RV-9A Finish Kit Construction

RV-9A Finish Kit Construction Details the construction of our Van's RV-9A Finish kit. tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698 2006-04-10T00:09:28Z Blogger

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true Matthew 2006-04-09T19:06:00-05:00 2006-04-10T00:09:28Z 2006-04-10T00:09:28Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-114462776830236228 Maintenance items...

With 48.5 hours now on the plane I've been doing little maintenance related items here and there. I have installed the nosewheel pant. I replaced a fitting coming off the #3 cylinder that feeds the MP sensor with a restrictor fitting one to see if that settles my MP readings down. I made up a new set of foam for a set of passenger seats. (Sandi's seat cushions are custom for her..) A 2nd oil

false Matthew 2006-03-19T20:33:00-06:00 2006-03-20T02:39:45Z 2006-03-20T02:39:45Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-114282238507786700 Wing root seal & nosewheel pant

During my builders inspection, Ray pointed out that I installed the rubber wing root seal incorrectly. I had trouble getting it on the first time and trimmed off the flange of the seal so it would fit. Ray pointed out that the flange was supposed to push up against the fuse and even curve up so that any water that ran down would fall into the seal and drain off. I ordered some replacement,

false Matthew 2006-02-08T09:38:00-06:00 2006-02-08T15:41:47Z 2006-02-08T15:41:47Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113941330764737874 Post First Flight Squawks

First flight brought out a couple of issues. My passenger PTT button was stuck on. I had just wired it the day before and hadn't tested in until I went to fly. Turns out I had a wire soldered on the wrong terminal of the button. My transponder didn't seem to be working but last night it was working fine. I'm not sure if I just couldn't see the lights on or what. I'll keep an eye on it. I

false Matthew 2006-01-31T12:12:00-06:00 2006-01-31T18:20:05Z 2006-01-31T18:20:05Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113873160578460740 Cowl hinge and oil filler tube

I was having trouble getting one of my hinge pins to go all the way in on the top, so I replaced the half on the firewall. I also removed the extension from the oil filler tube and trimmed the dipstick accordingly and put on new marks. I sat in the plane for a few minutes just fiddling with things, getting the feel of the cockpit. I also went through all of the limit settings in the EIS and

false Matthew 2006-01-31T09:31:00-06:00 2006-02-08T15:37:55Z 2006-02-08T15:37:20Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113941304024710507 Inspection squawks

For a point of reference, the following were the 'issues' found during my FAA inspection. - Perform static system check - Perform fuel flow check on right fuel tank - Lable fuel selector valve with left/right. - Place OFF labels on switches - Label throttle/mixture cables - Placard the elevator trim knob. - Label all dimmer knobs. - Label low-level fuel system - Label fuel tanks with quantity. -

false Matthew 2006-01-30T12:05:00-06:00 2006-01-30T18:13:45Z 2006-01-30T18:13:43Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113864482366951390 Reassembly

After inspection and 4 days in San Diego, I started putting all the covers and such back on the plane. I also worked on fixing the 'squawks' found during inspection. I had not installed the top cowl since putting in the oil door and as expected, the latch his hitting on the top of the oil dipstick, so I'll have to remove the tube extension and trim the dipstick down. I also have a replacement

false Matthew 2006-01-24T11:19:00-06:00 2006-02-08T17:20:24Z 2006-02-08T17:20:24Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113941922445594636 Airworthy!

It is official... it is an airplane! Airworthiness received on Jan. 24th, 2006. I have a small list of items to correct and then I am released to fly off my 40-hour Phase I testing. I have a heavy travel schedule the next 3 weeks that are going to prevent me from doing any flying unless I take some time off of work. Stay tuned for first flight info. Possible first flight in a week, or in

false Matthew 2006-01-19T09:14:00-06:00 2006-01-20T15:17:31Z 2006-01-20T15:17:31Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113777025162707310 Baffles / oil door

I tied the front and back baffles together with some safety wire/pop rivets. I didn't get any steel rod in my baffle kit. I also did a fiberglass layup for a new oil door. The one I cut out of the cowl didn't come out great. (Time: 3 hrs)

false Matthew 2006-01-18T08:57:00-06:00 2006-01-19T14:58:49Z 2006-01-19T14:58:49Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113768272970896457 Wing spar bolts

I put in the real wing spar bolts. 4 hours, blood and lots of cussing. Nuff said. (Time: 4 long hrs)

false Matthew 2006-01-17T13:15:00-06:00 2006-01-17T19:26:43Z 2006-01-17T19:26:43Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113752600359781315 Cowl, low level sensor, inspection date

Good news first.. my inspection date is set! Next week. Bad news.. I have to go out of town for 4 days right after inspection. More bad news.. after spending an hour or more on the phone with Rich Meske (while laying upside down in the airplane) trying to troubleshoot my low-level fuel sensor, it still isn't working and he's not sure what is wrong. I'm going to pull the box out and send to

false Matthew 2006-01-15T11:04:00-06:00 2006-01-16T17:14:13Z 2006-01-16T17:13:50Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113743163097690899 Cowl and landing lights

I needed to reinforce the fuel tank connection to the spar at the outboard end to give a couple friends some piece of mind. The only good way of accessing this area meant I needed to make the cut-outs for the landing lights, which would give me good access. So I made the cutouts for the landing lights and then installed a z-bracket that attached the outboard rib to the spare in the same manner

false Matthew 2006-01-14T10:51:00-06:00 2006-01-16T17:00:18Z 2006-01-16T17:00:18Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113743081832168394 Baffles, flight controls, fuel tank

I riveted together all my baffle pieces and sprayed them with some high-temp black paint. Installed the mag wire grommets and screwed on the plenum. I need to install some threaded rod on the curved portions of the cylinder baffles to hold them against the cylinders and I'll be done with baffles! After removing all the covers on the interior, I went ahead and adjust the flap push rods so the

false Matthew 2006-01-13T15:35:00-06:00 2006-01-13T21:58:59Z 2006-01-13T21:58:59Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113718953902600168 Weight and balance

1061 lbs, 77.34 Empty CG Our local IA and tech counselor brought over some real aircraft scales... big jobs.. they weigh King Airs on them. Took about 10 minutes to setup. No rocket science to this.. just level the plane and read the scales. Nosewheel = 264, Left main = 401, Right main = 396. Total weight = 1061. I measured the arm of the mains at 91.5" and the nose at 34.25". The empty CG

false Matthew 2006-01-11T08:57:00-06:00 2006-01-12T15:04:11Z 2006-01-12T15:04:11Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113707825127644447 Preparing for W&B

Trying to get ready to weigh the plane. I'm a little behind where I wanted to be so I worked until 12:30am trying to get caught up some. While I was working in the shop, Sandi was working on the interior pieces in the FBO office. - I did some work on the baffles. My outlet off the back right baffle for the heat muff was right in front of the oil dipstick, so I had to relocate it. I installed

false Matthew 2006-01-08T09:04:00-06:00 2006-01-12T15:11:32Z 2006-01-12T15:11:32Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113707869281221390 Trim systems, pitot, baffle/plenum work

I hooked up the manual trim cable to the trim tab. I also installed the manual aileron trim springs. I spent a lot of time making up the lower cowl scoop brackets. This provides support to the lower cowl scoop by attaching to the firewall. I secured the AOA and pitot lines and installed the pitot tube. My replacement baffle pieces arrived, so I made up the new sidewall pieces. (Time: 16 hrs)

false Matthew 2006-01-02T12:10:00-06:00 2006-01-03T18:35:55Z 2006-01-03T18:18:49Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113631232983367194 Spinner gap plates / Canopy

The cutouts I made for the prop in the spinner wouldn't work for the gap plates, so I needed to fabricate some out of aluminum. I really couldn't figure out a nice way to do this. The spinner is pretty thick and trying to stack aluminum to match the thickness would be hard, especially since the whole piece needed to be as thick as the spinner. I had some aluminum sheet the same thickness

false Matthew 2006-01-01T12:17:00-06:00 2006-01-03T18:32:14Z 2006-01-03T18:32:14Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113631313433739530 Prop spinner / Canopy

Started my day but putting a bunch epoxy/micro on the canopy fairing. Today was prop spinner day. It took all day to get it made. I made some templates for the cutouts using some cardboard and tape. I made one for each blade. I'd done some blog searching to see how others did it but didn't find a lot of info. I marked 3 lines on the spinner equi-distant from each other and traced out my

false Matthew 2005-12-30T13:13:00-06:00 2006-01-03T19:32:28Z 2006-01-03T19:29:56Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113631659620742139 Aileron and flap mounting

It took me a LONG time to get the ailerons mounted. Not sure why but probably 4-5 hours each. I had to enlarge the holes in the rear spar for the push rods to keep them from rubbing. TIP: DO NOT rivet the push rod ends to the aileron push rod... have them welded on. The rivets protude too much and rub. I had to do some pretty major filing to prevent the rubbing. With them mounted I proceeded

false Matthew 2005-12-27T08:39:00-06:00 2006-01-03T19:34:49Z 2005-12-28T14:49:40Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113578138027705334 Rudder / Fwd top skin / Oil cooler

I mounted the rudder. I deburred and dimpled the fwd top fuse skin. I was able to set some of the rivets along the two side ribs and then Sandi came out to help me set the rest. It was pretty darn uncomfortable crawling up under the panel to buck rivets. I did a good job of keeping the areas near the rivets clear so I could buck them. A few are really hard to see and you have to buck them

false Matthew 2005-12-26T08:31:00-06:00 2005-12-28T14:34:47Z 2005-12-28T14:34:47Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113578048753489912 Canopy fairing

I installed 3 clips to hold down the front edge of the canopy to the frame. I mixed up a batch of epoxy with some flox and black dye to a semi-thick consistency and put it in a large syringe. I was able to squeeze a nice bead of epoxy under the lip, filling the gap between the canopy and frame. You need the epoxy thick enough so that it doesn't 'flow' out of the gap. I also squeezed just

false Matthew 2005-12-22T12:05:00-06:00 2005-12-23T18:11:35Z 2005-12-23T18:11:35Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113536149541003048 Wings are mounted!

I pulled the left wing back out and re-routed the pitot/aoa tubing. Since the wing is all closed up and access is pretty limited, I'm just going to route the tubes through the lightening holes where the push-rod runs. I'll use some split tubing on the hole edges and the attach the lines to that, holding them away from the push tube. I called Sandi out to help me move the right wing on to some

false Matthew 2005-12-21T10:01:00-06:00 2005-12-23T18:14:27Z 2005-12-22T16:08:19Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113526769914563416 Fixes complete.. left wing On/Off/On...

Safety wired the right brake since I had to replace the tire. I pulled off the left elevator and removed the snap bushing where the manual trim cable came through and cleaned up the leading edge where I had pretty severly mangled it. I put it back on and got it all hooked back up. (Note: Go with electric trim!) Sandi helped me bring the right wing from home out to the hangar and I setup the

false Matthew 2005-12-18T09:37:00-06:00 2005-12-19T15:44:12Z 2005-12-19T15:44:12Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113500705273662271 Tail surfaces, rear window, FLAT TIRE!

I mounted the horizonatal stab on Saturday and then mounted the vertical stab and elevators on Sunday. I hooked up the push tube as well, so I can make the eleveators go up and down. Bad news: After I got everything mounted, I discovered that the snap bushing I installed in the rear spar of the HS where the trim cable comes through is now rubbing on the nose of the elevator. I also mangled the

false Matthew 2005-12-13T08:36:00-06:00 2005-12-14T14:36:58Z 2005-12-14T14:36:58Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113457101867905645 Parking Brake Valve reinstalled

I reinstalled the parking brake valve and put fluid back in the lines.. hopefully it won't leak this time. (Time: 1 hrs)

false Matthew 2005-12-10T08:33:00-06:00 2005-12-20T14:39:28Z 2005-12-20T14:39:28Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113508956809054550 Moved to Airport!

Called the local tow company and moved the airplane to the airport. The move went very well.

false Matthew 2005-12-03T08:55:00-06:00 2005-12-05T15:14:28Z 2005-12-05T15:14:24Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113379566446231201 Brake line blues

I've had a slow leak at the parking brake valve on the firewall, so Friday night I decided to fix it. I drained the line, took off the fitting and put some goop on it. When I took the fitting out, the little plunger fell out of the valve. I put it back in and put the fitting back on, filled the line back up. I tested the brakes and it wouldn't hold the left brake, the one that was

false Matthew 2005-11-27T09:11:00-06:00 2005-11-28T15:29:01Z 2005-11-28T15:23:46Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113319142627165785 Lights and wingtips and stuff

Did lots of miscellaneous things. We had company over so this prompted me to tackle little easy projects. - Installed nutplates on the firewall for the GPS antenna bracket, primed and then mounted the antenna/bracket. - Installed the cotter pin in the nosewheel. - Installed cabin heat cable and attached to selector. - Ran cable for the carb heat. - Tightened ELT antenna - Safety wired the

false Matthew 2005-11-07T07:35:00-06:00 2005-11-08T13:40:19Z 2005-11-08T13:40:19Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113145721963603872 Nutplates for emp fairing

Got tied up watching Roush Driving: Racer X on Discovery Channel so I didn't get out to shop until 8 and looked for something easy to do. I installed then nutplates on the vertical stab and horizontal stab for the empennage fairing. I also drilled a few holes in the firewall for the GPS tray but can't finish until I take the top skin back off. (Time: 1.5 hrs)

false Matthew 2005-11-01T07:36:00-06:00 2005-11-02T13:42:52Z 2005-11-02T13:42:52Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113093897268241630 Misc. firewall stuff

Trying to finish up stuff on the firewall before I hang the engine... access is good now, it won't be once engine is on. Put the diodes on the contactors. Installed a nutplate on one of the vertical firewall supports for an adel clamp, I think this will hold the engine vent tube line. Installed one of two nutplates in the firewall recess that the tunnel cover attaches too. I broke the nail

false Matthew 2005-10-30T08:42:00-06:00 2005-10-31T14:51:12Z 2005-10-31T14:51:12Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113077027210550989 Wheels and empennage fairing

I injected grease in the nosewheel fork and set the break-out force to 22lbs per the plans. I pulled the main wheels off enough that I could reshape the wheel pant brackets that have been getting abused by my feet as I step over them. They had caught on my pant legs enough to get bent around some. I fitted and drilled the empennage fairing along with the two gap fairings that go under the

false Matthew 2005-10-26T08:24:00-05:00 2005-10-27T13:25:52Z 2005-10-27T13:25:52Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-113041955242342503 GPS antenna bracket

I finished making up the GPS antenna bracket to mount to the firewall. This is a common location to put the GPS antenna, right under the cowl. I won't mount it until I have the engine so I can check for any interference. (Time: 2 hrs)

false Matthew 2005-10-10T08:18:00-05:00 2005-10-12T15:02:05Z 2005-10-11T13:23:16Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-112903699667281814 Seats/Interior and vents

We picked up our seats and side panels from the upholsterer on the way home. They look good! This was the first set of airplane seats they had ever done and the first time they saw temperfoam. The quality on Sandi's seat is better since they learned a lot making mine. :-) Seats plus side panels was $250 plus material. I'll snap a picture someday when I remember to buy batteries for the

false Matthew 2005-09-26T07:43:00-05:00 2005-09-27T12:44:51Z 2005-09-27T12:44:51Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-112782509141391221 Seat foam / rudder sanding

I did some trimming on Sandi's seat foam in the cut-out area for the stick. I'll drop it off tomorrow for covering. Sanded the filler on rudder top and bottom tips that I put on weeks ago. One more layer and it should be good and then I need to do the other side. (Time: 1 hr)

false Matthew 2005-09-07T07:50:00-05:00 2005-09-08T13:04:14Z 2005-09-08T13:04:14Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-112618465404882667 Prepping for show and tell...

Dropped off the seat foam... they'll start on Thursday.. maybe I'll have them next week?? With Sandi needing to sit farther forward, I knew we would need to modify her stick some. I bought some PVC pipe to create a mock-up. Basically we need to offset the stick about 3" forward. I'll have a custom stick made that comes up out of the receptacle, then bends forward 3", and then comes straight up

false Matthew 2005-09-06T08:18:00-05:00 2005-09-07T13:26:34Z 2005-09-07T13:25:23Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-112609952340388795 Seat foam

I ordered my seat foam from Hi-Tech Foams (www.seatfoam.com) I thought it was all pre-cut and sized, though I knew it wasn't glued together. Turns out that it wasn't precut to size, they just provide you plenty of raw material and you get to do the rest. So two weekends ago I put Sandi to work cutting the foam. She didn't get quite finished so last night I finished cutting the foam and making

false Matthew 2005-09-05T09:27:00-05:00 2005-09-06T15:08:25Z 2005-09-06T14:41:52Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-112601771237059977 Strobe light repair.. rudder fairings

I re-epoxied the nut for the strobe light in the rudder bottom, this time making sure it was well covered in epoxy and I also trimmed out some of the plastic in the stop nut so it wasn't so tight. (I used a screw covered in wax to hold the nut in place while it cured.) Did some sanding on the VS tip. The fairing for the top of the ruder is about 1/8" to short. I either needed to build up the

false Matthew 2005-09-04T09:15:00-05:00 2005-09-06T14:26:40Z 2005-09-06T14:26:40Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-112601680017099801 Still working on fiberglass tips.... and strobe..

With the nuts epoxied in place on the rudder bottom I decided to attach the strobe light. The nuts I used were stop nuts (plastic on one end) and just as I was getting close to getting the top screw all the way in the nut broke free from it's epoxy base! Oh shoot! (Not the exact words I used.) So now I have a screw snuggly embedded in stop nut and no way to grab the nut to back out the screw.

false Matthew 2005-09-03T19:52:00-05:00 2005-09-04T00:57:21Z 2005-09-04T00:57:21Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-112579544154042901 More sanding and filling of tips

Did some sanding on the elevator tips... they are essentially done... I'll use some flowable filler I have to fill a few pinholes. I bolted on the horizontal stabilizer and then attached the elevators. I riveted on the HS tips once I knew there was no rubbing going on. I applied some filler on the top sides. Riveted on the VS tip and applied some filler. The rudder bottom is ready for the

false Matthew 2005-09-01T08:44:00-05:00 2005-09-06T14:27:41Z 2005-09-02T14:05:53Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-112566995332040686 More elevator tip work and tail strobe install

I sanded down the right elevator tip... I'm real happy with how the epoxy/balloon mixture is working. It sands real easy is gives a nice finish. The one concern is cracking over a period of time.... I'm not sure if this will happen with the epoxy mix or not... I know that 'bondo' type fillers crack. The solution is to lay up a lightweight fiberglass cloth over the top. Next I riveted on the

false Matthew 2005-08-31T09:27:00-05:00 2005-09-01T14:31:54Z 2005-09-01T14:31:54Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-112558511438584846 Fiberglass work...

I spent some time doing some sanding on the tips for the horizontal stab. I mixed up another small batch of micro to fill in some areas. Maybe one more sand/fill session and they'll be ready. I pulled out the right elevator and riveted on the tip which I had already prepped. With the tip on, I mixed up another batch of micro/epoxy and smeared it on one side to fill the gap between the aluminum

false Matthew 2005-07-05T09:40:00-05:00 2005-07-05T14:41:06Z 2005-07-05T14:41:06Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-112057446672734793 Recent posts in electrical blog

I'm working on electrical things over here. (There is an XML feed for the electrical blog if you use that stuff.)

false Matthew 2005-06-27T07:20:00-05:00 2005-06-28T12:31:33Z 2005-06-28T12:23:09Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111996138981498734 Corrected subpanel rib attachment

I removed the panel support ribs and reattached them using angles that face outboard which clears the way for any 'deep' radio's I may have. The right brake line was still leaking at the fitting where it exits the fuselage. I did some more tweaking on the line and tightened up the fitting a little more. It hadn't leaked any more at the end of the night, so I think my brake system is now leak

false Matthew 2005-06-26T07:42:00-05:00 2005-06-27T16:33:02Z 2005-06-27T13:29:24Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111987896434060657 Brake system, wingtip ribs, vor antenna

Up at 6:00 am and was in the shop around 6:30ish. I ordered some of the wing walk material from Ray Allen Co. and ordered an extra piece to cover my brake pedals with. None of the 'spray-on' products looked very good. So I cut out and stuck some on the pedals, then let them bake in the sun all morning. Brake pedals in place with non-skid on them. I pulled out the wingtips again and

false Matthew 2005-06-25T07:31:00-05:00 2005-06-27T12:41:56Z 2005-06-27T12:41:56Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111987611680569586 Kansas City Center (ARTCC) Tour

On Saturday, our EAA chpater got a tour of the Kansas City Center (ARTCC) facility. Our tour guide turned out to be Nathan Larson, RV-9A owner/flyer. He is a supervisor for one of the sectors. It was a very cool tour! Not quite what one would expect. First we got a presentation about the facility in general, then visited the weather guy. Each facility has a 24 hour meteorolgist on duty.

false Matthew 2005-06-22T07:46:00-05:00 2005-06-23T12:49:31Z 2005-06-23T12:49:31Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111953097198370798 Nose gear fairing

I riveted/epoxied on the forward U-813 brackets on the nosewheel pant. I pulled out the nose gear leg fairing which I had previously done some trimming on but hadn't installed the hinge, so I did that. I guess that means that all the gear leg fairings are done except fit/finish. My order of 3M Flowable Finishing Putty arrived yesterday. This was recommended on the Sam James Fiberglass Video.

false Matthew 2005-06-19T08:29:00-05:00 2005-06-20T13:53:19Z 2005-06-20T13:53:19Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111927559902968546 Lot more fairing work...

Got a slow start today and didn't move fast all day long but I did get a lot accomplished. First 30 minutes spent cleaning up and putting tools away. I think I had nearly every tool out laying around somewhere. I did some final fitting and cutting on the pilot side wheel pant/gear leg fairing/intersection fairing. I confirmed that I can get the hinge pin out by taking off the wheel pant. Here

false Matthew 2005-06-18T14:55:00-05:00 2005-06-20T13:29:08Z 2005-06-18T20:02:08Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111912492855841529 Nosewheel fairing and intersection fairings

It's 2:57 and I'm in for a quick break. Sent an email to Jerry about the nosewheel fairing. He said he had the same problem and that you should use the dimensions on the plans and not the dimples on the pant as the instructions suggest. Hmm... so this morning I looked and sure enough there is a 16" dimension from the aft end to the center of the hole. The 'dimples' were about 1/4" to far

false Matthew 2005-06-16T09:17:00-05:00 2005-06-17T14:29:08Z 2005-06-17T14:29:08Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111901854837774496 Nosewheel pant woes

Was all set to get the nosewheel pant done tonight. I mounted the aft half to the nosewheel and started trimming the front cap. It seemed like I had to cut a pretty deep slot to get it to fit. Once I got it trimmed to fit, it was rubbing on the WD-631 piece. I fiddled around trying to get it not to rub but then it would hit on the bolt that holds the WD-631 to the axle. Ugh! It appears

false Matthew 2005-06-15T07:51:00-05:00 2005-06-16T13:01:09Z 2005-06-16T13:01:08Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111892686898190765 Wheel pants

I alodined the other two nose wheelpant brackets and then riveted on the two brackets I drilled last night. I also mixed up some epoxy/filler to put under the flanges of the bracket to help hold the bracket on. The wheel pants take a beating and I've heard of rivets pulling through the fiberglass over time, so this is insurance to prevent or prolong the life of the pant. The fwd portion of the

false Matthew 2005-06-14T14:31:00-05:00 2005-06-14T19:31:28Z 2005-06-14T19:31:28Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111877748832366144 Van's response to bolt close to tire

".032 definitely is not enough clearance. You could grind the bolt down, you could also put a nother couple of washers under the head so it doesn't poke through the weldment so far."

false Matthew 2005-06-14T07:56:00-05:00 2005-06-16T13:02:08Z 2005-06-15T13:18:04Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111884148406621433 Nose wheel pant

Picked up some 3/8" rod and washers/nuts on the way home. Before you start playing with the mounting of the nosewheel pant, read instructions first. You start off by drilling a 3/8" hole on each side of the wheel pant (back half). There are small dimples in the pant to indicate where to drill. Be carefull when drilling, the bit wants to catch on the fiberglass just as it goes through.

false Matthew 2005-06-13T07:47:00-05:00 2005-06-16T13:02:34Z 2005-06-14T12:55:33Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111875373373392021 Stand, Fiberglass, Wheel Pants

Kinda bounced around the shop tonight.. took awhile to get motivated. I pulled the fuselage stand back in to the shop and got the fuse back on it so I could finish the pants/fairings. I pulled out the main wheel pants to see where I left off and then did a 3-layer layup on the forward pieces where some screws go and the material needed to be thicker for countersinking. I pulled out a piece of

false Matthew 2005-06-12T16:41:00-05:00 2005-06-14T12:46:55Z 2005-06-12T21:43:54Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111861263404104618 Prosealing....

Put the wings up on the table and prosealed on the tank access covers. Since I had the proseal out and made up, I also had Sandi help me rivet on the firewall recess. Firewall recess Gooped some proseal on the brake reservoir where it penetrated the firewall. (Time: 3 hrs)

false Matthew 2005-06-12T08:06:00-05:00 2005-06-14T12:45:09Z 2005-06-12T13:14:52Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111858209230324931 Project visit and wingtip nutplates done!!

I highly recommend having a project visitor, it forces you to do cleanup (much like your wife does to the house when visitors come) and it gets the building juices flowing again. Today's visitor was Dave and Hillary with there new baby Phoebe. Dave is an aspiring pilot and wants to build an RV-9A in the future. He's never seen an RV under construction, so this was his chance. He also needed

false Matthew 2005-06-08T10:42:00-05:00 2005-06-08T16:10:50Z 2005-06-08T16:10:50Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111824705034320983 Project status...

I feel that if I don't post something often, I'm letting my readers down... I know how I feel when the people I follow don't post anything regularly. :-) (If it goes more than a week, I'm usually checking in to see what's going on.) Soooo... the last couple of weeks have been pretty tumultuous and there certainly hasn't been much progress on the project itself. I think we have recovered from

false Matthew 2005-06-01T15:29:00-05:00 2005-06-01T20:29:35Z 2005-06-01T20:29:35Z tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023698.post-111765777511662195 Bad news....