Riveted Rear Spar Components, Continued Rib Prep.

Well today Dad and I woke up bright and early and decided to head over to the airport to get some breakfast, after an egg sandwich and a couple cups of coffee we headed on over to visit our friends Jack and Dick. They were at their hangar working on Dwayne's airplane and we got to fill our heads with some more good ideas, it's great being surrounded by RV people!

I only had a limited time at the airport this morning because I had to go to school, and wouldn't you know it, when I got there my first class was cancled.. perfect! I could've put those couple of hours in to working on the project! Oh well, I went to my moms for a while and took care of a few things at her house.

After school I made a B-line straight for the airport to meet up with Dad at the hangar. When I got there he had already been deburring the wing ribs and had primed the rear spar, awesome! With this finished we made sure to get straight to riveting the doublers to the rear spar. We attempted to use the pneumatic squeezer that our friend let us borrow, but we couldn't get it to squeeze the -4 rivets. We shimmed up the rivet sets and cranked up the pressure on the compressor but it still wasn't doing it's job. Instead we hooked up the rivet gun and bucked all of the rivets, definitely good practice for when the skins come. We taped off the holes in the rear spar that also get ribs and the flap brace so we don't accidently fill them early.

Once we had the rear spar components all riveted together we moved back to rib preparation. We already had 14 of the leading edge ribs done (fuel tank ribs) and moved on to the wing leading edge ribs. After about a couple of hours of work we had finished flanging and fluting the leading edge ribs, and once this was done we marked the rest of the ribs to get them ready for flanging and fluting.

All in all we had a great day and it was definitely productive. With two of us working together on this we feel like we have a pretty good pace going. Can't wait to get back to the hangar!

Rib Work

Wow, so it's been a while since I've put anything new up, but we're still making good strides on the RV! No pictures to post today but since the last post we've finished the rear spar components and began working on the many ribs. So far we've gotten all of the ribs deburred and now all they need is to have their flanges straightened, and to be fluted. Tomorrow we'll be priming the rear spars (all of the doublers and the tie downs have been primed) and we'll hopefully get the doublers all riveted on.

Today I was able to continue the work on the leading edge ribs and got 14 of them fluted and their flanges trued. This process proves to be pretty tedious but I've found a good system that I'll be using to finish the rest of the ribs. Can't wait to get back to the project and make more progress!

Finished Tie Downs, Began Rear Spar

Today right after work I went straight to the hangar to meet up with dad and get to work on the airplane. As soon as I got there we banged out that last tie down. We match drilled it to the spar once it was nice and square, then once that was done we drilled the spacers and prepared it all for the platenuts. All we have to do to finish them off is put some primer on them. Since the weather has been cloudy and cool we're waiting until a warm day to finish the tie downs.

We moved to the rear spar and we cut the doublers that attach to the rear spar, once we had a rough cut on the four pieces we dressed them up on the scotchbrite wheel and they're looking nice. That was all we were able to accomplish today, but for a couple hours of work we definitely satisfied. I have to be to work at 5 tomorrow morning but I'll be at the hangar right after to get back to work!

Also, the platenuts are all installed in the main spar. At least all of the platenuts that attach the fuel tanks, inspection plates, and the inboard ones.

Platenut Work for Fuel Tanks

What a great day today. Found out I got one of the three A's on the previous tests in my geography class, got to hang out with my girlfriend and my dad, and we had dinner together at the airport! Dad and I also got to finish the platenuts for the fuel tanks. As well as countersinking the screw holes. The process in which we secured the platenuts was as follows.





1) Drill all #40 holes.
2) Countersink all rivet holes.
3)Cleco platenuts on, then rivet.
4) Drill screw holes.
5) Countersink screw holes.



We countersunk the screw holes last because the plans suggest using a #30 countersink cutter in the hole, which is I believe a #12. If there's nothing to keep the cutter centered (platenut) then you will be left with a hole that's less than concentric. After a while of countersinking I finally found a method for countersinking that produces great results. Instead of using the air drill, we switched to our $15 corded drill and set it at a slow speed. Instead of obliterating the metal into dust producing somewhat nice results, it slowly cuts the metal and leaves great results. The only real tedious part of this job was getting the countersink cage set to the proper depth, but once it was set it was smooth sailing. After a few hours of work, the first step of the wing kit is complete. Tomorrow we'll be starting the nut plates for the access plates after we get out of work. Excited to be back in action!

Prework Post

Well just thought I'd do a quick check in, in the library at school right now excited to meet dad at the hangar to get back to work on the RV! Also, my girlfriends gonna stop by for a while to check out our progress and have dinner with us at the hangar, it should be a fun night!
Also, last night dad and I picked up some cheap pipe insulation to pad our fuel tank cradles for once the tanks are done. Gotta have a place to store these parts so they don't get damaged!

Fuel Tank Platenuts

Today we had a productive day and got some more work done on the main spar. After pondering over the plans for a while we finally got to drilling and countersinking for the platenuts that will hold the fuel tanks on. Once we had this done we began riveting them on. This was also the first time I got to use a pneumatic squeezer! Our friend is letting us borrow his and the thing is amazing, although it takes a bit of getting used to. But it's definitely easier than squeezing each rivet by hand! Today we were only able to finish the top platenuts but plan on finishing the bottom on Tuesday. It feels great to be back in the building zone again, can't wait to get back to the hangar!

Wing Inventory

Today once school was done I made my B-line straight for the airport to meet up with dad. Today we finally got to get back to work on the RV after about 13 weeks or so. We inventoried the kit and organized all of our rivets and fasteners, an astronomical amount compared to what comes in the empennage kit. Once all of the small parts were out we made room on the workbench for the main spars so we could inspect them. They looked flawless! Great job at Van's for sure, just a couple of buffing marks but nothing at all to worry about.

Though we did get one rib that was a bit bent up towards the end, we're thinking we'll be able to true it back to its original shape. We also got the spars clamped to the workbench so we can start the task of countersinking for the platenuts. Other than that there's not too much to report, but we're both stoked to get back to work!

Wings Arrived!

Well today was the day! Our wing kit has finally arrived. Though I was unable to witness it (school and work) Dad had the honors of accepting the order. Inventory shall start on Thursday right after school, and we can't wait!