Formerly the Tail Kit Crate
The crates that Van’s kits are shipped in are VERY sturdy. It is even more surprising that they are built buy a gentlemen that is BLIND! It is a shame to just dismantle and toss them. So…what do you do? I chose to turn the tail crate into a sturdy set of shelves for the house garage. Just had to buy some 1″x 10″ x 6′ pine planks to blend in with the case and shazam!
I think I will do the same with the others as I get to emptying them.
Spar Assembly complete
HS Spar is complete and ready for primer. All holes are deburred and edges are dressed. At this point, the parts are set aside and now on to the Forward Spar assembly.
Bearing Assembly Matched Drilled
Once the bearing assembly is riveted, you match drill it to the spar. I sighted down the spar through all the hinge pivot points. It is straight as an arrow, right down the middle of the holes. This kit is a thing of beauty.
First Rivets of my plane are now set
So…here is the completed elevator bearing assembly. The first 6 rivets are now in the books. I am using a pneumatic squeezer. Worth every penny. Consistent, clean, and correct.
Prepped and Primed
After all the rear spar stiffeners and channels were match drilled, I prepped and primed the elevator bearing. I am using Dupli-Color’s self etching. I like how it sprays and heck, I even like the color. The next step is to rivet it to its brackets.
The matched punched assemblies are spot on
Every RV starts here. I had to debur the Spar Stiffeners and round over the edges near the channel bends a bit for a flush mating. Then the ends were rounded over to remove the points (aka crack generators). Once both were buffed to a smooth satin finish, I clecod the rear spar and the stiffeners together. Next step is to match drill them.
Opened the boxes in the tail crate. One of the first to do’s is to inventory all the parts to insure they are there. I was only short 1 AN960-10L washer. Fortunately I know of a source…all better now.
The Journey Begins
Kits were delivered on Tuesday but I have not had time to open any of the crates. So before work…heck, let’s open at least one.
I guess since I held off on getting the tail until the wings were ready, they simply put the standard boxes in another crate to protect it better. Bonus for me!!!
I hope to inventory the Tail tonight. I cannot believe I made it a whole day without touching these parts (neither can my wife).
Like Opening a Jack-in-the-Box
Amazing How They Ship the Skins
Slideshow of the RV Factory being built and setup.
Google Photos of Shop Construction
Stay tuned as this site is brand spanking new.
Kit Crates and Builder
