home.  Building should return to a more normal schedule now though, and I'm excited to see some of the empennage parts coming together.

I finished rounding the HS609PP rear spar reinforcement bars, which turned out well.  I have included a before and after picture.  After both of the 609PPs were finished, I match drilled them to the HS603PP rear spars, and placed all of the hinge brackets.  

Before (left) and after shots of HS609PP rear spar reinforcement bars

Completed HS609PPs clecoed to the HS603PP rear spars following match drilling.

Work begins on actual airplane parts

I finished the airfoil practice project, and started working on the HS609PP rear spar reinforcement bars last night.  It took a while to figure out how to effectively use the Scotch-Brite wheel in the bench grinder, which many builders had said was the most efficient tool for this process.  I was worried that it would remove material too quickly, but it really doesn't.  I had an experienced builder look at the first 609PP today during lunch, and he said it looked good.  He gave me a few pointers that really helped me with the second reinforcement bar this evening.

I removed the second wheel from my bench grinder, which was getting in the way.  I also placed a piece of duct tape over the grinding platform, which prevents marks from being made on the surface of the work after one side has been polished.  These two items really helped me make some progress.  I need to make the 1/4" radius on each of the ends, slightly round the corners of one of the bars, and then I can begin clecoing and match drilling the 609PPs to the HS603PP rear spar channel.  I look forward to that part.  I'll include some photos of the 609PPs when they are finished.

More Practice

I finished the small practice piece last night, and it turned out much better than the one I made in the SportAir workshop.  It easy to see why so many people like the pneumatic squeezer - once it's set up, it is very easy to set rivets consistently.

I don't quite have the procedure down for adjusting the pressure on the rivet gun to produce good results yet.  The pressure was too high when I was back riveting, and I ended up having to feather the trigger very lightly to avoid completely smashing the shop heads.  Fortunately, the flush rivets all turned out pretty well.  I'll work on that more this weekend.

Practice

Yesterday I organized my workshop a little more, and worked on one of my practice kits from Vans.  The new tools from PlaneTools (Isham) are working well, although I still have much to test. When my tools were shipped, a few components were left out of my order, but a call to Isham resulted in the additional tools being shipped out right away - their customer service has been really great.  I gave the pneumatic squeezer a shot, and it created really nice dimples.  I'm going to use it to drive some rivets this evening.

I ordered my rivet gun (3x) and a back rivet plate from Cleaveland Aircraft Tool, as I liked the style of rivet gun they offered a bit better, and Isham did not carry a back rivet plate.  The Cleaveland website is one of the best among the major tool houses, and they are very good about providing information about your order.  As soon as my order was shipped (the same day it was placed), I received an email with order and tracking information, which was really nice to see.  I will definitely be ordering from these two companies in the future. 

    

Inventory

I finished the inventory this evening, and everything is present.  I also organized the workshop a bit more, preparing for my future tools delivery.  I'm going to build one EAA table - a project I'm anxious to start.  That will give me two good sized work surfaces, and a reasonable amount of storage on the shelf under the EAA table.   One table will be used to prepare parts (it will have the vise, bench grinder, and other tools), and the second will be used for component assembly.  I'll see how functional this arrangement is when I start working on the rear spar of the horizontal stab.  I may construct a jig for the empennage if space permits, although I know several builders who did not use one at all on the tail surfaces, and theirs turned out well due to the pre-punched components Vans now ships.  I've heard the jig does make riveting the assembly together a bit easier though.

I've been studying the empennage section of the preview plans a fair amount, and I believe I have a good understanding of the first steps I will need to make.  It takes a little practice to understand how everything is labeled on the plans, but I'm starting to feel comfortable with the process I'll be following.

Small empennage box contents

Vans does a great job of organizing everything

First kit arrives!

I picked up my empennage kit from Fedex on April 22, and I'm really looking forward to getting started.  If anyone at the Fedex office saw me taking pictures of the boxes in the parking lot, they probably thought I was a bit unusual. Both packages were in good condition - I loaded them up in the car and went straight to the office.  I was able to open the small box during lunch and go over the documentation that was included - inventory sheets, and some other miscellaneous paperwork.  Vans was very meticulous when they packed the various parts.  Everything was well organized and protected.  Woohoo - I have a part of an airplane to build!

Empennage kit ordered

I took the plunge on April 15 and ordered the empennage kit from Vans.  I was told the kit would ship out the following Monday or Tuesday, and that's exactly what happened.  I missed the Fedex delivery when it arrived on Thursday, so I asked them to hold the packages at the depot.  I was able to pick them up before work on Friday, April 22.

Primer

I'm sure I've put way more thought into primers than necessary, but when you're getting ready to spend many thousands of dollars on an aircraft, you kind of want it to last a while.  After reading an article in Sport Aviation magazine (Aug. 2009) on Rick Gray and his award winning F1 Rocket, I decided to send him a message and see what type of primer he used on his aircraft.  He said he uses Duplicolor self etching primer and nothing else, as it's very durable and easy to apply.  It's usually available at Autozone or Advance Auto Parts.  Unfortunately this primer does not come in quarts or gallons (only aerosol cans), so it can't be used in an HVLP spray gun.

I read on Vans Air Force Forums that several people have had good luck with SEM self etching primer, which is available in aerosol cans, quart and gallon containers.  If it's as durable as Duplicolor, I'll consider using it, as I would like to have the option of running it through a sprayer for larger jobs if necessary.  I'll give both primers a try on my practice kit, and see which one I'll use on my plane.

Construction Prep

I have been thinking about building a homebuilt aircraft for quite some time, but have just started to pursue it seriously.  I attended a SportAir Workshop for RV construction in February (highly recommended), which was the first time I had ever driven solid rivets.  We built a small airfoil section, and aside from a ding in one of the skins from a slipped bucking bar, I was fairly pleased with the results.  I have two more practice projects to work on after my workshop is complete, one airfoil and one toolbox from Van's, which are sure to help improve my riveting skills. I've also been reviewing the preview plans for the RV-7, which contain some very important information (Section 3 and 5) on the procedures used during the construction process.

Intro

Hello.  The intent of this site is to provide a log of my construction of a Van's Aircraft RV-7a homebuilt aircraft.  I will provide as much detail as is practical, however this will not be a comprehensive description of everything done in the building process.  I am working through this project just like every other homebuilder, so please don't take my view as the "right" way to do something.  Speak with an EAA technical counselor, an experienced builder, or A&P mechanic if you need assistance with your project.  I will try to be as concise and accurate as possible with the information I post.  Perhaps you will find something in these pages to assist you in your building journey.