Eric’s Vans RV-7a Build Log

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More rudder work, but no time to detail right now.

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More rudder work, but no time to detail right now.

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I cleaned the right skin stiffeners with MEK. I then started shaking the rattle can of self etching primer. I coated all of the right side stiffeners with primer. I then started dimpling the skin. I noticed that the skins were getting a little distorted around the dimples. I was using the C-Frame. I adjusted the feet on my dimpling table to keep the die from sticking up to far. This helped but the skin was still a little distorted, but in a slightly different way. The dimple was ever so slightly recessed. I fixed this so it sat just slightly proud of the table and the dimples started coming out great.

I primed the skins were the stiffeners went and let it dry. I then started taping the rivets into place using the backrivet tape. I got through four stiffeners before I decided to call it a night. Made good progress tongiht and it fel good to be working again.

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Well it has been a while since I worked on the RV. Life has gotten in the way. I work full time, have two kids, and am currently a full time college student with a 3.86 GPA.

But I decided tonight it was time to get back out in the garage. I started the evening by cleaning up the workshop some. It had gotten pretty bad and it needed to be done. Then I cut the protective covering off of both sides of the right rudder skin along the rivet lines. I deburred the right rudder stiffeners and got them dimpled. I will start priming them maybe tomorrow night.

It’s not much, but I need to get back in the habit of putting at least a little time in almost every day.

Pictures to follow

I worked some more on the rudder. I finished treating the edges or the stiffeners. I clecoed all of the stiffeners to the right skin and matched drilled them. I really have not been working much on the plane lately. I am trying to at least work on the airplane everyday. Even if it is just a half hour of work I think it is important to push on.

I worked more on the rudder stiffeners tonight. I cut the left side and finished all of the edge treatment. Nothing really exciting. I just have to finish edge treating the right side stiffeners.

Started laying out the parts for the rudder. I cut the stiffeners in half. I then marked the stiffeners for cutting the angles area where they narrow towards the trailing edge. I used the left and right snips to cut them out. I would cut it close to my line and then grind it down the rest of the way. It went pretty well. The instructions on cutting the stiffeners was not entirely clear to me at first. I found a webpage (I will look for it again) that helped a lot. Once I saw how it was supposed to be done the directions seem obvious.

Pictures to follow.

I called Vans and it is a replacement issue. I will be ordering the parts on Monday. I have already drilled out all of the rivets and they came out well. I didn’t ruin any more parts during that process.

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Going to call Vans on this one. It is what I think is a spot many builders have problems with. The 405/710/404 intersection. I have had to drill this rivet out too many times and now the holes is enlarged. I will call Vans on it tomorrow.

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Well the first major component has been finished. I work today and got the VS all buttoned up. Nothing really that outstanding to metion about the work. The flush rivets are not nearly as bad as I feared. I did notice after I had set about 10 rivets on one of the ribs that I had forgoted to dimple it. So I drilled out the rivets and used the Cleaveland pop rivet dimpler to get it done. Worked well and didn’t take long at all.

Don’t forget to skip the holes on the bottom of the VS for the fairing attachment.

**TIP** Cover your flush rivet set with some painters tape. This helps to prevent sratches on the skin.

**TIP** For the last two rivets in the top of the VS at the front it is very hard to get a standard yoke in there. I don’t have a no hole yoke so I cut off a nail head and put it into the hole for my own “no hole” yoke. Worked great.

**TIP** Cover your bucking bar with tape. I used painters tap because it is what I had. This prevent any scratched in the primer while bucking blind.

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Started the day out by drilling out the rivets from the bent HS rear spar (see previous posts for details). I went ahead and bought a tool from Cleaveland expecially for this. It works a lot like the microstop countersink. It got very HOT, so I took it apart and lubed it up a little. Stayed MUCH MUCH cooler after I did that. As I was drilling out the rivets a FedEx ground truck pulled up and there was my new spar and rivets from Vans. Great Timing. I finished up the rivets clecoed the spar back together with the new part and set it aside.

I finished riveting the VS rear spar together remembering the attachment places for the ribs. I then moved on to riveting all of the ribs to the front spar. I had a problem with the angle the rib attaches to the spar. I couldn’t get my squeezer in there. I had to use my seaming pliers to straighten it up before riveting. If I tried to bend it while it was clecoed to the spar it would pull away from the spar. Bending it back was simple once riveted. This went quickly. Finished that up and set it aside.

I finished up deburring and dimpling the VS skin. I then clean all of the VS skin with M.E.K. and set it aside for primer another day.

After primer comes the time I am dreading, my first rivets that will be visible form the outside of the plane… I am not looking forward to the skin flush rivets.

I finished priming the VS parts. I had used the wrong dimple die so I went back and redimpled with the correct size. I set my Microstop countersink to the correct depth. The rivets when use as a gauge on the spar stiffener showed a “shiny band” around them meaning that they sat recessed in the countersink. I backriveted the spar to the spar stiffener. The only problem is that there is some light visible between the two pieces. I think I will call Vans about this to make sure it is ok. I didn’t want to countersink the stiffener too deep.

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This mods adds a handle to a standard C-Frame dimpler. This allows you to dimple pieces without using a hammer. Great for when your family would prefer not to hear that loud banging coming from the workshop.

This mod was created by Al Herron and he has graciously allowed me to repost it here. The pictures can be seen above, and the diagram is HERE

I call Vans Aircraft this morning and spoke to someone on thier tech line. He looked at the pictures and said he felt it would be ok as long as there is no cracking. I was very relieved to hear this news as I wasn’t looking forward to drilling out all of those rivets. But, after a while I startedto feel uneasy again. I was worried that maybe the picture didn’t show up as well as I thought he needed and what if there is a crack I don’t see. Well long story short I bit the bullet and ordered a new spar HS-603pp and the -7 rivets to go along with it. I also ordered a Rivet Removal Tool from Cleaveland tools. I figured if I am going to be drilling out this many rivets I might a well make it as easy as possible on myself. I also don’t want to run the risk of damaging anything further during the removal.

The Vans parts ist is a great source for the cost of these parts. It really puts these little messups into perspective. So in the end I paid $18.05 for the spar and $.75 for the rivets. So $18.80 for a lifetime of free from worry about that darn rear spar. Seems like a GREAT investment to me.

Anyway after worrying about this all weekend I must say this:
Don’t sweat the small stuff, and it’s all small stuff.

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Well I messed up on the HS and I am awaiting parts. So I decided to move on and see what damage I could do to the vertical stabilizer.

Well first off I found the vertical stabilizer much easier to work on that the horizontal stabilizer. The only particularly tricky part is countersinking the holes on the stiffener so that the dimples on the spar sit flat. You need flush rivets for later on when the VS is attached to the fuselage. It isn’t really hard, just a new skill and a new tool. I found that my spar stiffener had some serious scratches that took some time to get out. I used the Scotchbrite wheel, 400 grit sandpaper, and the scotchbrite pads to take care of these scratches.

**TIP** I had some trouble first starting out with the edge treating of all of the parts. The best tool I have found is the V shaped gold handle tool. You make several passes down the edge with this tool. It will shave off these little curly pieces of AL. I have found that the very edge of the piece will become shiny when you are done treating the edge. When it is shiny it is rounded. It is hard to explain but when you see it it is obvious.

**TIP** When joining the ribs to the front angled spar they may not fit properly. A little time with the hand seamer will allow the flange to fit tightly to the back of he front spar. The flange on the front of my rib was several degrees off even when clecoed together there was a gap. You can see the results above after bending with the seamer.

**TIP** The front two holes (1 ea top and bottom) were not drilled through the rib. You can see above that the front flange on the ribs wasn’t quite the right shape to lie flat against the skin. This would cause a misalignment when drilling. I used the side clamps to hold the flange flat against the skins.

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Well I am hoping to get some advice on what to do with this situation. I think I know the answer, but I don’t like it. But, you do what you have to for a safe airplane.

I was moving some wood around the garage. My wife had moved the completed HS rear spar. I let a piece of wood fall and it caught the rear spar and bent it a little. The bend is outboard of the stiffeners and inboard of the last elevator hinge bracket. I was able to flute the spar channel and it seemed to straighten up fine. All of the skin rivet holes line up fine at this point. I am very worried about whether this would compromise the structural integrity of the HS.

Well I should say I fixed it, because the problem still exists. I found a way around my problem by ordering the Cleaveland EZ Change Spring for a whopping $5. I think if they know you can’t use the normal behive spring with the back rivet set included in thier kit they should include the proper spring. Anyway, no big deal.

Also the items that were backordered when I got my tools in January are finally arriving today. So I can get finished with the HS after priming.

I am curious about inspecions though. I won’t seal up the HS skins until they are inspected so I need to find out how to get that done.

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So I went to put the back rivet set and I couldn’t get it in. The behive spring was too small for the plastic piece to go through. I have no idea what the problem is. I was hoping to get some feedback from fellow builders. You can see the pictures above to see what I am talking about.

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Well my wife officialy hates the dimpling process. Little does she know I hate the process as much as she does. I have been dimpling the HS skins using the C-Frame and it is noisy. I know about the DRDT-2 from http://www.experimentalaero.com, but I don’t want to spend that money right now. My future list of tools includes a pneumatic squeezer and a DRDT-2 which I will buy when I make the big plunge of buying the wings.

I have some dimpling pictures that I will post, but honestly when you have seen one dimple….

I am still up in the air about which engine to power this bird with. I know I have a lot of time to worry about that, but what can I say. I was dead set on the Lycoming 200 hp 360. But after hear about the extra weight I am not so sure. I am now leaning towards the 180hp 360. I also don’t know about FI or carb.

The other obvious engine for consideration is the Eggenfellner subie engines. I really like the idea of putting one on my plane, but they are (in my mind) not completely proven as of yet. Luckily they will have several more years of flying time under thier belt by the time I get to make the decision.

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I built the C-frame table kit today. It was pretty easy, but I still have to put on the particle board top. I also set a few rivets for the front spar to HS-404 and HS-405 ribs. I don’t know how in the heck most people set these rivets, but I have a heck of a time squeezing them. I drilled out one that was really bad and I have two in the very corner of the bottom angle bracket that are crooked. I just couldn’t get my yoke in there correctly. Would a longeron yoke have helped this situation?

And yes I have some touch up to do on the angle brackets…

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Well I finished up the rear spar. I still have to torque the bearing carrier bolts, but I can’t do that until I get a inch pound torque wrench. My torque wrench only goes down to 20 ftlbs and the AN3 bolts require 1.6ftlbs according to the chart in chapter 5.

I also started on the front spar. I got most of the front spar completed and clecoed on the HS-404 and HS-405 ribs.

I drilled out a few more rivets because they were slightly crooked.

So far I am having a blast. But standing for so long on the concrete is getting to my back. My hands also hurt from all of te squeezing. I wish pneumatic squeezers weren’t so expensive.

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Well today was the day I put parts together for the final time. I started out by giving everything a good going over with the Scotch Brite pad (I ended up buying some locally). I took the parts inside and started to wash them and dry them. I handled them very carefully so as not to get any finger oil on them. I decided that it would be too much trouble for these few parts to mix up and spray the primer so I bought some self etching rattle can primer. I primed all of the parts and let them dry.

I clecoed the spar stiffeners to the back of the spar channels. I then set my first rivet. I riveted over half of the rear spar and will finish the rest up tomorrow. The riveting wasn’t too bad but boy are my hands tired. I was very happy with the quality of the rivets. I drilled out one rivet because it was squeezed crooked.

In case your wondering I am getting pictures of all of this. I am looking for a reasonably easy way to integrate them into this blog. When I get the pics up I will add detailed captions to go along with the general naration posted so far.

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I did more HS work today. I made the front spar. I bent the center section back at 6 degrees as per the manual. I got all of the ribs clecoed onto the spars. I then proceeded to cleco on the skins. I had the entire HS clecoed together today. I took it all back apart and deburred and dimpled all of the spars and ribs. Next up comes dimpling the skins. I am still waiting for the Scotchbrite pads from Cleaveland (they were backordered). I may try and find some locally along with some self etching primer in a rattle can. I purchased the entire Sanchem primer system. I may use that as well, matter of fact I will almost definately do that.

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Well today was the big day. I started actually working on parts that will one day fly. I found all of the parts necessary for the HS rear spar. I bought the kit used with some minor work having already been done. But, to make sure I was on the same page I went back through all of the steps. If it said to do it, I did it, regardless of whether the previous owner had checked off the step. It’s my butt thats going to be on the line! I clecoed together the entire rear spar. This consists of the spar channels, spar stiffeners, inboard hinge brackets, outbourd hinge brackets, and center bearing.

I did made a mistake tonight. I was working on cleaning up the HS-603pp on the Scotchbrite wheel. The edge of the piece caught on the wheel and bent. I bent it back to the original shape as best as possible. I posted a message to VAF message board and will follow up with a quick call to Vans on Monday. I really hope I don’t have to replace the a part on the first day, but if I do the $$ spent will motivate me not to do it again.

I worked for a while on my second table. My Miter saw’s blade is toast. It was doing more burning through the wood than cutting, so I had to struggle to finish up the cuts on the miter saw. The only thing left to do with second table is to notch the bottom shelf and screw it down.

Well I received my tools from Cleaveland, well most of them anyway. There were a few things backordered. I inventoried the entire kit and everything was as it should be. I got to looking at some of the die sets and I am a little unsure on how to tell which dies to use for which rivets. I am sure that this will become obvious once I get into it and have everything sitting in front of me on the work bench.

EAA 1000 format and modified it a little bit. I build it per plans except I added a foot to the length. So my tables are 2×6, instead of 2×5. Not having any workbench to start with made the first one hard to build. The second one was much easier to build because I was able to work at a comfortable height. I got most of the way through the second. I will finish it up soon. The plane factory is coming along nicely. I also bought some socket and wrench organizers from Harbour Freight. Pictures to follow.

I have been playing around with various blogging programs for Linux. I got the idea from Dave. I started off using the same package that he is using. It is called Nucleus. I was pretty excited to get this working on my XP box at home running Mandrake 10.0 in a Vmware session. I am a Linux newbie. He also mentioned that he was thinking about moving to Wordpress. I took a look at that package and decided that it looked pretty cool. As you can see here that’s what I went with.

So I have the empennage, but no place to build it. Well, no place clean enough. So on Saturday my wife and I cleaned out the third car garage. We assembled some shelfs that we bought at Sam’s club and started getting everything cleaned up, no small task I assure you.