RV7-Factory

With the Rudder Skins now match drilled, and being that it is Friday, it was time to get some prep work done for tomorrow’s marathon build session. I deburred all the holes in the skins and the stiffeners and went to town on the DRDT-2 dimpling the skins and the stiffeners with my pneumatic squeezer. I then scuffed all the parts and started priming at least the sections of the skins where the stiffeners would interface. The vinyl coating makes a great paint mask. I am still debating if I will prime the inside of the skins elsewhere as that is the furthest part from them CG where extra weight makes a big difference. If anything I can Corrosion X the inside once it is built and painted. Or I can mist the rest of the skins with primer for a little help. We’ll see where it ends up in the coming days.

While the primer was drying on the skins, I finished deburring and scuffing the stiffeners and readying them for primer as well. I made up a little standoff for them all out of two sections of cardboard from the inside of the tail kit box. Basically, created two sections of cardboard angle and then notched the bend 18 times each so I could point the insides toward the sky and spray them. Once they were dry, I simply flipped them over and sprayed the backs. Here you can see the stiffeners and skins all set up and ready to be married together forever. I cleaned up the shop some and let them dry.

It was late when the primer was dry on the stiffeners. I took the time to take a look at my back rivet set and polish up my back rivet plate some. I felt I needed to polish the face of my back rivet set collar as it has a brass collar rather than Delrin as I have seen elsewhere. I also had to lube it up some. All this prep made anxious to give back riveting a whack and I was not tired. So before finishing up the night, I decided to back rivet one of the skins. Here is the result. I like back riveting…you can get somewhere fast with the right tools. It makes you feel like you are moving along. I was able to back rivet this skin in 20 minutes and it turned out great. Not bad for starting out with a 1/4″ thick piece of 4″ bar stock I got from a friend and smoothing it out for a back rivet plate. I decided to call it a night. I am sure I said it before, better quit while you are ahead than risk really messing something up.

Once the kids were off to bed, I figured I could get at least one step in the build manual checked off. It calls for match drilling the skins and stiffeners together. Van’s has a tip in this step where if you have a table that you are willing to drill into, that match drilling can be made easier on these thin 0.016″ skins. I came up with a decent system that worked well.

1. I laid the skin on the bench.
2. I drilled the lower left hole in the skin only and clecoed it to the table.
3. I smoothed the skin flat on the bench and then drilled the skin only in the upper right corner and clecoed it (thus anchoring the skin).
4. I then would drill the skin only in the outer holes and another hole in the middle of that line of holes.
5. I then clecoed on the stiffener using the 3 holes that we now in the bench.
6. I drilled the holes through the stiffener and skin into the table adjacent to the holes used in step 5 and clecoed them down.
7. I then removed the first 3 clecoes and completed match drilling the stiffeners to the skin and replaced the clecoes.
8. I then match drilled each hole adjacent to a cleco and then clecoed them down to the table until all holes were drilled and clecoed.
9. Repeat steps 4-8 in each stiffener until complete with all the stiffeners.

It sounds like a lot but it seemed to work like a charm and was fairly quick. I completed both skins within 30 minutes or so.

Once the skins/stiffeners were drilled, I thought about how I would remove the vinyl coating so I could then deburr and dimple the skins. I had an epiphany of sorts and thankfully it happened when I had not removed the stiffeners from the second skin. I was about to remove them when I remembered the EAA Video of Doug Kelly showing the hot soldering iron trick I have used in the past on the other skins.

It dawned on me that he used the stiffeners in the video to guide the iron. Well….duh! So I did the same on the skins. As for the outside of the skin, I simply flipped it over and clecoed the stiffeners to the outside using the holes from the prior skin so it would lay flat on the bench and it worked like a charm. Once complete, I simply repeated the process for the first skin I had left. My forgetting to do the first skin when it was on the bench actually turned out to be a good thing. Because I had drilled both skins prior to wanting to remove the coating I could use the holes drilled into the bench for both sides. I just lined up the respective set of holes and clecoed the stiffener on and melted away.

Here is what the end of the day left me with. With both sides sans vinyl over the rivet lines I can deburr, dimple, scuff, and prime the rivet lines. I can now do the same on the stiffeners. If all works out, I can be back riveting the stiffeners on Saturday!

 

My lovely wife paid the shop a visit and caught me working. I have been told it is a good idea to get some pictures that prove I actually did the work on the plane. So while she was there, I had her snap a few shots of me cutting the stiffeners to shape on the band saw.  I purchased this saw several years ago and boy am I glad I did. It made very quick work of getting the stiffeners cut to close to final shape. I got through them in about 40 minutes, taking my time.

Once I had them rough cut, I then moved over to the 12″ disk sander and finished the shaping. Knowing how to mass finish these will come in handy when I get to the flaps and ailerons…or so I have been told. 😉

Once the sanding to shape was complete, I headed over to the Scotchbright wheel and hit the edges to lose the burrs. Where it could not get with the wheel, I touched up with my files. I learned with the practice kit and some of the HS parts, that the Scotchbright wheel can take more material than you think in very little time, so I was very careful and methodical when hitting these little buggers with it. Once I get to the priming stage, I will clean up all the deburring with some maroon Scotchbright pads. For now however, they are ready to be match drilled. For another night however as it is late.

It’s neat to step back and look at how nice the fabricated stuff you do turns out. With all the prep work Van’s does on the kit, when the parts you make look like they belong, it is a good feeling. I will take a moment and admire every so often and then clean the shop a little before lights out.

Before I called it a night and after patting myself on the back, I cleaned up a bit. Somewhere in the work period, one of my kids came in and must have done some art. I found this pile next to the band saw. I have a Picasso running loose in my shop. Who will start the bidding?

Cleaned up and put the tools away. Next up, drilling, dimpling, and the first try at back riveting for this build.

A fellow builder once told me that in order to keep the project moving, you should try and get something done every day. In that spirit, I got home from work and took care of my husband/fatherly duties and then headed out to the shop. I had earlier rough cut the stiffener stock to close lengths, so tonight I simply marked the portions that need to be removed.

It took about a half hour and at that point it was late. I decided to cut  at least one to final shape to see what I was up against and to plan the next build session. You can see it clecoed to the skin above.

My builder friend was right, it is good to simply get out and do something, even if it is a little research.

With the VS now complete and still some hours left in the day, I decided to get started on the Rudder. I laid out the parts on the bench and started with the stiffeners. I split the lengths in two, and then laid them on the skins. I then labeled each and ROUGH cut them to length. Since I had been at it all day, I decided at this point, I should stop and take a break. Better to stop when you are doing well than wait until you make a mistake. So, until next week, have a great Sunday!

After getting the lawn mowed, and making a final dump run to get rid of all the larger junk laying around, it was time to get started again on the plane.

Not too many pictures taken today. Too busy working. Had a visit from my other son, Alex (9). He is my reader and my very verbally curious helper. “Dad, why this, why that, how come you…” He stuck around to help hold the VS as I was bucking the rivets on the front spar and the ribs. It was fun to see him get into the process. Asking why Van’s did what they did. It was equally nice to see his nose out of a book. I know, that sounds strange, but it is true.

I got the field rivets bucked and then clecoed on the rear spar. As before, everything just lined up. I was able to use the squeezer for most of the spar and end ribs. The exception was a few rivets near the center hinge brackets. The rivets on the skin/spar are just too close to the brackets for the squeezer flush sets to get in there. The other exceptions were the ribs in the nose of the tip rib. Fortunately, my tungsten bucking bar was just small enough to get in there and get them bucked. There are other methods for doing these and some use blind rivets, but I had success with my bar and gun. Finally, you use 3 blind rivets to nail the center rib in place on the spar. VS DONE!

Had to take some more shots. (These are required…right?)

I love showing off my progress to my lovely wife. She is a VERY busy gal with our kids, me, and church responsibilities, so shop visits are fun. While I had her in the shop I set up the HS and VS in near relative position and took this shot. I love how it shows the actual scale of the empennage as well as evidence that she is smiling while being in the presence of the project. Gotcha dear!

After the last couple of days of real progress, I was anxious to get home from work, kiss the wife hello, and get to the shop to prime the VS parts. It was a beautiful day with a little wind, but I was able to get my priming tables setup on a tarp and get the parts started. I really like the Duplicolor Self Etching. It seems durable and the color is great. Additionally, it is dry and ready in a hurry. I was able to get a good coat on both sides of the parts with much less overspray than the HS parts took on my new primer tables (Details to be in the Shop discussion soon). It may have been a little warm and windy for the paint though…seemed to dry almost too fast at times (like before it hit the part). Once it was all dry, I lightly schotchbrited the coat of primer to knock down the fuzz that the drying left. Smooth and even all over.

Every so often, my build crew would sneak in and out of the shop. Sometimes to watch, sometimes to ask, sometimes to help. Meet Taylor, the grin in the photo. He is my eldest son at age 10, nearly 11. He has always been my curious but quiet observer. When he was born, we were remodeling a 1926 house in Salt Lake proper. As I look through all the progress photos we took it was fun to seem him in diapers, always with a tool in his hand, trying to help. Great kid. When he heard that I wanted to build a plane, his eyes lit up and he was instantly on board. He was a big help with the shop construction as well. He help set the trusses, set shingles, and general gopher. He loves to just watch and learn. The speed he seems to picks stuff up is amazing.

Later in the evening after eating some dinner, I checked the primer and it was good and dry…so I decided to get a jump on the work for tomorrow. I riveted the skeleton together and then went full speed on the spar. I just love the gold rivets against that green color. Just looks cool. I was able to squeeze most of the rivets with the pneumatic squeezer. That tool is worth every penny. Speed and accuracy is great. I started with the flush rivets at the bottom and then quickly knocked out the AN470’s. Got the hing brackets on and figured I could nearly call it a day.

I was feeling like I was on a roll…so I figured, one more task and then I will call it a night. I clecoed on the skin again for the last time. I then got all the tools out and on the bench and readied them for use in the morning. It is really rewarding to step back at an assembly and see a plane part coming together. So, that finishes the Friday night progress. Time to get to bed and ready for the finish work tomorrow.

Today was another productive day. I was able to get the VS-808PP Doubler cleaned up, deburred, and countersunk. Cleaning the lightening holes was a challenge at first. Then I simply grabbed my Dremel and a sanding drum and was able to get the punch/shear marks cleaned up. The other challenge was the V notch, so I have some fine toothed rounded files that seemed to fit the bill. After that was done, I was able to dimple all the ribs and spars. Had to pull out the pop rivet dies to get to the nose holes on the VS-706 rib and the VS-801PP skin.

The VS-808PP Doubler prep took most of the evening, but it looks like a real airplane part. Last thing was to scuff all the parts including the inside of the skin. I hope to have good weather tomorrow after work. If so, then priming all the parts will be done and drying overnight. Then I can have a solid Saturday assembling the VS for good.

 

 

So after not being able to work on the bird for some time for one reason or another, I was able to get some work done tonight. With the two boys clearly entertained with the work I was doing and the Princess entertaining herself in the back yard, we set out to get some real work going on the VS. I had done a good amount of the rear spar done already so it was time to get the skeleton together and prep it for the skin. So as you see here, I got the skeleton cleco’d together after fluting the ribs and deburring the edges of all the parts less the rear spar parts. Still amazes me how precise this kit is. Everything goes together perfectly aligned.

After getting the skeleton together, it was time for the skin. Went on with no issues. The .032″ thickness is clearly sturdy. Once on, I match drilled all the holes, removed the skin,  removed the vinyl from the rivet lines, dressed the edges, and deburred all the holes. Figured, I was on a role, so I dimpled the skin over on the DRDT-2. I was able to get to all the holes except the first 2 leading edge holes on the upper row. I will hit those with my pop rivet dies later. All that is left is for me to do before the skin can be primed is to scuff the inside. All in all, some good work for one night.

So it’s quitting time tonight. Just need to dimple the skeleton, debur the edges of the rear spar and dress the edges of the doubler and all the holes. Then some primer and I can get riveting this assembly together. It was great to get back at it.

 

Started the Vertical Stabilizer today. Nothing real special to report. Matched drilled the stiffener to the aft spar, added the hinge brackets, and cleco’d the skeleton together to show the wife. Not sure why Van’s does not have you start with the VS. Seems to me, fewer parts, more consistent hole sizes to drill and would give a good intro before tackling the HS. I undid the clecoes on the VS skeleton and need to flute the ribs. I will then debur all the parts and then reassemble to match drill the skin.

Memorial Day 2011 will be memorable for sure. I was able to get all the assembly of the HS done. I had bucked all the rivets in the field of the skins earlier and only had the perimeter to do. So I started with the HS-404 and HS-405 ribs and grabbed my pneumatic squeezer and knocked them out. I did remember to leave the open holes for the fairing between the Horizontal and Vertical stabs alone. Some have reported that they got so into it, they just riveted those and then had to drill out.

Next was final attaching the HS-706 ribs to the skin. Worked from front to back on each end and each side. Went fast with the squeezer.

Once the ribs were done, I moved on to riveting the aft spar on to the skin. Basically, I pulled out every other cleco from the skin and placed a rivet in. Then I squeezed them. Once complete, I removed the remaining clecos and squeezed the rest.

Next, I squeezed the HS-603PP to HS-706 AD4’s, then the HS-603PP to HS-609PP to HS-405 holes. These were a little awkward to get to with the squeezer and the aft flange of the HS-405 lifted/distorted some from the aft spar, though the rivet locations were tight together. Shot an email to Vans which they replied…build on, it will happen.

Once these were nailed down, I was left with the HS-708 aft rib holes that are blind riveted to the spar assembly. I failed to mention earlier that apparently I had a fit of dyslexia when I first started the Aft HS Spar. I accidentally drilled the holes that tie the aft of HS-708 to the spar with a #12 bit rather than the called out #21. I felt really stupid and was really discouraged on day one of my build that I had royally messed up. I called Vans then and asked if it was OK to use CR3213-6-4’s instead of the BSPQ-5-4’s called for due to the oversized hole I now had and if it posed a problem to the strength of the HS-609PP spar doubler. They assured me, you could not measure the loss of strength without visiting NASA. They agreed that using the much stronger (aka overkill) Cherry Max rivets was perfectly acceptable. I sent them another email as I finished up with this picture, and they replied again, all is well and build on. They mentioned several times my work looks really good. Whew! One note of caution, make sure that when you insert the blind rivet into the spar that it really is in the rib. You can check by looking through the HS-405 lightening hole. I thought several times that the rivet was pushing the flange away from the spar and was glad I checked before I set these tough little rivets.

The last area of concern I had when I got all done was the HS-710 stiffener to HS-702 to HS-405 rib interface. I mentioned it earlier, but I sent it on to Vans to just be double safe. I mentioned I was a couple of thousandths of an inch short of the 0.250″ ED and they replied…you are well within MilSpec, build on. Again they complimented me on my work. Perhaps they know something about new builders. We worry tooo much. It was still welcomed assurance.

And we arrive here. A completed Horizontal Stabilizer. It is not 100% perfect, but it will fly, and fly well. Thankfully paint will make up the difference. I need to shoot some primer back on some spots that got a little scuffed when assembling, but all in all, it is time to move on to the next stage of the build…the Vertical Stabilizer! If my mistakes really bug me, once I have more of the bird built, I can then decide if I want to do another HS, but we’ll cross that bridge much later. After all, it is not the space shuttle. 🙂

Not to many pictures tonight but a ton of work. I was first able to get the Left HS Skin riveted on with no real trouble. It became clear that I really should but some tape on my Flush Rivet Gun Set. The first flush rivets and surrounding skins have some scuffing that will go away once prepped for paint. After a while my eye again calibrated to the proper setting of the flush rivets. I spot checked them with the gauge and all seemed good to go. The other lesson learned was you really need to keep a good grip on a tungsten bucking bar. If it is just slightly tilted when bucking, it won’t take long to make a mess. It does make bucking go fast however.

I ate some dinner, returned and started on the right skin. I shot the rivets on the HS-707 rib and had to replace the top nose rivet a couple of times. I thought I was satisfied until I was done for the night and looked at it again…I may need to put a cherry max in there because it is now closed up. I will check with my local expert first, but in the end…it will be OK.

As I moved further aft on the HS-707 rib, the rivet flush set in my gun slipped off the rivet and left a minor indentation in the skin…grr. Why did it have to be on the top of the skin. It is not terrible and a little prep when painting may make it disappear 😉 . Either way…it will still fly just fine. I then joined the other half of the HS and installed the HS-708 Rib with blind rivets in the tight space. Then I attacked all the field rivets on the right skin. I then clecoed the rear spar in. And here is where it ended and the picture was taken.

All that remains are all the rivets around the perimeter of the skins. So close, but it was time to stop before I got too tired. All in all, it looks great…I have a plane part near completion. I may get it done tomorrow or over the weekend.

After a weekend of traveling south for CAP, it was time to take the primed parts and start doing some assembly. Here you can see the first 4 rivets in the HS Aft Spar in their locations. I was worried that the AN470AD4-6’s called for in the plans were too short. My length gauge from my tool kit said they were, but all the reading I did said that this was normal and would be OK. Here goes nothing.

Here is a backside shot of the same after taking my pneumatic squeezer to set them. That tool is worth every cent. Made for clean, consistent, well set rivets over the whole spar. The call outs are correct on the plans after all. I started to feel like I could calibrate my eye after checking the shop heads with my go/no go gauge. I was correct! After a short while, I could tell by simply looking at them. (I still checked them though 😉 )

I was happily setting rivets and thought I was complete with the HS Aft spar and was going over them one at a time and noticed this gem. Apparently I let the squeezer slip and it mangled both the shop and the manufactured head. It just looked bad. Many builders tell you to resist the urge to drill out a rivet just because it looks bad, but this one was not acceptable. I center punched the divot in the manufactured head with a #40 drill and then followed it up with a #30 just until I knew I was just below the rivet shoulder and was able to pop the head out with a punch. I then drove the rest out. The nice thing was, no hole elongation or mangling.  I then reset a new one and you cannot even tell. Whew…however, I know there will be plenty more I will have to remove on other parts.

And here we have a complete HS Rear Spar. The gold rivets look great against that green of the primer. Now on to the Forward Spar. I assembled it per the instructions. Had to break out the rivet gun for some tighter spots the squeezer could not reach. My dies did scratch up the primer on the reinforcement bars a little. Once both skins are on…I will shoot another dusting of primer on the center section and the stiffeners. Other than that, it went together OK. Then next step was to start working on riveting the skins of the HS on. I started with the center nose rib. I clecoed it to the top of the left skin. My 3/32″ clecos did not seem to hold well under the spring tension of the skin. They kept popping off as I bent the skin around the rib. To solve the problem, I simply drilled a bunch of #40 holes into some scrap stock and then on my band saw cut squares out around the holes to make little washers. Then when I clecoed the parts together, I simply put the little washers on last and they held strong. Kind of a pain, but an easy solution. I got the first 10 or so flush rivets set in the top and bottom of the skin and pressed on. They are not perfect…but final paint will do fine to make up the difference. 😀

After the center nose rib is riveted, you have to install the forward spar assembly into the skin and then the aft center and outboard ribs. Once in, you blind rivet (pop) the two center ribs and spar together. This is not easy to do when your hands are XL in size. The Army Air Corps knew what they were doing when they hired all the Rosie Riveters in WWII. I needed one in the shop for these. I got them in though. I may shoot some primer to cover the scuffed areas my blind riveter hit when the mandrels broke. Otherwise…it is looking good in there.

It was time to call it a day. I was able to rivet the end rib to the spar, cleco in the aft center rib, and cleco on the skin to all the parts. Next step is to set all the rest of the flush rivets. Once complete, you do the same for the other skin and then rivet on the aft spar completed earlier. Then…you have a completed Horizontal Stabilizer!!! Hope to have this complete over the Holiday weekend. I am beat, but it really looks like I am building a plane now!