Project: I-CAVS   -  
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Builder Name:paolo cavosi   -  
Project:   Vans - RV-10
Total Hours:2404.2
Total Flight Time:
Start/Last Date:May 28, 2019 - No Finish Date
Engine:IO-540 Thunderbolt Serial # EL-38135-48E
Propeller:MT Propeller MTV-12-B/193-53 serial 22G1268-K
Panel:Garmin G3X
 
Friendly URL: https://eaabuilderslog.org?s=I-CAVS

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May 06, 2024     clean up and reorganization - (2 hours) Category: Workshop
clean up fuselage. workshop reorganization
 
May 04, 2024     Stop, reset and restart - (9 hours) Category: Workshop
Clean up workshop. Replan activities. Overall reorganization
 
Apr 22, 2024     45-19 Cabin Door Windscreen step 4 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Final sanding of the windscreen fairing. There are a couple of spots that seem to be a bit transparent, however that will not be visible once painted.


 
Apr 17, 2024     45-19 Cabin Door Windscreen step 4 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Another sanding session for the windscreen fairing
 
Apr 15, 2024     45-19 Cabin Door Windscreen door sensor installation - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Started the installation of the Installed the door sensors. All the electrical wiring will be done when installing the avionics.
All the sensor have been tested for positioning and continuity. Magnets are installate without use of epoxy or any glue.


 
Apr 15, 2024     45-19 Cabin Door Windscreen step 4 - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Sanded, cleaned. Applied epoxy with cabosil with a brush over the plastic tape, then redone it with black tinted epoxy and cabosil.


 
Apr 14, 2024     45-19 Cabin Door Windscreen step 4 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Spread microballons and epoxy on the windscreen flange. Removed one plastic tape layer, repositioned a new plastic tape layer.
Sanded again
 
Apr 12, 2024     45-19 Cabin Door Windscreen step 4 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
more sanding of the windscreen fairing after the new layups.
 
Apr 11, 2024     45-19 Cabin Door Windscreen step 4 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Sanding the fairing. Added few strips of fiberglass and added epoxy to cover better few areas that seemed a bit thin on the plexiglas
 
Apr 10, 2024     45-19 Cabin Door Windscreen step 4 - (5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Sanded part of the windscreen fairing. Long and tedious but the preliminary result is not too bad. Probably there is the need to add a few layers of glass and some epoxy and microballons to smooth out a bit. On the windscreen i can see a couple of points where the black epoxy didn't stick. Need to touch up a bit.
 
Apr 09, 2024     45-19 cabin door and transparencies step 2-3 - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Cut fiberglass strips as indicated in the instructions. Installed the strips with epoxy and covered with peel ply.


 
Apr 08, 2024     45-19 Cabin Door Windscreen step 1 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Sanded the first layer. discovered few points where the fiberglass was not sitting properly. sanded away all the holes and bubbles. remixed epoxy, black pigment and glass bubbles. Applied on top of the first layer, making sure all the holes were filled.
Sanded the right door and applied Bondo for a better finish. Sanded again.
 
Apr 06, 2024     45-19 Cabin Door Windscreen step1 Silpruf Method - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installed a single strip wetted with black epoxy to the bottom part of the windscreen in order to have a consistent black bottom on the windscreen. To be sanded before installing the other strips (no black) on these. Probably it will be necessary to fill some gaps with epoxy and flox after the sanding. In this case black color will help


 
Apr 05, 2024     45-19 cabin door and transparencies step 1 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Preparation of black epoxy and micro ballon to fill the gap between the windscreen and the fuselage. Painted the aluminum clips in black (cabin side).
Prepared the epoxy and filled the gap. there will be a lot of sanding required.
 
Apr 05, 2024     45-18 Cabin Door Windscreen step1-3 Silpruf Method - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Installed the clips with Pop Rivets. Unfortunately i didn't realize that you could see the clips from the inside....need to remove and paint black the contact side....the rest will be black in any case as i will use black pigment for the epoxy.


 
Apr 03, 2024     43-14 Aerosport air vent - (0.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Tested routing of the air ducts for the overhead console. Routing avoids any contact with bulkheads or fuselage longerons.
Prepared few strips to use to clamp the air duct to the fuselage bulkhead


 
Apr 02, 2024     37-7 Fuel System (Andair Valve Installation) - (2 hours)       Category: Fuel System
Measured and cut the extension. Drilled the connectors and inserted the safety pins. Drilled the holes on the tunnel cover. Some difficulties to have a somehow symmetric look considering that the backplate holes are not symmetrical in order to avoid wrong installation.
Temporary installation with two steel screws....need to acquire longer ones or to replace with aluminum screws or standard cadmium screws.


 
Apr 02, 2024     45-18 Cabin Door Windscreen step1-3 Silpruf Method - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Prepared the windscreen and the fuselage for the sikaflex bonding sanding the surfaces and applying Sikaflex Primer 209-D, waited 30 min as recommended. Applied sikaflex 295 on the fuselage. With Chiara's help i positioned the windscreen, inserted the clecos to make sure position is as required. Positioned few clips hold in position with the screw clecos. Pressed the windscreen in place, 3/16 gap to the fuselage. Cleaned the gap from the oozed out sikaflex 295. Fine tuning of the screw clecos for proper adherence of the plexiglas to the upper fuselage skin. Removed the masking tape from the fuselage gap. Cleaned the gap.
Moved to the cabin inside in order to spread out the excess sikaflex 295 before removing the small masking tape. Removed both masking tape.
A bit of additional cleanup on the fuselage and inside struts.

On my concerns around forcing he plexiglas in position (3/8" on the right side) vans support replied not to worry and to use the clips to hold it in place.


 
Apr 01, 2024     45-18 Cabin Door Windscreen step1-3 Silpruf Method       Category: Fuselage
Marked the inside flange position on the windscreen to be used as reference line for the first thin masking tape. Sanded the windscreen to have a radius on all the sides. Installed the two thin masking tapes as recommended. Sanded with 100 grit and the n 220 grit in preparation of the sikaflex primer. Sikaflex primer has only 30 min curing time, therefore not necessary to wait for 24 hours.
Masked the outside of the windscreen with back cutting. Masked the fuselage flanges with back cutting along the flange in preparation for final installation
Next steps are
1. sikaflex primer on the windscreen. let cure 30 min.
2. Sikaflex thick layer on fuselage.
3. position windscreen. Insert few clecos along the windscreen for positioning.
4. Position the clip and use the screw clecos
5. tighten clecos around the windscreen perimeter in order to have plexiglas flush with fuselage.
6. squeeze excess sikaflex back into the space between plexiglas and fuselage. Clean excess. Do it starting with the clecos and then work around the perimeter.
7. Fuselage inside. Spread the oozed out sikaflex over the thin masking tape. KEEP SQUEGEE at 90 degrees to avoid imperfection and removal from the glueing area (fuselage-plexiglas).
8. Remove internal masking tapes....i think starting with the thin masking tape (number 2a and number 2B).
9. check if possible to remove fuselage masking (not sure).
10. let cure for at least 4 days.


 
Apr 01, 2024     45-18 Cabin Door Windscreen step 5 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
prepared few additional aluminum clips for the windscreen.
Test installation of the windscreen with clips and clecos. Adjusted positioning. Drilled the holes for the clips and deburred the holes. Used screw-clecos as stronger pressure control compared to the normal spring clecos.
 
Mar 31, 2024     45-18 Cabin Door Windscreen step 5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
fabricated 9 clips as per instructions. Position to be defined when windscreen final position will be determined
 
Mar 30, 2024     FF1_10 Engine Installation - (1 hour)       Category: Engine
Installed the firewall passthrough. Reinstalled one of the shunt as it was mounted upside down. Checked firmness of all components. Installed the steel shield for the air control cables. Installed all the screws in the eyeballs passthrough.


 
Mar 29, 2024     FF1_10 Engine Installation - (1 hour)       Category: Engine
Glued the fiberfrax steel foil assembly to the firewall (top area). Used aluminum adhesive foil to cover the fiberfrax gap.
Installed the brake reservoir with the necessary spacer.
Installed both ANL and the shunts.
Installed the steel air valve.


 
Mar 28, 2024     41-6 upper forward fuselage installation step1-2 - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Clecoed the upper forward fuselage. Unfortunately the firewall doesn't seem to adhere properly to the ribs. The reason is a a wrong hole alignment on the F-1044 and the underlying firewall F-1001B. The misalignment induces strong tension in the structure. Lucio suggested to modify the hole using an -08 bolt (allen socket bolt) and to elongate a bit the hole in order align correctly.
After that riveting as per plan went smoothly thanks to Lucio's help.
Firewall not riveted as i need to prepare the hinges.


 
Mar 27, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Hinge Covers - (2 hours) Category: Doors
Removed right door. Used flox and silica to smooth out the hinge covers and the door strut bracket.
 
Mar 25, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step Build Up Flanges - (3 hours)       Category: Doors
some more work on the door opening. Epoxy and flox to smooth out transition between fuselage and door (right proud).
Used some flox to fix one of the two forward interior panel


 
Mar 20, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step Build Up Flanges - (2 hours) Category: Doors
sanded left door opening flange. Used again epoxy and flox to smooth out transition and straighten the door opening.

Painted with matt transparent the right carbon fiber on the door opening.
 
Mar 19, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step Build Up Flanges - (2 hours) Category: Doors
sanded left door bottom side. Used epoxy and flox to have a better transition between fuselage and door (bottom was sitting proud 2 mm).
 
Mar 17, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Hinge Covers - (1 hour) Category: Doors
Temporarily reinstalled left door to check for gap and necessary adjustments
 
Mar 14, 2024     31-10 Upper Fuselage Painting with Nextel - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Applied nextel primer (2 coats) and nextel black paint to the upper fuselage (the part that is inside the cabin).


 
Mar 14, 2024     31-10 Upper Fuselage Painting with Nextel - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Preparation of the upper fuselage for nextel painting. Primed with nextel primer, two coats.


 
Mar 13, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step Build Up Flanges - (2 hours) Category: Doors
Sanded right door bottom opening in order to have a 2mm gap and a smooth transition fuselage-door
 
Mar 12, 2024     31-10 Upper Fuselage Painting with Nextel - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Tested Nextel Paint on scrap aluminum. Used the new HVLP gun with 1,7mm nozzle as recommended. Weight mixing has been easy. I still need to find the correct setting for the gun, but at the end the result is very good. The suggestion to have a slight orange skin when applying has been spot on as the end result is excellent. The paint has a kind of suede finish. I tried the full black and i will stick with that on the inside part of the upper fuselage.


 
Mar 12, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step Build Up Flanges - (2 hours) Category: Doors
Sanded right door opening. Sanded right door bringing on the same plane with the fuselage. Added more epoxy with Cabosil on the bottom side of the door opening in order to have a better finish. Sanding tomorrow.
 
Mar 11, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Hinge Covers - (2 hours)       Category: Doors
Used Bondo to smooth out irregularities. Used rubber seal (2 mm thick) to have a consistent gap for the door. I used epoxy and flox to improve the door opening flanges. Now curing and then sanding.


 
Mar 11, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Hinge Covers - (1 hour) Category: Doors
sanded the hinge covers left door and the gas strut brackets
 
Mar 10, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Hinge Covers - (1 hour)       Category: Doors
Mixed epoxy flox and silica to cover the wooden hinge covers for the left door. I also used the epoxy mix to support better the door strut bracket.


 
Mar 10, 2024     29-14 Fuse Side Skins step 9 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
I set the missing rivets in the holes used for the door forming process.
 
Mar 09, 2024     29-14 Fuse Side Skins step 9 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
countersunk the holes used for door positioning. all these holes have not been countersunk during the quick build phase.
 
Mar 09, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Hinge Covers - (2 hours) Category: Doors
Modified and sanded the left door hinge cover.
sanded right door to get a 2.5mm gap on the bottom of the door
Countersunk the open holes on the side skins around the door opening. They have been used to form the doors, but there is no indication in the kit instruction on how to deal with these holes. This step has not been done in the Quickbuild phase and i didn't realize that Section 29-14 step 9
 
Mar 08, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Hinge Covers - (1 hour)       Category: Doors
Left door wooden cover installed with rapid epoxy


 
Mar 06, 2024     45-13 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound Door Latch - (2 hours) Category: Doors
temporary install of right side door. Movement is not smooth. I will probably need to check the delrin blocks on the fuselage and check if they can be moved slightly outboard.
Trimmed right door front to have 3 mm gap.
 
Mar 05, 2024     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Hinge Covers - (1 hour)       Category: Doors
prepared door hinge cover with plywood for the right door. glued to the door with rapid epoxy


 
Mar 04, 2024     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Step Planearound - (1 hour) Category: Doors
started to cut the door latch covers using 5mm plywood.
 
Mar 03, 2024     38-10 Rudder and Brake system step 2-8 - (2 hours)       Category: Controls
I had to reroute the cables as they had contact where they cross.
I installed the F-1014 rudder cable links after priming and painting RAL 7016.


 
repositioned slightly the left forward delrin door pin guide and sanded a bit to have less interference with the radius on the door flange. Result is that the door is only 2,5 mm proud forward and 1,9 backward. Registered the middle door latch, now less then 1 mm proud of fuselage.
Pretty happy with the result. I will try to sand the pin guide a little bit more...if that is not enough i believe that 2mm can be adjusted with some epoxy and flox on the fuselage to smooth out everything
 
Feb 28, 2024     43-15 Door Latch and Transparences - (2 hours) Category: Interior Finish
sanded the carbon fiber layup on the door opening (right Side). Started with 150 grit ended with wet 800.
 
Feb 28, 2024     45-14 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound Door Latch - (1.5 hours) Category: Doors
Removed the planeraound door latch blocks. Sanded the epoxy excess and tested the fitting. Installed the cam on the left door and tested operation.
For the right door i need to reinstall the door first.
 
Feb 27, 2024     Naca Vents for overhead console - (2 hours) Category: Interior Finish
I decided to install a small stainless steel net at the Naca air vents for the Overhead Console. I used rapid epoxy to glue the net on the Naca Outlet and i tested the fitting of the scat tube and it works fine.
No possibility to install a similar protection on the front Naca inlet due to the eyeball vent.
 
Feb 27, 2024     45-13 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound Door Latch - (2 hours)       Category: Doors
I needed to remove part of the carbon fiber and epoxy using the dremel to allow a better sitting of the plane around cabin block. After that i used some epoxy and flox under the cabin block to create a better sitting surface. My concern is that with the cam pulling strongly the delrin block could move too much.


 
Feb 26, 2024     38-10 Rudder and Brake system step 2-8 - (3 hours)       Category: Controls
Drilled the F-1048G, matchdrilled all the parts. Installed on the tunnel panel to match drill the lower hole. The right F-1084G looks fine. Unfortunately on the F-1084G left side the lower hole is not centered as the Cable guide slipped slightly. Not sure if i need to replace.
Installed the hardware to check movement. Need to prime the F-10104 Rudder Cable Links.


 
Feb 25, 2024     38-8 Rudder Pedals and brake system step 1-5 - (2 hours)       Category: Controls
Installed the plastic snap bushing. Installed the two clamps at the F-1011 Bulkhead. Installed the two plastic sleeves in the Tailbone side skin ovals. Torqued the Bolt for both clamps.
Routed the two cables towards the cockpit. Installed the two clamps in the tunnel to hold the last sleeve in the pilot-copilot sides of the tunnel


 
Feb 25, 2024     38-10 Step 1 - (1 hour) Category: Controls
drilled the F-10104 Rudder cable links per measure for the most forward pedal position. One cable link has an enlarged hole. Part already ordered
 
Feb 24, 2024     36-4 Brake lines step 1-2 - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Installed the VENT DL-10 2.4" flanged ducts and the VA-175 DUCT Tee with CS4-4 pull rivets


 
Feb 23, 2024     46-2 Engine Mount and landing gear Step 1 - (2 hours)       Category: Engine
Replaced the AN6-22A with AN6-22. NOT TORQUED.
Installed AN6-25 instead of the undrilled version. Modified the two steel washers to clear the welding.


 
Feb 20, 2024     aerosport Interior Panels (Front) - (2 hours) Category: Interior Finish
Installed nutplates. Needed a couple of pull rivet as it was impossible to squeeze them.
 
Feb 19, 2024     windscreen defrosting fan tracing - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Drilled the holes using a fly cutter. Deburred the edges.


 
Feb 19, 2024     46-4 Engine mount and Landing Gear step 1-2 - (3 hours) Category: Landing Gear
Lifted the fuselage using the small crane. Positioned both gear legs. Difficulties on the left side due to the powder coating making impossible to insert to final position. Sanded away part of the powder coating. Inserted and positioned using smaller drill bits (back side) until 7,9MM back of the drill bit could be inserted. Final drilled with 7.9 mm drill. Used the 0.311" reamed for finishing step.
Done on both sides.
 
Feb 18, 2024     aerosport Interior Panels (Front) - (1 hour) Category: Interior Finish
Drilled and countersunk for #8 screws (three for each panel). Still to decide what to do with the other two screws as they are supposed to be flush and therefore the panel needs to be countersunk...but the longerons are already countersunk....probably i will need to use epoxy and flox.
 
Feb 17, 2024     37-4 Step 1-7 Fuel System - (2 hours)       Category: Fuel System
Torqued the fitting (finger tight and then 90deg plus a bit). Marked the fuel lines from fuel selector to tunnel flanges.


 
Feb 16, 2024     aerosport Interior Panels (Front) - (3 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Trimming the front panels. Reconstructed part of the panel that was cut too much.
Used heat gun to reform the panel and have a more simple cut for the air vents.
Result is not perfect, i will use fiberglass to smooth out the surface. Need to decide if it makes sense to have the panels covered with carbon fiber.


 
Feb 13, 2024     windscreen defrosting fan tracing - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
traced the position for the defrosting fans and drilled the location for the screws.


 
Feb 13, 2024     Aerosport Interior Panels (Front) - (5 hours) Category: Interior Finish
Lucio has been working on the front panels trimming to measure and adapting to the Naca Vents. Still some work to do, i may try to prepare a little aluminum flange to better integrate the Naca Air vent. Determining the holes for the screws has been a bit of a work, but at the end the result is excellent. Nutplates to be installed
 
Feb 12, 2024     Garmin GTX35R Support Tray - (1 hour) Category: Avionics
riveted the tray to the fuselage stiffeners
 
Feb 12, 2024     39-5 Control System Step 3-4 - (3 hours)       Category: Controls
Lucio installed the F-1089 Elevator Pushrod and F-1090 elevator pushrod assembly. Attached the pushrods with hardware indicated. Only change is that i used self locking castellated nuts with cotter pin.


 
Feb 12, 2024     39-4 Control System Step 1 - (1 hour)       Category: Controls
Preparation of safety wiring for F-1089 forward. Not clear why this is necessary. Checked again position, length and correct positioning of the different bearings.


 
Feb 11, 2024     Static Air Line - (2 hours)       Category: Avionics
Removed the transponder tray. Installed lighting hole protections. installed the tie wrap using two components glue. Installed the tie wrap support for the AWG2 wire.


 
Feb 11, 2024     45-18 Cabin Door Windscreen step1-3 Silpruf Sikaflex Method - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Removed the windscreen, sanded again the plexiglas where i found drill marks. Prepared the shims. Glued in position. reviewed the videos. Suggestion is to mark the side flange with indication on the shim. Indicate if correct, too short or too long. This will facilitate trimming and then reposition the the windscreen.


 
Feb 10, 2024     45-18 Cabin Door Windscreen step1-3 Silpruf Sikaflex Method - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Trimmed the windscreen to have a 3/16 gap to the top cover joggle. Created a small tool to trace a 3/16" line on the windscreen (whiteboard marker) as suggested in the silpruf method used for the other transparencies.
Trimmed with sanding disk. Scuffed and sanded with 120-150-240 grit. Radiused the corner and all rough parts.
Positioned and clamped in place. Marked the windscreen position on top cabin flange using a fine black marker. Drilled about 14 holes for clecos on the top cover flange.
Positioned the clecoes with wooden strip to hold the windscreen in position. Checked position after each cleco. Position looks ok with uniform gap along eh windscreen edge.
Marked possible position for the aluminum strips.


 
Feb 09, 2024     43-8 Cabin Cover step 5-7 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Sanded the top cover windscreen joggle. Repaired with Bondo small imperfections. Sanded again. Trimming of the Windscreen to 3/16" gap to the cabin top. Used temporary wooden shims to simulate final position. Clamped the windscreen to the cabin top cover. Marked with the 3/16" marker. Disassembled and sanded with 150 grit doing radiuses on both edges. sanded with 250 grit. repositioned and it looks good.
next step will be to sand the flange, position the shims with rapid epoxy and reposition the windscreen cutting the shims to measure. Possible need to further sand the windscreen top.
 
Feb 08, 2024     43-8 Cabin Cover step 5-7 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Sanded the epoxy/Flox to at least 3/8" clearance to the top of the flange (1/4" for the plexiglas and 1/8" for sikaflex). Used belt sander and permagrit files. Transition is not perfect and i will probably need to work on the doors as well, but i will do that AFTER the windscreen will be finally installed.
 
Feb 07, 2024     43-8 Cabin Cover step 5-7 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
scuffing cabin top flange in preparation of rebuilding of fiberglass in order to have 1/4" for the plexiglas + 1/8" for the sikaflex.
Positioned adhesive plastic to contain the resin and flox rebuilding of the top cabin flange
 
Feb 06, 2024     43-8 Cabin Cover step 5-7 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Trimmed the windscreen to fit into the canopy flange. Difficult to determine correct fitting. The windscreen corners are about 2 inches wider than the canopy slot. I wonder how much this will reduce when the windscreen will fall into position.
I spent a lot of time measuring and putting reference lines (the rivet lines are a good help).
The instruction indicate to measure 10 inches from the firewall, but i found that in that case the windscreen will not fall into the position indicated in the instructions and that the fitting is less than ideal.
I resolved trimming the windscreen so that its line falls in a similar position as indicated in the kit instruction (reference to the rivets). After this trimming the windscreen falls in position much easier. I moved to that point using a step by step approach.

I used the Silpruf (Sikaflex) method described below. At the end the gap at the corner is close to 0 on the left side, while on the right side the gap is 3/8". Not sure if this is acceptable. As a test i positioned a heater to slightly heat up the the plexiglas while clamped to the canopy to see if the gap reduces.

I also trimmed the windshield to have a 3/16" gap to the flange.

I asked VANS Support if the 3/8" gap at the right corner is an issue and if pressing the plexiglas into position is inducing too much stress. They replied that the plexiglas looks ok and it is not a big issue to press it into position

I TOOLS: 80 grit sandpaper, disk sander, whiteboard marker with an aluminum strip with a hole for the marker at 3/16". 3/32 and 1/8 (if necessary) clecoes with little wooden piece.
1. Remove glas protection 2inches. protect the rest with masking tape and paper
2. Trim glas to fit into window recess.
3. Mark parallel to window flange (PARALLEL NOT STRAIGHT) using the aluminum strip to have constant 3/16" gap from the flange border.
4. Trim upto the mark BUT LEAVE THE MARK. Use sand block for last touches
5. Clean/deburr with tongue depressor or marker body


 
Feb 04, 2024     43-8 Cabin Cover step 5-7 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
more trimming and test fitting of the windshield. Review silpruf GlasAir Method.
 
Feb 04, 2024     43-8 Cabin Cover step 5-7 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Initial trimming of the windshield. I will use the Silpruf Method as done for the other windows. Final bonding will be done only after riveting the fuselage forward top cover
 
Feb 01, 2024     50-3 cabin heat and ventilation step 1 - (2 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Tapped the gussets, riveted to the NACA Air Vent flange. Final paint RAL7016. Preliminary installation.


 
Jan 30, 2024     50-3 cabin heat and ventilation step 1 - (2 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Preparation of the last two gusset for the left air vent. drilled, primed and riveted to the Naca-Vent flange. Tapped the gusset. Final paint with RAL7016


 
Jan 29, 2024     50-3 cabin heat and ventilation step 1 - (3 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Drilled the NACA air vent flange for the flush rivets needed to fasten the backing gussets. Drilled #28 the gusset and tapped tor #8 screws. Primed all the gusset and riveted the gusset to the right NACA air vent. Painted RAL 7016 the right vent.


 
Jan 27, 2024     50-3 cabin heat and ventilation step 1 - (5 hours) Category: Interior Finish
prepared 8 little aluminum backing triangles to be drilled and tapped for #8 screws.
A lot of filing and trimming.
 
Jan 24, 2024     50-3 cabin heat and ventilation step 1 - (1 hour)       Category: Interior Finish
Prepared backing strips for the front air vents. Drilled #8 holes, dimpled installed nutplates. primed and painted.


 
Jan 24, 2024     Static Air Line - (2 hours) Category: Avionics
Installed the static line. Defined position for line holders. Created small bracket to hold the Tee.
 
Jan 24, 2024     38-3 Beringer Brake System Brake Lines Torque - (3 hours)       Category: Brake System
FInal torque of the banjo bolts and all the fittings.
For the Banjo Bolts i used the tecnique indicated in the maintenance documentation provided by Beringer (torque to 44Lbs/in and then torque another 90 degrees). (from 5Nm adding 90 degrees the end torque is 27NM, 10 Newton meter more than the indication found in the Beringer RV10 installation manuale that indicates max torque at 17Nmeters).


 
Jan 23, 2024     another reorganization of the workshop. - (6 hours) Category: Workshop
Moved out of the main workshop one workbench into the garage.
reallocated tools to new trolleys. Need to install additional lights and alternate air pressure line.
 
Jan 13, 2024     Garmin GTX35R Support Tray - (2 hours)       Category: Avionics
Priming and painting RAL7016 of all the parts. Riveting nuts to the plate. Riveted the angle brackets to the plate.
preliminary installation to check for interferences.


 
Jan 13, 2024     NACA Air vents preliminary installation - (3 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Drilled the holes in the fuselage for the #8 screws. Deburred and dimpled. Installed nutplates on all the backup strips. Primed and painted both the strips and the NACA scoops (interior side) with RAL 7016.
Preliminary installation to check possibile interferences.


 
Jan 11, 2024     naca Air vents backup strips - (4 hours) Category: Interior Finish
More work on the backing strips. Drilled holes. Countersunk the plastic NACA Scoop. Drilled the holes for the nutplates. Final cut of the backing strip. Adjusted to the NACA Scoop external shape
 
Jan 10, 2024     Naca Air vents backup strips - (6 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
decided to use nutplates for attaching the NACA scoops to the fuselage for both the front NACA (cockpit ventilation) and the back NACA for the Aerosport Air vents.
I ordered the VANS Clear aluminum Air vent for the front panel.
Preparing the strips has been a bit of filing work but the intermediate result is good.
I need to cut the backing strip along the NACA scoop and i will need to countersink the plastic scoop for the #8 flush screws. I will then install the nutplates to the alustrip.


 
Dec 24, 2023     Garmin GTX35R Support Tray - (2 hours) Category: Avionics
Disassembled the tray, countersunk the tray bottom for 3/32 flush rivets holding the angles to be riveted to the channels. Removed two parts interfering with the tray support angles rivets. Countersunk the plate (fuselage side) for the tray angles 3/32 rivets.
 
Dec 20, 2023     Garmin GTX35R Remote transponder - (4 hours) Category: Avionics
Lucio prepared the remote transponder support using two aluminum angles a 0.036 aluminum plate and 4 little angles. Looks very sturdy and precise. Priming and final assembly pending
 
Dec 20, 2023     10-24 Tailcone Step 3 - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Bolted both F636 Harness Anchors to the longerons F-1032. Torqued to 26 lbs/in and marked
 
Dec 17, 2023     CHK VANS SL-00003 Removal of F-1054 attach angles - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
Tank attach angles are not necessary and can be removed.
Check if angles are installed. If cracking you can remove.


 
Dec 17, 2023     NA VANS SB 00080 Airflow cooler EA-00002 SB-00001 - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
Airflow cooler EA-00002 SB-00001 possible leaks.
The service bulletin only applies to 2006X X-Series Oil Coolers serial numbers K19-16202-25 through 40.


 
Dec 17, 2023     CHK VANS SB-00043 Elevator skins cracks - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
Check if appropriate to implement.
Application of tank sealant to elevator rear spar.


 
Dec 17, 2023     CHK VANS SB-00036 Rev3 Horizontal stabilizer cracks - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
Very complicated retrofit operation. To be evaluated if necessary to implement.


 
Dec 17, 2023     VANS SB-00007 Landing gear support replacement - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
Removed old landing gear suppor.
Installed new landing gear weldment.
Detailed steps in log.


 
Dec 17, 2023     CHK VAN SB-19-09-09 Nose landing gear cracks - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
For future maintenance inspect for cracks.


 
Dec 17, 2023     VANS SB-18-03-30 Elevator Stop Horn - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
Elevator horn has been checked and trimmed to avoid blockage with the elevator stop. Checks done during the empennage / Tailcone assembly.


 
Dec 17, 2023     VANS SB-14-8-28 Engine mount elastomer plate cracking - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
Engine Mount has the new design with the additional round U-00022 elastomer plate. No action required. If engine mount is old style get the modified elastomer plate. I don't think that the engine mount is old style.


 
Dec 17, 2023     VANS SB-000002 Bottom HingeBracket - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
Replacement of Rudder Hinge Bottom Brackets and Rudder stops with the new rudder stops.
SB Implemented but wrongly drilled larger holes for the screws. VANS technical support approved the larger screws. Mail below

Da: Support
Oggetto: RE: SB-00002 installation on RV-10 #42013
Data: 12 marzo 2021 19:40:28 CET
A: paolo cavosi

Ciao
�Sorry for the delay on responding, I just heard back form engineering on this and the have approved the larger hardware #10 hardware being used in place of the #8 screws. This will most likely require you modify a washer in order to keep from having interference with the bend radius on the VS-01010-1 hinge bracket but that is also acceptable.
Sterling


 
Dec 15, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System Service Bulletins - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
Beringer indicates a couple of Service Bulletins.
SB-0250 Backstop Replacement indicates the need to replace the backstop plate from serial 335 to 370. However i am not able to locate the backstop plate serial number. i have only the Brake assembly serial number 7687 and 7685. I imagine the SB doesn't apply for my brakes, but i requested Beringer Support to confirm. BERINGER CONFIRMS THAT THIS SB IS NOT RELEVANT. (Dear Paolo, only EA-003 are impacted by SB-025. You own a EA-003.3, so you are not concerned by this Service Bulletin).

SB-028 indicates that my backplate could have misalignment in the retention pins causing scratches to the wheel. Need to apply this SB


 
Dec 15, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System Brake Lines Torque - (3 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
Verified again torquing on Beringer brake lines. There are two different set of instructions. The General torquing instruction indicate to torque the brake line fitting down to 0-1 visible threads, while the RV10 brake kit instruction indicate to torque to 90-132 lbs/in. At the end i decided to torque to the more precise indication contained in the RV10 Brake Kit Documentation.


 
Dec 14, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System Re-Routing - (4 hours) Category: Brake System
Completed new rerouting of Beringer Brake lines. Shortened two lines for the new routing. Final install of the Brake Fluid reservoir and steel Tee. Final torqued the braided line fitting. Two different information, first one in document mm-00-005_-_tightening_torque_2.pdf indicating to torque up to 0-1 thread visible. The Beringer RV10 installation manual indicates a different procedure for braided fitting torque (90-132 lbs/in, 10-15 N/m)
 
Dec 12, 2023     Beringer Brake and Wheel assembly - (5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
Identified the different parts (VANS and Beringer) for Wheel and brake assembly. Preliminary assembly of the Brake and Wheel Assembly.


 
Dec 09, 2023     FF2-7 Cowl Baffles step 1-11 - (6 hours)       Category: Engine
Deburred all the parts for baffles for CYL #2, #4, #1, #3. Adapted one of the doubler for baffle CYL #1, Dimpled all the holes, deburred the hols and riveted all the doublers to the baffles.


 
Dec 08, 2023     FF2-6 Cowl Baffles step 1-3 - (1 hour) Category: Engine
preassembly of the Cylinder 2 Baffle. Matchdrilled, deburred and dimpled. Riveted the doubler plates
 
Dec 08, 2023     FF2-6 Cowl Baffles step 1-8 - (5 hours) Category: Engine
Preassembly of the Cylinder 5 baffle components (CB-1007B, CB-1007A, CB-1007A, CB-1008A).
Drilled the holes as indicate in the Instructions. Installed the Vent-03 DL SCat tube flange, matchdrilled and marked hatched area. Removed hatched area and step drilled the two holes as indicated.
Riveted the CB-1008B stiffener, the CB-1008C and CB-1003C stiffeners after dimpling the inboard side of the CB-1008A.
 
Dec 07, 2023     FF2-6 Cowl Baffles step 1-3 - (1.5 hours) Category: Engine
Assembled cylinder 5 baffles. Matchdrilled stiffener and doubler plates.Deburred all the holes and edges
 
Dec 07, 2023     FF2-4 Cowl Baffles step 7-11 (missing riveting - (2 hours)       Category: Engine
Matchdrilled and disassembled all the parts, deburred edges and holes. Positioned the CB-1005B Oil Cooler Brace and drawn a rivet line parallel to the lower edge of the cylinder 6 aft baffle. Removed all parts, final drilled #12.
Overall view of the left side engine baffles, #6, #4 and #2 from left to right


 
Dec 05, 2023     37-3 Step 1-6 Fuel System - (5 hours)       Category: Fuel System
Installed fuel pump, and fuel selector. Installed fuel lines to firewall. Final torqued the bulkhead fitting behind the fuel valve. All the fitting require final torque.


 
Dec 05, 2023     36-3 Brake Lines MOD Parking Brake - (3 hours)       Category: Brake System
Lucio prepared a bracket for the parking brake using aluminum angle. Using nutplates and an3 bolts installation looks stable. Primed the parts. Final torqued the parking brake hardware and all the bolts securing the pedal delrin blocks to the fuselage longerons.


 
Dec 03, 2023     FF2-4 Cowl Baffles step 1-6 - (2 hours)       Category: Engine
Preliminary assembly of CB-1005A aft baffle, CB-1004A cylinder baffle, CB-1006A left case baffle and CB-1004C stiffener. Matchdrilled the holes with #30 drill.


 
Dec 02, 2023     FF2-3 Cowl Baffles step 7-9 - (2 hours) Category: Engine
Riveted the flanged duct. I had to replace ALL the rivets with -5 rivets as the Flange was bulging and removing the rivets resulted in enlarged holes. I am still not super happy with the result but i have not been able to have a better result.
 
Dec 01, 2023     FF2-3 Cowl Baffles step 1-6 - (4 hours) Category: Engine
Drilled the four pilot holes. Cut the 4" hole. Enlarged two pilot holes with 3/4" step drill as indicated. Deburred all holes and cuts. Scuffed with scotchbrite.
The riveting of the VA-187 flanged duct has been a nightmare as the riveting with the bucking bar results in warped flange. drilled out few rivets, but got three enlarged holes. Used the squeezer and slightly better result, but still some ondulations are there....I had to use -5 rivets as the holes were too big for the -4 rivets. Not super happy but it will work.
 
Nov 30, 2023     FF2-2 Cowl Baffle Step 1-3 - (3 hours) Category: Engine
Separated the different parts CB-1002B, CB-1008B, CB-1010G, CB-1002G, CB-1004C, CB-1010B, CB-1002C, CB-1010C.
Cut as indicated, deburred and rounded all the corners.
 
Nov 30, 2023     36-3 Brake Lines step 3 - (3 hours)       Category: Brake System
Lucio had to reproduce the left brake line as it had been damaged during firewall drilling. On the second attempt the line clears all the obstacles.
Final installation up to the firewall bracket. Torqued the bulkhead fitting at the back tunnel and all the fitting up to the firewall bracket.
Final installation of all the clamps.
Firewall nut plate holding the clamp for both lines had the screw protruding through he fiberfrax. Added to large washer and a metal lock nut in order to hold the fiberfrax (shear nut would be sufficient).


 
Nov 30, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System Parking Brake - (1 hour)       Category: Brake System
Removed parking brake valve. Lucio prepared a bracket to hold the control cable using Aluminum angle.
Parking Brake Valve will be covered by the bracket therefore i attach here a picture with all the scribed informations.


 
Nov 27, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (3 hours) Category: Doors
More sanding and glassing on carbon fiber door opening flanges
 
Nov 25, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (4 hours) Category: Doors
new carbon fiber layers on door opening flanges (both sides), more epoxy and a lot of sanding
 
Nov 23, 2023     Measurements for Harness (Northair) - (4 hours) Category: Avionics
Detailed measurements for the Harness (G3X and all electrical devices) done by Northair Avionics.
Delivered to Northair Avionics the Upper Front Fuselage assembly so that they can work on the sub panel layout.
 
Nov 21, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (2 hours) Category: Doors
more sanding and more epoxy to fill gaps on the cabin door flanges
 
Nov 20, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Cut excess carbon fiber (second layer) on right door. Sanded. Cur excess carbon fiber on left door (first layer) sanded.
Second carbon fiber layer on left door flange, more epoxy on right door.
 
Nov 19, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Cut excess of first layer of carbon fiber on right door flange. Sanded. More epoxy on right door carbon fiber. Decided to have two layers as the single layer doesn't seem to be ok.
drilled the holes and countersunk the carbon fiber for the screws. masked everything again in preparation of second layer.
 
Nov 15, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
cut the carbon fiber positioned on the door bottom flange, sanded and glassed with epoxy. (left side)
After curing more sanding required down to wet 1000 grit to have similar finish as the overhead console.


 
Nov 14, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
wrapping part of the door frame with carbon fiber and fiberglass
 
Nov 08, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
More work on cabin top/fuse fillet
 
Nov 07, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Recreate fillet after removing paint.
 
Nov 05, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System - (1 hour) Category: Brake System
Repositioned the ALIR differential brake regulator. Unfortunately some interference with the new left brake tube.
 
Nov 05, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Used epoxy and Silica to make a better fillet around door flanges and top cover.
positioned the delrin blocks, masked the perimeter.
 
Nov 02, 2023     45-13 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound Door Latch - (5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Mounted left door. Positioned the cam Delrin block on the cabin flange. Removed the excess flox and epoxy to allow proper sitting of the block to the flange. Decided have direct contact between Delrin block and flange, McMaster seal will be adapted accordingly. In this way the load will be evenly distributed to the block/flange when door is locked.
Marked position and drill position.
Meanwhile Lucio has cut the tunnel cover in two parts to allow easier inspection and prepared a little lip to be riveted to the front side of the two-pieces tunnel.
Previously we had to adapt a bit the top cover to allow proper fitting of the roll bar as it was not sitting flush due to interference with additional material added in the paint shop
 
Oct 30, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
sanded the fillet around the canopy flange and the fuselage frame. Added flox to have a better fillet.
 
Oct 29, 2023     43-10 cabin Cover step 6 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Primed and painted the backup strip. Clecoed to the cabin top and the mid fuselage side skins
 
Oct 29, 2023     43-12 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Positioned all the bolts and nuts. Prepared flox and epoxy. Using a plastic bag i squeezed the flox into the gap between the canopy flanges and the fuselage. I tightened all the bolts and screws. Wiped away the excess, added in few places.


 
Oct 29, 2023     43-10 Cabin Cover step 4-5 - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Riveted the scat for the overhead air controller. Riveted the baggage channel to the baggage bulkhead. Adapted the top cover bulkhead backing strip. Checked for interferences. Clecoed the tailcone skins with stiffeners and various supports (Adheres and Air vent controller).
Positioned the top cover and clecoed the backing strips.


 
Oct 28, 2023     43-10 cabin Cover step 8 - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Preliminary assembly of the upper tailcone skins, cabin cover. Masked as preparation for epoxy filler.
Painted grey all the backing strips (RAL 7004 Signal Grey).


 
Oct 27, 2023     43-10 Cabin Cover - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
As the baggage bulkhead is still primed (azko green) i masked all the perimeter, scuffed it and painted with Anthracite Grey (RAL 7016).
Touched some parts with the same rattle can paint, painted the Baggage corrugated panel with the same RAL7016 color


 
Oct 21, 2023     43-13 Canopy and Overhead Console finishing - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Sanding bottom flanges of top canopy in preparation of painting.


 
Oct 21, 2023     Firewall insulation and passthrough - (2 hours) Category: Firewall
Prepared two stainless steel strips to be riveted to the firewall inside the oil cooler mount. They will keep the fiberfrax and steel foil in position. Used Firebarrier2000 inside the oil cooler mount.
 
Oct 19, 2023     aerosport panels - (2 hours) Category: Interior Finish
preliminary test fitting of the aero sport panels.
 
Oct 14, 2023     firewall insulation and passthrough - (0.5 hour)       Category: Firewall
little modification of the steel air vent valves. Attached two nutplates to avoid the use of a metal lock nut.


 
Oct 12, 2023     Firewall Insulation - (4 hours)       Category: Firewall
Final installation of the fiberfrax panel.
Cleaned the steel foil, used firebarrier2000 to create a fillet around the firewall perimeter and around the engine mount. Used wooden bars to keep the fiberfrax/steel foil attached to the firewall.
Prepared the Steel Eyeball passthrough for the 4 bowden cables (drilled to the right diameter for each passthrough).
Modified the steel cabin air vents installing a nut plate on each valve to simplify installation of the cable clamp.


 
Oct 10, 2023     firewall Insulation - (3 hours) Category: Firewall
Cleaned the firewall and the fiberfrax halves. Final trimming of the fiberfrax halves. Positioned the right half and glued to the firewall. Positioned the left half and trimmed. Used spray glue to position the left fiberfrax. Lucio drilled holes for the oil recess fiberfrax angles after checking proper fitting. Deburred holes.
 
Oct 10, 2023     28-13 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins Step 1-4 - (1 hour) Category: Firewall
The firewall has not been riveted to the bottom and side skins. After riveting the piano hinges to the side skins i had to rivet the bottom skin to the firewall (except the hinges and the center rivet that will be used for a bottom cowl bracket.
 
Oct 07, 2023     43-10 Cabin Cover step 8 - (1 hour)       Category: Firewall
Trimmed the cabin strut and the channel to remove interference with W-1042L/R top part. The paint shop added some material to smooth out the fiberglass but it created interference and the top cover was not sitting properly.


 
Oct 07, 2023     Installation of nutplates for ANL and Shunt - (1 hour)       Category: Firewall
Installed nutplates


 
Oct 06, 2023     Passthrough Installation - (4 hours)       Category: Firewall
Drilling for the installation of ANL 60A for main alternator and its shunt and of the ANL 40A for the backup alternator and its shunt. Drilled the platenuts holes.
It took a long time in order to check interference with engine mount and transducer block and other firewall installed parts.
Thanks to Lucio for the precious advice as usual.


 
Sep 26, 2023     43-13 Overhead Console finishing - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
trimmed the conduit as the top cover was not sitting well on the fuselage on my last trial.
 
Sep 26, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System Re-Routing - (1 hour) Category: Brake System
Another attempt at rerouting and recutting the reservoir-copilot brake lines. The new lines are running in front of the pedal instead of running behind. With this new configuration i see less tensions on the reservoir Tee connector.
 
Sep 23, 2023     43-9 Canopy and Overhead Console finishing - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Reinstallation of the air vents on the overhead console.
 
Sep 23, 2023     41-8 Upper forward fuselage installation step 5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Deburred hinges and shims. Dimpled the shims, countersunk the hinges to accomodate a .020 dimpled shim.
Reinstalled hinges.
Left side second rivet from top up drilled to #30 and dimpled skins and firewall flange to #30.
 
Sep 22, 2023     Garmin GSA 28Garmin Servo Service-Life Extension (Service Bulletin 23038) - (2 hours) Category: SB & Letters
Garmin started a Servo Service Life Extension Program for GSA28 Servos. Under this program certain GSA28 will be replaced with a 6 months extension warranty.
Replacement will be done through dealer network (in my case Northair Aviation).
Part number affected is GSA 011-02927-00 (elevator and probably aileron). Unfortunately i will not be able to check part number on roll-servo until i remove the servo from the wing.

 
Sep 21, 2023     51 FF1_10-2 Engine Installation step 1-5 - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
Assembled the oil cooler support, final drilled, dimpled, deburred all the holes. Little adjustment necessary to install on the predrilled firewall holes.
Riveted the parts together.
Riveted to the firewall.
Drilled 4 holes to secure fiberfrax/steel sandwich to the interior of the cooler.


 
Sep 21, 2023     41-8 Upper forward fuselage installation step 1-4 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Positioned hinges and shims. checked alignment. Matchdrilled all the holes checkin alignment.


 
Sep 19, 2023     Oil Cooler Airflow Niagara 2006A Serial K22-16535-96 - (1 hour)       Category: Engine
Following Service Bulletin DOES NOT APPLY for my Oil Cooler as the serial number is NOT in the indicated range.

Service Bulletin from Airflow
2006X X-Series Oil Coolers, manufactured in 2019 with serial numbers K19-16202-25 through 40

Oil Cooler Service Bulletin 0001 – REV A

June 12, 2023
2006X X-Series Oil Coolers, manufactured in 2019 with serial numbers K19-16202-25 through 40.
Potential oil leak from the vanes and/or core area of the oil cooler due to potential manufacturing defect.
The service bulletin only applies to 2006X X-Series Oil Coolers serial numbers K19-16202-25 through 40. We are still collecting data, if your oil cooler is outside the affected range, we are interested in knowing about any failures.
Inspect your 2006X oil cooler data plate and determine if your oil cooler falls within this serial number range. If it does, do not continue to fly your aircraft. Send Airflow Systems an email at airflowsystems2@gmail.com with your contact information and we will send you a replacement oil cooler and return shipping instructions for your oil cooler. DO NOT THROW AWAY YOUR OLD COOLER, WE REQUIRE THEM FOR EXCHANGE AND INSPECTION.


 
Sep 18, 2023     37-3 Step 1-6 Fuel System - (1 hour)       Category: Fuel System
Primed and painted fuel pump support.
Dimpled the bottom skin using modified bucking bars and Lucio's help holding the anvil.
riveted the fuel pump support.
riveted few nutplates and the passthrough


 
Sep 18, 2023     Firewall insulation and passthrough - (1 hour) Category: Firewall
rechecked position of passthrough. Riveted passthrough
 
Sep 16, 2023     41-7 upper forward fuselage installation step1-4 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
cut the shims for the hinges using the 0.20 2024T4 strips. Drilled the pilot hole, deburred everything.
Cut to measure the different hinges F-1001N, F-1001P, F-1001Q.
Drilled the pilot holes ONLY on the AFT sections of the different hinges. Used the 1/8 hinges.
 
Sep 12, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System Re-Routing - (2 hours)       Category: Brake System
I decided to mark the different hoses using heat shrink printer. Installing the heatshrink has been a bit of a nightmare, but finally i succeeded.
Only thing to do is to torque all the fittings and check for leaks when the wheels will be installed.


 
Sep 11, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System Re-Routing - (3 hours) Category: Brake System
I had to remove pedal and brake assembly in order to install long bolts on the pedals.
After installing the long bolts AN3-57, castle nut and cotter pin i reinstalled the pedal assembly and the brake lines. I am still fully satisfied with the brake fluid reservoir connection, as it seems that the brake line are putting tension on the brake reservoir tee.
 
Sep 06, 2023     37-3 Step 1-6 Fuel System - (8 hours)       Category: Fuel System
Lucio prepared a little mod to facilitate annual inspection for fuel pump and filter.
He prepared the support, i attached a couple of nutplates,checked routing. Lucio did most of the alutube bending and flaring.
End result is very satisfactory.
Bended a new aluminum tube to replicate the fuel line.


 
Sep 06, 2023     firewall Insulation and passthrough - (2 hours)       Category: Firewall
Fabricated a small steel fairing for the air vent valve cables. I had redo the fairing as the previous one was too small.
Same process. Initially thought to rivet to the firewall, but then changed my mind and i will install to nutplates (-8 screws).


 
Sep 05, 2023     firewall Insulation and passthrough - (6 hours)       Category: Firewall
Installed additional passthrough. Defined position for Main Passthrough and ANL / SHUNT.
Decided to trim the fiberfrax to allow direct riveting of oil cooler mount to the firewall. Trimmed fiberfrax to allow direct contact of engine mount to the firewall.
Fiberfrax should not be sandwiched between riveted items as with vibration the fiberfrax loosen up and rivets are not holding tight.


 
Sep 03, 2023     Fuel Pump and Fuel Filter Support - (4 hours)       Category: Fuel System
Lucio prepared the fuel pump and fuel filter support. It will be riveted to the cabin floor and the pump will be mounted with platenuts riveted to floating angles to allow positioning without unnecessary tensions on tubes when in place. When the pump filter assembly will be removed the two angles will stay in place thanks to few screws.


 
Aug 30, 2023     Metal fairing for cabin air control cables - (4 hours) Category: Firewall
Thinking about building a little fairing for the cabin air cables penetration. Idea is to rivet it on the fiberfrax and fill it with Firebarrier2000 instead of leaving the two cables just there with a little bit of RTV as suggested by VANS.
I did a mock up in aluminum just to see how it could fit.
I need to create a little tool to facilitate the forming of the steel foil taken from the oil recess part that i screwed up earlier in the project
Aluminum mock up seems to be ok.
Carved an hard wood block with the shape and formed the fairing, Deburred and cut to measure.
Lucio agrees this is a valid solution and a better way to manage this passthrough compared to the solution proposed by VANS
 
Aug 30, 2023     Andair fuel Pump PX375-TC - (1 hour)       Category: Fuel System
Received the andair fuel pump.
documentation attached


 
Aug 28, 2023     Equipment List with Serial Numbers - (2 hours) Category: Equipments
Table contains all the equipments with part number, manufacturer, serial number and if applicable Form One indication.
This is a living document and will be the base for the Maintenance Manual.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/i1hdwnma55wf8edwe0ckj/RV10_42013-Equipment-Serial-Numbers.xlsx?rlkey=4aig46qx06swwcwhljjpurh9h&dl=0
 
Aug 01, 2023     Laser Cut Parts Letter from VANS - (12 hours)       Category: SB & Letters
Vans sent me this letter. I am checking the different parts purchased.
Empennage Kit, QuickBuild Wings and QuickBuild fuselage seem to have been assembled BEFORE the laser cut technique has been put in place (delivery of all the kits in 2019 and 2021.
The finish kit with aluminum parts was delivered on 23rd April 2022. I checked multiple times the items in the list against the List provided by VANS (versione 3)
Apparently there are no parts in the Finish Kit that are in the VANS List.
I also checked the Firewall forward kit that has been sent in march 2023, but also in this case i didn't find any match with the List Version 3.
I also checked the orders on the VANS Shop but i don't find any parts shipped in 2022 or after. I only ordered Hardware and no aluminum parts
For this reason i am confident that no laser cut parts have been used for this airplane.
Key Dates
Empennage Kit Shipment date 31/03/2019 First Laser cut part in storage 16/02/2022
Quickbuild Kit Shipment date 19/06/2020 First Laser cut part in storage 20/01/2022
Finish Kit Shipment Date 26/04/2022 First Laser cut part in storage 20/01/2022 (prudential estimate no date given by VANS)
Firewall Fwd Kit Shipment date 08/02/2023 First Laser cut part in storage 20/01/2022 (prudential estimate no date given by VANS)


 
Jul 29, 2023     AWG2 routing to Starter Contactor - (2 hours)       Category: Electrical Syst.
Tested few options on routing the AWG2 from battery to starter contactor. Finally decided to use the proposed solution from VANS in the OP37 Wiring documentation.
AWG2 runs on the lower hole in the side and into the firewall passthrough positioned slightly under the starter contactor.
For this reason i drilled an hole into F-1002L and F-10110L. I don't see a need for a second hole as indicated in the instruction. If needed i will drill that.
For the time being i used a single bushing SB500-6 and that is perfect fit for the AWG2. I will add a clamp further down the road before the firewall to have the wire in place Probably i will use a click-bond stud to avoid drilling the side skin.
I also drilled a hole to position a clamp on F-1016L to help routing the AWG2 towards the battery.
I still need a couple of SB750-6 bushing and a couple of grommets. My preference is to have the AWG2 alone in its routing and have other wires in the other hole. The SB750-10 should be sufficient for the wing wires, fuel pump and total pressure and AOA (if ADHARS will be in the cockpit, otherwise there will be no issue.


 
Jul 28, 2023     46-2 Engine Mount and landing gear Step 1 - (3 hours) Category: Firewall
Preliminary installation of steel passthrough on the firewall for the AWG2 wire to the starter contactor and for the AWG8/AWG6 from starter contractor to main bus.removed the engine mount to facilitate drilling. Removed oil cooler for easier work.
Riveted brake line bracket to the rudder pedal brace (F-1039D). I made the brake line bracket in an earlier step and i needed help to rivet in place due to the awkward position.
 
Jul 26, 2023     43-9 Cabin Cover step 8-9 Paint Inside Canopy - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Brought back the canopy from the paint shop. Very satisfied with the result. Gloss transparent on carbon fiber is masking little imperfections of my layups.


 
Jul 24, 2023     Internal Paint & Primer - (1 hour) Category: Paint / Decals
Primer for tailcone and empennage: Akzo Nobel. For some parts (Rudder and Vertical Stabilizer) i used Ekopoxy Primer. The Horizontal stabilizer, elevators, trim tabs and tailcone have been primed with AKZO NOBEL Aircraft primer (Epoxy Primer 37035A) in a professional paint shop.
The Quickbuild parts (wings and fuselage) have been primed directly by VANS, however i decided to scuff and prime the cockpit with a normal metal primer in a professional printshop. I decided to use colored primer (RAL 7016) and a gloss paint dark grey RAL7016.
For the Fiberglass Canopy i asked the same professional to smooth out imperfection after i reached my best in sanding and scuffing. I decided for a light gray RAL 7004 gloss for the fiberglass parts and transparent gloss for the carbon fiber parts.
 
Jul 20, 2023     43-9 Canopy and Overhead Console finishing - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Prepared the canopy for the paint shop. masked again the inside of the backseat windows. Sanded again grit 800 the carbon fiber overhead console.
delivered to paint shop. Color selected RAL7004 matt. Check on additional sanding AFTER priming. Outcome not to bad, still need some work on few holes and imperfections, but the paint shop guy is optimistic about the result
 
Jul 17, 2023     Northair Aviation Preliminary documentation - (12 hours)       Category: Electrical Syst.
Prepared the following information kit delivered to Northair Aviation for a preliminary cost estimate. Total hours in few days of document collecting

ciao Simone
in allegato la documentazione per l'avionica dell RV10 I-CAVS. Fammi sapere se possono essere utili altri documenti, foto ecc.

In allegato trovi dei pdf che comprendono

1. Lista equipaggiamenti che vorrei installare in prima battuta con evidenziato se li ho disponibili oppure se � acquistarli. Verifica per piacere se manca qualche cosa tipo connection kits ecc
2. Lista breaker, fusibili e interruttori che pensavo di installare, ovviamente dipende dallo schema dell'impianto ma ho fatto l'esercizio per avere almeno un ordine di idee di quanto breaker e fusibili ci saranno
3. Vista d'insieme dell'aereo con posizioni approssimative delle varie componenti
4. Tri-View dell'aereo con posizione approssimativa delle componenti
5. Estratto del manuale di costruzione con evidenza dei due fori per i cavi previsti dal costruttore lungo ambedue i lati dell'aereo. Questi sono un po' i colli di bottiglia, motivo per cui ho inserito i due conduit aggiuntivi annegandoli nei montanti del parabrezza.
6. Disegni VANS in 2D del pannello strumenti e in 3D di tutto l'assieme pannello, subpanel (il pezzo che ti ho portato e su cui abbiamo ragionato insieme)
7.Documentazione tecnica di alcune componenti (regolatori di tensione, pompa, valvola per aria in cabina, attuatore FLAP, luci nelle tip alari ecc)
8. Schema elettrico di riferimento tratto dal libro di Bob Nuckolls che ho usato come “ispirazione”, naturalmente deve essere adattato alla situazione specifica.

Ti mando con mail a parte:
A) Foto della firewall con starter contactor. Foto della fusoliera con evidenziata i due conduit che portano dietro il bagagliaio verso batteria e suo contactor (due tubi PVC rigidi da 16mm)
B)Foto della cappottina in vetroresina con due conduit aggiuntivi che corrono lungo i montanti del parabrezza e scorrono poi nella overhead console per uscire dall'ordinata del bagagliaio (2 corrugati da 16mm)

Se non ricordo male mi avevi detto che saresti stato in ferie a luglio. Chiamami pure se hai bisogno di chiarimenti e se vuoi passare da qui per prendere alcune misure fammi sapere che mi organizzo


 
Jul 17, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console finishing - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
more sanding on the canopy especially on the door flanges.
 
Jul 15, 2023     43-9 Canopy and Overhead Console finishing - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
sanding again. Added flox and epoxy to fill holes and imperfections. more sanding to come
 
Jul 12, 2023     43-9 Canopy and Overhead Console finishing - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
surface finishing of the overhead console. Sanded the whole console starting with 320 grit, 400 grit, 800grit wet and 1000grit wet.
 
Jul 12, 2023     43-9 Canopy and Overhead Console finishing - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
surface finishing of the overhead console. Sanded the whole console starting with 320 grit, 400 grit, 800grit wet and 1000grit wet.
 
Jul 06, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console finishing - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Second lay up of carbon fiber to smooth our imperfections.
1. sand with 300 grit. Clean with Acetone
2. Prepare epoxy and let it rest to degas and begin slight gelification
3. use spray epoxy to position carbon fiber
4. Prepare carbon fiber using masking tape to firm the fiber. Keep 5cm excess
5. Once spray epoxy has dried bit position the carbon fiber and make it stick to all the curves and depressions.
6. Use epoxy on the carbon fiber using a brush perpendicular to the carbon fiber. Avoid excess and deposit on the "valleys"
7. Let it dry.
8. Once dry cut to measure
9. Sand with medium grit (240-320) to reduce the carbonfiber bulges. Clean with acetone.
10. Apply a second layer of epoxy. Make sure it is degassed and it is slightly gelified. Use a brush and avoid too thick layers as the fiber will not be visible once sanded.


 
Jul 04, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console finishing - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
I decided to cover the front of the overhead console with carbon fiber to mask the conduits and the fairing that don't look good.
I used a larger piece of very flexible carbonfiber and i used masking tape along the border to keep it together.
Positioned using spray epoxy and then soaked with west system epoxy.


 
Jul 03, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console finishing - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Sanded the overhead console in preparation for transparent paint. Started with 220 grit and ended with 1000 grit wet. Overall result looks good.
 
Jul 02, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console finishing - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
I had a little difficulty in removing the air vents from the console as the back vents large nuts are not easily accessible. After consultation with Lucio he suggeste to build a little tool. After few attempts i decided to build a simple version of the tool using a scrap aluminum and a couple of steel pins.
Engaging the nut is a bit difficult but after a couple of attempts i removed the air vents.


 
Jun 30, 2023     Various consideration on Firewall - (5 hours)       Category: Firewall
Based on Lucio's experience we addressed few aspects of firewall penetration and passthrough locations.
1. Penetration for AWG2 wire to starter contactor. Changed the position compared to the original drawing to allow use of steel passthrough.
2. Penetration for Engine Sensors : using two large avery passthrough positioned on the top of the firewall away from the oil filter to allow easier replacement
3. Penetration for Cabin Air Heat Valve: Lucio will prepare a passthrough with angled tubing.
4. Penetration for Manifold Pressure sensor not required as Garmin Sensor will be positioned on the VA-168 Sender Mount using the available slot (one for oil pressure, another one for fuel pressure and the last for manifold pressure)
5. Replace Fuel Aluminum fitting with steel fitting (same shape) AN837-6 steel
6. Grounding block for ring connectors on both sides of the firewall
7. Grounding block for ring connectors on the sub panel. Connect with AWG8 to Firewall grounding block?


 
Jun 27, 2023     43-9 Cabin Cover step 8-9 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
installed sacrificial door seal, mixed cabosil and resin to fill the gap between the seal and the canopy. more sanding to come
 
Jun 21, 2023     instrument panel high level layout - (2 hours) Category: Instrument Panel
integrated the preliminary equipment list with additional electrical equipment (fuel pump, flap and trim servos,naca air vent controller and so on)
 
Jun 20, 2023     instrument panel inventory - (3 hours) Category: Instrument Panel
reviewing current equipment list and logical schemes
 
Jun 13, 2023     43-10 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Cabin cover door flange sanding to bring it close to 5mm thick and a 1cm deep. Lot of sanding on the right door. Thickness on the corner is still a bit too much, but once positioned the seal it seems to fit well. I will wait to check again with closed doors once installed on the fuselage.
 
Jun 11, 2023     43-9 Overhead console conduit for electrical wiring - (6 hours) Category: Fuselage
sanding, filling gaps and sanding again
 
Jun 06, 2023     Instrument Panel Layout Northair Aviation Preliminary Met - (6 hours) Category: Instrument Panel
Meeting with Simone Bonardi (Northair Aviation) to diioscuss option on the Garmin Panel. In general the high level layout i defined should be feasible and a step by step approach will be considered. Simone will prepare a detailed layout and electrical scheme in August so that in september we can finalize. Probably best solution will be to give him the front top cover with the panel and the he will cut a new panel incorporating the switches array. This will help saving some space as suggested by Lucio.
I will provide detailed list of equipment already available, 2d and 3d blueprints from VANS, technical details of the different equipment and few pictures of the routing and conduits.
 
Jun 06, 2023     43-9 Overhead console conduit for electrical wiring - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Finishing of electric conduit with flox and Cabosil.
I inserted a plastic joint on the corrugated and then a heat shrink tube. Finally i filled all the gaps with cavosi and added one layer of fiberglass


 
May 30, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console Bonding to top canopy - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
sanding again
 
May 29, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console Bonding to top canopy - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
more sanding and more epoxy+cabosil
 
May 28, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console Bonding to top canopy - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Sanding. Additional epoxy with cabosil. More sanding.


 
May 27, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console Bonding to top canopy - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Sanded the flanges. Prepared flox to fill gaps and holes. used peel ply. I let it cure in the sun and in two hours the fiberglass was hard enough for more sanding. I sanded all the parts, masked again the overhead console and applied epoxy with Cabosil in order to fill the gaps. Curing overnight.
 
May 27, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console Bonding to top canopy - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Sanded the flanges. Prepared flox to fill gaps and holes. used peel ply. I let it cure in the sun and in two hours the fiberglass was hard enough for more sanding. I sanded all the parts, masked again the overhead console and applied epoxy with Cabosil in order to fill the gaps. Curing overnight.
 
May 26, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console Bonding to top canopy - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Removed cleo and prepared the flange and canopy with sandpaper and acetone. Masked overhead along the flange. Prepared flox for flange fillet. Glassed fiberglass 2" stripe to the overhead and canopy. Applied peel ply and squeezed out excess. Letting cure overnight. The more complex parts will be done over the weekend


 
May 24, 2023     43-9 Overhead Console Bonding to top canopy - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Masking the canopy and the overhead console. Drilled additional holes for the clecos. Applied Sika Primer to both sides. Used Sikaflex 295 for bonding.
Positioned the overhead console. squeezed out the sikaflex, inserted clecos. Used tongue depressor for making a fillet around the overhead console.
Removed the masking tapes. Let cure for the next 48 hours.
Once cured i will cover the flanges with a glass fiber and epoxy hopefully creating a straight line and a smooth transition to the carbon fiber. Final finishing will be done in the paint shop


 
May 21, 2023     43-9 Overhead console conduit for electrical wiring - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Sanded the canopy where i put some flox yesterday.
Due to some interferences of the lights mounted on the console forward aluminum panel i had to reposition the tie-strap holders. I also decided to use heat shrink tube on each conduit termination and on the tie wrap positions.
The removal of the holders was not too complicated but it required a lot of sanding to remove the epoxy glue.
I trimmed the overhead console for the gas strut bracket and i traced the perimeter of the console on the top canopy.
I plan to use sikaflex to bond the overhead console. I will mask both the console (with back cutting as i did for the plexiglas) and the top canopy with two overlapping tapes in order to have a clear cut on the black sikaflex.
I also drilled additional holes for the clecos.
I plan to cover the console flange with a 2,5" fiberglass strip and epoxy to have a smooth transition from canopy to overhead console.
The objective is still to have the console in natural carbon fiber.


 
May 20, 2023     43-9 Overhead console conduit for electrical wiring - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
After removing the top canopy and removing the overhead console i prepared few tie-wrap holders to route the corrugated conduit.
I used rapid epoxy glue to install them on the top canopy.
I also used some heat shrink tube to reduce strain on the forward conduit.
In addition i fixed a couple of things on the overhead console with some carbon fiber and epoxy.


 
May 17, 2023     Panel Layout High Level - (4 hours)       Category: Instrument Panel
cut different pieces of foam to the size of the different component. Tested position. Initial Panel Layout defined. Final layout and details will be defined based on Northair Aviation (Simone Bonardi) 3d layout.


 
May 17, 2023     mock of panel and sub panel - (1 hour)       Category: Avionics
different preliminary layouts.
Decided to avoid Litium Polimers back up batteries (only for the G5).
Decided to have remote adsb in/our ransponder and remote radio in the battery compartment. Shorter distance to antennas is also an advantage
Voltage regulators for both alternators will be mounted on back panel. No need to put them on the firewall cabin side


 
May 17, 2023     43-9 Cabin Cover step 8-9 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
removed the doors and the canopy to allow for door finishing and canopy finishing and overhead console final install
 
May 10, 2023     43-14 Overhead Console step 2 - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
drilled the 0,625 Inch holes for the wiring into the the F1006 Bulkhead to allow electrical wiring and antennas.


 
May 10, 2023     43-9 Overhead console adaptation for baggage panel - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Marked the overhead console flange, trimmed reducing the bottom flange. Marked the baggage panel and trimmed to fit the overhead flange


 
May 09, 2023     40-6 Flap System step 1-4 New Actuator - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installation of clamps for the multiconductor wire. Installed Pins for the CPC connector (female on the actuator side.
Original VANS documentation attached (unfortunately colors don't exactly match). Added the documentation from the manufacturer of the actuator (PH Aviation Services, Inc)
CPC mapping of the wires as follows (only 5 wires are active, one is not active. Slot nr 4 NOT USED)
1 RED AWG 18 POWER (EXTRACT FLAP)
2 Red AWG20 POT WIPER (SIGNAL)
3 BLACK AWG18 POWER (RETRACT FLAP)
5 Black AWG20 NOT USED BUT INSTALLED
6 YELLOW AWG20 POT 5 SCVD (REFERENCE)
7 WHITE AWG20 POT GND (REFERENCE)

Manual recommend 10 AMP Breaker on power lines (Extract / retract)


 
May 09, 2023     40-6 Flap System step 1-4 New Actuator - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Routing of the flap actuator cable. After a little thinking i decided to use a CPC flange connector and to use click-bond studs and click-floating nut to route the cable towards the right side of the plane.
Initially i wanted to enlarge the tooling hole but the position is not right as there is some interference with the will extended flaps. I drilled a second hole in a more convenient position and i enlarged to measure. Test fitting with no interference.
Installation of click-bond is fairly easy.


 
May 06, 2023     43-9 Overhead console adaptation for baggage panel - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Cut the flange of the overhead console to 10 mm. Probably i will need to cut further in order to accomodate the two nutplates holding the top part of the corrugated baggage panel.
I repositioned the nutplates to the lowest possible position on the bulkhead.


 
May 06, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System Re-Routing - (4 hours)       Category: Brake System
Tested different alternatives for the Beringer routing. I didn't like the routing below the cylinder and checked a different configuration having both lines going in parallel in front. I checked on the web and there are only few using this setup. Majority uses the recommended routing (both VANS and Beringer) with the lines going behind the cylinder.
I went back to this approach, changing a bit the tying position (three zip ties for the hose behind the cylinder) in order to minimize the movement. now it looks pretty solid. It is not final yet.
I decide to install three nutplates instead of the initial set-up with classic bolt and nut. Reason being that once the fuselage forward top cover will be riveted maintenance will be easier with the nutplates instead of the normal bolt/nut.


 
May 02, 2023     layout and mock up for LRU's - (3 hours)       Category: Avionics
cut mock up of the different LRU's out of styrofoam. Tentative layout of instrument panel including two analog instruments (winter 57MM).
Need to cut the sub panel to allow for the gn255 connectors. Possible use of remote transponder GTR45R (position in the back of the fuselage (battery area).


 
May 02, 2023     46-2 Engine Mount and landing gear Step 1 - (2.5 hours)       Category: Engine
Fabricated the spacer for the alternator contractor in order to have better clearance for the AWG2 and other cables.


 
May 01, 2023     46-2 Engine Mount and landing gear Step 1 - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
matchdrilled the engine mount bolt holes with the help of lucio. Tests fitting of the engine mount.
Decision to fabricate a spacer for the starter contractor.
Decision to fabricate a passthrough for the cabin air vent cables as the solution with eyeball passthrough doesn't seem to work.


 
Apr 22, 2023     Firewall Insulation - (4 hours)       Category: Firewall
Removed all the accessories from the firewall. Dimpled the holes on the Oil Cooler support even if not strictly necessary as i will be sandwiching steel/fiberfrax when riveting.
Reinstalled the Oil filter recessa after dimpling and riveting the flanges to itself.
Asked Chiara to do the riveting and everything turned out fine.


 
Apr 21, 2023     firewall Insulation - (2 hours)       Category: Firewall
Preliminary installation of the two firewall insulation panels, checked installation of oil cooler support, transducer, brake reservoir, cabin air vents and contractor. Cut remaining holes, deburred the steel foil where necessary.
Even though i used the gloves i had to pay another blood sacrifices to the Gods of Steel Sheet


 
Apr 18, 2023     firewall Insulation - (4 hours)       Category: Firewall
Prepared the two fiberfrax parts and cut the right foil. several attempts to fit and trimmed. Glued the foil to the fiberfrax right side and positioned on the firewall. Used masking tape to hold in position. Marked the holes and cut the holes with a cutter. deburred and reinstalled the brake reservoir and the air valve (right).
Blood tribute paid to the God of Steel.


 
Apr 17, 2023     Firewall Insulation - (4 hours)       Category: Firewall
Cut the fiberfrax to measure. cut the stainless steel foil to measure. Positioned the foil and drilled the holes using the recess screw holes.
Installed the spherical firewall fitting flange and matchdrilled.
After sandwiching the fiberfrax and steel foil between the spherical firewall fitting flanges i used a cutter to create the hole for the ball passthrough.
Trimmed the fiberfrax and stainless foil.


 
Apr 14, 2023     Firewall Insulation - (3 hours) Category: Firewall
Trimmed the fiberfrax to size leaving 1/8" between the firewall flanges and the fiberfrax. Trimmed the recess fiberfrax flanges.
Tested the installation of the EYEBALL FIREWALL FITTING- SS PRESSURE PLATE - STEEL TTP. Cutting the steel foil with a cutter once squeezed between the eyeball flanges is pretty easy. Drilling holes for the screws with #30 is not enough, better use a #21 through the eyeball flange
End result is very nice, need to replicate on the final fitting.
Ordered the fire barrier 2000 sealant.
 
Apr 13, 2023     Documentation check and warranties - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
Finally i had the time to spend some time on the Engine documentation. I read carefully all the service letters, i sent all the registration information to airflow performance. I also prepared a folder with all the documentation for Engine, Airflow injection, MT propeller.


 
Apr 11, 2023     Firewall Insulation - (3 hours)       Category: Firewall
Following Dan Horton advice i decided to install a fiberfrax insulation covered with a stainless steel foil. Dan provides a full kit, however import duty, shipment cost make it impractical to acquire here in Europe.
I started with a mock up made of 1/8 thick foam purchased at the local store. I marked and cut following the firewall contour and the oil filter recess. After fitting and trimming the foam mock up i moved into cutting the fiberfrax.
Using the same method i cut the fiberfrax parts for the oil filter recess.
I also tested the scissors on the stainless steel and they work much better than the aluminum scissor i got. precise cuts and very precise on the trimming.


 
Apr 05, 2023     FF1_10 Engine Installation - (4 hours)       Category: Engine
As suggested in the KIA i plan to install few items on the firewall before bolting the engine mount. In addition i decided to add a layer of fiberfrax and a stainless steel foil as recommended by Dan Horton.
As starting point i marked the different penetration on the firewall and together with Lucio we worked on the Oil Cooler Support in order to make it fit as it was a bit bent.


 
Apr 05, 2023     27-2 Firewall step 1-5 Recess Replacement - (4 hours)       Category: Firewall
Final preparation of the Firewall recess and drilling for the installation of 4 Ball bearing (Mixture control, Throttle, Propeller pitch and alternate air)
As usual Lucio did a great job


 
Apr 05, 2023     29-10 New Landing Gear Service Bulletin SB00007 - (5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
SB00007 final torque of all the bolts: The nuts are metal self locking nuts MS20142-3-4-5 and we torqued to 42Lbs/in the MS21042-3, to 110lbs/in the MS21042-4 and to 160lbs/in the MS21042-5.
Marked all the nuts with yellow marker.


 
Apr 03, 2023     36-2 Brake Lines step 1-2 - (3 hours)       Category: Brake System
After checking with Lucio it seems that the brake lines are running too close to the new landing gear mount and in addition the curves are too sharp.
I scrapped the old lines and i bended the lines again with more clearing space and with smoother curves.


 
Apr 01, 2023     29-10 New Landing Gear Service Bulletin SB00007 - (5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
Almost done with the SB00007 Service Bulletin (changing Gear Leg Mounts).
Lucio did again most of the work with my assistance. We inserted all the bolts starting from the AN5 in the onboard corner....and then slowly moving into the different sides and bolt sizes. We needed some lubricant but finally we have been able to insert all the bolts. A little help from the rivet gun at very very low pressure for one AN4 at the bottom...very unfortunate location, but at the end even that one went in. I torqued all the AN3, but for the AN4 i need to wait for a bigger torque wrench as mine goes up only to 46lbs/in.
As the SB00007 indicates to use selflocking metal bolts (MS21042-3/4/5) i torqued the AN3 to 28+14 (friction)=42 lbs/in. I need to wait for a bigger torque wrench for the others.


 
Mar 29, 2023     engine arrived - (0.5 hour)       Category: Engine


 
Mar 29, 2023     Documentation Propeller and Governor - (0.5 hour)       Category: Propeller
pdf of the relevant propeller and governor documentation.
FORM 1 Propeller MTV-12-B/193-53 serial nr 221942
FORM 1 Governor P-860-5 serial nr 22G1268-K


 
Mar 26, 2023     29-10 New Landing Gear Service Bulletin SB00007 - (6 hours) Category: Landing Gear
Lucio did the dirty work today match drilling the gear support flanges through the skins. As i misdrilled some holes in the doubler the work was a bit tricky, but as always Lucio'skills solved the issue and the gear mount fits in position. Some bolts will be tough to install, but with some lubricant and a gentle hammer i am confident we will be able to install.
 
Mar 09, 2023     29-10 New Landing Gear Service Bulletin SB00007 - (4 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
Matchdrilled the left reinforcement plate, deburred the holes. Test fitting of both landing gear support. Right hand landing gear support is in place with the positioning bolts and few other bolts, but it is a bit difficult to position the other bolts. The left hand landing gear support is in position with the positioning bolts, but the other bolts don't get in.
I checked the belly landing gear hole and it seems that i need to to some filing and adjusting, maybe after that it will be easier to insert the other bolts


 
Mar 05, 2023     29-10 New Landing Gear Service Bulletin SB00007 - (2 hours) Category: Landing Gear
Countersunk the three rivet holes on both sides in order to allow double flush rivet installation. Installed the double flush rivets on both sides.
Installed the doubler on the right side, checked alignment of the bottom four holes, match drilled all the #30 holes. deburred all the holes. Unfortunately a bad drill bit created few oblonged holes in the doubler.
 
Mar 04, 2023     Fuselage Conduit Check - (3 hours)       Category: Electrical Syst.
There are two bottlenecks for the electrical system, avionics and antennas on both sides of the fuselage (two bushing below the door frame.
I had to check if there is enough space to route all the cables, wires and harnesses using these two bushing on the sides and the single conduit i have installed under the baggage floor.
I did a preliminary allocation diving the between left, right and overhead console.
On the left side one snap bushing is used for the 2AWG main master cable. The second one can be used for left wingtip lights, fuel pump, fuel sender, door sensor, pitot heat, elevator trim multipolar wire and the air total pressure for G5 (static from cabin). On the right hand i can route the right wingtip lights,


 
Feb 28, 2023     45-19 Cabin doors and transparencies SILPRUF Back Wiindows - (2.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Removed the clecoes on the right back window. checked overall result and i am pretty happy despite some sikaflex excess in the back due to the masking tape not correctly positioned. Removed with razorblades and scraper soaked in alcool.
Cleaned up some sikaflex excess on the back window using a razorblades and a plastic scraper. Sanded the Left back window and masked the outside with back cutting. Put sikafles dabs directly on the window flange to work as spacers. Waiting to cure.
Removed protection on right door window to check for sikaflex excess to remove and removed here and there. Checked overall look and i am quite satisfied with the overall look. Removed some sikaflex from the inside left window. Remasked and protected the right window.


 
Feb 25, 2023     45-19 Cabin doors and transparencies SILPRUF Back Windows - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Trimmed the sikaflex standoffs, positioned the window a couple of time to have it flush with the fiberglass. Marked the inside again. Masked the inside with the two 3/16" tape.
Sanded the plexiglas with 150 and 220 grit paper. Applied the sikaflex primer and a thin layer of sikaflex. Pulled the tape number 1.
Applied sikaflex generously on the window flange. Positioned the glass and pushed into place. Used clecos to keep in position while cleaning the recess from the excess sikaflex. Checked again flush with canopy. Few clecoes needed to be redialed. i hope i didn't put cracks into the plexiglass as it was impossible to remove and clean it.
Once finished the outside cleaning (it is a messy job anyway), i started the inside spreading the excess. Unfortunately on the back end of the window the masking tap popped out and therefore the sikaflex is covering part of the glass. I tried to remove but it is a lost battle. I will try to remove once is a bit more solid....hopefully i will not to a bigger mess.


 
Feb 23, 2023     SB-00007 New Landing Gear Weldment Documentation - (1 hour)       Category: SB & Letters
Installation of new gear mount weldment following Service Letter SL-00033 and conversation with VANS technical support. They indicated that although not necessary as the build is new, installing during the build would make things easier. For this reason they proposed to purchase and install the kit, which i did as documented in the log.


 
Feb 20, 2023     45-19 Cabin doors and transparencies SILPRUF Back Windows - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Prepared right back window. Trimmed to size. Marked with a specific marker to have 3/16" gap on the flange. Used a disk sander to trim. Sanded with sanding block and 150 grit sandpaper.
Installed the glass in the window. drilled #40 and clecoed the window using screwclecos and little wooden strips. Marked the flange for easier positioning later. Marked the inside glass with red marker (normal marker to be cleaned with alcool later).
Masked outside and inside, but the tape didn't last enough and i had to redo the whole positioning and marking.
In the meantime i put dabs of sikaflex on the window flange to have the shims already in place.


 
Feb 20, 2023     Firewall Forward Kit Inventory - (2 hours) Category: Engine
firewall forward kit received today. There is a subkit on backorder. Will check with vans on possible delivery due date.
 
Feb 19, 2023     45-19 Cabin doors and transparencies SILPRUF Back Wiindows - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Cleaned with acetone the windows recess. Masked the inside of the cabin top with masking tape back cutting.
Dropped directly on window flange few dabs of silpruf to work as spacers to be trimmed later when cured.


 
Feb 18, 2023     45-19 Cabin doors and transparencies SILPRUF Back Wiindows - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Trimmed the left window. Used white board marker to trace with a modified cap the perimeter on the plexiglas. Trimmed with a disk sander close to the mark. Adjusted on fitting and drilled holes for the #40 clecos. Clecoed the window in place. Traced the window on the window recess with normal marker. Traced the plexiglas INSIDE using a normal marker as the white marker didn't work properly. Cleaning with alcool is ok. Masked with normal masking tape the inside leaving a 3/16 gap to the plexiglas mark. Used thin 3/16 plastic masking tape to mask close to the mark. Cleaned the mark. Overlapped 1/16 with a second thin masking tape. Masked the outside of the window and backcutted the masking tape with a razor blade.


 
Feb 18, 2023     45-14 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound Door Latch - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installare Planearound Door Pins and door Pins Guides on both doors. I had to trim a bit the aluminum tubes. The guide bolt holes needed some elongation in order to align the pin holes, but at the end the result is satisfactory.


 
Feb 13, 2023     29-10 New Landing Gear Service Bulletin SB00007 - (5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
Start of the retrofitting the Landing Gear mount following Service Bulletin SB00007. Although there are obviously no crack on the mounts i decided to implement the SB00007 right away in order to reduce difficult work once the airplane is built. Considering that i will operate from grass fields i believe it would be better to install the new gear mount instead of waiting for cracks to develop.
The kit provided by VANS has detailed instructions, drill guides and drill bushing to facilitate the work. Lucio helped a lot during this work.
The first step has been to drill the holes in the longerons using the drill guides and blocking the drill bushing in position with the help of clamps.


 
Feb 03, 2023     29-21 Fuse Side Skins step New landing gear mount - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
removed left and right landing gear mount in preparation of substitution with new landing gear mount.


 
Feb 02, 2023     27-2 Firewall step 1-5 Recess Replacement - (5 hours) Category: Fuselage
I drilled the three holes in the firewall recess before thinking about the final solution. I don't like the suggested solution by VANS and italian regulation require different pass through solution. For this reason i had to ask support to Lucio to drill out the installed recess and to adapt a new recess in order to accomodate the passthrough with SPHERE STEEL GROMMET.
Lucio has done a perfect job in adapting the firewall recess.
 
Feb 02, 2023     29-21 Fuse Side Skins step New landing gear mount - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Decided to implement the SB-00007 (landing gear change to latest design). Main reason is that i plan to use the RV10 often on grass strips and that the change is clearly easier to implement during the build rather than later when the plane is already assembled.
I spent few hours to study the documentation and to remove the right hand landing gear mount.
 
Jan 27, 2023     10-21 Tailcone step 1-4 - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
When i decided to mount the battery and bell crank support i realized that i installed the wrong platenuts. I installed all K1000-3 instead of K1000-8, therefore i had to drill out all the 8 platenuts and reinstall them. Not an easy task due to the position, but using the manual squeezer it worked fine.
 
Jan 26, 2023     40-6 Flap System step 1-4 New Actuator - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Preassembled the flanges to the new actuator brackets. Needed to adjust the recesses for the two nutplates to avoid interference.
I found some difficulties driving the rivets, probably due to lack of "currency" on riveting as i spent the last 6 months on fiberglass.....I had to drill out a couple of rivets due to really bad looking smileys. I left some minor smileys.


 
Jan 25, 2023     40-6 Flap System step 1-4 New Actuator - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
I ordered the new Flap Actuator with integrated position sensor from VANS. This requires the removal of the current Flap Actuator with its position sensor. In addition it is necessary to replace the old support bracket with a new bracket provided in the new Flap Kit.
I drilled out 7 -4 rivets from both sides with some difficulty, however the holes look good as there are no visible enlargements.
I cut and deburred the different parts, final drilled the #40 holes for the 6 platenuts and the #12 holes for the bolts. I primed the parts with a commercial primer.
 
Jan 21, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System - (2 hours)       Category: Brake System
Rechecked the hose runs. Rearranged few runs to better accomodate rudder pedal movement and reducing friction.
Installed heat shrink tubes in likely friction spots.
Temporary install of the solid aluminum tubing support flange.


 
Jan 19, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System - (2 hours)       Category: Brake System
Fabricated a support for the 6 hoses using a nylon bar 2cmX1cm. Drilled three holes and matchdrilled on the aluminum support.
Prepared the missing hoses and cut to measure.


 
Jan 18, 2023     38-3 Beringer Brake System - (3 hours)       Category: Brake System
Reinstalled the Rudder Pedal assembly. Measured and cut the missing hoses.
Temporary install of the ALIR regulator below the central rudder pedal support as indicated in the Beringer Assembly instructions.


 
Jan 17, 2023     38-4 Step 1-6 Rudder Pedals and Brake System - (2 hours)       Category: Brake System
Reinstalling the Rudder Pedals using correct bolt length. One of the delrin blocks had an enlarged hole, therefore i replaced it with a new DELRIN Ruder Pedal block after drilling the holes correctly.
I also installed the parking brake assembly using slightly longer bolts and modified washers to clear the longeron flange on both sides


 
Jan 15, 2023     Propeller Documentation - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Propeller is a variable prop three blades from MT Propellers. MT propellers delivered the governor and the spinner too. Spinner and blades are dull black with with stripes on the tips.
EASA Form 1 is available for both propeller and governor. Test report and logbooks with initial entry are available too.


 
Jan 14, 2023     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Overhead Conduit - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
The two conduit embedded in the fiberglass are very rigid and brittle. After getting some cracks i decided to use heat shrink tube to give some flexibility and protection. For this reason i used the dremel to free the two conduits, i positioned two layers of heat shrink tube and then i glassed in position with flox. Now thy look more robust and less brittle.


 
Jan 11, 2023     reorganizing workshop - (3 hours) Category: Workshop
reorganized workshop to accomodate fuselage with wheels.
 
Jan 10, 2023     rearranging workshop - (6 hours) Category: Workshop
moved one of the bench to the car garage. It required a lot of moving around stuff in the hotel and in the workshop.
 
Jan 09, 2023     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Overhead Conduit - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Glassing and sanding cabin forward struts
 
Jan 08, 2023     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies Overhead Console - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
sanding and glassing the forward cabin struts
 
Dec 24, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Installed the glass on the door using the Sikaflex primer on the acrylic. Removed the tape number 1. The primer cured in about 20 min. In the meantime i cleaned with acetone the door. When the primer cured i spreader some SIKFLEX 295 on the acrylic where there was the clear space after removal of tape number one. I put the sikaflex 295 on the door. After positioning the glass i started pressing to align the glass with the door inserting the clecos and removing the excess oozed out. Installed all the clecos and cleaned a bit the door.
On the inside i spread the excess using a squeezer keeping at 90 degrees to the door recess. Checked with a light from the other side to see if there are areas with too little sikaflex. Unfortunately at the corner there were some wrinkles in the tape that made the squeezing a bit complicated.
I removed tape number 1 and i am pretty happy with the straight parts (better than the other door), but i am a bit worried about the corners as i think there is too much sikaflex and i don't dare to remove it as there is no protection on the glass.
 
Dec 24, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Overhead Conduit - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Sanded one side of the cabin top forward conduit. Decided to beef up the other side as well in order to have a better simmetry when looking from the front
 
Dec 21, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Overhead Conduit - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
After removing the console and the fairing i spent some time to do a preliminary sanding to shape. Then did a three layer lay up of bidirectional fiber and epoxy covering with peel ply at the end
I think i will need to use epoxy with flox for a better overall finish and a lot of sanding
Final adjusting for the console and fairing will be necessary as well


 
Dec 20, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Overhead Conduit - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Sanding the foam to shape, masking with tape the overhead console and the fairing for the 10th time.
Used Epoxy with cab-o-sil to seal the gaps and have a first layer of resin on the foam. Installed the masked overhead console and the masked fairing.


 
Dec 19, 2022     45-10 Cabin Doors and Transparencies SIKAFLEX Step 5 - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Original Video from Zach Chase at https://youtu.be/_SHiJP3-LqI

FINAL STEPS FOR RIGHT WINDOW, after curing i will do the left window. During the process i had to enlarge some of the cleo holes to 1/8"...i hope i didn't damage too much the Acrylic.
I used way too much SIKAFLEX, but better to stay on the safe side. It was a bit messy, but at the end it is acceptable. For the next window i need to do a better job on the inside to smooth out better the sikaflex on the window flange...In the right window there are few spots where the sikaflex is a bit too thick. Anyway i hope people will not look too deep into that.

1. TRIMMING STANDOFF one area at the time Trial and Error method to trim down with a fresh razorblade.
Trimming mean to look at how much the acrilic stands proud and take away on the stand off the same measure. DONT REMOVE ALL THE STANDOFF AS WE NEED SPACE FOR THE SIKAFLEX TO glue the windows
2. CHeck with back of razorblade pushing from the fiberglass side towards acrilyc to check if acrilyc stands proud. Down to 1/16"". Cut down until moderate pressure and trim the standoffs until the razorblade is grabbing the tape
3. MICROMANAGE THE DEPTH AS THE JOGLE IS NOT CONSISTENT AND THE ACRILYC IS NOT CONSISTEN EITHER
4. Check that TAPE 2 IS still attached and no discontinuity around the perimeter. TAPE NEED TO BE PERFECTLY ATTACHED

If using SIKAFLEX 295 use the SIKAFLEX PRIMER 209 on the acrilic. Let it cure fo 30 min, then you can use the SIKAFLEX 295.
1. APPLY PRIMER 209.
2. Ply the FIRST TAPE, Let cure the PRIMER.
3. Drill the holes through primer and if necessary tape.

5. Put some dabs on the clear area close to the tape and then spread with finger.Make sure it contacts the acilyc. Press it down.
6. BETTER TO OVERGLUE rather than UNDERGLUE. AT LEAST HALF OF THE AREA NEEDS TO BE COVERED ON THE FIRST TAKE. WORK ON THE FIBERGLASS SIDE cover the standoff no problem.
7. Position the window glass and then press on the corner, remove with a squegee the exces and when area is clean put the cleco in place. Work the squegee towards the acrilyc to push the SIKAFLEX 295 under the acrilyc,
8. Clean the perimeter working towards the acrilyc pushing the sykaflex under the window. Clean the tool regularly.
9. Clean fingers and then start pulling the glassfiber tape along the perimeter. Remove the cleco, TURN the wood to avoid the contamination and then recleco. continue pulling the masking tape. AVOID CONTAMINATION; CHANGE the wooden pieces.
10. Window Inside: SMOOTH out the Excess with a square cornered squegee. IF too little or no squeeze-out, then you need to reclaim some of the sikaflex and push it and smooth it out again. HOLD 90 Degrees to the acrilyc.
11. Check for thin spots with a strong ligth on the outside. If so spread some sikaflex there and smooth out.
12 PULL THE TAPE finger over finger
13 leave the cleco in for 2 - 4 days at least. KEEO a big mass of SIKAFLEX to check curing process

THIS SIDE IS COMPLETED UNTIL PAINTING. AFTER PAINTING YOU NEED TO FILL THE GAP WITH SIKAFLEX.
1. Protect the edge, use the backcutting technique with overhang and angle razorblaed cutting.
2. Fill the gap with sikaflex, first round smooether out with modified tongue depressor, second round with normal tongue depressor. Once happy remove protecting tape and let cure.

SUGGESTION FOR WINDSHIELD
As windshield is difficult to move around use a code on each standoff in order to have instruction on how much to trim. Write on masking tape and rewrite after each attempt. If you need to ADD then conside curing time"


 
Dec 18, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Overhead Conduit - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
After removing all the previous work because i broke the conduit and i was not happy with the overall result, i rebuild the whole foam part using foam blocks and spray foam glued with rapid epoxy. I kept longer conduit and used smaller diameter (16mm instead of 20mm). Better bending, i hope there will be enough space for all the cables.


 
Dec 17, 2022     45-10 Cabin Doors and Transparencies SIKAFLEX Step 4 - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
As the first attempt using normal silicon from BOSTIK has failed, i used the SIKAFLEX leaving dubs as spacer and letting it cure. I trimmed a bit and the inside is still a bit wet....need more time to cure.


 
Dec 17, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Overhead Conduit - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
After removing the previous installation, i cut the overhead console to allow the longer conduit into the console. Then i used fast epoxy to glue the conduit in the right position and then i glued with fast epoxy little 1" foam blocks lined up more or less flush to the front of the canopy. Finally i filled with poliuretanic foam the gap over the conduit. It will be sanded smooth as soon as it has cured.
I also checked the space under the cover where the lights are installed and there is just enough space to route the 16mm Conduit if i glue them on the cockpit cover. Clearance after the first two lights is ok.


 
Dec 16, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Conduit - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
I had to remove all the work done to run the conduit along the cabin top forward struts as it didn't fit well with the overhead console. I removed everything with the oscillating tool, sanded away all the epoxy and foam and reinstalled smaller conduit (16mm). Glued with rapid epoxy to keep in place.


 
Dec 15, 2022     MT propeller received - (1 hour)       Category: Propeller
Received the MT propeller today. Everything looks perfect. Governor is still sealed in its bag. Propeller documentation is included. Prop and Spinner are dull black with white tips as requested.


 
Dec 14, 2022     45-10 Cabin Doors and Transparencies SIKAFLEX Step 4 - (12 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Original video from Zach Chase https://youtu.be/t4wfZGasAg4

"INSIDE OF THE WINDOW:
1. Clean with wet towel and alcool
2. Trim silpruf dispenser to1/4"" diameter
3. Thin film, keep vertical on trimmed pointer to have an uniform thin layer. Spread with finger and add where necessary with finger. REASON for this is to avoid seeing the silpruf shims later on.
IF USING SIKAFLEX 295 USE SIKAFLEX PRIMER 209: ONLY 30 MIN Curing time DONT WAIT 24 Hours. Therefore install shims on the fiberglass frame few days before. USE normal black silicon to attach the shims, 24hrs curing time.
4 PULL THE NUMBER 1 TAPE BEFORE is cured. If it breaks, you can pull from the other side....TRY to AVOID breaking the thin tapes.
5 when finished with silpruf MAKE a NOB on the dispenser AND WHEN IT IS CURED PULL
6. Make few lines of silpruf and let cure for 5-6 days. then cut little slices. Cut in half, keep some big, but mostly small triangular is better.
7. Mask the fuselage along the line marked with pencil. Use tongue depressor pen cap or the to work into the radius. Precision is not an issue. Overlap the differente pieces. Small pieces if tight corner. Mark the stand off positions on the masking tape in case you need to add a cleco always close to a standoff. Mark also the cleco position.
8. Use RTV BLACK silicon to glue the standoff /shims in the right position. Dont push to hard to squeeze everythung out. Let it cure 1 overnight.
9. Tape the inside with stronger masking tape. Again use an overhang. Cut with razorblade flush with the window joggle.

Chad to do the whole process three times in different days. Get the right tape.....
The rapid silicon i took from Bostik didn't work well. Tried again with the SIKAFLEX putting dabs instead of glueing the standoffs. It will take longer to cure, but i hope it will work better.


 
Dec 13, 2022     45-10 Cabin Doors and Transparencies SIKAFLEX Step 3B - (6 hours) Category: Fuselage
Original Video from ZACH Chase https://youtu.be/pkB0bWwmL70
"CONTINUATION
16. OUTSIDE OF THE WINDOW Mask using wide masking tape overhanging the edge of the window. Overhang will be cut later with razorblades
17. OUTSIDE of the window: cut the overhang 1/8"" approximately keeping the razorblade at an angle. Cutting at an angle allows to keep the radius clear.
18. Terminal of last tape goes UNDER the edge of the first tape.
19. Clean using ALCOHOL, NO ACETONE.
20. Sand the INSIDE using index finger as a guide to avoid touchin the tape DONT TOUCH OR SAND THE MASKING TAPE. USE 80 Grit. (ALFIO Recommends 220). DONT OVERDUE, TESTED SIKAFLEX 295 on unprepared materials and it sticks very well STICKS ON UNSANDE MATERIAL WELL."
 
Dec 11, 2022     45-10 Cabin Doors and Transparencies SIKAFLEX Step 3 - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Original video from ZACH Chase https://youtu.be/pkB0bWwmL70
"1.INSIDE OF THE WINDOW Position blue tape about 3/16 away of the black line
2. Position a thin tape very carefully overlapping the blue tape and as close as possible to the black line BUT ABSOLUTELY DONT OVERLAP THE BLACK LINE. This will be the line you will see from the outside of the plane. Straight and smooth as possible.
3. at the corner stretch the tape a bit to be as accurate as possible.
4. Wipe away to the outside ANY black line (starting-finish points) and so on. no black line under the tape
5. when close to the end, overlap the initial tape for about 3"", then stretch it in, break of MARK AS NUMBER 2 as this will be the SECOND TAPE TO PULL OFF.
6. MAKE SURE you have a clearance to the black line. If not REDO.
7. Use moist towel to remove the black line. Careful REMOVE the black line
8. Start SECOND thin tape overlapping 1/16"" the OUTSIDE edge of the thin tape already in place. USE THE INSIDE TAPE EDGE as a guide. IMPORTANT IS TO HAVE THE OUTSIDE EDGE COVERED. No issue if you exceed on the outside, but DONT LEAVE the edge fo the other tape NOT covered
9. Number tape as NUMBER 1 as it will be the first one to be removed.
10. remove all sanding marks on the edge using 100-180-220 grit sandpaper. Excellent to remove little marks done when drilling.
11. Sand with the outside towards you in order to avoid scratching the outside of the glass when sanding. the inside will be sanded in any case so no issue in case you scratch it.
12. put a little radius towards the outside (1/16"" is enough), work on the angles
13 If you have scratches on the perimeter outside you can use POLISH or Micromesh or 3M scratch fixing kits.
14. check if ok, deburr internal side with 120 grit sandpaper.
15. Clean with moisted towel.
CONTINUED"


 
Dec 09, 2022     45-10 Cabin Doors and Transparencies SIKAFLEX Step 2 - (9 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Original video from Zach Chase https://youtu.be/U8WLBsWOVLI
1. Sand the window recess. Touch up holes and imperfections. Sand radius on the fuselage jogle
2. SAND UNTIL EVERYTHING ALL THE SHINING IS GONE
3. Sand using strips and blocks
4. Position so that uniform gaps around. Keep in position with wheights or other means
5. Drill #40 close to the plexy BUT AVOID touching it, angle back if necessary.DO ONE CLECO THEN CHECK POSITION, THEN NEXT CHECL POSITION AND SO FORTH If necessary sand cracks away. DRILL AT THE CORNER AND INTERMEDIATE POSITION
6. Use screw clecos with wooden strip to hold down the plexy.
7. Mark the flange along the window glass to have the exact position of the future masking tape to protect gealcoat for future paint. PENCIL IS FINE.
8. Mark the plexy FROM THE INSIDE along the window flange with whiteboard marker. CAREFUL WITH THE FINGER DONT REMOVE THE INSIDE PLEXYGLAS MARK


 
Dec 08, 2022     45-10 Cabin Doors and Transparencies SIKAFLEX Step 1 - (9 hours)       Category: Fuselage
https://youtu.be/A336SG-fsiI Link to the Original Video done by ZACH Chase (thank you a lot)

Instead of SILPRUF (difficult to obtain in Europe) and Weld 10 recommended by VANS (doesn't ship to europe) i decided to follow recommendation from other builders using SIKAFLEX 295 with SIKAFLEX Primer 209D. Products are used in boats and should work fine. The only big difference is the use of the PRIMER (30 Min flash time) and the sanding with 240Grit as suggested by a boat expert. Technical sheets attached


TOOLS: 80 grit sandpaper, disk sander, whiteboard marker with modification 3/16 wedge done with tongue deopressor, glued 80 grit strips (3/4"" wide as the flange), 3/32 and 1/8 (if necessary) clecoes with little wooden piece.
1. Remove glas protection 2inches. protect the rest with masking tape and paper
2. Trim glas to fit into window recess.
3. Mark parallel to window flange (PARALLEL NOT STRAIGHT) using the modiied whiteboard marker
4. Trim upto the mark BUT LEAVE THE MARK. Use sand block for last touches
5. Clean/deburr with tongue depressor or marker body

Using the angle grinder works really fine. I used the oscillating tool only for the first cut, about 5mm from the original Mark from VANS, then sanded with the angle grinder and 80Grit


 
Nov 27, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Overhead Conduit - (9 hours)       Category: Fuselage
As i will put two cable conduit along the cabin top struts, i will need to drive the conduit into the overhead console. I tried few times to two decent covers, but i didn't succeed using fiberglass and a stand alone mold. I finally resolved to have a mold directly on the Canopy/Console assembly using foam, tape and mold release. I used Carbon fiber to make the covers more similar to the console...Not sure it will be cosmetically acceptable, if not i will let the paint shop dealing with final touches.
I used polyurethane fire resistant foam, sanded to shape carefully, taped and covered with carbon fiber. curing, cutting sanding to shape


 
Nov 21, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound External Handle - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Glassed the two covers in position using instant spray epoxy to keep in position and then cover with three strips of bidirectional fiberglass. Peel ply is a really useful finishing trick. Used excel epoxy to prepare another beef up session for the canopy window flange.
 
Nov 20, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies Planeround External Handle - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Disassembled the door latch mechanism with the cover in position with clecos. Reassembled with the cover in place on both sides. I had to check that to be sure about the procedure. Clocking is a bit of a trial and error process but it works.
 
Nov 17, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies beefing up - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Another session of beefing up, sanding, glassing various part of the canopy and of the doors
 
Nov 16, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies beefing up - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Preparation of the door rack handle cover. Tried in different ways, at the end i resolved forming high density foam and covering it with PVC tape mold release spray. Used the same approach for the Handle Mechanism cover, but i used two flat door fiberglass squares to support the carbon fiber. Result is no perfect but acceptable. I plan to attach using screws therefore i prefer to have a bit more beef on the handle mechanism cover.


 
Nov 14, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies beefing up - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Beefing up the door recess/flanges.
Prepared two little covers using scrap door fiberglass and carbon fiber. The first attempt didn't seem right as the carbon fiber was not soaked enough. Added a second carbon layer and plenty of resin.
Prepared two shapes to form the covers for the latch system racks using foam and fiberglass.


 
Nov 10, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies beefing up - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Sanding of the cabin top internal side (window flange and door frame.
Decided to reinforce the right door strut bracket are with carbon fiber in order to have more rigidity and to rebuild an area that i sanded too much when preparing for the McMaster seal.
Prepared the conduit for the cabin top using a 20mm diameter PVC tube. I used the an hot-air blower to bend the tube to follow the cabin frame


 
Nov 09, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies beefing up - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Scuffed the cabin top. Decided to glass with cab-o-sil in order to have a better finish around the cabin topo window.


 
Nov 08, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies beefing up - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Beefed up cabin top windows in order to have 3/4 Inch flange


 
Nov 07, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies Overhead Console - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Cut recess for the gas strut bracket into the overhead console.


 
Nov 06, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies step 1 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Removed the canopy with the help of Chiara and Riccardo.
I washed the whole plane in order to remove all the glass powder.
I also adapted the overhead console to accomodate the door strut bracket.


 
Nov 05, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies step 1 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Removed the doors after checking that no other work is required regarding door fitting.
Removed the top skins in order to remove the canopy.
Pictures of situation before removing doors and canopy. I think it will be useful for later repositioning of the different plates in the right position. Each plate is marked with a punch starting from left forward (1 punch) to right forward (4 punches).


 
Nov 04, 2022     45-12 Cabin Door and Transparencies step Pin Block Adaptation - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Left door aft pin block is not working properly. Excessive force is required to close the door and the bottom aft corner sits proud. After checking it seems that i enlarged the hole in the wrong direction resulting in misalignment and bottom aft corner sitting proud.
I cut a new pin block out of a delrin big block, drilled the screw holes. I used the pin block with the pointed bolt to redetermine the center of the 7/16 hole. Drilled the hole. I prepared also a backing plate from 0.40 aluminum. Matchdrilled the screw holes. Mounted and adapted.
I had to repeat the process a couple of time due to slight misalignment and non satisfactory result.
I finally succeeded and the result is a smooth operation even with the seal mounted and the bottom aft corner is less proud (less than 1mm).
I am considering to repeat this for the other pin blocks as i am not fully convinced of their strength.


 
Oct 25, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies step 4b - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Trimmed the door gap to a 2,5mm. No rubber foam this time and the result is good.
Verified the operation of the latch and it seems to be very hard once the seal is in place. I tried to fix that but the end result is a proud bottom left corner. I will need to some time to repair the enlarged hole.


 
Oct 23, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies step 4A - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Need to have consistent gap around the door. after sanding i got about 2,5mm using a small permagrit flat file. On the door side i have a square edge, while on the canopy side there is still a bevel. I decided to use a 10mmX3mm adhesive rubber seal attached to the right door in order to have a straight and sufficiently rigid edge to contain the epoxy and cab-o-sil i spreaded on the canopy junction. this should preserve the gap and allow for a square edge on the canopy. Sanding will be required probably. Similar process for the left door if result on the right door will be satisfactory


 
Oct 23, 2022     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step Build Up Flanges - (16 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Building up flanges to allow proper compression of the McMaster seal. Right door required more work as i sanded too much when fitting the door. Used sacrificial McMaster seal filled with epoxy and flox to build up and provide adequate thickness for the seal to have a nice grip. Few round required for the right door. Left door looks better.


 
Oct 20, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound External Handle - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installation of the racks. Removed the latch mechanism, installed the racks after removing the LP4-3 pop rivets. Installed racks with temporary pin safetying. Several attempts to get the proper clocking, but at the end the result is more than satisfactory. Only thing is that sometimes the pins stick out and interfere with the door inboard wall. I think i will cut the door wall to allow operation and prepare a cover wich allows for he pin movement. I found also a solution to put a very small washer on the pin (hole side) to avoid the sticking out.


 
Oct 19, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound External Handle - (8 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Assembly of the latch mechanism. Cut the C-1007 and WD-1022 to measure. Deburred and polished as much as possibile to allow smooth operation. When disassembly the C-1006A-D i used a small file to round the recesses of the MS16562-42 Pin to reduce the "blocking" on unlocking under tension. Result is satisfactory. assembled the Mechanism using the additional parts provided. Polishing of the outer steel ring was required. Inserted the E-ring and positioned the assembly on the delrin plate. Positioned the lock in the plate recess and mounted on the door. Sliding the external plate around the handle was not possible for the right door, therefore a small modification was required. probably the door is too thick.
Left door didnt require the modification as the external handle pins slides in position with little taps.


 
Oct 18, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound External Handle - (16 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Steps 1-4 Installed the steel plate with the two screws. rounded the corners in order to sit flush. marked the holes and drilled hole guides. at a later stage when assembling it became evident the two original holes didn't allow a proper position of the backing plate. Floxed the holes and restarted everything from scratch on both doors. Activity spread over few days.


 
Oct 14, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies plane around External Handle - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
As suggested i used flox to better bond few points where the two door halves didnt bond well from original assembly
 
Oct 10, 2022     45-17 Cabin doors and transparencies step 4A - (16 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installation door seal purchased from www.raptorsupplies.com TRIM LOK INC 3100B3X3/16A-100 Trim Seal Aluminium Clip 0.36 Inch Width 100 Feet.
In order to have a consistent gap i used flox to increase thickness on the outboard side and sanded inboard to "move out" the surface as i grinder too much on the left door. This task took few session of glassing and sanding. Then i used the trimlok-mcmaster seal to form the flange filling it with flox and letting cure. result very satisfactory.
Left door seems to have a better setup, therefore only the flange construction is required.


 
Oct 08, 2022     45-16 Cabin door and transparencies Step 4 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Created the bushing and prepared the door strut bracket (final drilling, deburring, priming). Temporary fitting of the macmaster seal to check gaps between door and canopy


 
Oct 06, 2022     45-16 Cabin door and transparencies Step 1-3 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
posizione the gas strut brackets. Manufactured a bracket locating bar according to measures. Used the bracket locating bar to position the door gas strut brackets. matchdrilled the door using the brackets after aligning the strut bar to the door and canopy. Right door looks better than left door. Used the planearound brackets and filled gaps with flox to allow a more regular attach point.


 
Sep 25, 2022     45-15 Cabin Door and Transparencies step 2-3 - (9 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Closed the right door and held in position in order to have front and back side of the door flush with fuselage. This results in a 2mm misalignment on the bottom of the door which sits inboard of the frame. The rest of the contour is ok, i prefer this compared to the door sitting proud. I will adjust with flox the missing 2 mm on the bottom edge and then make it flush with fuselage.
Operated the latch mechanism, drilled the pilot hole with a #30 and increasing up to 7/16 as required. Used a aluminum angle taped to the fuselage to maintain correct alignment.
Left door similar approach, but unfortunately the end result is opposite....the doors stands a little bit proud along the bottom edge (1,5-2,5mm).
I will proceed with the next steps. I will probably cut a little doubler to offset the hole more inboard. I will first enlarge current holes to proper position. Then i will position the Delrin guides. I will then prepare a small doubler with a correct 7/16 hole and position it in the right location to make the door sit flush with fuselage. Flush rivet will be used along with the original Delrin Block Screws and bolts in order to keep it in place
I tested also the Planearound Cam on the left door and it works like a charm pulling the door gently into position


 
Sep 24, 2022     45-15 Cabin Door and Transparencies step 3 - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Drilled holes in the C-1010 Pin Blocks. Used scrap tube to hold pin blocks in place. drilled #12 holes for the screws on all pin blocks. Holes drilled parallel to plane axis and not to the skin.
Marked all pin blocks deburred and adapted the holes. attached the blocks to fuselage and checked operation of latch mechanism. little adaptation required for smoother operation. final adaptation after the McMaster seal will be installed


 
Sep 24, 2022     45-15 Cabin door and transparencies Step 1 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Reattach both doors to the fuselage using the Planearound reinforcement plates and the shim on the left aft hinge.
Latch mechanism was in place with proper clocking.
 
Sep 24, 2022     43-15 Door Latch and Transparences - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Attached the doors to the canopy using the reinforcement plates.
Attached the door latch mechanism.
 
Sep 22, 2022     45-14 Cabin doors and transparencies Step 1-4 Planearound Door Latch Step 1-4 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Step 1 tapped the pins with metric tapper.
Step 2 created the pointers drilling a #40 hole on the tip to easy removal.
Step3 Used a vinyl tape to make the mark on the jamb easier to find.
Step 4 (bending the longer pin is not necessary as the planearound has a gearbox in the middle which makes the bending unnecessary
 
Sep 15, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Step Planearound - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Drilled two holes to allow safetying the pins. Assembled the latch system in place according to instruction. Insertion of pinned rack to mid pin through the holes in the door handle cavity. Installed rack through holes for the gearbox. Waiting for missing parts (forward pin both doors)
 
Sep 15, 2022     45-13 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound Door Latch - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Preliminary assembly of the Planearound door latch system, which includes a mechanism integrated in the original mechanism.
I created the necessary holes where indicated in the instruction. On each door i drilled the hole to accomodate the middle latch mechanism and the other holes to allow proper operations.
The final adjustment of the openings has been done when inserting the door pins and the rack. I think there are a couple of places where the Planearound instruction are not correct. In one case the hole to facilitate the insertion of a pin on lower door handle rack is misplaced.


 
Sep 10, 2022     43-10 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Beefing up the rear seat window flange as i sanded too much and ended up below the 3/4" indicated in the Kit Instruction.
I used spray epoxy to block the bidirectional fiber on the back of the flange leaving 3-4mm of fiber peaking out of the flange. I soaked with resin and applied few strips of peel ply. Once cured i will beef up with flox the flange and then sand to measure. I used the same technique for the door window flanges.
 
Sep 10, 2022     38-3 Beringer Brake System - (6 hours)       Category: Brake System
I decided the purchase the anti skid regulator from Beringer (ALIR). The recommendation is to install below the middle pedal bearing. Unfortunately the support provided by Beringer works only if the pedals are mounted in the most rear position. As i am 1,83 cm tall, i prefer to install the pedals as indicated in the plans in the most forward position.
I tried to position the ALIR regulator on the left side, below the pedal bearing as indicated by other builders, however operating the regulator was impossible for me.
I resolved creating a new support. First try with a 3mm aluminum, but the result was not satisfactory. I used a normal 2mm aluminum and i am pretty happy with the result. Especially considering that my band saw is broken and every attempt to repair miserably failed.
I test installed before priming and painting. Final install still to be done.
There is enough clearence from the firewall and from the aluminum brake lines.


 
Sep 06, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Step 5 Planearound - (6 hours) Category: Fuselage
Repeated steps 1-3 for chart 45-13 for the other door
 
Sep 06, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Step 3-6 Planearound - (6 hours) Category: Fuselage
Positioned the two newly cut racks according to plane around instructions (use the middle rack in order to connect to the Cam Latch assembly)
 
Sep 05, 2022     45-13 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound Door Latch - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
The plane around gearbox requires to insert two reinforcement blocks adjacent to the door bottom wall. I had to adjust a bit the four blocks (two per door), then i drilled two holes in the inside wall and poured flox into the hole and into the cubic reinforcement blocks. Used excess flex to fill few holes around the doors.


 
Sep 04, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Step Planearound - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Necessary to cut the door latch recess to allow the racks to move. Marked and cut using drill and dremel. Filed to size to guarantee smooth operation considering there are also the safety pins.
Done on both doors.
The top rack has rather big interference with the elbow recess wall, therefore after trying different combination i decided to cut the elbow recess to allow proper operation of the mechanism. It was the only way to allow block in both position AND having the rack rivet acting as a block for the gear as requested.
Holes will be covered later with fiberglass fairing.


 
Sep 04, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Secured the spring to the handle assembly with a roll pin. Disassembled and adjusted the C-1006 Parts in order to accommodated the pin as it is the lock in position mechanism.
Reinstalled the mechanism on the door in preparation of rack positioning (Planearound instructions)
 
Sep 03, 2022     45-13 Cabin doors and transparencies Planearound Door Latch - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Planearound mechanism requires to cut a hole on the door bottom wall to accomodate a gearbox to operate a cam wich closes the door gently into position before engaging the pins.


 
Sep 03, 2022     45-11 Cabin door and transparencies step 1 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Handle rack cut according to VANS instruction. I decided later to buy the external Planearound latch mechanism, which require a different set up. Reordered spare handle rack and cut in half as requested in the Planearound instructions.
 
Sep 01, 2022     45-13 Cabin door and transparencies Step Planearound - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Planearound DELRIN pin guides adaption
 
Aug 30, 2022     45-12 Cabin Door and Transparencies step 1-5 - (5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Preparation of the forward and aft pin blocks. Adapted to size. After receiving the Planearound blocks i adapted the blocks, but the result is not satisfactory due to misalignment of the holes. Adapted the blocks using the mill to accomodated the socket wrench. Still not happy with result, but for temporary solution it will work.
Match drilled and countersunk all the holes.
 
Aug 30, 2022     45-11 Cabin Doors and Transparencies step 2-3 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Drilled the 1/2" door handle hole in the door using the latch gear mechanism as a drill guide after centering in the door latch recess.
Match drilled the #12 holes using the Latch gear assembly as drill guide. Countersunk outboard side of the holes. Done on both doors
 
Aug 26, 2022     45-6 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 3A-3d - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Final trimming for the canopy. Slightly enlarged the holes in the reinforcement plates for the bolts. Tested again the fitting (total 4 times).
Mixed epoxy and flox and applied to the bottom reinforcement plates of the canopy and of the doors (not sure is necessary, but is not a big deal). I also primed the shims and installed below the door back hinge on the left door.
with the excess epoxy i filled few imperfections on the left door.


 
Aug 25, 2022     45-6 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 1-3 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Hinge reinforcement plate installation.
Prepared the bottom hinge reinforcement plates riveting the anchor nuts.
Checked the installation on the Canopy Hinge reinforcement plate on both doors. Unfortunately i found little misalignment that made impossible to insert the bolts.
I had to remove one nut plate on each bottom reinforcement plate, reposition the reinforcement plate and redrill the hole without the nut-plate. This was not sufficient in few cases and i had to carefully enlarge the holes in the reinforcement plate to allow the bolt to correctly set into the plate.
As a matter of fact the better procedure should be to position the reinforcement plates WITHOUT the nutplates, leaving one hole empty and match drilling all the holes one by one while keeping the reinforcement plate in position.
Anyway at the end the result is satisfactory.


 
Aug 24, 2022     45-10 Cabin Doors and Transparencies step 1-4 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Temporary assemble of the handle Plates C-1006A-B-C-D, C-1014 spur gear and WD-1022. Matchdrilled the holes Disassembled and deburred. Final drilled 15/64 the #10 holes and 9/32 on the C-1006A. Debarred and primed all the parts
 
Aug 24, 2022     45-9 Cabin doors and transparencies step 1-4 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Prepared one handle drilling the the external handle according to indication. I then prepared the internal handle mechanism drilling the holes and adapting the lever to have smooth operation.
 
Aug 07, 2022     45-6 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 1-3 - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Test fit of the air ward hinge modification (reinforcement plates on both sides of the door and of the canopy.
As i had to put a little bead of flox to glue together the internal reinforcement plate to the door hinge, i used the excess to fill some little holes on the left door.
In addition i corrected the left door as it was a little bit out of alignment as on the backward hinge the door was lower than the canopy. Therefore i prepared two shims from 040 Aluminium as suggested in the Kit Instructions. Result is much better and it improved the alignment on the front side of the left door.
I checked also the right door but i don't see any need for shimming.


 
Jul 28, 2022     45-7 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 1-3 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
After positioning the hinges on the canopy and inserting the bolts i positioned the door using the aluminum straps to keep in position and some duct tape.
after that i drilled the first two holes into the the door and positioned the bolts. continued to drill the other holes after opening the door.
The installation of the Airward reinforcement plate will happen later.
The "proud bottom angle" sits less proud and i am confident that i will adjust during the finishing. The top of the cabin looks really great and the finishing will smooth out the little irregularities and the little ondulazioni too.


 
Jul 28, 2022     45-6 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 1-3 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Prepared the hinges for the right door cutting the AN3-21A bolts to size. Positioned the hinges after squaring up the hinge position in the canopy.
Positioned the hinges in the correct way. The reference left and right is intended looking to the door. Not very clear at the beginning. You need to look very carefully at the drawing to realize the hinges aree some how slightly twisted to accomodate the curve of the canopy.
Once positioned the hinges on the canopy i matchdrilled and installed the first screw. After that i used the reference line and aligned the hinges for the other drilling.
 
Jul 26, 2022     45-5 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 11-12 - (9 hours)       Category: Fuselage
worked on the right door. trimmed the outside flange, fitted and retrimmed the door opening as there were few interferences once removed the border. I had to cut down significantly the door opening channels. It has been quite surprising to see that after trimming the door opening the door was sitting almost perfectly flush. Few additional adjustments still necessary
In order to keep the door in the original position after removing the little flanges with the reference holes i used few thick aluminum strips. this is has been more practical than using duct tape.
As mentioned the bottom back corner sits a bit proud on the fuselage, however i think that may be corrected either with some heating or little adjustment.


 
Jul 25, 2022     45-5 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 10 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Trimming of the door opening, trimming of the door and window flange. A lot of dust...a real lot and it never finishes. Sanding, checking, sanding checking, more sanding
 
Jul 24, 2022     45-5 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 8-9 - (5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Repeated the same steps for the other door.
 
Jul 17, 2022     45-5 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 1-7 - (8 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Sanded the contact points with 80 grit sandpaper. Masked the door opening to facilitate the detaching of the door afterwards. I also covered the internal of the fuselage to avoid drops of epoxy.
Prepared the parabeam with enough west system epoxy. I used extra slow hardener in order to have more time to adapt everything.
Prepared the epoxy with cab-o-sil for the first door. i had to prepare two rounds as i didn't have enough when applying to the inside half. I also decided to apply a thin layer of clear epoxy before putting the parabeam and the cab-o-sil. I positioned the door with only few clecoes on the basis. A bit difficult to do alone, anyway i succeeded to position the doors. Clecoed the door halves as indicated. Used the weights and straps to keep the doors close to the fuselage. Used clamps. After curing i realized some undulations due to excessive pressure on the clamps. The right door back bottom angle stands proud about 2 mm. we will see if after positioning the hinges it will look better.
After all is cured i removed the doors with some difficulty.


 
Jul 14, 2022     45-4 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 1-7 - (4.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Drilled the holes in the doors on the reference lines. In most cases i got the hole in the fuselage right. Only in few occasion i had to enlarge a bit the hole in the door as suggested in the assembly manual.
Matchdrilled the holes in the windows flange. removed both doors and disassembled both doors.
Adapted the door strut doubler to nest correctly in the inner door halves. Deburred the doubler. Matchdrilled the door. Deburred the doubler.
Mixed West System and cab-o-sil to a peanut butter consistency and applied a thick layer on the door.
Positioned the doubler and clecoed in place.
Once cured redrilled the holes and positioned the pop-rivets


 
Jul 13, 2022     45-3 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 1-3 - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Drawing reference line for the holes in the fuselage to position the door halves. Positioned the clecoed door halves on the cabin opening. Used duct tape to block the doors and drilled the holes in the door at the reference lines into the existing fuselage holes. Only in few cases i had some misalignment and i enlarged the door holes as indicated in the construction manual.
I had to trim in few cases the fuselage opening in order to allow the door to sit properly.


 
Jul 13, 2022     45-2 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 2-4 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
trimmed perimeters of doors and cabin opening. drilled the reference holes in the doors halves. The bottom reference holes were pretty spot on, the marking for the top holes were pretty off....therefore i clamped the two halves and drilled again the top reference lines. Sanded the inner halves in preparation of the mating.
 
Jul 10, 2022     38-3 Beringer Brake System Reservoir - (2 hours)       Category: Brake System
Installed the reservoir provided by VANS.
Cut the tubes according to indication. Installed the adapter and the Tee to the reservoir.
The pipes seem to be a little bit short and i think there is a little tension on the tee...maybe the reason is that the banjo bolt are still finger tight and the banjo is moving around.
In any case i checked with other builders and the solution to route the IN Pipes (bottom banjo on the cylinders) below and behind the pedals is the most adopted.
I used temporary tie wraps to secure the tubes while waiting for the beringer pressure controller and for Lucio's inspection


 
Jul 10, 2022     40-5 Flap System Step 1-4 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Checked preliminary installation.
Removed the jam nuts used for preliminary assembly and replaced with new self-locking nuts as indicated in the instructions.
Torqued to proper values for AN3 and AN4. Marked with yellow marker.


 
Jul 09, 2022     39-8 Control System step 1 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Reviewed preliminary installation and final torqued the AN3 nuts. Marked the torqued nuts in YELLOW. Cotter pins need still to be installed


 
Jul 09, 2022     38-3 Beringer Brake System - (3 hours)       Category: Brake System
While waiting for the last component (regulator) i prepared the pipes linking the copilot brakes to the pilot brakes as indicated in the instructions.
I decided to run the pipes on the pilot pedals under and behind the cylinder, then along the two pedal tubes and into one of the lightening holes of the pedal assembly bracket.
I didn't final install, the banjo are not torqued and the zipties are only temporary in order to check if everything will be fine once all the component will be in place.
I need to buy the grommets to protect the pipes in the lightening holes


 
Jul 09, 2022     38-3 Beringer Master Cylinder Assembly - (2 hours)       Category: Brake System
CAUTION USE ONLY MIL (MINERAL) brake fluid (MIL-PRF 8257 or MIL-PRF5606)
Installed banjo bolts on OUT line for all cylinders. Torqued to specification 17Nm
Torqued all the nuts
Marked yellow all torqued items
Checked length of all the cylinders


 
Jul 06, 2022     38-3 Beringer Brake System Parking Brake - (12 hours)       Category: Brake System
Removed the MATCO parking brake valve and reinstalled the F-6221-1 Tri-gear Bracket with flush rivets according to section 27 Firewall.

Assembled the Beringer Parking brake valve.
Installed the Banjo Bolts and the straight banjo fitting.
Torqued the Banjo bolt to 17N/m as indicated in the Beringer Torquing instructions
The rudder pedal bearing blocks have been removed and reinstalled few times as i needed to grind the washers on the front bolt in order to clear the F-1013L/R as indicated in the Section 38-4.
I also prepared the two hoses from the Tri-Gear bracket to the Parking brake valve as indicated in the Beringer Manual.
Torque for the hose socket is indicated by Beringer between 10N/m (90lbs/in) and 15N/m (132lbs/in)



NEED to REPLACE all the Bolts on the rudder bearing blocks with longer ones. This is due to the use of more washers and to the installation of the parking brake bracket and brake regulator bracket.


 
Jun 26, 2022     38-3 Beringer Master Cylinder Assembly - (2 hours)       Category: Brake System
As i decided to install the Beringer Brake kit for RV10, which includes new master cylinders, new parking brake valve, new braided tubing and the pressure regulator i had to remove the original MATCO VANS master cylinders and assembly the new BERINGER master cylinders.

Beringer Master cylinders need some final assembly work. Installation on the pedal sub-assembly is a bit tricky as the drawing doesn't consider the pedal master cylinder attach flange and the washers seem to be a little bit scarce in order to have perfect alignment. However i liked the bushing provided and the ball-end bushing and in general the higher quality of the parts compare to the standard MATCO cylinders provided by VANS.

Altough Beringer is suggesting to use normal nylon lock nuts, i believe i will use castellated nuts and drilled bolts as suggested in the original VANS setup.
I spent a couple of hours on the first master cylinder as i had to figure out the most appropriate washer combination.
Picture are still showing preliminary assembly with short drilled bolts....will replace before final assembly.
Assembly of the next three will be definitely quicker.

Master cylinders from beringer come in two versions. One for DOT4 brake fluid and the other for MIL Mineral brake fluid. MY VERSION IS THE MS-002N (MIL Mineral FLUID).


 
Jun 22, 2022     43-9 Cabin Cover Step 1 - (8 hours) Category: Fuselage
Preliminary Trimming the plexiglas for C-1004R and C-1004L. Long work used the oscillating cutter, orbital sander and different sanding tools.
Unclear if we need to keep a little gap from the flange to the plexiglas.
Looking at the Glastair plexiglas youtube video, the recommendation is to keep a little gap between plexiglas and fiberglass (3/16" is the recommended gap).
..
 
Jun 19, 2022     36-3 Beringer Kit Inventory - (2 hours) Category: Brake System
Received the Beringer kit containing the wheels, brakes assemblies, parking brake assembly and brake cylinders assemblies. Ordered the brake regulator.
 
Jun 05, 2022     45-2 Cabin Doors and Transparency Step 1 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Trimmed the outside perimeter 3/4 from the scrib line. Drew reference line at 3/4 from the window edge, another reference line tat 1 1/4 from the window flange edge and another one at 1 3/4 for trimming the window opening.
Trimmed the window opening at 1 3/4 from the window flange edge.
Done for both outer shells
 
May 20, 2022     Finish Kit Inventory - (16 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Detailed inventory of all the part delivered by VANS. Only minor discrepancies on hardware, which are really not important as i have enough spares already.
I missed only a little bag for door latching system missing, but VANS has send the bag within few days. Temporary storage for cowl installed. I also had a duplicated bag, but shipping back to VANS is too expensive therefore they declined my offer to send it back


 
Apr 29, 2022     43-14 Overhead Console NACA Air Vents - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
I was not happy with the Naca Controller Support bracket, therefore i decided to add a C-Frame in order to have a more stable installation.
I tested the positioning and i am happy with the outcome. Final riveting and final installation will be done only after the Top Skin will be finally riveted to the Cabin Deck.


 
Apr 18, 2022     43-14 Overhead Console Aerosport NACA Air Vents - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Preparation of the Nava Air Vent controller attach bracket. Using a light .032 aluminum foil i bended it and drilled for a K1000-3 nut used to attach the controller assembly to the central stiffener.
Drilled three #40 holes in the stiffener and in the support bracket. When temporary installed, the whole assembly has been wobbling a bit and therefore i decided to use a thicker aluminum. Bending has been a bit more complicated, but the result is acceptable. I will use -4 flush rivet as i had to remove the dimple done in the stiffener.


 
Apr 16, 2022     35-3 Access Covers and Panels Wiring Conduit - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installed cable conduit using PVC 16mm tube and two little supports riveted to the F-1006 Bulkhead.
The tubes are held in place using two rubber grommets and deforming the plastic end around the grommet. Copyright for this nice solution is to be credited to Master Builder Lucio Castrogiovanni who generously shared this trick with me. Necessary tool are 1 Heat Gun and 1 conical deformation wooden tool.


 
Apr 16, 2022     OP 60 ADHARS Support Installation - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Prepared a pre drilling installation plate checking dimension for the two GARMIN ADHARS GSU25. The two ADHARS will be installed vertically under the support with the connectors on the outer side and the air connection in central position.
Installation has 1�lerance for the yaw axis, while pitch/roll axis have a 30�lerance.

Pre installation of the ADHARS support to the central fuselage stiffener and to the F-1007 Bulkhead.


 
Apr 14, 2022     33-9 Baggage Area step 11 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installed the nutplates on the F-1006 bulkhead. DID NOT INSTALL THE NUTPLATES IF THEY ARE TO BE RIVETED TOGETHER WITH OTHER PANELS (like F-1080 or baggage door channelO


 
Apr 14, 2022     33-9 Baggage Area step 1-9 - (3.5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Matchdrilled #30 from the right side panel F-1080 into the floor panels and into the longerons. Matchdrilled the #19 holes from F-1080 side panel into the F-1006 bulkhead.
Final drilled all #40 nutplates holes in the F-1034C-R bulkhead.
FInal drilled #19 into the Corrugated panel and F-1006 Bulkhead.
Removed all the panels. Deburred all the holes in the panels.
Drilled the #40 holes for the nutplates to be installed on the bulkhead. AVOIDED to drill the holes on the left side baggage door channel (will do AFTER riveting.
Deburred all the holes.
Dimpled the #40 nut plate attachment holes for AN426D rivets in the bulkhead.
 
Apr 14, 2022     33-8 Baggage Area step 1-7 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Clecoed all the floor panels, side panels, door close out and seal channels to the F-1006 Bulkhead and to the longerons.
Matchdrilled the right side panel F-1080 into the floor panels, into the F-1006 Bulkhead and into the fuselage longerons. Clecoed the corrugated panel and matchdrilled into the F-1006 Bulkhead with #19 drill.
 
Apr 10, 2022     43-9 Cabin Cover step 3-5-6 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Cut the spacers, final drilled 5/6" into the cabin cover. Lucio has been able to correct the initial holes, as they were not perpendicular to the inside cabin cover resulting in a an optically not perfect result.


 
Apr 10, 2022     30-3 Step Installation Step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Checked quick build. Final drill #12 in the step has been done during quick build.
Checked distance as indicated in the KitInstruction, however the distance on the step LEFT is 46 inches instead of 45 1/4" Need to check when plane will be sitting on his wheels and overall set up.
 
Apr 10, 2022     30-2 Step Installation step 3-7 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild construction checked. Bolts are marked.
 
Mar 26, 2022     43-14 Overhead Console air vents and lights - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Completed the installation of the air vents.
Installed the Aveo Engineering Mini Interior lights. I decided to put them on the forward panel, keeping the back panel empty as i may install headphone jacks and/or oxygen for the back seats.


 
Mar 25, 2022     43-14 Overhead Console NACA Air Vents - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Positioning the NACA vents on the side skins behind the baggage room.
Cut the NACA holes with a nibbler and a lot of file work.


 
Mar 21, 2022     43-14 Overhead Console step 2 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Cut the holes for the four vents. Trimmed to size. Installed the four air vents.
Drilled the inspection panels for #6 screws. Countersunk the holes on both panels. Installed all the nutplates for the two panels.


 
Mar 21, 2022     34-4 Baggage door step 9 - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Riveted the close out panel to the door using pop-rivets. (marco biagi)


 
Mar 21, 2022     34-4 Baggage door step 8 - (0.2 hour) Category: Fuselage
Installed the lock
 
Mar 20, 2022     42-4 Rear Seat Back step 1-3 - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Dimpled the F-637A, countersunk the F-637B for both seats.
Primed already in the primed session few months ago.
Riveted using the indicated rivets.


 
Mar 19, 2022     43-10 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (7 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Clamped the backing strips to the side of the cabin cover. Trimmed to accomodate a couple of bulges. Matchdrilled all the holes #30 on both sides.
Dimpled all the holes on the skins (top forward skin, mid side skins).
Deburred all the holes (marco Biagi), Countersunk the cabin cover #30 holes for the CS4-4 pop rivets.


 
Mar 12, 2022     43-9 Cabin Cover step 8-9 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Clamped the backing strip for the cabin cover into position. Matchdrilled #30 all the holes.
 
Mar 12, 2022     42-2 rear seat backs step 1-3 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Fabricated the F-637b angles for both seats.
Fabricated the F-637C angles for both seats
Drilled the F-637A seat back according to measures
 
Mar 05, 2022     43-9 Cabin Cover step 4 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Prepared the F-10106 spacers. They are a little bit short, but it seems they are working fine. Final test only after the 5/16 drill will be available.
 
Mar 05, 2022     43-8 Cabin Cover step 1-4 - (2.5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Final drilled the #12 holes in the WD-1043 Center Cabin Brace.
Prepared a shim to accomodate the center cabin brace bottom tab into the front top fuselage.
Matchdrilled with Lucio the four #12 holes from the Center cabin brace into the top cover. Little misalignment on one hole, but end result is more than satisfactory.
 
Mar 01, 2022     40-3 Flap System step 1 - (1 hour)       Category: Controls
Redone the drilling on a new W-1013B flap horn and into the Flap torque tube double checking the use of the bell crank jig and the correct clamping to the table.
the result is definitely better than the first one.
Final drilled #12 and 1/4 as indicated.


 
Feb 28, 2022     40-5 Flap System step 1-4 - (3 hours)       Category: Controls
Installation of the Flap torque tube, bellcrank and flap horn assembly. All the nylon bushing were very tight so i decided to adjust them a bit. For some reasons mounting the hardware has been a bit complicated and i needed to slightly enlarge few holes, however i don't believe this is a major issue.After tightening the nuts the assembly doesn't have any loose part.
I also checked the full retracted and full extended position with the flap motor in place and the two horns are aligned and no difference is visible (this was my concern as the use of the bellcrank jig in the first attempt was not perfect).


 
Feb 24, 2022     40-6 Flap System step 1-4 - (4 hours)       Category: Controls
Made the spacers out of the aluminum tubing. Some adjustment required and more adjustment required when mounting the flap motor.
Drilled with some difficulty the 1/16 hole in the flap motor rod. The indication not to move the jam nut and the rod creates a bit of a pain when drilling the hole. Result acceptable.
Preinstallation of the flap motor was easy, some additional trimming of the bellcrank bushing was required.
I also installed the flap positioning sensor and i tested the basic functionalities with the switch following the instructions. It seems that the extension need to be managed by the pilot as the sensor doesn't position automatically the flap in the next position. Retracting works step by step.
Pictures indicate the full retracted and full extended position with blue and red dots on the side skins. Measurement indicated that there is a minimal difference between left and right.


 
Feb 23, 2022     43-7 Cabin Cover step 1-8 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installed the gusset for the front bulkhead channels and final drilled. MatchDrilled the #30 holes using the bulkhead channel into the cabin cover on both sides.
Final drilled #12 the channel and the cabin cover.
Clamped the cabin cover to the underlying F1015C mid cabin decks and drilled #30 the holes into the cabin cover and F1015C mid cabin decks. Then final drilled #19 (NOT #12). Clecoed all in place.
After that using an extension i countersunk all the holes to the proper size.


 
Feb 18, 2022     43-6 Cabin Cover step 1-4 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
After clamping the cabin cover to the bulkhead channels together with lucio we drilled the #30 holes in the bulkhead channels in the back and in the front. Then we final drilled to #12 size.
 
Feb 18, 2022     43-5 Cabin Cover step 1-5 - (6 hours) Category: Fuselage
Together with Lucio we drilled all the holes of the top skin into the back of the cabin cover and all the holes on the sides with #30 drills. Little adjustment and trimming of the top cover was required for a smooth transition to the top skin.
Matchdrilled the holes from top skin into the cabin cover. Matchdrilled all the holes on the mid cabin skins into the bottom flange of the cabin cover. Clecoing along the way.
 
Feb 11, 2022     43-4 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Another session of trimming the cabin cover, including in the back to adjust the cabin cover flange to clear the 1006 Bulkhead and to reshape a bit the flange to accomodate the skin eliminating a little bulge.


 
Feb 06, 2022     43-4 Cabin Cover step 1-3 - (12 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Multiple sessions from february 1st until feb 7th to test fit sand test fit and repeat until acceptable. In order to fit the cabin cover into the fuselage openings i had to trim and file until the fiberglass grew very thin. Thanks to Riccardo and Chiara for the help moving around the cabin cover and helping with the test fitting.


 
Feb 06, 2022     43-2 Cabin Cover step 1 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
marked the reference for the future 7 holes on the Side Skins as indicate.
 
Feb 01, 2022     43-3 Cabin Cover step 1-4 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Trimmed the cabin cover with oscillating tool along the scribe lines. Used orbital sander to smooth the surface and permagrit tools to further trim.
 
Dec 12, 2021     42-3 Rear Seat Back step 1-5 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Matchdrilled all the parts for both seats.
Adapted the hinges removing the eyes as indicated in the assembly instruction manual.
 
Dec 09, 2021     34-5 Baggage door step 1-4 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Final drilled the hinge frame in common with the mid side skin. dimpled the holes
Clecoed the hinge frame to the skin. final drill the top and bottom holes into the baggage floor panel. deburred the holes.
 
Dec 04, 2021     29-15 Fuse Side Skins step 2-3-5 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Removed the hatched area (baggage door) and filed to measure. Dimpled the requested holes.
 
Dec 02, 2021     33-3 Baggage Area step 1-10 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Final drilled and dimpled the baggage door shims. Clecoed the lower baggage door channel in position. Trimmed the upper baggage door seal channel and checked in position. Final drilled #30 the holes in the bulkhead in in the close out panel.
 
Dec 02, 2021     32-5 Tailcone Attachment Step 12-17 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
As some of the F1006B Bulkhead holes have been enlarged four rivets fastening F1006A and F1006C to F1006B didn't look good enough. For this reasons together with Lucio we resolved to drill them out, to prepare two doublers and to rivet the doubler to the F1006 assembly.
It took some time, but at the end the result is very good.
In addition we also countersunk the 6 rivet holes along the baggage door triangle. We also set the rivets according to the plan.
We also identified a missing dimple that we fixed with the Hammer/Bucking bar tool prepared few days ago.


 
Nov 27, 2021     32-5 Tailcone Attachment Step 7-17 - (9 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Riveting of all the parts. Unfortunately we didn't realize the need to rivet the F1006B bulkhead before assembling the cone. Therefore setting the bottom rivet has been a challenge. In addition to that the three foremost rivets on the side skins corresponding to the angle stiffener of the baggage floor have been difficult to set. The other riveting steps have been done without major problems. Only few oops rivets have been set due to few enlarged holes in the F1006B Flanges.
Machine countersinking of the different skins/longerons, and multiple skins has been done. CSK of the skims and underlying skins has been done as well.
Little challenge on dimpling few of the skin/flanges holes, but Lucio resolved with the old style hammer and dimpler tool. This was required before riveting the baggage ribs to the F1006B Bulkhead as the dimple where impossible to do using the squeezer


 
Nov 24, 2021     32-5 Tailcone Attachment Step 1-6 - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
With additional help from Alberto and Massimo we completed the dimpling of the skins, ribs and bulkhead flanges. Alberto and Massimo used the manual squeezer and after assembling we recognized that the dimples where not optimal. We had to disassemble, re-dimple with the pneumatic squeezer and reassembly the parts. Deburring was also done using the deburring tool and scotchbrite pads.
At the end the reassembly looked very good with perfect nesting of longerons, skins, ribs and bulkhead flanges.

 
Nov 21, 2021     32-4 Tailcone Attachment Step 3-7 - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Made the shims as indicated using already primed .032 aluminum. Positioned after clecoing the Upper tailcone skin.
Matchdrilled with #40 the skin to the longerons and the baggage side bottom and triangle holes.Matchdrilled all the tailcone bottom and top skin into the fuselage skins, longerons and F-1006ABCD bulkheads. Matcdrilled the forward line of rivet on the belly into the F-1006B.
MACHINE COUNTERSINKING NOT DONE YET.


 
Nov 20, 2021     32-3 Tailcone Attachment Step 1-4 - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Prepared the fuse cradle and a support for the tailcone. Checked the F-1006B bulkhead for correct final drilling and dimpling (Priming missing).
Carefully assembled the Tailcone to the Fuselage with Marco's and Lucio's help. Correctly inserted the tailcone skin between the fuse skin, the F-1006B tabs and the various shims on the baggage door area.
Clecoed the skins to the bulkhead and to the F-1019-F-1021 Baggage ribs (left and right). The assembly has been a bit complicated, but finally we inserted correctly the tailcone skin between the fuselage skins and shims on the left side. We clecoed in position and carefully moved the tailcone into position on the bottom and right side skins. after that we clecoed the assembly with some difficulty but at the end the parts are fitting together perfectly.
Final drilling of all the baggage ribs holes into the F-1006B bulkhead.
Aligned the longeron vertex and Lucio suggested to use a small shim .032 to take into account the overlapping skin before pilot drilling and final drilling the longerons.
Clamped longerons and pilot drilled #30 and subsequently final drilled #12 while clecoing and keeping longerons in position.
This step would have been nearly impossible to complete without helping hands from the Lucio and Marco.


 
Nov 20, 2021     11-10 Empennage Attach Step 4 - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
disassembled the empennage and stored the subassemblies
 
Nov 18, 2021     11-10 Empennage Attach Step 1-3 - (1.5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Installed the trim servo bracket assembly on the tailcone using clecos. Run the two bowden cable through Horizontal Stabilizer front spar and rear spar. Routed the cable through the elevator front spar through the inspection panels and connected to the trim tab horns.
Checked free movement and correct deflection +35�sides in up and in down position.
Positioned the servo in the Full Nose UP Position and checked both trim tabs deflected 35�
When positioning in neutral (right trim in trail with elevator) the left trim tab is down 3�h VANS if this is intended due to the differential Trim tab deflection or if both tabs need to be adjusted to be in trail on both sides when the trim is 0. In this case a small adjustment may result in less than 35� one or on both sides.
Adjusted the trim cable guide to compensate for the small difference in the trim tab trail position. Currently the two trim tabs are both aligning correctly to the trail position. Marked the trim cable to the right position.


 
Nov 18, 2021     11-9 Empennage attach step 2-6 - (3 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Preassembled the Trim servo assembly. Installed the trim assembly with Bowden cables on the tailcone. Reduced some play with different washer arrangement. Slightly filed the trim bell crank mount to allow free movement to full up and full down position.


 
Nov 14, 2021     11-7 Empennage Attach Step 1-9 - (2.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Prepared the template for the bell crank assembly neutral position. Adapted the length of the F-1091 Elevator pushrod according to the template and elevator in neutral position.
Checked both rod ends bearings have over half the thread engaged making it impossible for a bearing to back off the pushrod if both ends are pinned.
Inserted the MD3614M rod end bearings and fastened with jam nuts to 3/4".
Bolted the rudder to the vertical stabilizer starting with top hinge, then the bottom hinge and finally the middle hinge. Alignment was good. Checked the 35�th sides. Distance measured from the trim inboard angle to the rudder (perpendicular measure) is 2 inches, resulting in an estimated deflection >35��Slightly adjusted the bottom bearing, deflection is still over 35��n the recommended minimum Lucio and I agreed to consider this acceptable.


 
Nov 13, 2021     11-6 Empennage Attach Step 2-6 - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Installed both elevators to the Horizontal Stabilizer using temporary bolts. Checked travel +30 up and -25 Down. Need to adjust the 30. After brief conversation we decided to adjust the Elevator Up Stop F-1012D instead of trimming the horns as in case of replacement the HS block is easier to replace rather than the horns, which are more complex to remove in case of need. No need to adjust the F-1011B Down Stop doubler as the travel is exactly 25�

Final result is slightly over 30 UP and straight 25 for down.

There is no possibility for accidental jam of the Elevators horns in the Elevator Block. Therefore it is not necessary to apply the modification suggested in SB18-3-30.


 
Nov 13, 2021     11-5 Empennage Attach Step 1-5 - (1.5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Measurement of the distance of the HS outboard rivets to the middle fuse rivet as indicated in the instructions. Always surprised about the precision of the assembly. VANS has been doing really a good job in designing the Kit in such a way that the measures are so precise. Certainly Lucio's help has been also instrumental in achieving the result.

After measuring and positioning we drilled #12 the attach brackets, the shims, the aft deck and the spacer and the angle using the attach brackets as drilled guides.
Lucios help in doing all this critical drilling has been really appreciated.

Bolted vertical stabilizer and final drilled #12 the 6 holes indicated. Bolted the Vertical Stabilizer according to indication.

MISSING: countersinking of bottom screw holes.


 
Nov 13, 2021     11-4 Empennage Attach Step 1-4 - (1 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
Prepared the shims for the horizontal stabilizer attach brackets. Rigged the Horizontal Stabilizer to the tailcone. Final drilled #12 the Horizontal Stabilizer attach bars using the HS rear spar as guide.


 
Nov 08, 2021     10-22 tailcone step 1-3 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
After checking preassemble we started riveting with the squeezer and with the rivet gun and bucking bar when necessary. In addition to the riveting we also final drilled to size #12 in the horizontal stabilizer attachment bars.
We also riveted the F-1014 aft deck to the longerons and to the doublers and angles.


 
Nov 08, 2021     10-21 Tailcone step 5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
After checkin with lucio the preassemble we started rivetin
 
Nov 06, 2021     20-3 Bottom Wing Skins step 3 reinstall fuel tanks - (8 hours)       Category: Wings
Reinstallation of both wing tanks after pressure testing.
Helping hand from Marco and Lucio, happily working while i was relaxing taking pictures.


 
Oct 24, 2021     32-2 Tailcone Attachment Step 1-8 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Preparation of the tailcone attachment clecoing the top rear tailcone skin to the tailcone bulkheads and stiffeners.
Final drilled the #30 holes in the bottom bulkhead F-1006B. Final drilled all the #40 holes in the F-1006B bulkhead. Disassembled the F-1006B Bulkhead and deburred all the holes. Dimpled the nutplates rivet holes with #40 dimple die.
Unfortunately i dimpled the nutplates #40 holes on the wrong side. I decided to dimple again on the right side. Detailed inspection of the dimples doesn't show cracks or irregularities. Only the primer has been removed occasionally.
I also dimpled the bellcrank ribs and the three #40 holes on F-1006A and F-1006C
Decided to replace the F-1006B with a new one. Surprisingly the new F-1006B is the new version with all the holes final drilled to #30 and #40. Priming is still necessary.
 
Oct 18, 2021     11-3 Empennage attach step 1-12 - (5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
After mounting the elevators in trail position we used the bushing to match drill the horns through the VA-146 Elevator Center bearing. After that we removed the two elevators and final drilled the holes for an AN4 bolt using a #12 drill.
We reinstalled both elevators and secured both in trail position again.
We identified the most aft horn and removed again the elevators. In our case there was a minimal mismatch, with the right horn slightly back compared to the left. We defined the position of the pilot hole on the right elevator and we proceeded with the drilling of the horn.
After that we prepared a guide block using wood and two aluminium strips secured with pull rivets and we drilled the guide hole.
We drilled with 3/16" and after that with #12 drill for a AN3 bolt.
End result is very satisfactory and Lucio's support has been very valuable as always....avoiding the mess i could have done.


 
Oct 15, 2021     11-2 Empennage Attach step 1-4 - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Positioning and securing the horizontal stabilizer required some time in order to get a good result. We (Lucio and I) decided slightly modify the indication provided by VANS.
1. We secured the Horizontal Stabilizer to the retractable part of the bench using clamps and the screws but with a slightly different setup for the 11/32 wooden shim.
2. we used two wooden planks to secure the elevators in trail position.
The rest of the activities is as indicated. Thanks to Lucio who fabricated a new bushing using a lathe...my attempt using the drill press were acceptable but the lathe allows a perfect fabrication.


 
Oct 08, 2021     18-8 fuel tank left and right step 1-6 - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
inspected the rivets and quibuild is as per instructions.
Fuel Tank installation completed after Pressure Test.


 
Sep 30, 2021     24-1 AVEO ZIP TIPS PREMIERE CPC and Inspection Panel - (12 hours)       Category: Wings
During the last few days i have been working on the zip tips. Main work has been to install fasteners for the inspection panel and to complete the wiring with a CPC 16 pole connector.
For the Inspection panel i decided to install K1000-08 nutplates with a 0.25 aluminum reinforcement on the zip-tip. I used the West system based flox to attach the aluminum band to the zip tip fiberglass.
For the connector i used the free hanging male CPC 16 connector and open pins. Crimping and installing has been relatively simple once identified the right crimper.
I used the printer to mark each single wire using the following coding
L- For Lights
XXX (function T, L, N, P,)
LX/RX left or right
SG-1-4 (segment 4 from the cockpit panel).
Once inserted the connector i used heatshrinkable tubing to bond them together and i wrapped everything with silicon tape in order to give to the CPC strain relief something to bite on.
The scheme attached indicates the pins to use on the CPC connector. They are a subset of the depicted scheme. The depicted scheme reflects the connections behind the inspection panel and doesn't clearly identify the wires coming out (only color coding).


 
Sep 21, 2021     6-4 step 7 VS rivet rear spar assembly SB-0001 - (1 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
installation of SB-0001 (Service Bulleting 0001) regarding the Vertical Stabilizer Bottom Hinge bracket.
Drilled out the rivets. Final drilled TO WRONG size the bolt holes. Instead of #8 screw i drilled #10. Asked VANS and VANS replied on March 12 2001 indicating:
...Just heard back from engineering on this and they have approved the larger hardware #10 being used in place of the #8 screws. This will most likely require you to modify a washer in order to keep from having interference with the bend radius on VS-01010-1 Hinge Bracket but it is also acceptable."
Following that i ordered NAS1149F0364P (AN960-10) MS21042-3 and AN509-10R11.
Installed the hardware. It is not necessary to modify the washer as there is no interference with the radius on the bracket.
Torqued the screws at 42lbs/inch (28+14 friction). Marked all nuts with RED marker.


 
Sep 13, 2021     29-21 Fuse Side Skins step 1-2 - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Reinstalled the left and right gear mount, positioned the WD-1021P shim.
Used the hardware indicated and torqued to 25 pound/inch + 4pound/inch for the friction drag. Check with Lucio if that is acceptable.
Need to check with Lucio on proper torque and to mark the nuts with red marker. Checked with Lucio and installation looks good.
All the hardware is new as i was afraid that the original bolts were over torqued.
When i marked the nuts i discovered that i forgot to put both washers in one location, i installed them and i re-torqued.


 
Sep 10, 2021     Load Analysis V.10 - (8 hours)       Category: Avionics
Based on the initial Avionics scheme i collected the available information around power loads and i simulated the different power loads (max and normal) for the different phases of the flight.
Then i distributed the loads on the different "busses":
Battery with the minimal equipment (G5, 1 COM/GPS/NAV, Transponder, Flaps and trims and basic lights.
ALT2 will be on standby and its regulator activate the backup alternator if it detects issues on the main alternator (under voltage). The Backup alternator mounted on the vacuum pump drive will provide 40 AMP


 
Sep 07, 2021     39-9 Control System: PRELIMINARY INSTALLATION - (5 hours)       Category: Controls
Installed hardware and all the parts according to the different instructions in section 39 in order to check for movement and potential interference with other systems / structure. I also verified alignment of the two controls stick using a small rig to check sticks are parallel.
result seems to be ok. Pending verification with Lucio and final installation (after final installation of fuel tubing and brake tubing.


 
Sep 01, 2021     Avionics Inventory and preliminary layout - (8 hours)       Category: Avionics
Decision taken to install full Garmin suite. Autopilot servos (GSA28) for pitch and roll already purchased together with heated pitot with AOA sensor (GAP26)
Intention to install two flight display G3X 10,6" (GDU460) with one ADHARS (GSU25) and GMU11 Magnetometer, Engine Monitor System (GEA24 with 6 cyl lycoming kit) and G5 HSI Display with built in ADHARS as backup.
I plan to install two certified COM/NAV, Certfified GPS and ADSB IN/OUT transponder. I am currently considering to installa one GTN650XI (GPS, COM NAV) with one GNC255 (COM/NAV) and remote transponder (GTX45R). As a possible alternative 2 GNC255 COM/NAV and the GTX345 or GTX374 Transponder/GPS.
In addition I plan to install the autopilot panel (GMC305 or GMC507), the GMA245 Audiopanel and the GAD27 interface (Trim, flap controller) and the GAD29 ARINC if necessary.
Logical scheme of the two systems are depicted in the attached slides. The schemes includes for reference the autopilot servos (GSA28) , trim servos (Ray Allen), flap actuator and additional devices like internal lights, cooling fans, ELT panel, USB ports, CO Detector and Oxygen System. These will be detailed together with all the other power appliances in separate charts


 
Aug 06, 2021     11-3 Empennage attach step 1 - (9 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
After searching in the whole shop for the missing E-Drill Steel Bushing and not finding it i started searching all over again. The damn little thing is nowhere to find.
I asked Lucio for a possible alternative and he suggested to drill a AN4 bolt using a lathe....which i don't have. He commited to do that in the next week or so.

After few hours i decided to try myself using my drill press.
I started using a center drill and i determined the center of the bold using the hex head.
After that i inserted the bolt head down into the drill press. I positioned a very short #30 bit in the cross- table and i tried to have a correct vertical position.
I carefully drilled with a lot of lube and at the end i cut off the head and the threaded part of the bolt.
I repeated the whole drill for a second bolt obtaining a decent result.
After checking with Lucio the hole is acceptable in terms of concentricity and i will use the better bushing for the drill.


 
Aug 04, 2021     36-3 Brake Lines MOD Parking Brake - (3 hours)       Category: Brake System
I have been thinking for a while on creating a support for the two brake lines in the area of the firewall recess. I personally don't like the two brake lines hanging for such a long trait between the two clamps close to the air vent and the parking brake assembly.
I decided to use a relatively thick aluminum angle to create the support to be riveted to the F-1039D rudder pedal brace.
The angle will have also a nut plate to hold two clamps, one for each brake tube. This will allow rapid disassembly if necessary and a stable support avoiding the brake lines to rub against each other or against the rudder pedal brace.
The first attempt proved that the idea was ok, but i decided for a second design with more "beef" to rivet the brackets to the rudder pedal brace.
Final assembly will happen after replacement of the firewall recess in order to position the new steel passthrough.


 
Aug 02, 2021     36-4 Step 1 Brake Lines - (0.5 hour) Category: Brake System
Prepared the VENT DL-10 2,4" flanged ducts for installation. Clecoed only and final riveting will be completed at the end of the installation of all the systems.
 
Jul 30, 2021     Preinstallation of brake lines, fuel valve, controls - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
I decided to test the installation of the brake lines, parking brake valve, fuel lines, andair fuel valve bracket.
I also preinstalled the completed pedal assembly and the control stick.
I preinstalled the elevator control to the control sticks.
There is still the need to prepare a little support for the brake lines (firewall recess area).
On the control stick i measured the parallelism and it looks ok. Marked the nuts on the F-1059 aluminum rod in order to reposition correctly in the future.
I notices a slight asymmetry on the control movement, on the left hand side the stick is almost touching the side, while on the right hand side the stick bounces on the side wall.... i don't understand how that is possible.


 
Jul 25, 2021     35-11 Mod Installation inspection panel on tunnel - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installed the inspection panel on the left side of the tunnel.
Drilled out the pop rivets and matchdrilled the 21 #40 holes. Installed the cover and matchdrilled the 4 #10 corne holes in order to have a good reference for the cut.
Used a step drill to drill the corner holes. I also used a dremel and the angle drill with a cutting wheel to cut out the hole for the inspection panel cover.
Filed to measure and slightly adapted the corner for a good fit. I went slightly over on one side, but in general i think that is ok. Unfortunately the primer on the backing plate is still the green Akzo therefore a thin green line is visible when positioning the inspection panel. I will need to paint with the proper color in order to avoid that.
I countersunk all the holes (nutplates rivet holes and all #10 holes. I also countersunk the 21 #40 holes for the flush rivets.
Deburred and installed the nutplates using the manual squeezer. Installed the backing plate using the manual squeezer and the pull rivets. I don't understand why the instruction indicate LP 4-3 rivets while the original were LP 4-4 slightly longer. The result is that the shop head is smaller than the other pop rivets.
Final result looks good.


 
Jul 12, 2021     29-20 Fuse Side Skins step 1 left and rightfloor panel - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installed the floor panels (left and right) with significant effort in bending the panels into the right positions.
Riveted with pull rivets the left panel. Used some paper to protect the paint.


 
Jul 09, 2021     36-3 Brake Lines MOD Parking Brake - (2 hours)       Category: Brake System
Assembled the parking brake valve and installed on firewall.
Mounted the Parking Brake bracket using pull rivets as indicated in the modification instructions and with loctite 567 provided in mod kit.
Installed the bluefitting with permatex 2.


 
Jul 09, 2021     29-20 Fuse Side Skins step 1 right floor panel - (2.5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Installed the floor panels (left and right) with significant effort in bending the panels into the right positions.
Riveted with pull rivets the right panel with Marco's help.
 
Jul 04, 2021     34-4 Baggage door step 4-7 - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Primed the part in the Priming Session.
Riveted the hinge to the frame. Riveted the frames to the outer skins. Riveted the lock bracket. I need to wait for the lock mechanism as it is not provided in the kit.


 
Jul 04, 2021     Removed Fuselage protection for painting - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Removed all the protection installed to avoid painting the longerons and the firewall
 
Jul 03, 2021     33-6 Baggage Area step 7 Inspection panels - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Riveted with the manual squeezer the inspection panel doubler to the baggage floor panel. Marco Biagi finally started some riveting.....


 
Jun 28, 2021     Priming & Interior Painting - (16 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Brought the fuse and the all the parts to the paintshop on a rented van. Cleaned the parts with MEK together with Lucio. Very supportive paintshop owner used the same color for the primer and final internal coating Most of the time has been spent cleaning and protecting the parts that didn't require primer or paint like firewall, longhorns and other smaller items
Primed and painted also all the panels, welded tubes for controls (rudder, stick) and other items like wing fairings and stiffeners.


 
Jun 08, 2021     18-8 fuel tank left and right PRESSURE TEST done - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Started pressure test with Lucio's support.
Prepared the tanks using the fittings provided in the VANS Fuel Tank testing kit. Adjusted the right tank fuel sender floater to avoid interference with vent line. Additional bending of the vent line was required Added the "safety balloon". Inflated carefully both thanks.
Used soap water to detect leaks. No evidence of leaks in the rivets. Smaller leaks on the balloon and on some blue fittings that have not been finally installed (no permeated nor final torque). Fixed the leaks to the minimum.
All the pictures taken 4 hours after pressure test's start
After 18 hours no visible reduction on the balloons.


 
Jun 02, 2021     Reorganize Workshop - (8 hours) Category: Workshop
Moved several shelfs out of the shop in order to free up space to accomodate the fuselage as the next step will be to join the tailcone with the fuse.
 
May 29, 2021     Reorganize Garage and adiacent spaces - (4 hours) Category: Workshop
Created some additional space in the garage to accomodate parts and materials coming from the workshop.
 
May 27, 2021     39-8 Control System step 1 - (3 hours) Category: Controls
Pretty long work to adapt bushing (reaming) and the WD-1011 Left and Right in order to comply with the indications (Pivot tube of the WD-1011 has to be 1/32-1/16" SHORTER than the control stick base bushing.
 
May 25, 2021     33-6 Baggage Area step 7 Inspection panels - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Installation of Inspection Panels in the baggage floor to inspect the entry step and to facilitate routing of electrical cables and antennas. Positioned reinforcement plate to determine position of the hole. Matchdrilled with #40 drill for flush rivts. Cut the hole and filed to measure. Countersunk nutplates rivet holes on the reinforcement plate. Countersunk all the holes for riveting to the floor panel. Tried to dimple but not very happy with the result. Much better with careful countersinking (backing plate to avoid drill wandering and oval holes). Backing plate was already primed therefore i riveted all nutplates.


 
May 20, 2021     39-5 Control System Step 1-2 - (2 hours) Category: Controls
Fabricated the two F-1064 Pushrod Assemblies using the hex tubing provided. Primed in and out. Fabricated the F-1065 Aileron Pushrod Assembly. Primed in and out. Assembled on all pushrods the necessary ball bearing M-3414M (6 pieces in total) and the necessary jam nuts (AN316-4). Stored away for later installation
 
May 16, 2021     Priming Preparation for Interiors - (8 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Fuselage scuffing with scotchbrite in preparation for additional priming with Akzo nobel epoxy primer and interior painting. Significant Help from Marco Biagi who enjoyed the scuffing work.


 
May 14, 2021     20-2 Bottom Skin Wing (LEFT) - (7 hours)       Category: Wings
Discuss and decide what type of pitot to install. Final choice is to install Garmin Pitot with AOA. Therefore steps from section 20-2 and 20-3 were not necessary.
Pitot assembly and Graetz mounting kit ordered.
Decided to install on the next bay after the aileron crank inspection hatch.
The installation of the AOA PITOT requires to have an additional 1/4" hole for the plastic tubing of the AOA sensor.
Drilling of all the holes requires a 7/16 long drill for the bushing and adapters/extensions. A little jig has been prepared to ensure holes are in the right position.

Acquired Graetz Mount for Garmin Pitot.
Cut the hole for the pitot mount together with Lucio. Final drilled the rivet holes. Riveted angle to the outboard wing rib of the bay next to the aileron bellcrank inspection panel.
Tested fitting.


 
May 13, 2021     39-4 Control System Step 2-5 - (5 hours) Category: Controls
Fabricated the F-1090 Elevator Pushrod (MID) cutting the aluminum tube to size and match drilling the ends with the template provided.
Primed internally and externally. Installed the VA-101 threaded ends and final riveting with pull rivets. Installed rod ends but i DIDNT put the safety wire.
Stored away for final installation.
 
May 10, 2021     9-18 Elevators step 1-8 - (8 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Cut hinge, drilled first two #40 holes. Clecoed and matchdrilled the hinge on both elevators. Deburred all the holes. Started riveting on left elevator. One opps rivet used due to enlarged hole (countersinking). Riveted trim tabs and elevator spar hinge with manual squeezer for better accuracy. Trimmed hinge to measure and adapted the hinge pin. Hinge pin bending has been easier than expected. Safety Wire Missing.


 
May 03, 2021     21-2 Aileron step 2-7 - (2 hours) Category: Wings
Quick Build. Verified steps have been completed. Final drilling and riveting according to construction plans.
 
May 02, 2021     9-17 elevators step 8-10 - (3 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
riveted tab horns to trim tabs. Installed the foam ribs using tank sealant. Clecoed trim back spar and blocked the trim tab with clamps.
Riveted the side tabs with blind rivets. Waited for the sealant to cure


 
May 01, 2021     9-15 elevators step 7 - (0.5 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
riveted trim cable attach brackets to trim cover plates using blind rivets.


 
Apr 29, 2021     24-3 Wing tip step 1-4 Right - (6 hours)       Category: Wings
Temporary install of aileron and flaps. Checked alignement to flap in full retracted position (negative 4 degrees).
Installed tip, adapted to position with some not-so-gentle bending. Matchdrilled and clecoed every single hole. Considerable force is needed to bend the tip to follow the right shape. The Aveo Ziptips are fairly thick and not easy to bend. Deburre holes, countersunk the fiberglass with permagrit #40 countersinks.
The aluminum strips are kept in place with flox and epoxy. Installed nutplates.
Right wing dimple done. Unfortunately some dimples are not according to expectations, but i have to live with that.


 
Apr 28, 2021     24-2 Wing tip step 1 - (6 hours)       Category: Wings
Cut away excess material from ZipTips. Positioned reinforcement aluminium strip (two strips top side and two strip bottom side). Split necessary to allow bending of the tips to align with aileron and Flap. Steps related to light not necessary as the Aveo Ziptips Premier already include all the lights.


 
Apr 26, 2021     31-11 Upper Fuselage Inspection Panels - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Applied pro-seal to both panel plates. Clecoed and Riveted as per instruction to the Upper Fuselage. Left few days for complete curing.


 
Apr 21, 2021     20-6 Bottom wing skins step 2 - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Deburred W-822PP Access plates, dimpled attach holes on wing skin for #8 and #6 screws. Primed access plates and skins.


 
Apr 17, 2021     28-16 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-2 - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Trimmed the mid rail seat supports. Primed during the priming session with other parts. Preassemble and final drilling #40 and #19.
Riveted the nutplates and riveted the two mid rail support assembly.


 
Apr 13, 2021     33-5 Baggage Area step 11 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
RIveted nutplates to F-1024 seat floor panels
 
Apr 13, 2021     33-5 Baggage Area step 9 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Priming session with other fuselage and wing skin parts
 
Apr 03, 2021     22-8 Flap Step 1-14 - (2 hours) Category: Wings
Quickbuild. Checked all the assembly steps and the accessible rivets. Execution according to plan.
 
Apr 03, 2021     22-7 Flap Step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Quickbuild Checked rivets and assembly according to plan
 
Apr 03, 2021     22-6 Flap Step 1-6 - (2 hours) Category: Wings
Quickkbuild. Checked assembly and rivets according to specs.
 
Apr 03, 2021     22-5 Flap Step 1-6 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Quickbuild. Checked assembly as per plan
 
Apr 03, 2021     22-3 Flap Step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Quickbuild. Checked assembly done as per plan
 
Apr 03, 2021     22-2 Flap Step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Quickbuild. Checked steps according to plan.
 
Mar 26, 2021     39-7 Control System Step 1-3 - (6 hours)       Category: Controls
Spent more time setting up the rigs and the way of drilling than drilling the different parts. Due to a misalignment i had to replace one of the control sticks.
Matchdrilling done and final drilling completed.
Preliminary installation looks ok


 
Mar 18, 2021     12-3 Empennage Fairing Step 1-3 - (12 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Trimmed the bottom rudder fairing. Cut away the tail light as the position light are now in the Aveo Ziptips premiere. filled the hole with foam and covered with few layers of fiberglass. Sanded and filled imperfections with flox. Tedious process due to my inexperience with fiberglass and epoxy. I had to redo the steps a couple of times. End result looks satisfactory.


 
Mar 15, 2021     12-3 Empennage Fairing Step 5-11 - (24 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Work performed during the whole week.
Trimmed the stabilizer fairing (wrong cut, ended up with too big distance to elevator counterbalance). Decided to reconstruct the trimmed away part using foam and epoxy and fiberglass. Three layer on both fairings and some sanding and flox. End result is within tolerance, may need some additional final adjustment after final empennage assembly and rigging. Added aluminum strips to strengthen the fairing. Matchdrilled and final drill #30 for pop rivets.


 
Mar 08, 2021     12-2 Empennage fairing Rudder step 6-8 - (8 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Cut rudder top fairing to adapt to rudder. Matchdrilled the fairing (pushed forward, but probably not enough). Clecoed to the skin. Filled gaps with flox few times and sanded excess away. Due to my inexperience and due to a little kink in the counterweight area i sanded away some skin. I rounded the edges of the holes and filled with flox. End result is acceptable.


 
Mar 07, 2021     12-2 empennage fairing step 2-4 Elevator Fairing - (20 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Trimmed elevator fairings. Inserted in elevator tip and matchdrilled. Installed aluminum band with epoxy to strengthen the structure (aluminum 0.025). Final drilled #30. Used flox to make smooth transition to the skins. work done over a full weekend. Sanded many times and added flox many times.


 
Mar 03, 2021     21-9 Aileron step 1-4 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Quickbuild. Inspected all the steps and they look executed as per instruction
 
Mar 03, 2021     21-8 Aileron Step 1-4 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Quickbuild Assembly and riveting according to instructions
 
Mar 03, 2021     21-7 Aileron Step 1-7 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Quickbuild. Assembly and riveting look ok. Aileron trailing edge is straight and according to instructions
 
Mar 03, 2021     21-6 Aileron Step 6 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
quickbuild. Preassembly step. Assumed correctly as final result is in line with construction handbook directions.
 
Mar 03, 2021     21-5 Aileron Step 1-7 - (2 hours) Category: Wings
QUickbuild. Checked all the steps. Assembly, riveting and execution according to plan
 
Mar 03, 2021     21-4 Aileron Steps 1-4 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Quickbuild. Checked assembly and riveting. Everything looks ok.
 
Mar 03, 2021     21-3 Aileron steps 1-8 - (2 hours) Category: Wings
Quickbuild. Checked steps on both ailerons. Riveting and assembly look according to plan
 
Mar 03, 2021     9-15 Elevators step 8-9 - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Adapted both counterweights according to Kit Assembly Instructions.
 
Feb 19, 2021     30-2 Step Installation step 1-2 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly inspection.
Deburred parts.
 
Feb 15, 2021     39-6 Control System Step 1-2 - (1.5 hours)       Category: Controls
Fabricate the spaces F-1063C and drilled hole 1/8".
Preassembled the Elevator Idler arm with the spacer and the VA-146 Flange Bearing. Matchdrilled and final drilled with #30 for -4 rivets.
Primed the different parts and final riveting with AN470AD4-6 rivets.


 
Feb 14, 2021     39-3 Control System Step 1-5 - (5 hours) Category: Controls
Fabricated the F-1089 Elevator Push Rod assembly cutting to size the aluminum tube and match drilled for pop rivets using the paper templates (attention to the scaling when copying ....).
As per instruction i used the primer internally and let it dry for a couple of days.
Installed the VA-111 threaded rod ends and riveted using pop rivets.
Installed the rod bearings with jam nut and stored away waiting for preliminary assembly
 
Feb 13, 2021     40-4 Flap System step 1-4 - (8 hours) Category: Controls
Preassembled the Flap Horn to the Flap torque tube-. Match drilled 4th e flap horn #30 and then final drilled #12- Primed inside all the parts. Done for left and right flaps.
Trimmed the four F-1030 bushing according to the indication. Due to some imprecisions i decided to reorder and to redo all the bushing. Result is now acceptable,
I tried a preliminary test installation and it is very hard to position the bushing correctly....a bit of soft hammering has been necessary.
 
Feb 12, 2021     31-11 Upper Fuselage Inspection Panels - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Cut upper fuselage skins according to instruction. Filed to size and deburred.
Matchdrilled and final drilled for K1100-06 Nuts.


 
Feb 10, 2021     9-17 Elevators step 1-7 - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
After bending the tabs to a better result i proceeded with match drilling deburring and countersinking. Even if i used a handmade countersink jig to avoid wobbling around one of the countersink doesn't look good and may need an oops rivet.
in general more than happy with the end result.
parts are now ready for priming.
 
Feb 10, 2021     9-16 Elevators step 1-5 - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
preparation of trim tabs (REDO) as the original ones where not up to my standard and i wanted to check if i was able to do it better than the first time.
Bends using the brake and the wedges turned out to be better than the first attempt.
Definitely more happy with the new tabs.
 
Feb 10, 2021     28-17 Fwd fuse ribs BHDS, Bottom Skin Step 1-2 - (5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Following the disassemble of both gear mounts and following indication from VANS we slightly enlarged the holes for the AN3 bolts on the WD-1021L and R. In most cases we enlarged from #12 to #11, some to #10 and few to #9. Final mount will be done later after painting. All the holes in the longerons are perfectly sized and no issue on that side. Precious help from Lucio on disassembling and performing the adaptations.
 
Feb 07, 2021     28-17 Fwd fuse ribs BHDS, Bottom Skin Step 1-2 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection. After long consultation with lucio regarding the need to inspect various parts of the fuselage assembly we decided to remove the gear mount and to reinstall. The left assembly has been very difficult to remove and we decided to check with VANS technical support if it was normal to have the bolts so tightly fitting in the assembly. We also decided to check with VANS on the torque values. Below the response from VANS Technical support.

Disassembled Left Gear mount in order to remove foot panel. Difficult to remove the screws, they seem to jam somehow. Finally managed to remove the last screws with Lucio's and Marco's help. Most of the nuts were clearly over torqued. Asked VANS Support for clarification and they confirmed torque should be as indicated in Section V for AN3 nuts. In addition they indicated that sometimes a small adjustment to the WD-1021 Gear mount is necessary, altough not often.

Below the email exchange with VANS
********************************
Hi,
first of all thank you for all the good work you are doing in these troubled times.

i have the need to remove both landing gear mounts from my quick build fuselage, but i noticed a couple of things where i need your support:

1. All the nuts seem to be over torqued. I didn't find a specific torque requirement, therefore i assumed the standard AN3 torque would apply (section 5 page 5-20) , but when removing the bolts i had to apply in at least 70% of the cases a very significant force to loose the nuts. Any specific reason for that? When reinstalling the mount do i need to use the normal torque indication or a different value?
RESPONSE
When working with standard hardware like this the torque values shown in section 5 of the build manual is what should be followed. There are only a few instances in our aircraft where a specific torque may be called out and I can think of no instances like this in the RV-10 off hand.
2. Removing the bolts is very difficult. they seem to be jammed for some reason and only few of them came out easily as i expected. In most cases i had to apply significant pressure with a piece of wood and an hammer….When sliding the bolts into the longeron holes they slip in very easily and the sit perfectly, but with the WD-1021 is a different story. I wonder if i should slightly enlarge the WD-1021 holes. Please let me know if that is correct.
RESPONSE
Bolts between a welded assembly like the 1021 and center section can be snug but given that they are installed I have no doubt that they can be removed and reinstalled. Using a little force to persuade them is not a problem, we don't expect every bolt to just slide in when pushed with a fingertip. In some cases I have enlarged/reamed holes in landing gear brackets but typically is not needed.
Both situation apply on both WD-1021 (left and right) with some slight differences. So far i managed to remove only the WD-1021 Left and before removing the bolts on the right side, i would like to have your view.

thanks in advance for your help.

ciao
paolo
 
Feb 05, 2021     40-2 3 Flap Systems step 1-6 and 1-4 - (14 hours)       Category: Controls
Alignement of flap torque tube and flap crank. Clecoed using predrilled and matchdrilled 1/8. Bolted the flap crank to the torque tube and matchdrilled other holes installing second set of hardware.
Matchdrilled using the Jig. Everything went fine on one side, unfortunately second side something went wrong with the alignment. After consultation with VANS they reccommended to wait until final rigging as the problem may be resolve with the adjustments. In any case i ordered another torque tube and another flap crank
All the tubes have been primed internally.
Same process on both sides.


 
Feb 02, 2021     38-5 Step 1-3 Rudder Pedals and Brake System - (1.5 hours)       Category: Controls
Match drilled the F-6115 Rudder Pedal bearing block to the F-1039 using #12 drill. Preliminary installation looks ok


 
Feb 02, 2021     38-4 Step 1-6 Rudder Pedals and Brake System - (4 hours)       Category: Controls
Prepared the F-6115 Rudder Pedal bearing block. Modified the F-1039 Bearing Block Mounting plate.Final drilled Bearing Block Mount Plate.
Preliminary mounted the bearing pro on both longerons. Preliminary installation of both rudder pedal assemblies.
First fitting is with original white rods, then i decided to paint them black. I also decided to install the parking brake assembly.


 
Feb 01, 2021     11-8 Empennage attach step 2-8 - (14 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Work done over few weeks, including priming session. Ordered new F-1095 components as the brackets have been mounted wrongly.
Final drilled according to instructions. Preassembled the F-1095B, F-1095A and F-1095C in order do have correct distance and alignment of all the parts. Installed on F-1095A with cleco and matchdrilled the F-1095C bracket in position. Completed match drilling of all the other components. Countersunk all rivet holes.
Deburred and primed all the parts. Final drilled #12 holes.
Primed all the parts, riveted all the parts and nutplates.


 
Jan 31, 2021     38-3 Step 1-5 Rudder Pedals and Brake System - (4 hours)       Category: Controls
Final Drilled for #12 hole. Installed the washer and nuts according to indication. Installed cotter pins. First installation didn't pass Lucio's Check. Redone according to indication bending the cotter pins along the bolt axis and cutting to measure to avoid entanglement.


 
Jan 28, 2021     29-22 Fuse Side Skins step 1 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 28, 2021     29-21 Fuse Side Skins step 1-2 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 28, 2021     29-21 Fuse Side Skins step 1-2 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 28, 2021     29-19 Fuse Side Skins step 1-6 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 28, 2021     29-18 Fuse Side Skins step 1-2 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 28, 2021     29-17 Fuse Side Skins step 1-2 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 27, 2021     29-15 Fuse Side Skins step 2 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 27, 2021     29-14 Fuse Side Skins step 1-9 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 27, 2021     29-12 Fuse Side Skins step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 26, 2021     29-7 Fuse Side Skins step 1-3 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-16 Fuse Side Skins step 1-10 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-15 Fuse Side Skins step 5 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-13 Fuse Side Skins step 1-10 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-11 Fuse Side Skins step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-10 Fuse Side Skins step 1-2 - (0.5 hour) Category: Landing Gear
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-9 Fuse Side Skins step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-8 Fuse Side Skins step 1-3 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection.
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-6 Fuse Side Skins step 1-6 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-5 Fuse Side Skins step 1-4 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-4 Fuse Side Skins step 1-4 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-3 Fuse Side Skins step 1-4 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection. Some places difficult to check but overall assembly looks good
 
Jan 25, 2021     29-2 Fuse Side Skins step 1-7 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection of assembly and riveting
 
Jan 23, 2021     28-18 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection of nuts below the floor panel.
 
Jan 23, 2021     28-15 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-6 - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection for the indicated steps.


 
Jan 23, 2021     28-14 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-13 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting verification. Verification of bolts correctly positioned.

Final drilled #19 seat floor covers. deburred holes
 
Jan 23, 2021     28-13 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins Step 1-4 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection.
Riveting of the Firewall is limited to the bottom skin and side skin (some holes are not riveted to leave space for the cowling hinges.
 
Jan 23, 2021     28-12 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins Step 1-2 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection.
 
Jan 22, 2021     28-11 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-6 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting check. Step 1 not done because regarding flowscan mount because i plan to use the "red cube" flow scan and according to instruction it needs to be mounted between engine fuel pump and spider.
 
Jan 22, 2021     28-10 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-14 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Long inspection of all the different assembly steps. Priming looks thin. Considering to reprime before final interior paint.
Removed side and bottom panels drilling out pop rivets.
 
Jan 21, 2021     28-8 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection.
Removed some panels (screws) to faciliate inspection of hidden rivets. Used mirrors when necessary.
 
Jan 20, 2021     28-9 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-2 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection.
 
Jan 20, 2021     28-6 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-3 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection.
 
Jan 19, 2021     28-5 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-4 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection of all the parts and the assembly. Removed the fuel flow mount as i intend to install the red-cube fuel flow meter positioned firewall forward.
 
Jan 19, 2021     28-4 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection of all the parts and the assembly.
 
Jan 19, 2021     28-3 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-8 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection of all the parts and the assembly
 
Jan 19, 2021     28-2 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection of assembly.
 
Jan 19, 2021     26-7 Mid Fuse Ribs and Bottom Skin step 1-4 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Skin attachment to bulkhead and ribs looks good with all the rivets set within tolerances and no protrusion.
 
Jan 19, 2021     26-6 Mid Fuse Ribs and Bottom Skin step 1-9 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Inspected all ribs, bulkheads and attachment of the F-1021 F-1020 and F-1019 ribs to the Bulkhead assembly. All dimples and rivets look ok.
 
Jan 19, 2021     26-5 Mid Fuse Ribs and Bottom Skin step 1-11 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection following the construction manual. Rear seat subassembly riveting is within tolerances. Rib to rear spar riveting is within tolerances. Rib attach to the rear spar bulkhead has been riveted within tolerances.
 
Jan 19, 2021     26-4 Mid Fuse Ribs and Bottom Skin step 1-6 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Assembly of the seat ribs subassemblies to the af center section is done as indicated in the construction plans. Hardware and rivets are set according to tolerances.
 
Jan 19, 2021     26-3 Mid Fuse Ribs and Bottom Skin Step 1-10 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Outboard ribs have been assembled according to construction manual. Rivets within tolerances. CHECK if spacer F-1015E and F-1015F are in correct position.
 
Jan 19, 2021     26-2 Mid Fuse Ribs and Bottom Skin step 1-7 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection following the construction manual.Inboard ribs subassembly has been riveted according to instruction. all rivets all ok.
 
Jan 18, 2021     27-6 Firewall Steps 1-4 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection. Verified assembly and riveting of all the components. +

Decided to replace the Heat Selector (Aluminum) with an aftermarket Steel Heat Selector from Aircraft Spruce. Installation pending
 
Jan 18, 2021     27-4 firewall steps 1-6 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection of all the steps indicated. Verified assembly and riveting.
 
Jan 18, 2021     27-3 Firewall step 1-7 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection of assembly and riveting. Everything looks good.
 
Jan 18, 2021     27-2 Firewall step 1-5 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection. Verified assembly and riveting.

Firewall recess needs to be adapted to steelpassthrough. Possible need to replace the firewall recess or to apply a steel plate to allow installation of the steel passthrough.

Flanges deburred
 
Jan 18, 2021     25-8 Mid Fuse Bulkhead Step 1-7 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Installation according to construction manual. rivets look ok
 
Jan 18, 2021     25-7 Mid fuse bulkhead step 1-6 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
All steps have been complete as indicated in the construction manual. Riveting is within tolerances. Hardware is correctly installed.
 
Jan 17, 2021     25-6 Mid Fuse Bulkhead step 1-7 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection following the construction manual. Hardware and rivets are set according to instructions. Rivets are within tolerances.
 
Jan 17, 2021     25-4 Mid Fuse Bulkhead step 1-7 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection following the construction manual. All steps have been completed. riveting is ok.
 
Jan 17, 2021     25-3 Mid Fuse Bulkhead step 1-8 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection following construction manual. trimming of the center bulkhead done according to indication.
 
Jan 16, 2021     25-2 Mid fuse Bulkheads step 1-9 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Inspection of the Quickbuild following the construction Manual. all steps have been completed. Riveting is within tolerances. One doubt on the Stiffener angles F-1004N as they don't seem to be primed.
 
Jan 16, 2021     23-6 aileron actuation left and right step 1-5 - (6 hours) Category: Wings
Positioning and final drilling completed on left assembly. The right assembly went wrong as i positioned the nuts on the wrong side, therefore the clocking was not right....another spare part order and few more cursing.
Final result looks ok.
 
Jan 15, 2021     23-5 Aileron Actuation Left and Right step 1-4 - (12 hours) Category: Wings
Preassemble of the aileron forward and back torque assembly. A couple of mistakes required to reorder a couple of parts. Final drill definitely easier than the other pushrods. Priming done with rattle can primer. Unfortunately the curing didn't go well so i had to repeat a couple of times. Probably the temperature was not ideal. A lot of trimming was required in order to slide the tubes into the torque tube subassembly. Final result looks satisfactory.

Priming of the torque tube is still missing.
 
Jan 14, 2021     23-4 Aileron Actuation left and right step 1-2 - (6 hours) Category: Wings
adapted the bell crank and bushing BUSH BR-065 X-375 X 2,781 for bot assemblies.
Temporary install of both bell cranks in the wings.

FINAL TORQUE IS MISSING
 
Jan 13, 2021     23-3 Aileron Actuation Left and Right step 1-5 - (12 hours) Category: Wings
Fabricated the W-1018A bell crank to aileron pushrods cutting the ST4130-035 tubes. Unfortunately i had to repeat this step several times due to difficulties in drilling straight and perpendicular to the rod. I enriched significantly my knowledge on multilingual cursing. Final result is not perfect but functional and acceptable.
Deburred and primed all the parts.
Final riveting the threaded rod ends to both sides on both pushrods.
Fabricated the W-1031 Aileron Bellcrank spacers.
 
Jan 12, 2021     23-2 Aileron Actuation Left and Right Step 1-4 - (9 hours) Category: Wings
Fabricated the torque tube pushrods from AT6-049X1 1/4 tube. Drilled 6 pilot holes on both ends of both rods. Matchdrilled threaded end on both sides of both rods. Deburred all the holes and primed the inside and outside of the pushrods with Ekopoxy Primer (two coats).
 
Jan 11, 2021     18-7 fuel tank left and right - (8 hours) Category: Wings
Bending the fuel tank floater wire has been a challenge due to the interference of the vent line in both tanks.
With some adjustment to the wire the right tank floater wire has been bent to an acceptable movement.
However the left tank floater could not clear the vent line and the stiffener, not matter how i bent the wire. (replacement floater wire required, two units are available now as spares). considered to install capacitive sensors, but installation would have been even more complicated.
At the end with precious help from Lucio we slightly bent the vent line using a rod and the floater is now moving freely.
 
Jan 10, 2021     35-5 step 5-6 Access Covers and Floor Panels - (1.5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Final drilled with #19 drill, dimpled for #8 screw and prepared for priming
 
Jan 10, 2021     35-5 step 1-3 Access covers and floor panels - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Final final drilled the tunnel covers and prepared for priming.
 
Jan 10, 2021     36-3 Brake Lines step 1-6 - (9 hours)       Category: Brake System
Removed the vent flanged ducts. Created the brake lines (few attempts required). I started bending an aluminum bar to get an idea about the different angles and then once bending was satisfactory i replicated with the tube bender. The end result is good and the lines look straight and with the right bends.
I decided to install a parking brake, therefore i will need to remove the trigear bracket and replace with the valve and controls for the parking brake.


 
Jan 09, 2021     35-7 step 1-4 Access Covers and Floor Panels - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Final drilled #19 bit, deburred and dimpled for #8 screw. prepared for priming
 
Jan 09, 2021     36-2 Brake Lines step 1-2 - (1.5 hours)       Category: Brake System
enlarged both holes in the bottom skin to 5/8" for the An837-4D elbow. Installed the elbow on both sides. Prepared the brake line bending the aluminium tube and flaring on both sides for the elbows.


 
Jan 08, 2021     35-4 step 1-6 Access covers and floor panels - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
checked the quickbuild. everything looks ok. prepared for priming and painting.
 
Jan 08, 2021     35-3 Step 1-6 Access Covers and Panels - (1.5 hours) Category: Fuselage
checked quickbuild activities. everything looks ok.
 
Jan 06, 2021     34-4 Baggage door step 1-3 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Disassembled and deburred all parts and all the holes. Dimpled the holes for flush rivets
Scuffed in preparation of priming.
Priming done in the priming session with other parts later in february/march.
 
Jan 06, 2021     34-3 Baggage door step 1-4 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Positioned the baggage door external skin in the baggage door opening. Marked according to instruction the skin and the fuselage as preparation for the installation of the hinge.
Cut an AN257-P3 hinge length to measure and drilled the #40 rivet holes at 1"1/8 distance from each other starting 1/4 inch from both hinge ends.
Positioned the hinge on the frame within the two marks in step 1. Matchdrilled #40 into through the hinge into the frame.
Slightly trimmed the skin.
 
Jan 06, 2021     34-2 Baggage door step 1-8 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Prepared the parts bending according to instruction. Preassembled for final drilling. Final drilled with #30 and #40 drills.
 
Jan 04, 2021     28-7 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 1-4 - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection.
Dimpled all the cabin floor panels
 
Jan 03, 2021     38-2 Step 1-6 Rudder Pedals and Brake System - (4 hours) Category: Brake System
Separated the rudder pedals, created the spacers from the A&-058X5/16 tubing. Final drilled #30 and deburred all edges and holes. Riveted the master cylinder attach to the pedal assembly
 
Jan 02, 2021     37-3 Step 1-3 Fuel System - (2 hours)       Category: Fuel System
Created the fuel lines to the fuel valve according to design provided. Considering the use of the and/or FS20-7 Valve i may need to recreate the fuel lines. Preliminary installation looks ok, but final check is needed.


 
Jan 02, 2021     37-2 Step 1-3 Fuel Lines - (2 hours)       Category: Fuel System
Prepared a flange for the Andair FS20-7 fuel valve


 
Jan 02, 2021     35-10 Step 1-2 Access Covers and Floor Panels - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Final drilled the plates and deburred. Prepared for priming
 
Dec 30, 2020     28-16 Fwd Fuse Ribs, BHDS & Bottom Skins step 3-4 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection. Removed floor panel to properly check assembly.
 
Dec 29, 2020     33-5 Baggage Area step 1-8 - (6 hours) Category: Fuselage
Primed all the parts in the priming sessions.
Riveted the nutplates to the seat floors panels. Stiffeners already riveted as part of the quickbuild.
Checked quickbuild assembly and riveting.
Riveting of the panels postponed to a later date, after electrical system will be realized.
 
Dec 29, 2020     33-4 Baggage Area step 1-10 - (6 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly and riveting inspection.
Final drilled of flanges and floor panels. Deburred holes. Dimpled holes. Dimpled nutplates rivet holes.
 
Dec 28, 2020     35-2 step 1-4 Access Covers and Floor Panels - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Checked the quick build construction. Everything looks good.

DONT RIVET THE PANELS UNTIL ALL THE ELECTRICAL AND ANTENNAS ARE IN PLACE
 
Dec 28, 2020     33-2 Baggage Area step 1-10 - (7 hours) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection of completed steps.
Matchdrilled Nutplate attachment rivet holes on seat floors and underlying ribs.
Final drill of #19 holes for nutplates.
Cut hinge to size and matchdrilled on seats.
Matchdrilled the hinge on the seat floor panel. Deburred all holes.
Dimpled seat floor and vertical flanges.
Final drilled the #30 holes in common with baggage floors and rib flanges. deburred and scuffed with scotchbrite all parts
 
Dec 13, 2020     19-2 Stall warning system step 7 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
riveted the K1100-06 nutplates to the access hatch doubler
 
Nov 13, 2020     20-5 Bottom wing skin steps 1-9 (RIGHT) - (8 hours) Category: Wings
Prepared J-channel, clecoed skin, final drilled #40 and #19 for the screws. Dimpled all the skins and J-channel. Countersunk the spar using the jigs prepared.
One hole has been ruined and will require an OOPS rivet.
Decided not to implement the step 8 (modification of the lap joint) neither on the left nor on the right wing. risk to ruin is to high compared to benefit. Unclear to me if the lap joint has been modified on the top wing skins.
UPLOAD pictures
 
Nov 10, 2020     20-6 Bottom wing skins step 3 - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
After priming session riveted nutplates to the skins. Three inspection panel per wing.


 
Nov 07, 2020     20-5 Bottom Wing skin step 9 (LEFT) - (4 hours) Category: Wings
Countersinking the rear spar instead of dimpling. Jigs prepared, work is acceptable, only few holes are a bit larger, but should be acceptable.
INSERT PICTURE of DIMPLED and COUNTERSUNK LEFT wing Spar.
 
Nov 03, 2020     19-2 Stall Warning system step 10-14 install nutplates on W-1008 Splice rib - (1 hour) Category: Wings
final drilled holes #40 and #19 in the spice rib. deburred holes. dimpled the holes for the flush rivets both on the rib and on the nutplates. riveted nut places to the rib with the flush rivets indicated.
 
Nov 03, 2020     19-3 Stall Warning system Step 1-5 Stall warning assembly preinstall - (2 hours) Category: Wings
Preassembled stall warning contact, plates with nuts and bolts. Deburred the mount and keeper plates after final drilling
Countersunk for #8 screw and for #4 screw.
Installed the nutplates on the rib after dimpling with "pull rivet" dimples. Riveted with squeezer.

DECISION PENDING: SHALL WE CUT THE SKIN FOR THE VANE AND FINALLY INSTALL OR KEEP ONLY THE ASSEMBLY IN PLACE IN CASE WE DECIDE IN FUTURE TO INSTALL?
 
Nov 03, 2020     19-2 Stall Warning system step 7-13 nutplates final drilling and dimpling - (0.8 hour) Category: Wings
Final drilled all the holes of the hatch and hatch doubler.

DID NOT FINAL DRILL THE SKIN for the Guide holes.
 
Oct 27, 2020     20-5 Bottom Skins step 1-9 LEFT wing - (7 hours) Category: Wings
Fabricated stiffeners, deburred. Installed stiffener overlapping exising inboard stiffener (line at 5/16 on both stiffeners). Flush stiffener on the last rib (checked right angle). Clecoed bottom outboard wing skin overlapping existing bottom inboard wing skin. Final drilled #40 all skin holes and drilled the J stiffener along the line.
Final drilled the holes for the nutplates with @19 drill.
Disassembled all the parts, deburred all the holes and dimpled all the skin and stiffeners holes.
Started dimpling the rear spar, however after brief consultation with Lucio we decided to countersink the rear spar preparing little jigs to avoid countersink pilot to wander and ruin the hole.
 
Oct 24, 2020     19-2 Stall Warning system step 2-6 - (2.5 hours) Category: Wings
Positioned the hatch doubler, match drilled and enlarged the holes with unit, cut the inspection hole and filed all the parts. Dimpled and adjusted to ensure fit. Work done with Lucio.
Pending Priming.
 
Oct 24, 2020     19-2 Stall Warning system Step 1 Remove Fuel Tanks both wings - (2 hours) Category: Wings
Removed both fuel tanks. Problems with some screws as they were too tight. I had to extract 4 on one wing and another 2 on the other.
 
Oct 20, 2020     11-6 Empennage Attach Step 3-4 - (3 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Cut the pushrod to measure. Instnstalled the VA-101 threaded insert and marked for the pull rivet holes.
Drilled holes, deburred edges and holes
Primed the parts.
Reinstalled the threaded insert and riveted in place with MSP-42. Installed rod end bearing MD3626 M with AN 316-6 jam nuts
 
Oct 12, 2020     18-6 fuel tank left and right step 1-6 - (3 hours) Category: Wings
Verification of quick build assembly. Apparently everything looks fine, riveting and tank seal seem to be done according to plan.
However closer inspection during the installation of the fuel floater indicates that the vent lines have not been bent enough to avoid interference with the fuel floater.
 
Oct 12, 2020     18-5 fuel tank left and right step 1-8 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Quick build assembly and riveting according to plan.
 
Oct 12, 2020     18-4 Fuel Tank left and right step 1-9 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Verification of quick build tank construction. Assembly of tank skin, baffles, ribs and zee's. r
 
Oct 12, 2020     18-3 fuel tank left and right step 1-4 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
verified quick build construction of stiffener, fuel cap flange installation and attach bracket assembly.
 
Oct 12, 2020     18-2 Fuel Tank left and right step 1-6 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
verified Quickbuild tank stiffener and zee subassemblies
 
Oct 10, 2020     15-4 Rear Spar Right and Left Wing - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Checked quick build assembly. Structure as per plan. checked countersunk holes where possible. Checked rivet size and everything is within tolerances. SB 16-03-28-2014 installed in both wings. ball bearing on outboard aileron support is a bit stiff, but should be ok.
 
Oct 08, 2020     31-10 Upper Fuselage step 1-4 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Inspection of Quickbuild completed
 
Oct 08, 2020     31-9 Upper Fuselage step 1-3 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Inspection of quickbuild completed
 
Oct 08, 2020     31-8 Upper Fuselage step 1-15 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Inspection of Fuselage Completed. I decided to opt for the standard vernier controls as they provide higher precision in controlling mixture and power. For this reason no need to apply the changes to the standard Quickbuild setup.
 
Oct 08, 2020     31-7 Upper Fuselage step 1-5 Category: Fuselage
Inspection of quickbuild completed
 
Oct 08, 2020     31-6 Upper Fuselage Step 1-4 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Inspection of fuselage completed
 
Oct 08, 2020     31-5 Upper fuselage step 1-3 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
inspection of quickbuild completed
 
Oct 08, 2020     31-4 Upper Fuselage step 1-4 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection completed
 
Oct 08, 2020     31-3 Upper Fuselage steps 1-3 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection completed
 
Oct 08, 2020     31-2 Upper Fuselage steps 1-5 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild inspection. Steps completed
 
Sep 30, 2020     35-9 Step 1-3 Access Covers and Floor Panels - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Verified quickbuild activities. Everything looks good.
 
Sep 28, 2020     20-6 Bottom wing skins step 1 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
final drill holes #28 and #19 for #8 and #6 screws.
 
Decided to install Garmin two axes autopilot, therefore Mounting kit and servos ordered. Installation on RIGHT wing Aileron Bellcrank
Trim Servo to be installed on LEFT Wing Aileron Bellcrank.
AOA and PITOT on LEFT wing. Stall Warning on LEFT wing to be installed but decision to use left to later.
Landing lights, strobe, wig wag are from AVEO Lighting (Ziptips). Wires will be routed through rigid PVC tube with T-Connectors to add Servos wires.
Clecoed Fairings, Final drilled, dimpled and countersunk on the rear spar assembly.
 
Sep 16, 2020     17-4 Outboard Leading Edge Left step 1-5 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Inspection of all the rivets using GoPro. Rivets look fine, ribs flanges are very tightly riveted to skins.

CHECK: Few holes supposed to be left open for Pitot and for Stall warning access Hatch seem to be driven instead of left open.
 
Sep 16, 2020     17-3 Outboard Leading edge Left step 1-14 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
All the steps seem to be ok. Installation of stall warning will be done in section 19
 
Sep 16, 2020     17-2 Outboard Leading Edge Left Step 1-6 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Inspection of stiffeners with go pro looks ok.
 
Sep 16, 2020     16-4 Wing Top Skins Left step 1-4 Category: Wings
Checked rivets and they are regularly slightly over squeezed but within the tolerances.
Outboard aileron hinge is installed, however the bearing seems a bit stiff

CHECK OUTBOARD AILERON BEARING for stiffness
 
Sep 16, 2020     16-3 Wing Top Skins Left Step 1-3 (MISSING NUTPLATES) - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Preassemble of the top inboard skin seems to be done according to plan, with the exception of the installation of the nutplates (all are missing)
 
Sep 16, 2020     15-4 Rear Spar Right Wing Step 1-4 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Inspected with GoPro. Rivets look within tolerances.

PICTURES
 
Sep 16, 2020     15-3 Rear Spar Left Wing Step 1-4 - (0.2 hour) Category: Wings
Doubler installed and riveted according to instructions. rivets within tolerances
 
Sep 16, 2020     15-2 Rear Spar Left Wing step 1-7 - (0.5 hour)       Category: Wings
Assembly of the Inboard Aileron Bracket has been done according to the Service Bulletin SB 16-03-28 using the dedicated kit for RV10 and RV14.

Outboard aileron bracket looks ok, rivets within tolerances

PICTURES from SB HERE



 
Sep 16, 2020     14-6 Wing Ribs Left Wing step 1 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Inspected bolts, nuts and washers using GoPro.
All the longeron nuts are sealed with red lacquer.
to check the bolt heads we need to remove the tanks
CHECK TORQUE?
 
Sep 16, 2020     14-5 Wing Ribs Left Wing step 1-4 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Installation of W-1011 L/R, W-1010R, W-1012L/R looks ok. The AN426 Rivets (2 for each rib) are positioned on the longeron flanges (one on the top and one on the bottom flange). They are not visible because of the tank skin.
The other rivet on the flange has been set when riveting the top/bottom skins. For the bottom outboard skins the rivets are NOT set.
 
Sep 16, 2020     14-4 Wing Ribs Left Wing step 1-2 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Pitot line correctly drilled and bushing installed (ONLY LEFT WING)

Added second line for Garmin Pitot with Angle of Attack. Second line drilled with Lucio. Final drill on the inboard rib pretty difficult, but with a small drill i managed to drill all the holes but one. For this i used 12" drill 5/8. installed plastic bushing for both air lines.

Wire run bushing installed.
 
Sep 16, 2020     14-3 Wing Ribs Left Wing Step 1-8 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Assembly of Flap Hinge Brackets to Inboard and outboard ribs look fine. Rivets within tolerances.
Assembly of torque tube support bracket looks ok.
CHECK Slight Protrusion of forward half of the bracket.
 
Sep 16, 2020     14-2 Wing Ribs Left Wing step 1-10 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
W-1029L torque tube support bracket assembly, W-1010-R hinge rib and wing flap hinge bracket are riveted within tolerances.
W-1025B Flan hinge bracket and W-1011L wing ribs are riveted according to tolerances.

CHECK W-1029L Torque Tube Support Bracket forward half protrudes.
 
Sep 16, 2020     14-2 Wing Ribs Left Wing step 1-10 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
W-1029L torque tube support bracket assembly, W-1010-R hinge rib and wing flap hinge bracket are riveted within tolerances.
W-1025B Flan hinge bracket and W-1011L wing ribs are riveted according to tolerances.

 
Sep 16, 2020     13-5 Main Spar Left Wing step 1 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Hardware seems to be installed correctly.
I final drilled the Aileron Bellcrank Brackets with 1/4 drill bit to remove the powder coating as indicated in the instructions

CHECK TORQUE.

MISSING LACQUER on two nuts on spar.

INSERT PICTURES FROM OUTBOARD BAY TO TANK BAY
 
Sep 16, 2020     13-4 Main Spar Left Wing step 6-11 Missing Step - (0.5 hour)       Category: Wings
Inspected tied down installation, hardware and rivets with GoPro. Installation and rivets look ok.

MISSING STEP: Tie Down has not been tapped.



 
Sep 16, 2020     13-4 Main Spar Right Wing step 6-11 Missing Step - (0.5 hour)       Category: Wings
Inspected tied down installation, hardware and rivets with GoPro. Installation and rivets look ok.

MISSING STEP: Tie Down has not been tapped.

PICTURES OF TIEDOWN BAY HERE


 
Sep 16, 2020     13-3 Main Spar Left wing step 5-8 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Inspected access plate attach nut plates. Screws were too tight an i had to extract 5 screws with the screw extractor, fortunately no need to replace nut place on the left wing
 
Sep 16, 2020     13-3 Main Spar Left wing step 1-4 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Inspected all nutplates installation looks ok, rivets within tolerances based on the pictures taken with GoPro.

 
Sep 15, 2020     17-4 Outboard Leading Edge Right step 1-5 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Inspected the rivets with GoPro, they seem to be in the tolerance. Shop head of the pop rivets is correctly set.
Nut Plates for Tank attachment look ok.

When Checking the tie down hole i discovered that the Tie Down has not been tapped.

GOPRO Pictures HERE
 
Sep 15, 2020     17-2 Outboard Leading Edge Right Step 1-6 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Preparatory work (small wing cradle, deburring of skins, preparation of several ribs to accomodate scaled longeron. Preparation of J-stiffener.
Inspected rivets with GoPro and they seem to be ok
 
Sep 15, 2020     16-4 Wing Top Skins Right step 1-4 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Attachment of the outboard aileron hinge is riveted within the tolerances.
 
Sep 15, 2020     16-3 Wing Top Skins Right Step 1-3 (MISSING NUTPLATES) - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Step 1 ok
Step 2 ok (missing nut plates)
Step 3 MISSING NUTPLATES

Checked rivets, generally slightly over squeezed but only few out of tolerance.

PICTURES from GOPRO
 
Sep 15, 2020     16-2 Wing Top Skins Left and Right 1-6 - (6 hours) Category: Wings
Checked the quick build assembly, occasionally final drilled on missing nutplates. Final drill #19 for the nutplates holes along inboard edge of the inboard wing rib.. Dimipled the aft most screw for #8 screw head.

Machine countersink all the other #8 screw head holes and countersink the AN426 holes for the flush rivets.

Deburring and priming done in the Quickbuild shop look ok.
 
Sep 15, 2020     15-4 Rear Spar Right Wing Step 1-4 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Inspected all the rivets. Slightly oversqueezed but within tolerances. Only one rivet in the second bay looks grossly over squeezed. Check if replacement necessary.

PICTURES
 
Sep 15, 2020     15-3 Rear Spar Right Wing Step 1-4 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Doubler plates riveted according to instructions. Rivets ok. Aileron hole looks ok
 
Sep 15, 2020     15-2 Rear Spar Right Wing step 1-7 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Inboard Aileron Hinge has been built according to SB 15-03-28
Outboard hinge assembled according to instruction plan. Rivets ok Bearings moving freely.
 
Sep 13, 2020     13-4 Main Spar Right Wing step 1-5 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Checked Fuel Tank and Wing Attach nut plate installation.
 
Sep 13, 2020     15-2 Rear Spar SB 16-03-28-1014 - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Inboard Aileron Hinge assembly delivered on QuicnkBuild is different from the construction plans.
The Service Bulletin SB 16-03-28-1014 has been issued because of cracks on the bracket attach rivets and to the flange bends (for RV10 and RV14).
The SB indicates the steps to complete on already installed hinges to remove the parts and to replace with a specific kit, in the case fo RV-10 and RV-14 the Kit is found on the Vans Shop under the number SB 16-03-28-1014.
The rear spar delivered in the Quickbuild already comprehends the change.

Picture Left Wing


 
Sep 13, 2020     14-6 Wing Ribs Right Wing step 1 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Checked nuts and washer along the whole spar.
checked bolts up to the tank. In order to check the rest of the bolts i need to remove the tanks
INSERT PICTURES FROM GOPRO
CHECK TORQUE on all bolts
 
Sep 13, 2020     14-5 Wing Ribs Right Wing step 1-4 - (0.7 hour) Category: Wings
Checked riveting of W-1010, W-1011 and W-1012 to longeron.
Pictures from GOPRO here.
All the rivet look ok, all of them seem light over squeezed.
The AN426 Rivets (2 for each rib) are positioned on the longeron flanges (one on the top and one on the bottom flange). They are not visible because of the tank skin.
The other rivet on the flange has been set when riveting the top/bottom skins. For the bottom outboard skins the rivets are NOT set.
 
Sep 13, 2020     14-4 Wing Ribs Right Wing step 1-2 NOT NECESSARY (Pitot on left wing only) - (0.1 hour) Category: Wings
 
Sep 13, 2020     14-3 Wing Ribs Right Wing Step 1-8 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Ribs W-1011R and W-1012R trimmed according to instructions.
W-1029A torque tube support assembled according to instructions, rivets within tolerances.
CHECK protrusion of W-1029 bracket
 
Sep 13, 2020     14-2 Wing Ribs Right Wing step 1-10 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
W-1029L torque tube support bracket assembly, W-1010-R hinge rib and wing flap hinge bracket are riveted within tolerances.
W-1025B Flan hinge bracket and W-1011L wing ribs are riveted according to tolerances.
CHECK W-1029L Torque Tube Support Bracket forward half protrudes.
PICTURE from GOPRO Here.
 
Sep 13, 2020     13-5 Main Spar Right Wing step 1 - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Hardware seems to be installed correctly.
I final drilled the Aileron Bellcrank Brackets with 1/4 drill bit to remove the powder coating as indicated in the instructions

CHECK TORQUE.

MISSING LACQUER on two nuts on spar.

INSERT PICTURES FROM OUTBOARD BAY TO TANK BAY
 
Sep 13, 2020     13-4 Main Spar Right Wing step 6-11 Missing Step - (0.5 hour) Category: Wings
Tie down inspected with camera. Rivet and nutplates are ok.
Tie down rivets are ok, two squeezed lightly over tolerance.

 
Sep 13, 2020     13-3 Main Spar Right wing step 5-8 - (1 hour) Category: Wings
verified nut plates, replaced one nut plate due to broken screw. rivets look fine on all nut plates.
 
Sep 13, 2020     13-3 Main Spar Right wing step 1-4 Category: Wings
All the spar nut plates are correct type and rivets look ok.
The screws on the access plates on both wings were too tight. I had to use a screw extractor on 8 screws. In one case i had to drill out the nut plate as well as the screw broke and it was impossible to further extract the screw. Replaced nut plate.
 
Sep 13, 2020     13-2 Main Spar Right and Left Wing step 5-8 TO BE VERIFIED - (1 hour) Category: Wings
NEED TO REMOVE TANKS TO INSPECT STIFFENERS
 
Sep 13, 2020     13-2 Main Spar Right Wing Main Spar step 1-4 - (0.5 hour)       Category: Wings
W-1006L main spar extension correctly positioned. W-1006F spar splice plates correctly positioned, no smileys on rivet heads or structure. Shop head within tolerance.


 
Sep 12, 2020     Build Wing Cradle - (6 hours) Category: Tools
Build of wings cradle on castor wheels. Used available material. Result is very satisfactory, stable and sturdy. Wings are surprisingly light....my glider's wings are much heavier.
 
Sep 11, 2020     Quickbuild inventory continued - (8 hours) Category: Fuselage
 
Sep 09, 2020     Quickbuild Wings and fuselage Inventory - (8 hours) Category: Fuselage
inventori of all the parts delivered in the quick build kit. Preliminary inspection for evident damage. Nothing found.
 
Sep 04, 2020     Garage Ceiling Hoist - (6 hours) Category: Workshop
Installed a garage hoist lift bolted to the ceiling to hold the fiberglass canopy.
 
Jul 06, 2020     9-17 Elevator step 4-6 final drill, dimple and countersink - (3 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Elevator Trim part preparation
final drilled horns, spars and skins. dimpled the part for flush rivets
Countersunk spar.
Terrible result on the second spar with the cage wandering and making oval holes. Replacement ordered. Countersinking needs to be done by hand i don't trust the countersink cage anymore.
 
Jul 04, 2020     9-16 Elevator step 1-2 skin bend around spar - (1 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
bending skin around elevator trim spar to 15°


 
Jul 04, 2020     9-16 Elevator Step 3-5 Bend skins and trim tabs - (3 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Prepared a little tool to bend the trailing edge as suggested in section 5. Performed the trailing edge bend together with Lucio.
Bending the skin tabs was a bit more difficult and the result has not been 100% satisfactory. I ordered spare skins to rebuild the trim tabs even after some gentle suasion the skins adapted to a more acceptable shape.


 
Jul 04, 2020     9-16 Elevator step 1-2 make clamping blocks and tab ribs - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Cut 6 clamping blocks out of wood as per dimensions indicated
Make the trim tab ribs from the PVC foam blocks. sanded smoothly.
 
Jun 20, 2020     11-8 Empennage Attach step 2 Fabricate Trim cable anchor brackets - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Marco Biagi to fabricate the anchor brackets according to drawing. Primed.
 
Jun 16, 2020     10-21 Tailcone step 1-3 - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
riveted nutplates to bell crank rib angles. Riveted the angles to the Bellcrank Ribs. Riveted the Bellcrank ribs to the skin.
AVOIDED riveting to the F-1006 bulkhead.


 
Jun 14, 2020     10-20 Tailcone step 6 rivet skins to F-1012 - (0.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Quickly completed riveting with the squeezer on the last bulkhead F-1012


 
Jun 13, 2020     10-20 step 7 rivet rudder stop stiffeners - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
riveted the rudder stop stiffeners to the F-1073 side skins


 
Jun 13, 2020     10-20 TAILCONE Step 2-5 Rivet Skins to stiffeners and bulkheads - (7 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Teamwork with Lucio and Marco. Very fast progress having one guy at the bucking bar, one at the rivet gun and one feeding the right rivets and removing clecos.
really fast and accurate (thanks to Lucio's magic bucking bar skills)....nothing compared to the pain to rivet alone the horizontal stabilizer.


 
Jun 11, 2020     10-21 TAILCONE step 1-3 rivet bell crank ribs - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Prepared the bell crank rib assembly riveting the nrutplates to the F-1037 B&C rib angles.
Riveted the angles to the F-F0129 L&R.
Riveted the two Bellcrank ribs assembly to the bottom skin and to the F-1007 Bulkhead.
Clecoed to F-1006 but not riveted as per instructions


 
Jun 11, 2020     10-20 Tailcone step 2 (rivet bottom skin) - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Riveted stiffeners to bottom skins and riveted the bulkhead to the bottom skin. Thanks to Lucio's help with the magic bucking bar.


 
Jun 06, 2020     10-20 TAILCONE step 1-2 - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Assembly of the tailcone in preparation of the final riveting. We found some challenges identifying the right stiffeners as the marking disappeared during the priming session, but at the end we put everything in its place. It took some time to reassembly the whole tailcone as we double-checked every single thing.
We started then step 2 and the progress has been very fast. Working together with Marco and Lucio has been very efficient, as each one could focus on a single task. Nevertheless step 2 will take some additional sessions as there are really a lot of rivets and as we proceed we will have to crawl into the tailcone and as we are all pretty big guys it will not be so easy....


 
Jun 06, 2020     9-15 Elevator step 1-6 - (4 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Double flush riveting of the trailing edge has been easy, as both trailing edges were straight. Unfortunately i made one little dent in one of the skin, but it is nothing major.

rolling the leading edge has been a bit more muscular....We used a 1"" aluminum pipe and we rolled one section at the time, but still rolling the edge with four hands has been quite an effort.
The result is almost perfect and i cannot complain. Again working as a team and having an expert builder on your side is really making the difference.


 
Jun 04, 2020     10-19 TAILCONE step 2-7 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Assembled the F-1010 Bulkhead. Started putting all the manufactured heads on the same side, however i remembered the recommendation to put the manufactured head always on the thinner aluminum sheet, therefore i drilled out 6 rivets on the F-1011C-R and reverted the rivets in order to make sure the manufactured head is placed on the thinner side. Aesthetically it doesn't look pretty, but if these are the recommendations, i follow them.


 
Jun 02, 2020     10-18 TAILCONE Step 2-3 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Assembly F-1011 bulkhead with F-1011A stiffener, F-1011C stabilizer attachment bars and F-1011E rudder cable angle.
Attached the nut plates to the Rudder Cable Angle F-1011E


 
Jun 01, 2020     9-14 ELEVATOR step 7-11 Trailing edge assembly and seal - (4 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Preparation of the foam ribs.

Setup for the trailing edge sealing:
Matchdrilled an aluminum angle and an aluminum bar for both trailing edges. Putting the trailing edge between the aluminium angle and the aluminum bar and using clecos in all holes keeps the trailing edge straight avoiding putting weights on the structure. Important to correctly position the aluminum angle so that the trailing edge is in contact with the inside of the aluminum angle. The aluminum bar is then checked on top keeping the two skins ""sandwiched"" and with constant pressure.

Applying the sealant with the syringe is pretty straight forward, you need only to pay attention to avoid touching too many things with the dirty gloves or tools....acetone cleans up the sealant pretty well.

After sealant is cured removing the angle and the bar is pretty tough as the sealant excess bonds the aluminum, however using a long blade and some patience and strong pulling it is relatively to separate the whole assembly

Thanks Lucio for the suggestion....

Cleaned all the holes and removed the excess with some acetone
Trailing edge look extremely straight


 
May 30, 2020     10-16 TAILCONE Step 2CHECK WITH LUCIO cover plate dimples - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
check with lucio on the coverplate holes and dimple size. Using the #6 screw they seem to fit well, however i have some doubts as in one place the instruction indicates #6 screw and later #8 (later in the fairing section 12-6) with different final drill #36 ....
Why using a #6 dimple which requires a #26 hole for #8 screws and #36 hole

Decided to redo the two cover plates....task assigned to Marco who is eager to work with aluminum sheets to replicate the cover plates


 
May 28, 2020     10-18 TAILCONE step 1 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Assembled F-1012 A&B bulkheads to tie down bar and rudder stop brace with flush rivets.


 
May 26, 2020     10-17 TAILCONE step 5-6 Battery mount assembly - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
assembled the battery mount with rivets and nut plates.
squeezed all rivets, needed to drill out two, in general satisfied with the result.


 
May 23, 2020     9-14 ELEVATOR step 1-6 - (3 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Closed the Elevator skins, riveting gusset to root rib and counterbalance rib assembly to main structure.
no specific issues found.


 
May 23, 2020     9-13 Elevator step 1-3 front spar riveting - (3 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Final inspection with Lucio on the work done. Lucio confirmed work was done well. I reported the error we made together riveting one elevator horn upside down.....He almost fainted and when i explained that i drilled out the rivets and riveted together the horn alone he wanted to check the result....As one rivet didn't look perfect we drilled it out and replaced, however the result didn't improve significantly. We resolved to keep it as it was.


 
May 23, 2020     7-12 Rudder step 1-5 - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Final drilled all the parts for correct counterweight positioning.
riveted counterbalance rib to skins.
I removed few pop rivets that didn't look good and replaced them with new one. Cause of the badly looking manufactured head was a defective pop rivet puller that was promptly thrown to the waste bin.
Inserted last rivet on root rib skin thanks to Lucio's magic homemade bucking bar. This was also done on the left skin, avoiding the use of a pop-rivet.
Rudder is finally complete, after having completely scrapped the first attempt....The old rudder is still there as a practice sandbox to test difficult tasks like drilling out rivets and similar activities i need to practice.


 
May 23, 2020     7-11 Rudder Step 1-6 trailing edge back riveting - leading edge roll - (5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
after several weeks after applying the tank sealant to the trailing edge i removed the clecos, cleaned all the excess and cleaned the holes for the rivets.
With help of Lucio i backriveted the trailing edge obtaining a very straight edge with a limited bulge to an excess of sealant i didn't squeeze away properly. In general the result is very good.
After that we prepared the rolling of the leading edge making sure the rudder was laying flat and using a 1"" aluminium pipe. We didn't bend the edges as suggested, however the result is very good.
Final activities were dedicated to the counterbalance weight positioning, match drilling and final bending of the skins. We resolved to avoid placing a rivet in the middle of the two screws and placing instead a screw with the corresponding K-1000-08 nut plate.
 
May 22, 2020     8-13 step 6-7 HS check rivets and complete HS - (3 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
After COVID restriction have been lifted i had finally the possibility to have Lucio inspecting the work done alone.
On the Horizontal stabilizer Lucio found only a 20-30 rivet that required a bit of rework and only 5-6 that he decided to drill out as the manufacturing head was protruding a bit.
Closing the Horizontal stabilizer with the pop riveter was a very easy task
 
May 20, 2020     PRIMING session Tailcon Skins and parts - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
priming session with Lucio at Mario's Shop.
cleaned all the parts with acetone, two hands of priming by a professional with professional equipment make really a difference....


 
May 02, 2020     TAILCONE parts preparation for priming - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
scuffing the skins and the bulkheads in preparation for the priming session. Used maroon scotchbrite and a small electric sander
 
May 01, 2020     TAILCONE parts preparation for priming - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
preparation of skins, stiffeners and longerons for the priming. Used maroon scotchbrite to scuff all the parts
 
Apr 27, 2020     10-15 step 2 TAILCONE Countersink Longerons - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Checked depth of the countersink using scrap skin with @40 dimples.
adiusted CSK cage 8 clicks more than flush.
Countersunk the two longerons after clamping to the table.
in two occasion the csk stop didnt work properly resulting in a sligthly enlarged countersink. Reason is the stop-nut becoming loose with vibration.


 
Apr 26, 2020     10-16 step 4 TAILCONE mark NO dimple holes and Dimple bulkheads - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Marked the indicated holes in stiffeners and bulkheads.
Deburred some holes
dimpled bulkheads with #40 dimple die.
 
Apr 26, 2020     10-16 step 5 TAILCONE dimple F-1047 stiffeners - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
dimpled all the stiffeners.


 
Apr 25, 2020     10-16 step 3 TAILCONE dimple skins - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Continued dimpling skins (bottom and side skin)
Error on a dimple with cracked skin. Need to drill #30 and use an OOPs rivet.
CHECK WITH LUCIO.


 
Apr 24, 2020     10-16 step 3 TAILCONE dimple skins - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
marked all the holes NOT to be dimpled ( fairing holes, F-1006 Bulkeadh holes, triangular portion, center holes of the fariing attachment nutplates on skin and central stiffener
Started dimpling upper skins


 
Apr 24, 2020     10-16 step 3 TAILCONE dimple skins - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
dimpling side skins


 
Apr 24, 2020     10-16 step 2-3 TAILCONE Dimple F-824B cover plates for #6 screws - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
dimpled the coverplates F-824B for #6 screws....I first drilled with #28 drill bit. .Not sure i used the right dimple die (cross checked with the other cover plates used in elevator and the hole seems bigger). have a check with Lucio. One thing i dont understand is that the screw to be used is a #8 (later in the fairing section 12-6) with different final drill #36 ....


 
Apr 23, 2020     10-5 step 6 TAILCONE Eyebolt hole - (0.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Stepdrilled the hole on the tailcone skin to accomodate eyebolt.


 
Apr 23, 2020     10-15 step 7 TAILCONE dimple F-1012A&B, F-1014 - (0.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
dimpled the bulkhead #40 holes and #30 holes in F-1012B and F-1012A. Dimpled also ghr F-1014 attachment to the F-1012A and the F-1012A attachment flange.


 
Apr 23, 2020     10-15 step 8-9 TAILCONE countersink rudder stop and dimple rudder - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Countersunk F-1012E tiedown bar #30 holes. countersunk #40 holes in the rudderstop brace

dimpled the six #40 holes in the flanges of the F-1055 stiffeners


 
Apr 22, 2020     10-15 step 4 TAILCONE Deburr edges and skins - (2.5 hours) Category: Fuselage
final deburring session for holes and edges of all the tailcone parts
 
Apr 21, 2020     10-15 step 4 TAILCONE deburr holes and edges - (3.5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Another session of deburring edges and holes of the tailcone parts and skins
 
Apr 20, 2020     TAILCONE Deburr edges and skins - (2.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Continued deburring edges and holes of the tailcone parts


 
Apr 19, 2020     10-15 step 5 TAILCONE dimple F-1006 - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Dimpled the attachment holes for F-1006D to F-1006A and F-1006C
Dimpled the holes for the F-1028 bulkead attachment to F-1006D bulkhead.
 
Apr 19, 2020     10-15 step 4 TAILCONE Deburr holes and edges - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Continued deburring holes on skin and parts.
Deburred edges of side skins
 
Apr 18, 2020     10-15 step 4 TAILCONE deburr holes and edges - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Deburr holes and edges of the different parts
 
Apr 18, 2020     TAILCONE F-1074 Stiffener wrongly positioned - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
one of the F.1074 Stiffener was wrongly positioned during match drilling, therefore the the first hole on the hidden end was too too close to the edge.
As this was discovered after completely disassmembling the tailcone it was not possible to matchdrill again.
Therefore i used the wrong stiffener to matchdrill another one after cutting longer. In some areas the holes seem to be too close to the the siffener flange and we will need to check if after the priming the stiffener will fit.
 
Apr 14, 2020     10-11 step 3-5 TAILCONE Stiffener F-1047G L&R replacement - (1.5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Replaced wronggly cut F-1047 stiffener.
Received the replacement few days ago. Cut to measure the F-1047G Left. Positioned and matchdrilled.
Measured again the F.-1047G right side and noticed that the aft hole was too close to the edge.
Cut another J-channel to measure, replaced the stiffener and matchdrilled.
 
Apr 11, 2020     9-12 Step 6 ELEVATOR blind rivet ribs halves - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
riveted both elevators using the LP4-3 blind rivets in all the locations indicated.


 
Apr 11, 2020     9-12 step 4 ELEVATOR Rivet second skin - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Positioned skins in order to have correct nesting of E-1008B into E-1008A.
Clecoed all the ribs halves and the skin to the spar.
Riveted using the procedure indicated with the long bucking bar resting on the work bench edge.
Riveting the bottom left elevator has been fairly easy with no damage to skin and to spar.
Unfortunately for the top right elevator i got two little skin damages. in one case i had to drill out the rivet and replace. the rest worked ok.
Top skin of the left and right elevator in the trim cut-out area are NOT riveted as this will happen when the trim hinges will be positioned.


 
Apr 10, 2020     7-10 Step 3-6 RUDDER rivet bottom rib, spar and counterbalance rib - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
riverted striker to spar and horn (one rivet wrongly set, removed fairly easily after punching our mandrel),
riveted the skins to the spar, riveted the counterbalance rib and the top rib
Marked holes NOT to be riveted until counterbalance is in position.
STOPPED HERE WAITING FOR LUCIO BEFORE PROCEEDING ON THE COUNTERBALANCE.


 
Apr 09, 2020     7-10 step 2 RUDDER cleco front spar to shear clips - (0.5 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
clecoed front spar to shears clips.
Primed the wto R-1007 stiker plates with Tempo Can Primer after cleaning and scuffing.


 
Apr 08, 2020     7-10 step 1 RUDDER clean tank seals on trailing edge holes - (1.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
cleaned tank sealant droplets on skin using acetone.
used deburring tool and a #40 drill to clean the holes.
Checked for alignement and it seems pretty straight with only two slight bulges at the top of the elevator.
 
Apr 07, 2020     9-9 step 8 ELEVATOR Scuffing for foam inserts - (1 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
Necessary to mask the position of the foam insert and to remove the primer and to scuff the aluminimu surface for best adherence of the tank sealant


 
Apr 07, 2020     9-12 step 1-2 ELEVATOR rivet skin to spars - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
riveted the rear spar to the skin using the pneumatic squeezer on the trim cut out (AVOIDING THE TOP SIDE BECAUSE OF THE TRIM HINGE...marked with RED Tape)


 
Mar 31, 2020     8-13 Step 4-5 Rivet skins to stringers - (3 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Riveted stringer to skins, drilled out a couple of rivets. I found pretty difficult to achieve consistent result in the riveting due to the narrow space in the different location at the stringer position. the outer areas were easier to do, but riveting alone has not been an easy task and i had to drill out few rivets.
i resolved to wait before closing completely the structure in order to have the opportunity to cross check with Lucio the quality of the work.


 
Mar 30, 2020     8-13 Step 2-3 HS Rivet skin to ribs and stringers - (8 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
rivet skin to inboard ribs HS1004 up to the stringers on left and right, top and bottom skins
riveted ribs to the skin


 
Mar 29, 2020     9-11 step 3-6 ELEVATOR Rivet E-1008 B Halves to spar on both sides - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Riveted with squeezer the rear spar to the E-1008B halve on the right elevator (bottom skin) together with Lucio. Riveted the shear clips in the right position

Riveted with the squeezer the rear spart to E-1008B halves on the left elevator (TOP Skin).
One rivet on shear clip not good. Drilled out with some difficulties. slightly enlarged hole. Riveted with bucking bar with better result.
RIveted shear clips and gussets to spar


 
Mar 28, 2020     10-17 TAILCONE step 4 Bellcrank Assembly - (0.5 hour) Category: Fuselage
Assembled F-635 bellcrank assembly
used rivet squeezer to assemble the bellcranl
 
Mar 25, 2020     7-9 step 2-8 RUDDER Tank Sealant and Rudder Blind riveting - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
apply tank sealant on trailing edge. Help from Riccardo to hold skin and position correctly
Position the right and left skins in a way that the stiffeners nest appropriately (left stiffener aft end on top of the right stiffener and both forward end below the shear clip).
Use blind rivets LP4-3 and cleco as we go.
First rivet wrongly set, however easy to remove and replace (mandrel knocked out before drilling).


 
Mar 17, 2020     10-15 step 2 TAILCONE Disassemble the Tailcone - (3 hours) Category: Fuselage
Completely disassembled the tailcone.
Found F-1047 X Stiffener (bottom skin central stiffener -G-) with bad hole at the hidden end as it was not correctly positioned.
Prepared new stiffener from J.Channel, matchdrilled using the wrong stiffener
 
Mar 17, 2020     8-13 step 1-2 HS Rivet skins to front spar web - (5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Riveted with flush rivet set all the nose ribs to the skin using flush rivets.
Need to drill out a couple of rivets, but in general fairly satisfied with the result
Just a couple of rivets are not perfect, however i dont risk drilling them out and create a larger hole (i had to use a couple of oops-rivets).
Riveted the skin to the front spar started from the inside and moving outside.
A little bit difficult to drive some of the rivets, some scratching on the spar primer, but apparently not a big deal.
There is a small gap between the spar flange and the skin and in some places a back light filters through.
Problem highlighted by Lucio and i asked VANS technical support for advice.
Response came very quickly from Gay Kayser indicating that the possible reason is too shallow countersinking (0.002 in, that is two clicks on the countersink cage), however Gary confirmed that this is not an issue and that it is not a big deal.
********************* Email from Gary Keyser****************************************
Il giorno 18 mar 2020, alle ore 15:33, Gary Keyser ha scritto:
Paolo
So this is on the leading edge of the outer wing skin? If so do not worry about it and move on.
Ciao
Gary
********************


 
Mar 16, 2020     8-13 step 1 HS Rivet inspar ribs - (0.5 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
riveted inspar ribs HS-904 with LP4-3 pull rivet.


 
Mar 15, 2020     8-12 step 1-2 HS Skin on cradles and cleo structure rivet front ribs - (4 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
positioned skins in the cradles. clecoed all front ribs to the skins.
started riveting with flush rivets.
Using the rivet swivel set didnt really help setting good rivets. I had to drill out a couple.
Changed to flush-rivet set and it worked better, although i pushed a bit too hard in two spots (skin is slightly deformed around a couple of rivets, but no major dents.
Rivets on the Inspar ribs (AN470AD4-7 and 8) are not very well set. little marring due to the squeezer.
Drilled out a bad rivet with angle drill (not easy to access) and replaced with slightly better results.
CHECK WITH LUCIO on the RIVETS on HS-905 Inspar Nose RIBS.


 
Mar 14, 2020     8-11 Step 1-3 HS Riveting Inspar ribs - (1.5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
assembled inspar ribs to Stringer web assembly.
Rivet inspar ribs to the structure using pneumatic squeezer
inserted snap busing into 5/8"" holes
Manufactured Head of rivets OUTSIDE in order to have easier drill-out option in necessary as indicated in MIL-R-47196A(MI) (3.3.3.1 Head direction. Unless specified on the engineering drawing or specification, the manufactured head of the rivet shall be located on exterior surfaces.)


 
Mar 12, 2020     8-10 Step 1-2 HS Rivet Stringer and Stringer web assembly - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Preassembled the HS-1004 ribs, the HS-1016 stringer web and the two HS-1014 and HS-1015 stringers.
Riveted all componens with AN470AD4-4/5 rivets using pneumatic squeezer


 
Mar 12, 2020     8-2 step 6 HS Rivet HS-912 Hinge Brackets - (0.7 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Final drilled all Hinge Brackets with #30 drill bit.
Countersunk holes as indicated in order to rivet with AN4264-6 and to accomodate the bearing assembly.
 
Mar 12, 2020     8-2 step 5 HS Rivet HS-906 doubler to rear spar - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Rivet HS-906 doubler to HS rear spar using An4704-6 rivets.
Used pneumatic squeezer with good results
 
Mar 12, 2020     8-6 step 1-2 HS rivet HS doubler, Front Spar and brackets - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Preassembled front spar with HS-1002 with front spar caps HS-10013 and front spar attachment brackets HS-1008 L&R.
Rivetd with different types of rivet depending on thickness of material. Final drilled few holes to #30.
All the rivet have been set using the pneumatic squeezer with very good results.


 
Mar 12, 2020     8-3 Step 2 HS Bolt Hinge Bracket assembly to rear spar - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Consulted torque table on section V (page 5-20)
Determined the friction drag torque on the nyloc nut around 5-6 Inch/pounds
Added the 6In/lbs to the self locking nut torwue value (28 in/lbs) and final torqued at 34 in/lbs.
CHECK IF VALUES ARE CORRECT WITH LUCIO. POSSIBLE SLIGHT OVERTORQUE BECAUSE OF USING THE SELFLOCKING TORQUE VALUES INSTEAD OF THE NORMAL AN365 (20-25 in/lbs).
 
Mar 11, 2020     7-7 step 3-4 RUDDER rivet reinforcement plates to spar - (0.5 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
Rivet R-608PPand R-607PP reinforcement plates to R-1002


 
Mar 11, 2020     7-9 step 1 RUDDER rivet R-1010 shear clip to stiffeners - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Rivet R-1010 Shear clips to stiffeners using LP4-3 bling rivet
 
Mar 11, 2020     7-8 step 1-2 RUDDER back rivet top and bottom rib - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Back rivet top rib R-1003A and R-1003B to both skins.
Back rivet R-1004 Bottom rib assembly to right skin
 
Mar 10, 2020     7-7 step 5 RUDDER back rivet stiffener to skin - (2.5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
As the first Rudder didn't meet my expectation, here the rebuild of the rudder with brand new parts and professional priming.
Back rivet all stiffeners R-1015 to R-1001


 
Mar 07, 2020     10-14 step 1-2 TAILCONE Shoulder harness anchors - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Deburred Anchors, positioned and final drilled holes


 
Mar 07, 2020     10-15 step 1 TAILCONE remove triangle in right side skin - (0.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Removed triangle on right side skin


 
Mar 07, 2020     10-13 step 3-8 TAILCONE Aft deck drilling - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
After checking alignement and position of all parts we positioned the clamps to keep the aft deck in position we we started drilling F-1010A HS attachment angle and the top side of the longerons. Clecoing as we proceed.
Marchdrilling all the other pars (stop, doublers),
Matchdrilled the #12 holes in the longerons.


 
Mar 07, 2020     9-10 step 2-7 ELEVATOR tips riveting and spar doubler riveting - (4 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Assembled and riveted Tip ribs with counterbalance skins.
Lucio teaching riveting with the squeezer and with the rivet gun.
Riveted all the Hinge Reinforcement plate on the Elevator front spar and all the nutplates.
Riveted the Elevator Horns tot eh Spar and Inboard ribs


 
Mar 07, 2020     9-11 step 1-2 ELEVATOR rived reinforcement horns and root ribs - (4 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Backriveting of the reinforcement plates to the elevator bottom skins. Lucio teaching and supervising. Marco preparing parts and positioning during back riveting
Backriveting of all the ribs halves to the skins
Lucio took care of riveting the E-1007 rear spar (only one side and only up to the trim section-
Further work pending to complete step 3


 
Mar 07, 2020     9-9 step 7 Elevator bend skin edge Category: Tail Feathers
My previous attempts to slightly bend the skin edges as indicated resulted in a poor result. My rolling edge bending tool doesnt seem to be an easy tool to work with resulting in weavy skins. After some consultation with Lucio I accepted his suggestion to skip this step as the risk to create a ondulated skin seems to high compared to the benefits.
 
Mar 03, 2020     10-13 step 1-2 TAILCONE fabricate stabilizer support and elevator stop - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Fabricated F-1011D attachment bar support angle and F-1012D Up Elevator Stop.
Unfortaunately the ELevator stop is not correct as the angle used is not the right one.
Lucio will bring a new angle while waiting for Vans to send parts.


 
Feb 29, 2020     10-12 step 1-9 TAILCONE position top skins and match drill - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Position and cleco the top skins to the structure. Cleco as much as possible.
Insert stiffeners and position according to instruction.
Matchdrill all the holes into the bulkheads (EXECP F-1006) and the stiffeners F-1047A and F-1047L&R
 
Feb 29, 2020     10-11 step 3-5 TAILCONE match drill skins into stiffeners - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
FInal drill with #40 bit all the skin prepunched holes into stiffeners and bulkheads (EXCEPT F-1006).


 
Feb 20, 2020     PRIMING Vertical and Horizontal Stabilizers, Rudder and Elevators - (10 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Cleaning with Acetone all the parts
Primed with AKZO Nobel Aeronautical Primer with specialized assistance.
I got the support from a friend who provided the necessary specialized assistance and the equipment.


 
Feb 17, 2020     PRIMING SESSION Surface preparation 2nd round - (8 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Scotchbrite and sanding of all the parts for
Elevator
Vertical Stabilizer
Horizontal Stabilizer
Rudder
 
Feb 16, 2020     EMPENNAGE PRIMING PREPARATION - (9 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Scotchbrite and sanding of all the parts for
Elevator
Vertical Stabilizer,
Horizontal Stabilizer
Rudder
 
Feb 15, 2020     10-11 step 1-2 TAILCONE Matchdrill longerons - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Accurately match drill longerons and clecoing as we proceed. Alignement check each hole.Holes need to be square to the longerons.


 
Feb 15, 2020     10-10 step 4-6 TAILCONE checking aft deck - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Positioning all parts of the Aft Deck and clecoing in place.
Checking alignement of the parts.
Check longerons and notches for tight fit.
cleco aft deck F-1014 and doubler F1011B to bulkhead F-1011 and F-1012A&B assembly.


 
Feb 08, 2020     10-7 step 7 TAILCONE Matchdrill stiffeners - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
After aligning the stiffeners to the reference marks i matchdrilled the stiffeners under Lucio's supervision.
 
Feb 08, 2020     10-10 Step 3 TAILCONE make F-1010B spacer - (0.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Cutting to measure and fabricate the spacer


 
Feb 08, 2020     10-9 step 4-5 TAILCONE Final drill bellcrank angles - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Final drill 3/32"" nutplate rivet holes and the nutplate with #12 drill. countersink the nutplate rivets


 
Feb 08, 2020     10-8 step 1-7 TAILCONE F-1012 AB Assembly - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Assembled and clecoed all the part of the tail.
Matchdrilled F-1047C-D-E both on the right and the left side carefully checking alignemnt on each hole.
Positioned Stiffeners F-1055L&R, matchdrilled.
Fabricated rudder stop brace (Lucio)
Together with Lucio we checked allignement and level of the tailcone with extremely good results.
Rudder Stop Brace matchdrilled AFTER Checking that the tailcone is not twisted (previous step).
Cross check after matchdrilling confirms alignement is good.


 
Feb 08, 2020     10-9 step 1-2 TAILCONE Bellcrank ribs match drilling - (0.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Assembly of the F-1006 Bulkhead to the left and right skins and to the bellcrank ribs.Final drill all holes with #30 drill bit.


 
Feb 08, 2020     10-10 step 1-2 TAILCONE Bellcrank angle drilling - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Positioning bellcrank angles F-1037 C and B, Final drilling with #30 bit.


 
 
Feb 07, 2020     10-7 step 1-6 TAILCONE preassembly Tailcone - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
With the help of Chiara and Riccardo we preassembled the tailcone bottom skin with the stiffeners aligning according to instruction.
We also clecoed the side skins to the bulkhead and to the stiffeners.


 
Feb 04, 2020     10-5 step 1 TAILCONE F1006ABCD deburr and drill - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
deburred all the parts for the F-1006 Bulkhead.


 
Feb 04, 2020     10-3 step 4-5 TAILCONE deburr and final drill F-1007 - (2 hours) Category: Fuselage
Deburred all the parts for F-1007L&R, final drilled 5/8"" on both sides.
 
Feb 01, 2020     10-6 step 1-3 TAILCONE Preparation and bending - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Cut to length the two longerons. Drilled two 1/4"" holes and removed area to create the notches for the Horizontal Stabilizer attachment bars.
Lucio helped a lot bending the longhorns


 
Feb 01, 2020     10-3 step 1 TAILCONE HS attachment bar - (0.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Lucio verified the tolerance of the HS Attachement bar and suggested to straigthen the parts a bit more.


 
Feb 01, 2020     9-8 step 2-3 ELEVATOR Countersink and dimple E-1007 Spar - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Due to a mistake the E-1007 spars presented visible ondulation (waves). Decided to reorder and to replace both E-1007.
Angle check together with Lucio and countersinking of all the necessary holes.
Dimpling according to indication.
 
Feb 01, 2020     9-9 step 1 ELEVATOR check angle front/rear spars - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
due to the dimpling of the new E-1007 elevator spars the plan requires an angle check and small adjustments if necessary.
No adjustments necessary and the requested angles have been checked.
 
Jan 31, 2020     9-5 step 1-4 ELEVATOR reassembly everything with Lucio crosschecking everything - (3 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Reassembled all the Elevators parts together with Lucio in order to check everything.
Disassembled and marked all the parts for priming
 
Jan 19, 2020     10-4 step 3 TAILCONE 1008 Bulkhead deburr and preassemble - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Deburr and preassembly of F-1008 Bulkhead and F-1085 rudder cable bracket, matchdrilled with #30 bit


 
Jan 18, 2020     10-4 step 4-5 TAILCONE 1010 Bulkhead preassembly - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Trim F-1010A to size, clamped into position and matchdrilled 13 holes with #30 bit.
Final drilling of Bulkhead doublers


 
Jan 18, 2020     10-5 step 2-3 TAILCONE Stiffeners Fabrication - (4 hours) Category: Fuselage
Cut J-channels to size according to drawings.
prepared F-1047 A-G.
Deburred all parts
Trimmed the ends of all F1047 Stiffeners according to drawing.

ERROR on F1047F one of the stiffener is not trimmed as requested. CHECK with LUCIO on preassembly
 
Jan 18, 2020     10-4 step 1-2 TAILCONE HS attachment angle fabrication - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
cut and trim the Horizontal Stabilizer Attachment Angle.
Separate and deburr F1010C Bulkhead dublers


 
Jan 18, 2020     10-3 Step 2-3 TAILCONE F1011 Bulkhead preassembly       Category: Fuselage
Position and clamp F1011A, F1011E, F1011C on the F1011 Bulkhead and matchdrill with #30.
Drill and cleco all the parts.
Drill two holes to 5/8"" as indicate in drawings.
Position and final drill F1011E


 
Jan 18, 2020     10-4 step 3 TAILCONE deburring F-1010 Bulkhead - (0.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
deburring and finishing F1010


 
Jan 16, 2020     10-2 step 4-6 TAILCONE Fabricate rudder cable angle - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
cut and trim rudder cable angle. Dril #12 for nut plates.
Matchdrill nutplate rivet holes and countersink for the flush rivets 3/32.
Cut and trimmed F1011A bulkhead stiffener from a 6 foot J Channel


 
Jan 16, 2020     10-2 step 2-3 TAILCONE Bulkhead 1010 preassemble - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Prepare F1012A and F1012 B. Clamp tie down assembly in position.
matchdril #30 and 3/16"" as indicated.


 
Jan 11, 2020     10-2 step 1 TAILCONE Tie down trim and tap 3/8 16 - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Trimmed the tie down bar, tapped with 3/8"" tap 16 and 1 1/4 deep.


 
Jan 11, 2020     9-9 Step 4-5 ELEVATOR dimple tip ribs assembly - (2.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
dimpled ribs flanges and both ribs of each side with #30 die and flanges with #40 die
 
Jan 11, 2020     9-8 step 4 ELEVATOR dimple flange on root ribs - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
dimpled the root ribs and the webs of the elevator ribs
 
Jan 06, 2020     9-7 step 9 ELEVATOR Dimple skins - (3 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
dimpled all the skins and the relevant ribs for 3/32 rivets
 
Jan 06, 2020     9-8 step 1-3 ELEVATOR dimple and countersink parts - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Countersink front spars both sides for 3/32 skin dimples.
Dimpled rear spars for 3/32 skin dimples.
countersink inboard holes on TOP flange of the rear spars, dimple the rest.
dimple also three holes in front spars and two holes in rear spars for the inboard ribs (3/32 rivets).
 
Jan 06, 2020     9-7 Step 8 ELEVATOR deburr holes and edges - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Deburr all the components together with Marco Biagi.
 
Jan 06, 2020     9-9 step 6 ELEVATOR countersink trailing edge wedge - (1.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Using drill press we countersunk the trailing edge wedge on both sides of each elevator perpendicular to the skin (drill press adiusted -12�rom the vertical.
 
Jan 06, 2020     9-9 step 1 ELEVATOR checking spar flange angles - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Flange angle in the front spar should be 84�rear spar should be 96�br>My measurement indicated a 1-2 degrees discrepancy and both rear spars had an ondulation probably done when using the pneumatic squeezer.
Tried to straighten out the flanges but didnt improve.
DECISION: Reorder Spars and substitute.
 
Jan 05, 2020     10-3 step 1TAILCONE Attachment bar straighten - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Straighten two F-1011C horizontal stabilizer attachment bar banging while firmly hold in the vice.
Tolerance indicated is 1/16"" along the entire length..
CHECKED WITH LUCIO on 1/2/2020. Some additional hammering with the help of a backrivet plate brought the two attachment bars to a better fit.
 
Jan 04, 2020     9-7 step 7 ELEVATOR disassembly and mark - (3 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
completely disassemble and mark all parts
 
Jan 03, 2020     9-7 step 4 ELEVATOR trim tab anchor brackets final drill - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
prepared the trim cable anchor brackets and drilled the cover plates according to drawing.
final drilled with #30 drills
 
Jan 03, 2020     9-7 step 5-6 ELEVATOR trim cover plate nut plate drill - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Final drilled the holes for the nutplates K1000-06 with #28 drill bit (checked on several manuals).
Dimpled the skin with dimple die #6 for screws.
Dimpled the skin on the outside for 3/32 flush rivets.
Dimpled all the K1000-06 nuts to accept the dimple in the skin.
 
Jan 03, 2020     9-7 step 3 ELEVATOR skin trailing edge match drilling with - (3 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Final drill all skin holes with #40 drill.
Using the 84�ig on the trailing edge final drilled the trailing edge assembly.
 
Jan 02, 2020     9-6 step 1-2 ELEVATOR trim access plate match drill - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Preassembly trim access plate and trim reinforcement plate. Matchdrilled holes in skin
 
Jan 02, 2020     9-6 step 5-8 ELEVATOR tip rib and closing skin preassemble - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Preassembled and matchdrilled Tip Rib and counterbalance rib and skin. Preassembled top skin, inserted trailing edge wedge after adapting to measure.
 
Jan 02, 2020     9-6 step 3-4 ELEVATOR spar / root rib gusset - (5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
position gusset on spar and root rib. carefully matchdrilled both sides
 
Jan 02, 2020     9-7 Step 1 ELEVATOR skin close out tabs matchdrilling - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
matchdrilled skin close out using #30 drill.
 
Jan 02, 2020     9-5 step 3-4 ELEVATOR preassemble and match drill - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
matchdrilled skins with #40 drill
 
Jan 02, 2020     9-7 step 2 ELEVATOR match drill skins (partial) - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
matchdrilled skins with #40 drill
 
Jan 02, 2020     9-7 step 2 ELEVATOR horns preassemble and match drill - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
match drilled horns on both elevators
 
Jan 01, 2020     9-3 step 1-3 ELEVATOR skin preparation and bending - (1.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Prepare skins, Bending according to drawing, deburring skins
 
Jan 01, 2020     9-5 step 1-2 ELEVATOR reassembly and match drill - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
preassembly and matchdrill ribs to rear and front spars
 
Jan 01, 2020     9-4 Step 1-3 ELEVATOR front spar preparation - (1.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Drilled 5/8"" holes for cable routing. preassembled and deburred sapr doublers
 
Jan 01, 2020     9-2 STEP 4-6 ELEVATOR Counterbalance rib reassembly - (1.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Tip Rib preassembly and matchdrilling
 
Dec 31, 2019     9-2 step 2 ELEVATOR deburring parts and preparing - (7 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
prepare and deburr elevator parts.
 
Dec 23, 2019     20-4 Bottom Wing Skins left and right step 2-6 - (9 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
prepared flap gap stiffener for both wings.
Preassembled W-1021 flap fairing and W-1024 aileron fairing for both wings. Final drilled all the holes, disassembled all parts, deburred all holes.
Countersunk holes on the rear spar assambly and dimpled the fairing as indicated.
Primed all the parts with Ekopoxy primer (two coats).

After curing riveted all the parts. Few rivets missing in the wing root rib area as it is difficult to rivet without an helping hand.
 
Dec 18, 2019     9-2 step 7 ELEVATOR Shear clips separation - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
separate and prepare shar clips, final drilling #30
 
Dec 18, 2019     9-2 step 1-2 ELEVATOR deburr ribs, shear clips, skins and spars - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
separate ribs, deburr ribs, skins, spars and shears
 
Dec 15, 2019     8-9 Step 8 HS Countersink Spars and stringers - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
countersink flanges of front and rear spars and the 3/32"" holes in the stringers.
 
Dec 14, 2019     8-9 Step 7 HS Dimple skins and flanges - (7 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
dimpled skins (CHECK PROPER SIDE) and rib flanges AVOID DIMPLING fairing holes.
 
Dec 03, 2019     8-9 Step 5 HS Mark parts and disassemble - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
mark all parts in order to reposition in the same way
mark all fairing holes NOT TO BE DRILLED AND DIMPLED

disassemble all the parts
 
Dec 03, 2019     8-9 Step 4 HS Final drill skins #40 - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
MARK Empennage fairing holes.
AVOID DRILLING DIMPLING these holes
Final drill all skin holes EXCEPT THE FAIRING HOLES
 
Nov 23, 2019     8-8 step 1-4 HS Preassembly HS Structure - (3 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Cleco nose ribs to front spar assembly. final drill 1/8"" holes in the aft flange.
Cleco two inboard inspar ribs (type B) match drill.
Cleco other ribs and final drill alls the holes.
marked all ribs in order to make sure to reassembly in the same location
Work done together with Lucio and Marco


 
Nov 23, 2019     8-8 step 6-8 HS Preassembly Horizontal Stabilizer - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Clecoed front ribs to skin
 
Nov 23, 2019     8-9 Step 1-3 HS Final drill structure - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
assembled stringers to web. final drilled #30 the 5 outboard holes on each stringer.
final drilled all #30 holes in commn with the spar, stringer, caps.
 
Nov 23, 2019     8-8 Step 5 HS deburr skins and prepare for reassembly - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
prepared skin for preassembly. deburred all the edges
 
Nov 23, 2019     8-7 Step 2 HS Bend two inspar ribs - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
bend two inspar ribs 9�r>done with Lucio
 
Nov 21, 2019     8-7 step 5 HS fabricate 4 cradles - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
fabricated 4 cradles for the horizontal stabilizer assembly


 
Nov 20, 2019     6-6 step 9B VS redone rivets with Lucio's Support       Category: Tail Feathers
Lucio Castrogiovanni concurred in removing few rivets and in redriving them.
Result is now much better especially for a rivet on the bottom hinge.
Vertical stabilizer can be considered complete, unless we i decide to replace some bad rivets with structural MKS Rivets.


 
Oct 27, 2019     8-7 step 1 HS prepare inspar ribs - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
deburr all the edges and if necessary fluted the ribs to make them flat
 
Oct 27, 2019     8-7 step 3-4 HS nose rib preparation - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
deburr all edges including lightening holes.
Radius corner the forward end to prevent denting the skin
ON ONLY TWO RIBS: bend the flange about 9�br>no fluting necessary. Ribs came already straightened and fluted
 
Oct 27, 2019     8-5 step 8 HS Disassemble mark and prime spars - (3 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Disassemble all components, deburr all holes and edges. Mark all parts.
Clean with Ekoclean and rinse with water.
Primed with Valspar Prime zinc-chromate self etching primer.
 
Oct 25, 2019     8-6 step 3-4 HS prepare inspar ribs type A and B - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
identified the 4 inspar ribs. removed in the first group only two flanges (type A) and removed all the flanges in the second group (Type B).
 
Oct 25, 2019     8-5 step 6-7 HS Countersink front spar doubler and final drill - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Countersunk identified 1/8"" holes on the Front Spar Doubler for 1/8"" flush rivets.
Final drilled the middle 9 holes in bot flanges with #40 drill, then machine countersunk for 3/32"" rivets.Same procedure on the other flange.
 
Oct 24, 2019     8-5 step 3-5 HS Front spar doubler and attachment brackets - (1.5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Deburred all edges of doubler and front spar L and R attachment brackets.
After clamping a flat thick aluminum angle to the L&R attachment brackets, matchdrill with #30 drill 8 holes from spar into the attachment brackeds.
Final drill the other 1/8"" holes in spar and doubler with #30 drill. CAREFUL ON THE MARKED DONT DRILL.


 
Oct 24, 2019     8-3 step 3 HS Elevator attachment bracket fabrication - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
cut from AA6-187X2X2-1/2 angle two parts
Drilled 1/8"" hole in the indicated position.
Trimmed to measure.
Drilled 3/16"" holes
Radius all corners 1/8"".
After mounting and matchdrilling the holes are right at the limit to the edge.
After consultation with Lucio Castrogiovanni it seems that the fabrication is acceptable.
As i ordered other angles from VANS i consider to refabricate the brackets.
 
Oct 22, 2019     8-5 step 2 HS Spar caps deburring - (2.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Disassembled, deburred, removed chips on all sides and holes.
Reassembled in position
Same procedure for the other spar cap.
 
Oct 21, 2019     8-5 step 1-2 HS Spar Caps final drill - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Nested spar caps to spar, measure distance, mark and cleco in position with additional clamps.
Final drill the 1/8"" holes in the spar web into the entire length with #30 drill.
Disassembled, deburred, removed chips on all sides and holes.
Reassembled in position
Same procedure for the other spar cap.
 
Oct 19, 2019     8-4 step 1-2 HS Trim Front Spar Caps, long and short stringers - (2.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Trim material (Shaded in the instruction), file and deburr all edges of spar cap and stringers
 
Oct 19, 2019     8-2 step 1-4 HS rear spar assembly & Prime - (5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Deburring all parts including lightening holes
Matchdrill holes from spart into doubler #30 drill
Final drill all the other 1/8"" holes with #30 drill
Machine countersink holes on spar. Mark holes NOT TO BE Drilled
Final drill #12 wht 3/16"" holes in the hinge brackets.
Cleco hinge brackets and final drill#30 into spar.
Scuffed the hinge brackets. Cleaned all parts with EkoClean.
Primed with Valspar Self Etching ZincOxide Primer green
 
Oct 19, 2019     8-3 step 1 HS inboard hinge bracket - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
final drill the six holes of the two flanges with #30 drill. final drill the 3/16"" with #12 drill.
Scuffed all the parts.
Clamped to a flat and riveted with 1/8"" rivets
 
Oct 08, 2019     7-11 step 5 RUDDER Straigthened rudder trailing edge - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Carefully straigthened rudder trailing edge waviness due to wrong pressure setting of squeezer and wrong use of flush rivet set.
Not sure this may be acceptable. Reordered all the pieces for the Rudder. Will check with builder support if that could be considered acceptable (i doubt it because of the hard banging)
Following conversation with Lucio Castrogiovanni (Builder of an RV7) it seems that the construction has an acceptable level, however i decided to reorder all the part and rebuild the rudder
 
Oct 02, 2019     6-6 step 7 VS rivetd spar flanges of bottom ribs. - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
clecoed back the bottom rib. riveted (squeezer) the bottom rib AVOIDING fairing screw holes.
 
Oct 02, 2019     6-5 step 3 VS rivet vertical stabilizer structure - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
preassembly of Vertical Stabilizer structure with clecos.
Rivet top and middle rib. Clecoed ONLY bottom rib to facilitate access for skin riveting
 
Oct 02, 2019     6-6 step 3 and 4 VS rivet top rib and clecoed bottom rib - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
rivetd top rib only forward of front spar. reinstalled CLECO ONLY bottom rib
 
Oct 02, 2019     6-6 step 8 VS rivet skin to rear spar - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
riveted with squeezer the skin to the rear spar avoding LAST HOLE.

Mark all holes NOT TO BE RIVETED on top and bottom rib and on the spar with RED TAPE
 
Oct 02, 2019     6-6 step 6 VS rivet skin to middle rib and top rib - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
riveted the skin to the middle inspar rib and the remain of the top rib (Squeezer).
 
Oct 02, 2019     6-6 step 5 VS rivet skin to front spar - (0.5 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
riveted the skin to the front spar. difficult access. removed some clecos to guarantee access to top area. Drilled out a couple of bad rivets. used 2 oops.-rivets, however result was not much better.
 
Oct 02, 2019     6-6 step 9 (redo) VS rivet rear spar caps to spar - (1.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
riveted with squeezer, but very bad results. had to drill few rivet out.
Redone with bucking bar and with rivet gun.....results barely acceptable. Probably too high pressure and not perfect alignement.
Drilled out 7 rivets and replaced 2 with ooops rivet.
Riveted again the bottom hinge with Lucio's Help
Review rivets with Lucio Castrogiovanni, drilled our few more rivets, redriven rivets on 20 / 11/ 2019
Building planes and making new friends. A local member of the Homebuilt Association in Italy is an happy owner of an RV-8 and offered his knowledgable support for my build. I really appreciate the cooperation spirit of the homebuilders. Lucio is an extremely knowleadgeable person and is always happy to help.
Starting with some rivet replacement and basic instruction.
 
Oct 02, 2019     6-6 step 2 VS rivet middle nose rib forward - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
removed bottom rib. riveted forward part of bottom rib. difficult to rivet without clear view.
After inspection few rivets are protruding a little bit.
Inside the rivets look more or less ok, however i am considering to drill out some and replace with blind rivets....consultation is needed. maybe with some filler it will not be noticeable.
 
Oct 02, 2019     6-6 step 1 VS cleco skin to structure - (1 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
clecoed skin to structure. Clecoed each hole


 
Sep 25, 2019     7-10 step 3-7 RUDDER rivet bottom and top ribs - (2.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
rivet bottom rib assembly and striker plates to spar.
Rivet top rib to spar
**Rivet skins to spar flanges ....LEAVE TWO HOLES OPEN FOR COUNTERBALANCE RIB
Rivet counterbalance rib to spar
rivet holes left open in **
rivet skin to top and counterbalance rib with EXEPTION three forward holes
 
Sep 25, 2019     7-11 step 2 RUDDER Leading Edge - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
In spite of considering the need to rebuild the rudder from scratch i decided to roll the leading edge in order to practice a bit.
Result is barely satisfactory. Lessons learned
1. get help. doing it alone is not trivial.
2. the 1 1/4 diameter pipe is not easy to find in italy and i resolved with a slightly bigger diameter....wrong decision as the rolling is not sufficient.
3. get a very sturdy pipe, otherwise the cleo will tear it apart. Gorilla tape may work, but i didn't have any.
4. work only if you have the right set up and tools. don't hurry
 
Sep 25, 2019     7-11 step 1 RUDDER double flush rivet trailing edge - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Instead of following the instruction i decided to follow what appeared to be a good way to make the trailing edge perfectly straigth. The reason was that my trailing edge skins were already a bit weavy and i thought more precision was required.
The idea to have an aluminum angle to cleco the trailing edge to is good, however my use of the squeezer has been less than perfect resulting in a very heavy trailing edge.
Drilled aluminium reference angle with stepdrill to allow 1 inch hole for pneumatic squeezer.
Used pneumatic squeezer with adapted flat die trimmed to angle.
Result not satisfactory as trailing edge presents barely acceptable waves (within recomended tolerance, but very bad look).
DECISION: REORDER COMPONENTS AND REDO THE RUDDER:
 
Sep 24, 2019     7-7 step 3 RUDDER rivet reinforcement and nutplates to spar - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
riveted reinforcement to spar and K1000-6 to the reinforcement plate.
Repeated the operation for all three Reinforcement Plates and nutplates.
 
Sep 23, 2019     6-5 step 1-2 VS rivet top hinge brackets and front spar doubler - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
rivet VS1017 doubler to VS1003 rear spar
CAREFUL ON RIVET TO USE, PAY ATTENTION TO THE TWO HOLES BETWEEN THE HINGE BRACKETS: FIRST RIVET THE TWO HOLES THEN RIVET HINGES IN PLACE
Rivet top hinge bracket VS1017 to rear spar.
Rivet VS1015 to VS1002 front spar.
 
Sep 23, 2019     7-10 step 1-2 RUDDER Rivet spar to shear clips - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
remove clecos from trailing edge, clean with #40 drill (manually).
cleco spar to shear clips
Rivet the spar to shar clip with LP4-3 in each shear clip


 
Sep 22, 2019     6-4 step 7 VS rivet rear spar assembly - (2.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
rivet rear spar assembly using pneumatic squeezer.
results are not bad but i am still struggling to understand how to handle the squeezer....again i discovered months later that you need to keep the squeezer very well aligned with the rivet and that there are few tricks to do that.
 
Sep 21, 2019     7-9 step 1-8 RUDDER assembly rudder, blind rivet stiffener - (3 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Prepare aluminium angle as reference for trailing edge.
Apply 3M doubleside tape to both sides of trailing edge R-1006 wedge.
Rivet stiffener and shears clip R1010A-G Left and Right to R1005A-G using LP4-3 blind rivets
Cleco skins, trailing wedge and aluminium angle reference together.
Clecoed every single hole.
Add weights to the 4"" board on top of rudder.


 
Sep 18, 2019     6-4 step 5 VS prime and assembly - (4 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
clean with ekoclean, apply ekoetch and prime with Ekopoxy.
Second round of priming for second Vertical Stabilizer


 
Sep 15, 2019     7-8 step 1-3 RUDDER Top rib, bottom rib back riveting - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
back rivet top ribs halves R1003A&B to R1001L&R skins.
back rivet R1004 assembly to right skin R1001R.
 
Sep 15, 2019     7-7 step 1-2 RUDDER Rivet Spar, Doubler, Horn and Bottom Rib - (1.5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Rivet Horn Assembly (nutplate)
Rivet Bottom RIb halves


 
Sep 15, 2019     7-7 step 5 RUDDER back rivet stiffener to skin - (2.5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Backriveting stiffeners to rudder skin.
Work seems to be easy and the result looks good.
However as i discovered months later it is much better to work with lower gun pressure (around 30-35 PSI) and on this first attempt the pressure was higher resulting in more difficulties controlling the rivet gun.


 
Aug 14, 2019     7-6 step 13 RUDDER Clean and Prime rudder parts - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Ekoclean, Ekoetch, Ekopoxy all parts (support laura and riccardo)
 
Aug 11, 2019     6-4 step 1-4 VS front spar doubler, rudder stop preparation - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
VS1015 and VS1002 assembly, final drill, deburr. dimple.
Fabricate rudder stops R1007A&B, matchdrill
 
Aug 10, 2019     6-3 step 6-11 VS dimple VS skin, ribs, spars - (8 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Dimpleed holes in VS-1001, all ribs side flanges, countersunk deeper 0007"" (refer to manual Section V) in order to accomodate skin, mark rudder hinges, final drill VS-1010, VS1011, VS1012. deburred all holes
GOTCHA: spar hole corresponding to last hole on skin has been countersunk by mistake in step 8.
Disassembled all parts and mark all the parts
Deburred all the parts
Dimpled flange holes Vs-1003 above the machine countersunk holes
Final drill #12 all hinge single holes
 
Aug 10, 2019     7-6 step 12 RUDDER countersink trailing edge for skin - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
countersink perpendicular to edge (adjust Bench Drill to 12� allow for skin 0.007"" deeper than normal.
Remember that 1 click on the countersink cage is 0.001"".....therefore 7 clicks from normal flush position.
Cross check with small gauge (dimpled skin piece)
Marco Biagi joined the construction group
 
Aug 09, 2019     6-3 step 3-5 VS assemble, final drill dimple skins and structur - (5.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
I have received the parts ordered after screwing up with the countersink and bad priming therefore i can reprocess the steps.
Reassembled structure, finaldrilled all holes. Marked all the parts.
Marked all the fairing holes NOT TO BE DIMPLED MARK CORRESPONDING HOLES ON SKIN; FLANGES AND RIBS.....
CAREFUL ON NOSE RIBS. If necessary trim the nose ribs to avoid dents in skin
 
Aug 09, 2019     7-6 step 8-11 RUDDER skind bend, disassemble and debur - (5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
Skin bend with wheel bending tool (MISTAKE)
Dimpled the skins, but the weaviness of the trailing edge is really worrisome.
I used the bending wheel tool wrongly, probably too much pressure.
I will give it a try and rivet the whole thing together, but i believe the result will not be acceptable. I consider this as a kind of expanded training kit from VANS.
 
Aug 07, 2019     7-6 step 4-7 RUDDER assembly trailing edge - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
prepared the tool 84�o drill trailing edge perpendicular to the cordline (not the skin).
pre-assembled trailing edge.
matchdrill using 84�ol on trailing edge.
 
Aug 05, 2019     6-4 step 5 VS remove primer from VS assembly. - (8 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
First priming session was completely unsatisfactory.
Therefore i ordered EkoStrip From Stewart Systems and stripped all the primer (Ekoprime from Stewart System as well).
After doing that i etched and scuffed all the parts again and applied again the EkoPrime. The product itself is good, but my painting skills are not so good.
At the end the result has been satisfactory.


 
Jul 30, 2019     7-5 step 1-5 RUDDER final dril shear clip / Stiffenersl - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
final drill #30 all holes in common with spar
 
Jul 30, 2019     7-6 step 3 RUDDER debur skins, remove plastic - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
debur skins, remove plastic.
 
Jul 30, 2019     7-6 step 1-2 RUDDER complete structur with top and bottom rib - (1 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
assembly R1003, R1004 with R-1002 spar.
match drill common holes with #30 drill.


 
Jul 28, 2019     7-5 step 1-4 RUDDER assembly stiffener and matchdrill - (2.5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
assembly R1015A-G left and right and shear clip R1010A-G to the spar R1002.
matchdrill, disassembly and deburr all edges and holes
 
Jul 28, 2019     7-4 step 2-6 RUDDER horn & bottom rib assembly - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
countersunk R1005, deburred all edges, assembled bottom rib assembly, match drilled and deburred
Countersunk striker plates 1/8"" holes and marked for reference.
First countersking on R1005 resulted in a mistake on a countersunk hole drilled too deep. Part replaced with new component.
 
Jul 27, 2019     7-4 step 1 RUDDER Ribs assembly matchdrill deburr - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
R-1003A&B, R1004A&B top and bottom rib assembly, matchdrill and deburr
 
Jul 07, 2019     6-4 step 5 VS prime VS parts (first attempt) - (4 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
clean with ekoclean, acid etch with Ekoetch, prime with Ekopoxy all the VS components
Work done with Laura and Riccardo's help.
 
Jun 30, 2019     TOOLS various tools from Aircraft Spruce, Cleaveland Tools, sky geek and others - (0.5 hour)       Category: Tools
In the last year i added many new tools to my initial starter kit.
Pneumatic Angle drill from ATS
Skin roller tool
Oops rivets
mix of hardware
mix of various rivets
additional countersinking cages
Pneumatic nibbler from ATS
Precision calipers and measurement tools
Wrench sets (imperial) different sizes
Dimple dies (smaller than the original from ISHAM), smaller squeezer sets,
Gas masks from Draeger to be used with very aggressive AkzoNobel primer
Clecos...a lot of clecos
clamps different sizes
Scotchbrite 1"" wheels and Scotchbrite Pads by the dozen
Different deburring tools and countersinking cutter
Manual rivet squeezer
Pneumatic rivet shaver (again an overkill, but who knows, maybe it will be of some use soon or later)
Inspection Camera


 
Jun 30, 2019     7-6 step 1-2 RUDDER complete structur with top and bottom rib - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
Assembled R1003, R1004 with R-1002 spar.
match drill common holes with #30 drill.
 
Jun 25, 2019     7-3 step 1 RUDDER R1015 stiffener fabrication - (3 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
separate R1015 stiffeners, deburr all edges
 
Jun 25, 2019     7-2 step 1-3 RUDDER rib separation, R1010 shear clip part sepa - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
separation of top R-1003A&B, R-1004A&B, and R-1010 shear clips
debur all edges
 
Jun 24, 2019     6-4 step 1-4 VS front spar doubler, rudder stop preparation - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
VS1015 and VS1002 assembly, final drill, deburr. dimple.
Fabricate rudder stops R1007A&B, matchdrill
 
Jun 22, 2019     6-3 step 6-11 VS dimple, countersink, deburr, - (8 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
dimpled holes in VS-1001, all ribs side flanges, countersunk deeper 0007"" (refer to manual Section V) in order to accomodate skin, mark rudder hinges, final drilled VS-1010, VS1011, VS1012. deburred all holes
AVOIDED DIMPLING AND COUNTERSINKING OF FAIRING HOLES MARKED IN PREVIOUS STEP.
GOTCHA: spar hole corresponding to last hole on skin has been countersunk by mistake in step 8.
Disassembled all parts and mark all the parts
Deburred all the parts
Dimpled flange holes Vs-1003 abouve the machine countersunk holes

Final drilled #12 all hinge single holes
 
Jun 20, 2019     6-3 step 3-5 VS assemble skin, matchdrill mark parts - (5 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
assemble VS-1001 skin, matchdrill remove skin and deburr all holes
CAREFUL ON NOSE RIBS. If necessary trim the nose ribs to avoid dents in skin
 
Jun 06, 2019     6-2 step 6 VS machine countersink rear spar - (1 hour) Category: Tail Feathers
machine countersink VS-1008 rear spar doubler on all the #30 holes on forward side of the spar doubler BELOW the Upper Attach bolt Holes
 
Jun 02, 2019     Installed an additional suspended storage area in the garage - (9 hours) Category: Workshop
I mounted a suspended storage area using wooden logs and wooden planks. Logs are bolted to the floor and the ceiling, one is bolted only to the concrete ceiling.
 
Jun 02, 2019     6-3 step 2 VS pre-assemble and matchdrill - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
pre-assemble with cleco all the structure and final drill Vertical Stabilizer structure using #30 dril

Prepare nose ribs trimming the corner as indicated in the horizontal stabilizer section to prevent dents in the skin during final assembly
 
Jun 01, 2019     6-3 step 1 VS deburr all components and check straight - (2 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
deburr all ribs edges, check alignement
 
May 31, 2019     WORKSHOP Big Worktable and tools - (0.5 hour)       Category: Workshop
I bought a big worktable (3.5 m long) mounted on wheels with the possibility to extend section to have additional surface. very heavy object, but very sturdy and with a little modification i added some storage area underneath the table.
Very happy with the investment.
Acquired a pretty expensive Drilling/Milling machinel (OptimumMaschinen), but again very happy with the tool.
I also bought a bench grinder (Makita), a band saw and a belt sander (again from Makita). The band saw is actually and overkill and i will look for a smaller model with the vertical band saw.
Very happy with the vertical tank compressor too.


 
May 30, 2019     6-2 step 4 - 5 VS assemple rear spar and match drill - (1.5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
deburring all component, assemble all the parts including VS-1008 Spar Doubler and match drill with #30 drill all hinge brackets, hinge doubler and all the spar doubler and spart caps 1/8"" holes disassemble and deburr all parts

Match drill the upper attach bolto holes on rear spar, rear spar doubler into the Left and Right Spar caps with a 3/16"" drill

DONT FINAL DRILL holes #12 as this is done when VS is fitted to the tailcone


 
May 29, 2019     6-2 step 2 - 3 VS nest flanges and match drill - (3 hours) Category: Tail Feathers
nest VS1014 L&R into VS1003 and match drill with 1/8"" drill (ignore the 3/16"" upper attach bolto holes) from Spar to Caps.
clecoed VS-1010 and VS-1011 bottom and middle rudder hinges
drill flange holese of VS-1003 and VS-1014L and R spar caps with #40 drill
disassemble and deburring edges and all holes
 
Mar 03, 2019     TOOLS Starter kit from ISHAM - (0.5 hour) Category: Tools
ordered the starter kit from Planetools (ISHAM) with additional palm drill and additional 3X rivet gun. Very good advise from ISHAM on some options.
Received the tools pretty quickly. All the tools look very high quality, during the build i really appreciated the pneumatic squeezer, the drills and the DDT2 dimpling toll.
 
Jan 01, 2019     WORKSHOP room setup, lights and heating system - (4 hours)       Category: Workshop
The garage I used for our Recreational Vehicle has been transformed into a Workshop for the build of an RV-Plane (RV-10).
I had to contract a builder to raise a separation wall to the rest of the garage, to install a laminated floor with underlying electrical heating and to install appropriate insulation and lighting.
The end result is more than satisfactory, even if the room is relatively small (7meters long and 3,5 meters wide) it should be possible to mount all the major parts, including the fuselage.
Final assembly will be done at the airport.


 


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