Project: I-CAVS   -  
            Listing for Category : fuselage
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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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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     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 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 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 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 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.
 
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 19, 2024     windscreen defrosting fan tracing - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Drilled the holes using a fly cutter. Deburred the edges.


 
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 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
 
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     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.


 
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 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 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 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.
 
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 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     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 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 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     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     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.


 
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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     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


 
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 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.
 
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 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 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
 
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.
 
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.


 
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     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.....


 
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.


 
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 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
 
Feb 19, 2021     30-2 Step Installation step 1-2 - (1 hour) Category: Fuselage
Quickbuild assembly inspection.
Deburred parts.
 
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     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
 
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     29-9 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 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 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 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 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
 
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 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.
 
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 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


 
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 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.
 
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 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 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 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 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.


 
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 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.
 


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