RV7-Factory

After a record breaking weekend of flying the “Spam Can” Sundowner for my Birthday, the family needed to recover. I was not looking forward to gluing the trailing edge together using the Flamemaster sealant I was able to procure locally. I have heard it is nasty stuff and hard to work with. The time came however and the night’s schedule was open so I figured, what the heck…time to get it over with.

I had already taken the time earlier to make up two pieces of aluminum angle to support the trailing edge during glue up and cure. The plans call for only one, but I chose to double up so that I could cleco from both sides of the rudder and have something to grab into. Additionally, the two stiffeners insure that the clamping force is evenly distributed to both sides and both skins.

 

So now the moment arrived to get the sealant mixed and applied. I followed the instructions per the package and turned the white tube black. I do not have a dispensing gun yet so I simply took a piece of 1/2″ PVC pipe to push the plunger from the back and squeezed out enough on a paper plate. I then used a Popsicle stick to spread a thin even coat on both sides of the trailing edge AEX wedge. Be sure to wear some form of disposable glove when working with this stuff…it is sticky and very messy. Also make sure to remember which way the AEX belongs in between the skins. You do not want to have to take the AEX out and flip it after this stuff is on it.

Once the AEX was smothered and back in between the skins, it is time to take some MEK and wipe down the globs that may have squeezed out from the rivet holes and the trailing edge of the skins. I additionally took the tail of a #40 bit and pushed it through each hole so I could wipe it from the other side and free up the hole for clecos and eventually rivets with little mess.

I then reinstalled the aluminum angle on both sides of the trailing edge and clecod every other hole starting from the middle and worked ever other side of the middle out. I figured this would line everything up and keep it straight as it was squeezing the goo out. I then flipped the rudder over and clecod the other side the same way. I felt that this was a good way of truly getting the same clamping force on both sides. It appears to work fine. I then hit the trailing edge with a MEK soaked rag to clean up the little that was collecting between my two aluminum angles. As the picture above shows…it is pretty darn straight. Excellent!

Once the assembly was wiped and clecod, I needed to set it aside so that it could cure. I noticed when assembling the rudder for riveting, that once the counter balance was installed, the rudder would get a slight twist in it sitting on the bench. I shimmed the counter balance when doing the perimeter to minimize the twist and it seemed to work. I also saw the slight twist when I slid the gooped up AEX. To eliminate the twist all together while the rudder was curing, I decided to mount the rudder vertically on the bench. so that the counter balance was pointed down and thus removing the problem. Here you can see the setup. I simply put clamps on either side in case it decided it wanted to fall. The carpet did great at allowing the non bent leading edge of the skins to sink into the carpet while the bent edge stayed afloat on the surface. They sat pretty level and allowed the rudder to sit vertical on the bench at rest. Here the rudder will sit for a couple of days curing. Once cured, I will then set the “acorns in the dimples.”

This last weekend was my birthday. It was also my wife’s 15 year High School Reunion in Southern Utah (near KDXZ). Most can imagine where a guy would rather be on his birthday. (Some examples include; Dentist for a root canal, Proctologist, beauty salon getting leg hair waxed off….you get the idea) She really wanted to go (dang cheerleaders) so I proposed a compromise. “Let’s Fly!” She agreed.

The weather was forecasted to be severe clear with a large chance of sun. Temperatures were to top off at 85 degrees in SLC so that put the DA at about 6500+ MSL. Not bad, but something to consider when potentially loading a plane to gross and heading off for a cross country flight. I spent the next couple of days planning the trip, doing performance calculations, getting W&B worked out, and watching the extended forecasts.

Turns out, it was going to be a perfect weekend to fly. We have made the trip to Southern Utah once before as a whole family, but everyone was a little smaller then. My kids are growing up too fast. Needless to say, the math all worked out and as long as we did not pack the kitchen sink, we’d be OK.

Seeing that it was my birthday after all, my generous mother-in-law offered to watch the kids for the night once we arrived so my lovely bride and I could get away to a B&B or something. That again got my wheels a spinning in my head. We looked at options locally down south but all were pricey and not easy to get in short notice. Then it hit me….”Let’s go to Vegas, Baby!” Again, she agreed!

I had heard that North Las Vegas can present a challenge getting in an out. I like a good challenge, and I really like showing my wife how fun interacting with ATC can be. So KVGT it was.

The day of the trip arrived. I decided to take the day off work. As such, I was asked to fly a CAP mission flight that morning. The kids were not out of school until at least 1400L so heck, why not. By noon I had logged another 3.9 hours in a CAP G1000 Turbo 182. Spoiled I know, but I rarely argue when the US tax payers are paying for my flight time. On my way back home, I stopped off at my home base and pre-flighted the Sundowner, got all my charts in order, plugged in all the headsets, and generally got the bird ready to show and go.

Got home, loaded the kids and wife into the van, and headed off back to the airport. Shoe horned all them into the Sundowner and started the engine. At this point, we were at the height of the day as far as temps and density altitude. I quickly checked my takeoff and climb numbers to insure we were good to go. With the math giving a green light, we taxied on to Runway 34 and throttled up.

For those of us that operate at higher altitude airports, we are used to reduced performance from the get go. I chuckle at times when other owners of my type of aircraft will get on the forums and comment how they had to get to 4500 feet to get cool temps and smoother air. U42 is at 4620 MSL! 🙂 Climbs of 250 fpm at gross are a godsend here. I love it when I can get over 500 fpm solo. You guys down near sea level have it good.

The takeoff was as expected, slow and the climb was shallow. We got to pattern altitude about mid field on the downwind. The stall horn chirped a little on the upwind climb. Needless to say, I was watching the airspeed like a hawk. I have been using the mousevator flap technique for some time and it made a ton of difference with this departure. Once established on the departure to the south, the Sundowner climbed OK to our cruise altitude of 8500 MSL after we dodged the SLC Class B and a few Restricted Airspace areas over Camp Williams (you don’t want to be shot at by a tank do you?).

Interestingly enough, I had an Piper Archer from a local college flight school just ahead and below us. Either he was throttled back a little, or I was going faster with a tail wind at my altitude, but we kept pace with each for half of my flight until he landed. I was pleased with my little bird as we chatted back and forth a bit on the radio. The other pilot was clearly a CFI in the right seat.

One of the items I love to fly with is my Garmin 496. The refresh rate and the information it provides are simply excellent. I love to download my tracks when I make long flights like this to see how the plane behaved and the route I took and the telemetry it shows. Here you can see an overlay of the route at altitude. The left track is my track down south and the right is the return leg back home. Notice anything? The route down was pretty bumpy. While it is typical this time of year to get turbulence, this particular afternoon posed a bit of work for me. I love how the recording resolution of the 496 actually captures the subtle changes in altitude and directions. I was constantly having to adjust the altitude and power with all the thermal activity. At some points I was getting 1000 fpm swings.

I apologized to my wife for all the bumps. The kids were clueless as they had long passed out. She told me she prefers the turbulence at times as it makes the ride fun. If she knew how much more work it was, she may change her mind. I love that she loves to fly with me. I cannot wait when the RV is done and we can travel faster and higher and farther together. The pattern of bumps continued the entire 2 hours of this leg.

We kept chugging along to KDXZ. As you can see from the shot above, KDXZ is too new for even Google Earth. It was finished late last year and replaced the long time operating KSGU airport. This was the first time I had made it down both personally and with CAP, so I was anxious to try out this new facility. The approach was pretty straight forward. I began a decent at KCDC and called straight in runway 19. At this point I was 20 gallons lighter and I had a perfect touchdown. The surface of KDXZ is VERY smooth. I had to check to see if we had landed because the roll out was sooo nice. The fact I was no longer getting bumped around actually should have clued me in we were down. 🙂

We had arrived. The FBO came out to greet us and asked if we needed anything. I asked for fuel to the slots again and if he had internet capability. The FBO is sooo new, the building really was a shell still in process. The bathroom at least had a working sink and toilet. The tile for the pilot/crew shower was still being installed. Looks like it will be a great facility when complete.

My In-Laws arrived at 1800L and we discussed options again. At this point, I had not booked our room in Vegas just in case our plans may change or something came up. It was then decided that my wife and I would ditch the kids and continue on to KVGT. I asked the FBO if I could use his computer and then checked Hotwire for a room in Vegas. They came back with a couple of cheap 4 star rooms downtown so I snagged one. If you don’t know how Hotwire runs their really good deals, you do not know the hotel until after you book and pay. So to this point I was rolling the dice. Turns out, our room was at the Golden Nugget and we were confirmed…so time to get going.

We said goodbye to the kids, thanked the in-laws for taking them, and piled back in to the Sundowner for 1 more hour of fun.

A friend of mine once worked for Vision Airlines (based at KVGT) helped me get a plan of action together to deal with the LAS Class Bravo and get into KVGT. He said to get a TAC for LAS and once off KDXZ, contact LA Center for Flight Following. They would then hand me off and then follow directions to the letter and I should be OK.

Plan in hand, TAC in hand, wife strapped in, we took runway 19 at KDXZ for departure at about 1830L. With 1 hour in flight, we should be at the hotel near 1900L with the time change. Once off KDXZ, I called LA Center. The controller was really nice and I declared my intentions. He gave me a squawk and off we headed VFR and own navigation to KVGT.

As we got over Mesquite NV, I briefed my wife on the fact that LAS Class Bravo will be busier than anything she and I had experienced in SLC Class Bravo and the need for a sterile cockpit when LA Center hands us off to LAS Approach. She understood and we prepped for the decent from 8500 in. Up to this point, LA Center was pretty quiet. It turned out to be a foreshadow of things to come.

As I was 45 miles out of KLAS, LA Center handed me off to Nellis Approach and wished us a good night. I thanked him for the help and switched to Nellis. Upon initial contact, Nellis Approach gave me the following; “Sundowner 76R, cleared into Class Bravo, direct North Las Vegas, own nav, maintain VFR, decent at pilot discretion.” I was 45 nm out and he gave me a path right to KVGT. I could not believe my ears. I figured it would change as I got closer. After all, it was still only 1815L now that I had made the time change. I was almost a little bummed as I wanted a challenge.

We continued inbound and began a nice shallow decent. I stayed under Class Bravo until I reached the segment that went to the ground. I was cleared so I went. I told my wife…”ok, now it should get busy.” I kept on inbound until I was abeam Nellis on the South end when Nellis called and said; “Sundowner 76R, contact North Las Vegas Tower, goodnight.” Between my initial clearance and instructions to now, there were NO other calls to me or anyone else. I could not believe it. Am I really going to get into KVGT this easy?

I read back my instructions and switched over to KVGT Tower. A nice happy sounding controller acknowledged and gave me one traffic advisory for a student doing T&G’s and then said, “Sundowner 76R, make left base, cleared to land runway 12R.” Did I really get cleared to land? Is that really it? Did Vegas shut down? Is there something wrong? After a couple more traffic advisories, I was on final with 12R in sight. Had a great flare, touch down, and roll-out! Where are my check pilots when I need them. 🙂

Tower advise to contact ground off runway and have a nice night. I looked at my wife and said…I have had more trouble getting on the ground at U42, and uncontrolled airport, than this was. She was surprised too. We taxied up and followed the “follow me” van and parked. Nice ramp worker got out, grabbed our bags, helped me tie down and put our cover on, and hauled us off to the terminal. He called dispatch to get us a cab.

After check in at the desk was complete, we headed out front and there was our cab. We headed into town, got checked in, got our room, liked it, then headed out for dinner. Vegas is not exactly our kind of town. In fact, the primary reason for us going there was the challenge (or perceived) of getting into the area via a general aviation plane, and to just be together and have a break from the kids. Being in Vegas was not a high priority. She and I feel that if you are somewhere you cannot take your kids, then you should not be there. Vegas is not for the kids. None the less, the food is good and the room was nice, so we focused on those aspects. We had a good Italian dinner at the Grotto in the Nugget and then walked around a bit. That was enough for both of us. After all, I had already logged 7.2 for the day in 2 separate planes at 4 different airports and travel to/over 4 separate states. That was a great birthday present.

We called it a night and headed back to the room. Golden Nugget as really done a nice job renovating the hotel. Nice place…especially for the rate we got it for.

After a restful night ;-), my wife and I packed up and headed down for breakfast. We found a nice restaurant and sat there smiling as we watch the morning in Vegas start. Needless to say…it is REALLY quiet in the AM. It was actually nice.

Caught a cab and headed back to KVGT. I thought again, maybe now we can get some ATC busy action. No such luck.

Once pre-flighted and running ground gave me a heading and a frequency to call when established. Run up complete, call made to tower, and we were cleared for departure runway 7. I turned to 340 when off and contacted Nellis Approach. His response was; “Cleared into Class Bravo, direct KDXZ, own nav, altitude at pilots discretion, maintain VFR.” That was it until I was cut loose outside of Bravo.

I could not believe it. Being that it was morning and temps were cooler and it was just the 2 of us, the Sundowner climbed like a champ. Being at 2200 MSL did not hurt either. We were at 9500 MSL by the outer limit of the Class Bravo and heading NE.

The air was smooth as glass and the visibility was unlimited. Sun was just above the mountains and we had a great view of Lake Mead. Stupid me forgot to get out the camera. Did not matter, I was flying my plane with the love of my life next to me holding my hand. We had a little head wind slowing us down, but I had all morning to burn as the reunion was not until later that day. I love to fly, but I really love to fly with my wife.

I declined flight following on this leg. I wanted to just enjoy the view and enjoy chatting with my wife. The leg is relatively short and the traffic apparently was light. Was a good choice.

As we began our decent into the KDXZ area, a King Air called in and stated that he was on the RNAV approach for Runway 1. He called out his DME and we were at the time, about matched in distance and on converging courses. I opted to let him continue in on the approach and I simply executed a 360 degree turn to give him room. He was spinning 2 engines and I only had one and lots of time. I then resumed the inbound course as he executed a circle to land for a T&G on runway 19. I watched as he did his landing and climb-out and off he went. He thanked me for my help and was gone.

Now it was my turn. I called established on downwind and noticed that a local freight carrier had taxied to and was holding short of runway 19. I pressed on thinking he was waiting for me to land and would then go. WRONG!!!!

As I called my base turn, he began to roll out on the runway….I thought…”seriously, is he going now? I just called Base genius!” I then decided, I do not want to be anywhere near this guy when he departs…so I will do a base 360 degree turn to the outside. Not exactly standard, but I did not want to do a go around and have him climb right into me even if I side stepped the runway. I advised that I was doing my 360 and got no reply from him. After coming around to complete my base, I looked over and HE WAS STILL ON THE THRESHOLD!!! So I called another 360 at which point he simply said “OK” and then throttled up and went along his merry way.

After the second turn around, I saw him climbing out and I said to myself, “Let’s get down and off the runway before he realizes he left his brain on the ground and comes back for it!” I came in and made another sweet soft landing and taxied off. Shortly after I pulled in, a nice guy in a REALLY nice Comanche 250 landed and taxied in. Turns out he was one of the original creators of SkyWest Airlines. Nice guy. He and I got to talking about the tool that just took off as he heard all the traffic and he said, you did the right thing…stayed alert and out of the way since he and I were the only ones that were clearly paying attention.

The FBO guy came out and also said he did not know what the dudes issue was, but he felt that he was not all there either. Apparently he seemed off in the next dimension when he was prepping to leave. Both the FBO and I agreed that we would submit complaints to the Company advising that there was a near incursion by a clearly dysfunctional pilot within their ranks.

The rest of the day was pretty routine. In-laws picked us up, we reunited with our kids, went to the reunion, and ended up at the in-laws house. I advised them all we needed to get to bed early because I wanted to be wheels up no later than 0730 the next morning. They complied and we all went to sleep.

The next morning we arose to a perfectly clear, star filled sky with the hint of sunrise to the east. I saw a couple of shooting stars as we loaded all the family up. Then we drove for 20 minutes back to the new airport. For those familiar with KSGU, it was centrally located right in the middle of town on a mesa. It was a unique airport as the terrain fell off on both ends of the runway. If you missed it, it was a bad miss. It is a shame it had to go, but progress is progress.

The new airport is out in the middle of nowhere and the road to get to it is very long. You nearly have to go to Arizona and then back north to get there. Not as convenient, but the facility is very nice and will support future expansion. As a side note, one of our CAP Cessna 182’s was the first Piston Single to ever land on the new strip. Governors order.

We arrived, pre-flighted, checked the WX, packed in, and got going. The early AM departure was sooo much better for the climb and the smoothness. The FBO let my in-laws drive his golf cart to the edge of the taxi way to send us off. Nice guy.

As you can see in the second picture, the return trip was super smooth. Once I got to cruise and leaned out the engine and trimmed it, I think I touched the yoke maybe 4 times until decent. The rest was a simple rudder peddle press or two. All the kids and the wife were asleep and the traffic was super light. It was heaven on earth. I had the mountains to the right, the desert to the left and home ahead. This is peace.

Decent in was uneventful. Had to dodge a few local guys doing pattern work and then snuck in. Another sweet landing at the end of the trip capped it off. We taxied back and unloaded and waited for the fuel truck to arrive.

Once I unloaded and got everything ready to push back, I noticed a couple of guys looking at a hangar mate’s plane. It is an old Cessna 152 he uses for flight training. Apparently in runup before a flight, his wing met another planes propeller. Neither won the battle, but I think this poor old bird is done. The prop went right through the spar so a new wing will need to be located. I do not know the extent of the damage to the other planes prop/engine, but I imagine it will not be cheap. I wish them luck. It is a gnarly reminder to always be vigilant in all phases of aircraft operation.

We were fueled, pushed back, tied down, loaded into the minivan and headed for home. We had just enough time to get to church! Good thing, cause I had many things to be grateful for over the weekend and needed to focus on Him for a bit. After all, I did just have a great birthday weekend and logged 11.2 more hours!

 

I have spent a good amount of time trying to figure out just how builders are getting the last 2 rivets in the upper rib of the Rudder set. I just do not see how it can be done. Sure there are techniques, but I have tried a few with little success. These little buggers are simply too tight to get at. I was pleased I was able to get to most with a squeezer and bucking bar…but it was time to admit defeat and take the safer and just as adequate route. Above you can see my work for the day.

I simply took a 7/16ths bit and opened up the holes in the last two dimples of the upper rib. The MK-319-BS blind rivets that Van’s state can be used here went in with no issues and look OK from the outside. A little filler at paint or even a small amount of JB Weld in the mandrel hole and shaved off and you would never know the difference. The biggest plus is that it is simply done and I did not risk mangling up the rudder trying to buck rivet solids in. At 200 mph and 15000 MSL…you’ll never know I cheated! 🙂

Now all that is remaining is the leading and trailing edges. Hope to get them done in the next week.

Today at work, the USPS Santa delivered a couple of new tools. I have been meaning to buy a no hole yoke for my squeezer and since the last rivets on the top and bottom ribs are really hard to get to the shop head…it was time to take the plunge. So I hurried home, took care of some “honey-do” items and then set up the new yoke on the squeezer and attempted to get the last of the rivets that I was not able to do during the last build session.

Turns out, I was able to get all the rivets on the lower rib with no issues. The yoke shines. I then got four of the six remaining on the upper rib. The last two are simply too tight. I tried the indirect riveting method as shown here:

My thin bucking bar is apparently too thin. It is 1/8″ plate steel and simply appears to bounce and take all the hits from the rivet gun and absorb them. It did not set the rivet well. I may see if I can get a 3/16″ piece of steel and see if that works. If it is still too tight, I may just give up on being a hero and use some CherryMax countersunk blind rivets and call it good. I hear there is no shame in admitting defeat in that area of the rudder! 😉 Either way, once these are set, it will be time to hit the trailing edge procedure and get on to the elevators.

Here is a shot of the “No Hole” yoke in my squeezer. I wish I had bought it earlier because looking back, I could have used it in some other spots on the other parts of the tail I have completed so far. If you are just getting started on your tools or thinking what you need…put this on your list along with the longeron yoke.

I started the day out with a nice flight around the back side of the Wasatch Mountain Range. The Sundowner performed perfect and the flight was smooth as could be over the mountains in the summer here in Utah. I sure love to fly. I cannot wait until I can do so in the RV!

A friend of mine, Matt, has been asking to come watch/help for some time. It worked out that the holiday weekend was going to be the perfect opportunity to do so. Here is a shot he took of me assembling the spar and associated parts. The pneumatic squeezer made quick work of these AD4’s. I let Matt take a whack at a few as well. He commented, “This is just too easy!” Right! 🙂

When I was doing the match drilling on the skins and the spar, I noticed that on the center hinge point reinforcement plate, the stiffeners come a little too close. I found this out after I had already back riveted the stiffeners on. So…what to do? I decided that I would gently remove some of the stiffener material and give the reinforcement plate some more room. Once I did, there was plenty of clearance and I felt much better. I shot the stiffeners with a little more primer and got back to work.

Here is another shot showing the clearance of the stiffener and reinforcement plate. Functionally and structurally, I think it is just as strong as the rest. I had to do the same to the other stiffener on the other skin as well.

So Matt and I took turns on the squeezer around the perimeter of the skins. I did all the rivets that required my bucking bar and gun…Matt will be granted that chore when I have given him some practice pieces to test him on. We knocked out all but the last four on both sides of the top rib and the last 3 on both sides of the bottom rib. These require some different techniques and I decided rather than push myself to a mistake, I would attempt these after some research and rest.

It was time to wind the day down. We worked on the rudder for about 5 hours to that point. Matt was interested in the hinge points. As a fellow pilot it is fun to see how different designers do things so I pulled out the Heim Joints and hand threaded them in to the Nutplates we just riveted in. One was a little bugger and made me nervous it would cross thread. Since we had mostly closed up the rudder at this point, I was a little concerned. What if it is buggered up? How would I replace it now…grrrr. So we decided again not to mess with it now and take a breather.

I remembered reading a blog or two talking about how you thread the Heim Joints in without messing the part up. Something to do with PVC Pipe. I had the concept logged in memory and dug it out and decided to take some time and make the tool. Basically, I took a 3/4″ scrap piece of Schedule 40 PVC pipe from my sprinkler redo and a similar length piece of 1/2″ Schedule 40 PVC I stole from a neighbor. I notched the 1/2″ pipe to be just a hair wider than the Heim joints’ flat sections and just deep enough to cover the ball joint portion. Then I used my disk sander to take a little off the outside of the pipe so it would slip into the I.D. of the 3/4″ pipe. I glued them together and then took some time to smooth out the ends and the shank for comfort and part protection. What was left was what I refer to as my Heim Screwdriver. If I got real fancy, I’d throw a bike handlebar grip on it…we’ll see.

That one nutplate was really bugging me…so I went back out to the shop, threaded it in a little ways and then put a little pressure on the head as to apply perpendicular force on it. I figured that riveting the nutplate on may have tweaked it a bit and may have put a little twist on it. With all the material ahead of it in the reinforcement plate and the spar creating a tight tolerance hole, the shaft of the Heim perhaps could simply be unable to fully line up if it was slightly twisted. I am happy to report that this did the trick…whew! I was able to then hand thread the Heim in and no cross threading occurred.  I then tested my new tool as well. It appears to be just the ticket for getting these installed.

At the conclusion of the build session, I was left with a rudder that has some tight rivets to set and the trailing edge to glue up and then rivet. After that is the front bend and it will be done. I got done just in time to have some pizza with a bunch of family that had stopped by for the Holiday Weekend to attend and participate in a Baby Blessing in the family. Next week looks to be a busy one. Perhaps I will take a break, order a no hole yoke, and figure out the best way to get to those last rivets before knocking out the trailing edge. Until then…Happy Labor Day!

It has been a few days since I was last able to work on the Rudder. I was debating what to do on the inside of the skins for primer. As you can see here, I decided to prime it…but VERY lightly. I did not scuff the major portions and lightly misted them. I did however scuff and prime the portions that would be mated with another part. Here you can see the end result. They are dried and ready for assembly. I was still early in the night so I clecoed the spar and the lower rib parts together. After that, I closed up shop for the night. Tomorrow should be a big day.