Oct 03, 2021     10-32 - Aft Fuselage Closeout - (7.2 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
07/24/2021 – 0.5 hours
I prepared the aft fuselage access cover plates a little earlier than the plans indicated so that I could use the final, dimpled cover plates to test the fit with the nutplates installed in step 10-20. Each cover plate has eight holes, straight edges, and smooth curves; so deburring went quickly with no surprises. After priming the interior face of the cover plates, I dimpled the holes with the #6 screw dimple die.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, Bench Grinder with 6” Scotch Brite Wheel, 22” C-Frame with #6 Screw Dimple Dies]

Prime
07/24/2021 – 0.5 hours
Priming the aft fuselage access cover plates was straight-forward since they are small, flat parts and I only primed the inside face. I scrubbed / scuffed the inside face with a Scotch Brite pad and abrasive cleanser, rinsed and dried the parts, final cleaning with degreaser and latex gloves, and then applied the primer.
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

Assemble
10/01/2021 – 5.5 hours
10/03/2021 – 0.7 hours
The top skin on the aft fuselage is flat, so it looked like a good candidate for back-riveting. That turned out to be a great approach starting at the forward end of the fuselage and working aft through about half of the rivets. I set up the back-rivet plate on the garage floor next to a carpeted flat surface at the same height, and put the fuselage upside down on the rivet plate. The results were really good, and I definitely recommend that approach.

The back half of the fuselage was too hard to reach for back-riveting, so I called a fellow builder to help me buck the aft portion of the top skin. We set the fuselage on its side since the sides are also relatively flat, and there is less structure on the sides to damage as the inside person lies across the bulkheads and longeron. I used several beach towels to build up a surface to lie on that was the same height as the bulkheads, and then used a lounger cushion on top of that. The 2-man approach on the final rivets went quickly and ended up very good results. At the end of the day all the rivets were set successfully with none that had to be drilled out and replaced.

The final three rivets for this part of the build connects the rib on the top skin to the first full bulkhead. Those rivets are deceptively hard to get to, and I had to use the double-offset cupped set and bucking bar to set the rivets. I was excited to finish those rivets and this section of the build. On to the wings!
[3x Rivet Gun, Large Back-Rivet Plate, Back-Rivet Set, Flat Rivet Set, Double-Offset Cupped Set, Tungsten Bucking Bars]

  Sep 28, 2021     10-31 - Aft Fuselage Top Side Skin Installation - (15.4 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Assemble
9/10/2021 – 1.0 hours
9/12/2021 – 1.3 hours
9/13/2021 – 1.0 hours
9/14/2021 – 2.5 hours
9/19/2021 – 4.6 hours
9/21/2021 – 1.6 hours
9/22/2021 – 0.8 hours
9/23/2021 – 1.7 hours
9/28/2021 – 0.9 hours
The end of the empennage build is in sight. The crate of parts is empty, and there are only 3 major pieces left to attach to the aft fuselage – the left and right upper side skins and the top skin. The riveting order of precedence is back-riveting, then squeezing, then bucking. The longeron at the bottom of the skin is a flat “U”-channel, so I back-riveted the bottom row of rivets starting at the middle of the run and working out from there. Back-riveting worked really well for the bottom row and for the first rivet on the bulkheads above the “U”-channel.

Back-riveting doesn't work as well on curved surfaces like the line of rivets along the bulkheads. I tried one, and it wasn't pretty; so I moved on to bucking the bulkhead rivets. I'm still not completely comfortable with bucking, but the bulkhead rivets went pretty well.

The right skin is a little more difficult because the left skin restricts access to the rivets on the right side. Back-riveting along the longeron really wasn't a good option with the restricted access, so I bucked the right side longeron rivets starting in the center and working forward and aft. The longeron rivets came out great, with no noticeable difference between the bucked rivets and the ones I back-riveted on the other side.
[3x Rivet Gun, Back-Rivet Set, Large Back-Rivet Plate, Swivel Head Flush Set, Tungsten Bucking Bars]

  Sep 09, 2021     10-30 - Aft Fuselage Top Side Skin Preparation - (11.7 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
8/29/2021 – 2.7 hours
8/30/2021 – 1.5 hours
The final two parts in the empennage kit crate are the two top side skins for the aft fuselage. They are also the largest parts in the crate, and needed some work to clean up the holes and edges. The side skins don't have any tabs or tight corners, but the edges are very long with lots of burrs and tool marks. The curved sections at the forward end of the skins have the highest concentration of tool marks, which takes time to smooth down.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools]

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
9/5/2021 – 0.7 hours
9/6/2021 – 3.0 hours
The plans don't specify putting an edge break in the top side skins, but I decided to put a break on the bottom edge after I reviewed the installation of the side skins and how the aft fuselage joins the forward fuselage. The break is very slight, but should help the skins fit tightly where they overlap the bottom skins and eventually the forward fuselage. I did not break the forward, top, or aft edges since they do not overlap other skins.

Dimpling the top skins is a little tricky. The skins are large and have complex curves, and they are a difficult to handle. I started the dimpling procedure with the 22” C-Frame on my work bench, but the bench limited my ability to maneuver the skins into place to dimple them properly. I moved the C-Frame to the driveway to give me some extra space for the dimpling operation. I also found one hole that I don't believe should be dimpled, but isn't marked “Do Not Dimple” on the plans. The most aft and bottom #30 hole, which is labeled “Do Not Rivet” lies above a nutplate screw hole that is not dimpled. I have contacted Van's tech support to confirm that this hole should not be dimpled, and they replied that the empennage fairing will be countersunk for the flush screw and the hole doesn't need to be dimpled.
[Edge Forming Tool (Vise Grip Style), 22” C-Frame with #40 Reduced Diameter, #30, and #40 Standard Diameter Dimple Dies, Pneumatic Squeezer with #40 Reduced Diameter Dimple Die]

Prime
8/31/2021 – 1.0 hours
9/7/2021 – 1.4 hours
9/8/2021 – 0.9 hours
9/9/2021 – 0.5 hours
Priming all of the pieces for this sheet followed my now-standard process of scrubbing and scuffing the parts with cleanser and a Scotchbrite pad followed by a thorough cleaning rinse. I go back to the final preparation items like dimpling after the part is cleaned, and then degrease the parts just prior to priming. One new step this time was sanding the first primer coat and then applying a second light coat of primer. I wasn't happy with the first coat, because it was very uneven and rough with several dusty-looking clumps. I assume the clumps were a result of priming outside on a humid day. I sanded the primer with a maroon Scotch Brite pad to smooth it out, and I was surprised at how well it covered even after the sanding. I cleaned off the primer dust, did a final cleaning with the degreaser, and then put a second very light coat of primer on to fill in the low spots. The end result was really good, and I will probably continue the prime-sand-prime process on other large parts.
[Grey and Maroon Scotch Brite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

  Aug 26, 2021     10-29 - Aft Fuselage Top Skin - (5.7 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Initial Prep (Debur, Dimple, and Countersink)
8/10/2021 – 0.4 hours
8/14/2021 – 0.6 hours
8/15/2021 – 1.3 hours
8/17/2021 – 0.6 hours
There aren't many empennage parts left on the shelf. I started the deburring process for this step with the upper aft fuselage rib. The rib has long continuous edges and a relatively small number of holes, so deburring this part is pretty quick. There is also a J-Stiffener that attaches to the top skin, but that part was deburred and primed several steps ago. The final piece to debur was the top skin. There are several holes, but only four long and straight edges with no facets.

Dimpling the Skin Doubler, Upper Aft Fuselage Rib, and J-Stiffener required several different dimpling techniques. I started with the 22” C-Frame and reduced diameter dimple dies for the holes next to the flanges of the skin doubler, since those holes are too close to the flanges for the larger diameter dies. I then switched to the larger diameter dies for the remaining #40 holes in the skin doubler, and switched again for the #30 holes in the doubler. I dimpled the flange of the upper rib and the J-stiffener with the pneumatic squeezer and reduced diameter 3/32” dimple die. There isn't enough clearance for the flange to lie flat for the C-Frame, but the squeezer fit the area quite well.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools,22” C-Frame with #40 Reduced Diameter, #30, and #40 Standard Diameter Dimple Dies, Pneumatic Squeezer with #40 Reduced Diameter Dimple Die]

Final Prep (Trim, Cut, Shape, and Drill)
08/15/2021 – 0.2 hours
The first step on this sheet is to put a slight break in the side and aft edges of the top skin. I have had problems with this operation in the past, but this time it went very well. The break is straight along the edge, and I feel like it is close to the right amount. Previous attempts typically had too much of a break, which resulted in sloppy breaks or skins that didn't lie down completely flat. I struggled with that concept thinking the more exaggerated the break, the tighter it will fit; but a fellow builder pointed out that too much break might actually lead to skins that don't fit tightly between the rivets. We'll see how this one turns out, but I feel good about it at this point.
[Edge Forming Tool (Vise Grip Style)]

Prime
07/24/2021 – 0.5 hours
08/14/2021 – 0.3 hours
08/17/2021 – 0.3 hours
08/18/2021 – 0.5 hours
Priming all of the pieces for this sheet followed my now-standard process of scrubbing and scuffing the parts with cleanser and a Scotchbrite pad followed by a thorough cleaning rinse. I go back to the final preparation items like dimpling after the part is cleaned, and then degrease the parts just prior to priming.
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

Assemble
08/24/2021 – 0.3 hours
08/26/2021 – 0.7 hours
Back-riveting was a good choice to attach the doubler, rib, and stiffener to the top skin. I have access to a large 6' x 9” back-rivet plate, which was very handy for this step. I started by back-riveting the edge rivets on the skin doubler. Access to those rivets would have been much more difficult with the rib in place. After setting the edge rivets, I placed the rib into the assembly and riveted the rib and the rest of the doubler to the skin. I started in the middle of the rib and worked toward the ends by setting the center rivets in each section and continuing that pattern until all the rib rivets were set. I then placed the J-Stiffener in place, and used the same center out technique for that part. I was very happy with the final result, and I'm looking forward to using the assembly to close-out the aft fuselage soon.
[3x Rivet Gun, Back-Rivet Set, Large Back-Rivet Plate]

  Aug 22, 2021     10-28 - Vertical Stabilizer Spar Drilling - (0.7 hour)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Initial Prep (Trim, Cut, Shape, and Drill)
08/22/2021 – 0.7 hours
This is a fun step because you actually get to temporarily attach the vertical stabilizer to the empennage. It definitely looks like an airplane! The steps for this sheet are different for the tail-dragger vs. the tricycle gear versions, but the plans make it very clear which steps to follow for each. For the RV-14A (tricycle gear), 2 #12 holes have to be final drilled through the vertical stabilizer spar and the deck angle on the aft deck. The port side hole went fine, but I made a significant error on the starboard side. I need to contact Van's to see if I've done irreparable harm to my vertical stabilizer. I really hope its OK – if not I may be building a new vertical stabilizer at some point :(.
[#12 Drill]

8/24/2021 Update
Van's technical support provided their usual quick and professional response to my question on the drilling error. This is not a mistake with an easy fix, and Van's recommended replacing the vertical stabilizer rear spar and doubler. I looked at the vertical stabilizer and determined that I would not be able to replace those parts without disassembling most of the VS, which would involve drilling out a lot of rivets. The chances of removing all of those rivets without further damage to the other VS parts is essentially zero, so I decided to build a new VS. The VS only has 15 parts, so I went to the Van's Web Store and placed my order (plus additional rivets). The parts cost $266 (plus crating and shipping), and I think the end result will be a better VS than my original with no drilling issue when it is complete. I'll use the original VS to practice priming and painting, and eventually turn it into hangar wall art or take my friend's suggestion to turn it into a coffee table. This was a time-consuming and costly lesson in paying extra attention to the task at hand and stopping work when you're tired. Lesson Learned!

  Aug 22, 2021     10-27 - Aft Deck - (18.3 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Initial Prep (Debur, Dimple, and Countersink)
8/8/2021 – 0.6 hours
8/10/2021 – 0.8 hours
8/11/2021 – 0.7 hours
8/12/2021 – 0.5 hours
8/13/2021 – 0.8 hours
This step uses five parts that need to be prepared prior to assembly. Most of the parts are flat with straight edges, which helps speed the process along. There is an aft frame (bulkhead) that is curved with several facets in the flange, which takes significantly longer to prepare. In addition to deburring, the flanges on the frame need to be rounded to allow the skin to attach smoothly.

Dimpling the flanges of the F-01409 upper aft frame and the F-01414 aft deck is pretty standard, but you definitely need to pay attention to the plans and what you are doing – especially on the aft deck. There are 8 #40 holes on the top of the aft deck to dimple, and I initially dimpled them the wrong direction because I wasn't paying attention. I flattened the dimples and reset them the correct way. The aft flange of the aft deck also gets dimpled, and the thing to keep in mind is those are #30 holes – not #40. After a brief moment of confusion, I figured it out and carried on with the correct dimple dies installed in the C-Frame.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, 22” C-Frame with #30 and #40 Standard Diameter Dimple Dies]

Prime
08/12/2021 – 1.2 hours
8/14/2021 – 0.4 hours
With just a few relatively small parts, the process of scuffing, scrubbing, cleaning, rinsing, degreasing, and priming goes pretty quickly. I did the scuffing and cleaning before I dimpled the parts to save some wear and tear on the Scotchbrite pad, and then completed the degreasing and priming process after I dimpled the parts. I am working with a fellow builder on a paint booth in a large bay in his workshop, which will be great for larger parts as well as overall priming and painting; but smaller parts are easy to prime on a folding table outside as long as the weather is good.
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

Assemble
08/19/2021 – 1.1 hours
8/20/2021 – 3.5 hours
8/21/2021 - 4.8 hours
8/22/2021 – 3.9 hours
I looked at the zip ties holding the wires in place for several days, and wasn't happy with them. They are bulky, and have very sharp edges where I trimmed them near the buckles. I decided to try my hand at lacing cord, but I had to do that before closing off the aft bulkhead areas with the aft deck. I cued up the EAA Hints for Homebuilders video on lacing electrical wires (https://www.eaa.org/Videos/Hints-for-Homebuilders/Electrical/635353221001), and it seemed do-able. I'm certainly not going to win any prizes for my lacing job, but it is functional and I like it a lot better than the zip ties.

I used both the pneumatic squeezer and the rivet gun to install the aft deck rivets, I started with the squeezer for the rivets along the sides as well as some of the rivets near the aft deck cut-outs. I used 3” and 1” yokes as well as a 2 1/2" longeron yoke to reach as many rivets as I could. The rest I set with the rivet gun and 1/8” cupped, 3/32” cupped, and flat rivet sets. Each rivet has its own unique requirements, and it takes awhile to get the right rivet set and bucking bar set up for successful riveting. There were also a couple of places where the plans called for rivets that are too short. I replaced one AN470AD4-4 rivet with a 4-5, and two 4-5s with 4-6s.
[Pneumatic Squeezer with 1”, 3”, and 2 1/2" yokes; 1/8” and 3/32” cupped squeezer sets, 3X Rivet Gun, 1/8” Cupped, 3/32” Cupped, and Flat Rivet Sets, Small and Medium Tungsten Bucking Bars, Clamps, #40 and #30 Drill]

  Aug 08, 2021     10-26 - Phone Cable Installation - (0.9 hour)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Assemble
8/8/2021 – 0.9 hours
The phone cable is the last cable to be routed through the aft fuselage. The routing started earlier along with the aft wire harness, and this step finishes the installation. I worked my way forward from the F-01410 bulkhead, which is the location for the final two zip ties for the phone cable. 12 1/8” of cable is left beyond the final zip tie to route through the aft systems deck and eventually to the ELT. As I worked forward I tried to keep the phone cable flat and use it as a “cover” for the wires from the aft wire harness. I tightened the zip ties as I went, but left the zip ties loose enough that I could adjust the wires without pulling on them too hard. I secured all of the zip ties up to the bellcrank ribs in case more items will be routed through this area later. The zip ties and the forward face of the F-01407 bulkheads also secure the bottom of the static line. I tried to place the static line beneath the wires and next to the bulkhead to keep from putting too much pressure on the static line while providing a cushion between the wires and the metal to avoid chafing issues.
[Scissors]

  Aug 08, 2021     10-25 - Aft Fuselage Wire Harness Installation - (1.9 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Assemble
8/7/2021 – 1.3 hours
8/8/2021 – 0.6 hours
Installation of the aft wire harness actually started before the side skins were riveted to the bulkheads since the clearance through the #7 and #8 bulkheads at the top J-Channel is too tight once the side skins are riveted in place. I started the final installation by testing the continuity of each of the wires to ensure everything is in working order. All the wires checked out fine, so I started the final routing.

The wire harness is a little complicated (at least it is to me), and I had to study the drawings for awhile to ensure I understood which wire goes to each area of the aft fuselage and how the wires are routed. The first task was to route the C409P molex connector through the F-01410 bulkhead. There is just enough clearance below the top J-channel to fit the connector through, and then the wires can be move individually above the J-channel. The C409P connector then goes through the bushing in the F-01411 bulkhead, which has to be slit to allow the connector to fit through. There are 2 very long white wires (C1037 and C1036) that are attached to the C409P molex connector, and those actually route forward and out the front of the F-01406B bulkhead.

The wire harness has a thick white wire bundle labeled L1082 that also go through the F-01410 and F-01411 bulkheads along the same route as the C409P molex connector. The L1082 continues through the F-01412 bulkhead through a small hole just above the tail tie-down bracket.

The final 2 wires in the wire harness (P725 and TP724) are routed to the top of the forward side of the F-01410 bulkhead.

  Aug 08, 2021     10-24 - Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) Antenna Cable Installation - (0.2 hour)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Assemble
8/7/2021 – 0.2 hours
The ELT antenna cable has a pretty short run along the aft fuselage longeron. The plans say the snap bushings need to be opened to allow the cable ends to fit through, but I found the cable fit through without slitting the bushings. 11” of the antenna cable extends past the aft tie wrap to connect to the ELT antenna.

  Aug 08, 2021     10-23 - Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) Antenna Cable Installation - (0.6 hour)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Assemble
8/7/2021 – 0.6 hours
The UAT antenna cable is routed down the floor of the aft fuselage beneath the center J-channel. The connectors at the ends of the antenna are too large to fit through the snap bushings, so I had to slit the snap bushings prior to installation to fit the antenna through. 3 1/2" of the antenna cable extends aft of the F-01410 bulkhead to connect to the UAT antenna.
[Razor Blade]

  Aug 01, 2021     10-22 - Static System - (1.3 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Initial Prep (Trim, Cut, Shape, and Drill)
8/1/2021 – 0.3 hours
I decided to purchase an aftermarket static port system for my RV-14A. The static ports supplied by Van's with the empennage kit are SD-42-BLSF blind rivets that are set in the empennage side skins and then have the mandrels driven out to make them hollow. The rivet/static ports are connected to a piece of 1/8” ID tubing with RTV sealant, which is then upsized to 1/4" OD tubing to run forward to the avionics.

The static system that I purchased from Steinair comes with two 6061-T6 aluminum and clear anodized static ports from showplanes.com (p/n SP-01) that are installed with nuts and lock washers. The ports connect directly to the 1/4" OD tubing supplied with the system, and do not require any intermediate sized tubing. The result is a much simpler and cleaner system (my opinion). The static kit I purchased also includes the pitot and AoA lines to connect the pitot tube and ADAHRS, several push-on connectors for the tubing, and a tubing cutter.

The first step to install the static system was to upsize the static port hole in the empennage side skin to 1/4". I then inserted the static ports into the 1/4" holes and lightly attached the lock washer and nut to temporarily hold them in place. I plan to remove them when I prime and paint the airplane. I think I'll also use some silicon to seal the hole from the weather when I tighten down the static port nuts.
[Step Drill]

Assemble
8/1/2021 – 1.0 hours
I used the 1/4" OD tubing supplied by Van's to fabricate the static system harness that routes from each static port and around the top of the F-01407 bulkhead. I installed 14 4-inch zip ties to hold the static line in place while I test-fit the harness to the static ports. Both the 40” line to the right port and the 4 1/2" line to the left port were a little long, so I trimmed and test-fit until I got the length I needed. I took roughly 1/4" off the right-side line and 1/2" off the left-side line. If the lines are too long, they will kink and potentially restrict airflow when they are curved to fit the static port and harness fittings. The final step was to route the 20' tube along the bulkhead and bellcrank ribs. The diagrams for this step do not show any zip ties for the 20' tube, but you have to remember that the instructions had the aft wire harness from step 10-24 installed early including its zip ties. The figures on 10-24 and 10-25 appear to have the static line bundled with the aft wire harness in the same zip ties. I left all of the zip ties associated with the aft wire harness loose since the plans say more things are coming.
[Plastic Tubing Cutter, Ruler, Scissors]

  Aug 01, 2021     10-20 - Nut Plates and Rudder Stops - (7.2 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Assemble
7/20/2021 – 1.5 hours
7/23/2021 – 2.4 hours
7/31/2021 – 1.7 hours
8/1/2021 – 1.6 hours
Assembly of the aft fuselage continued with the installation of nutplates for empennage fairings and access plates, rudder stops, and angle stiffeners. The nutplates on the longeron are not dimpled since the longeron was countersunk, but the far aft nutplate on the fuselage skin is dimpled. I also chose to go with the optional step of using flush screw for the aft access panels. The flush installation requires screws and nutplates that have to be ordered separately from the kit. I ordered the screws several weeks ago, but I thought I had enough nutplates on hand. I couldn't locate the nutplates I needed after an extensive search of the shop, so I had to pause this step and order the nutplates I need. The flush installation of the aft access covers requires 16 K1100-06 nutplates, which will be dimpled; and 16 AN507-632R8 screws.

Riveting starts with the rudder stops. The top 2 holes in each rudder stop are very close to the rudder stop top angle, and would not be easy (possible?) to set with a standard 1 1/2" diameter flat rivet set. Squeezing and back-riveting is also not an option in this area of the fuselage. I decided to borrow a small diameter flat rivet set to get to the area next to the angle. The smaller diameter allowed me to get the rivet set center closer to the rivet than the larger diameter did.
[3x Rivet Gun with 3/4” Diameter Rivet Set]

The K1100-06 nutplates arrived in record time, and allowed me to finish this step. The plans show that all 8 nutplates for each access panel are dimpled, but the top 2 nutplates that attach to the longeron actually do not need to be dimpled. I attached all 16 nutplates (8 per side) with the pneumatic squeezer. The 2 1/2" longeron yoke worked well for the aft six nutplates and the top two rivets on the angle brace, but it was a little too bulky for the two vertical nutplates on the forward side of the access panel hole. I switched to the smaller 1 1/2" yoke and small diameter flat sets, which had just enough clearance to set those rivets. I used the 3x rivet gun with the swivel mushroom set and BB-06 tungsten bucking bar on the next three angle brace rivets, and switched to the 3/4" flat rivet set for the final rivet on each angle brace. The last step for this section was to countersink the top two holes for the access panel cover.
[3x Rivet Gun, 1 1/4” Swivel Flat Set, 3/4” Flat Set, BB-06 Tungsten Bucking Bar, Pneumatic Squeezer, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke with Large Diameter Flat Squeezer Set, 1 1/2" Yoke with Small Diameter Flat Squeezer Set, Palm Drill, Microstop Countersink Cage with #30 Countersink Cutter]

  Jul 25, 2021     10-21 - Rudder Cable Installation - (1.9 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Final Prep (Debur, Dimple, and Countersink)
07/25/2021 – 0.3 hours
The rudder cable guides are nylon parts that have to be countersunk to fit the dimples on the inside of the fuselage skin. I used a hole deburring bit in an electric screwdriver to countersink the parts. That method allowed me to control how quickly the countersink developed so I could do a little, test fit the part, then do a little more as needed. I also needed to use a #30 reamer to enlarge the holes enough for the rivets.
[electric Screwdriver with Hole Deburring Bit, Electric Drill with #30 Reamer Bit]

Assemble
07/25/2021 – 1.6 hours
Assembly started by installing the snap bushings as shown in the plans. The SB437-4 snap bushings that go in the aft sides of the bellcrank ribs were too small for the telephone cable to fit through, so I slit the bushings on one side to open them up wider for the cable to fit. With the bushings in place, I routed the rudder cable through the slot at the aft end of the fuselage forward through the bushings. The rudder cables cross left over right at the F-01408 bulkhead, and get coiled just aft of the F-01406B bulkhead and stored between the bellcrank ribs.

The final step in the assembly was to use AACQ4-4 blind rivets and NAS1149FN416P washers to install the nylon cable guides to the inside of the aft fuselage skin. A couple of the rivet stems didn't break off cleanly, and jammed up my rivet puller. I had to take the rivet puller apart to clear the bad stems, taking care not to lose the spring.
[Razor Blade, Rivet Puller]

  Jul 18, 2021     10-19 - Aft Fuselage Side Skin Installation - (39.6 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Assemble
6/13/2021 – 0.6 hours
6/14/2021 – 1.6 hours
6/16/2021 – 1.8 hours
6/17/2021 – 1.3 hours
6/18/2021 – 2.7 hours
6/19/2021 – 3.7 hours
6/20/2021 – 2.4 hours
6/21/2021 – 1.1 hours
6/24/2021 – 0.9 hours
6/26/2021 – 2.8 hours
6/27/2021 – 2.2 hours
7/1/2021 – 1.2 hours
7/3/2021 – 3.0 hours
7/5/2021 – 3.5 hours
7/9/2021 – 0.3 hours
7/10/2021 – 0.9 hours
7/11/2021 – 3.0 hours
7/15/2021 – 1.6 hours
7/17/2021 – 0.8 hours
7/18/2021 – 4.2 hours
Riveting the lower portion of the aft fuselage looks easy enough, but it is a really long and involved step. There are a lot of rivets in multiple sizes, and I switched between several different riveting techniques depending on the specific situation. There is also the occasional rivet that needs to be replaced (oops!), which adds to the time and complexity of this step. It is easy to get in a hurry, but it pays to take the time to treat each rivet individually rather than trying to bang out a bunch of rivets in short order. It is important to step back periodically to both grade the completed work and come up with a plan for the next rivet(s).

My plan of attack on the side skins was to follow the instructions by riveting the flat sides before working on the curved portions toward the bottom of the fuselage. I decided to back-rivet the flat sides as much as possible, so I borrowed a large back-rivet plate from a fellow builder. The back-rivet plate is six feet long by 9 inches wide, which is a good size for the side skin stiffeners and bulkheads. I started with the top J-Stiffener at the center of the skin, and then worked up and down the bulkheads.

Back-riveting worked really well for a lot of the rivets in the center of the skin, but other riveting methods are required for rivets around the edges of the skins, a few difficult rivets in the center, and all of the rivets from the #10 bulkhead back. I set the rivets at the top of the skin along the longeron with the pneumatic squeezer and 2 1/2" longeron yoke. The bulkhead rivets just below the longerons were bucked as well as the bulkhead rivets that fall beneath the flanges of the J-Stiffeners. The rivets beneath the J-Stiffener flanges are particularly difficult to access, and the only way I could do it was with the steep-angled face of my small tungsten bucking bar. The rivets on the left side have an additional complication due to the wires that take up some of the space in the top J-Stiffener flange.

There is a lot going on aft of the #10 bulkhead. There are three closely spaced bulkheads, relatively tight quarters for bucking rivets, several different rivet lengths and diameters, and a lot of “do not rivet at this time” holes. It is very difficult to see the rivets below the J-Stiffeners, and I found the best way for me to set those rivets was by feel and then use a mirror to evaluate the work. The angle between the bulkheads and the skin is also very pronounced near the tail, and made it impossible to use the squeezer on the exposed rivets aft of the final bulkhead. Riveting the aft-most section of the empennage is time-consuming and requires multiple reviews of the plans to ensure the correct rivets are used, or not used, in each hole.
[3x Rivet Gun, Back-Rivet Set, Large Back-Rivet Plate, Pneumatic Squeezer, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, Flat Squeezer Set, #40 Drill, #30 Drill, Back-Rivet Tape, Saw Horses, Small Tungsten Bucking Bar, Medium Tungsten Bucking Bar. Swivel Head Flat (mushroom) Set]

  Jun 11, 2021     10-17 - Aft Bottom Skin Installation - (5.4 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Assemble
6/9/2021 – 1.7 hours
Attaching the aft bottom skin to the aft fuselage assembly sounds easier than it is. I started by riveting the #12 bulkhead to the aft bottom skin, which has a very small radius rolled section at the end of the part. The rolled area is where the bulkhead and skin attach, and the small radius and tight quarters rules out back-riveting or using a pneumatic squeezer to set the 8 rivets. I was left with using the rivet gun and a narrow tungsten bucking bar (BB-07) to set the rivets. I also had to get a little creative on how to clamp the part to the work bench to provide an accessible and stable riveting area. Riveting on the small radius also presented some challenges to setting the rivets flush with the skin. The final results were pretty good, but it took a lot of thought and experimentation to get there.
[3X Rivet Gun, Swivel-Head Flat (Mushroom) Set, Tungsten Bucking Bar, Clamps]

6/11/2021 – 3.7 hours
The aft bottom skin assembly with the attached #12 bulkhead is installed between the bottom and side skins and the bulkheads and J-Stiffeners. You have to remove most of the clecos aft of the #10 bulkhead to get enough clearance to insert the aft bottom skin. It is still a very tight fit – especially where the aft bottom skin is inserted between the #10 bulkhead and the bottom skin. The order of the layered parts from the inside of the aircraft out is the F-01410 (#10) bulkhead, the F-01479 aft bottom skin, the F-01478 bottom skin, and finally the F-01473—L and -R side skins.

Once the aft-bottom skin is clecod into position, the skin is riveted to the #11 and #10 bulkheads starting from the center and working toward the edges. Access to the ##11 rivets with the bucking bar is very tight, and I spent a long time devising a riveting strategy. My solution was to use the special bucking bar from the elevator assembly to reach into the small cavity between the #11 and #12 bulkheads. I was very pleasantly surprised by the results with the long bucking bar, which I also used on the forward side of the #11 bulkhead and the #10 bulkhead. I had to go to a shorter tungsten bucking bar in the radiused area of the skin at the #11 rib, for the 4 sets of the two outer-most rivets. I did that by reaching through the open access panel at the back of the fuselage. Each rivet took a long time to set up and finally drive, but the extra time resulted in good rivets with no drill-outs or dings in the skin.
[3X Rivet Gun, Swivel-Head Flat (Mushroom) Set, Tungsten Bucking Bar, Special RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar]

  Jun 08, 2021     10-16 - Aft Bottom Skin Preparation (continued) - (1.7 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Initial Prep (Trim, Cut, Shape, and Drill)
6/6/2021 – 0.6 hours
The aft bottom skin needs a few alterations, which are relatively minor for the tri-gear vs. the more invasive operation for the tail-dragger. For the tri-gear option, there are three holes near the forward edge of the skin that need to be final drilled. Two of the holes are enlarged to #12, and one is enlarged to 9/16”. The aft bottom skin also has a pilot hole in the center near the aft edge that is dimpled and filled with a rivet for the tri-gear airplane.
[#12 Drill, Step Drill to 9/16”]

Final Prep (Debur, Dimple, and Countersink)
6/6/2021 – 0.6 hours
Dimpling the aft-botttom skin is a little tricky because the part is rolled and does not have a flat surface for rivet holes. It is also relatively thick at 0.025”. I dimpled the part with the C-Frame and hammer by holding the dimple die set tight together to find the neutral/flat orientation for the dimple, and then held the part in that position while I formed and set the dimple. The process of finding neutral for each hole was a little time-consuming, and only worked because this is a small part that can be effectively manipulated with the dimple die set. The results were really good – no extraneous smiles or dents due to a misaligned dimple die.
[22” C-Frame and Hammer, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Die Set]

Prime
6/7/2021 – 0.3 hours
Prep and priming of the aft bottom skin went pretty quickly. I started by scuffing the shiny finish off the inside of the part before dimpling to save wear and tear on the ScotchBrite pad and my hands. After dimpling, I put on the latex gloves to degrease the part, which is a very fast procedure of spraying the degreaser solution on the part and drying it with a lint-free cloth. The final step is spraying the primer and letting the part dry.
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

Assemble
6/8/2021 – 0.2 hours
This is probably the easiest assembly step in the entire aircraft. There is a pilot hole in the aft bottom skin for the tail-dragger, that is simply filled with an AN466AD3-3 rivet for the tricycle-gear (RV-14A) model. The rivet was easy to set with a back-rivet set and small plate.
[3X Rivet Gun, Back-rivet Set, Back-rivet Plate]

  Jun 07, 2021     10-14 - Aft Fuselage Side Skins - (22.1 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Final Prep (Debur, Dimple, and Countersink)
5/6/2021 – 0.1 hours
The angle stiffeners that attach to the rear of the side skins were deburred and primed earlier in this section. The job for this session was to dimple each of the angle stiffeners where they will eventually attach to the side skins. This was a quick job since each stiffener is small and only has 6 holes.
[22” C-Frame, 3/32” Dimple Die Set]

5/10/2021 – 1.6 hours
5/18/2021 – 0.5 hours
The longerons, which run the length of the aft fuselage, are countersunk to accept the dimpled fuselage side skins. I set the countersink cage to a depth of 0.007” deeper than flush. There are 288 holes – 144 holes in each longeron – so it takes awhile to countersink all of them. The longerons provide a solid and flat base for the countersink cage, and countersinking didn't present any problems.

The J-Stiffener material is too thin to be countersunk, so the #40 holes in the J-Stiffener flanges are dimpled. The J-Stiffeners are long and narrow parts, so it is important to provide proper support to the parts during the dimpling process to ensure they don't warp or bend. The F-01486A left and right J-Stiffeners each have holes for two nutplates. The #40 holes to attach the nutplates are dimpled, and the #27 hole for the nutplate is optionally dimpled if you intent to use flush screws on the access covers. I elected to go with the flush screw, so I dimpled the two #27 holes in each J-Stiffener.
[Microstop Countersink Cage, #40 Countersink Cutter, Palm Drill, 22” C-Frame, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Dies, #6 Screw Dimple Dies]

6/3/2021 – 2.6 hours
6/4/2021 – 3.0 hours
The side skins are the largest single parts I've worked with so far, and one takes up my entire work bench. The side skins are relatively easy to debur since they have long, continuous edges and just four tabs at the forward edge of each skin. There are also a couple of small cutouts for an access panel and the rudder cables to debur, as well as lots of holes for rivets and the static ports.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools]

6/5/2021 – 4.3 hours
Dimpling the aft fuselage side skins takes some time since they are large, have a lot of holes (800+ between the two skins) in 3 different sizes, have curved sections with holes to dimple, and have several holes that are not dimpled. I started dimpling with the pneumatic squeezer and a reduced diameter 3/32” dimple die set to get all of the #40 perimeter holes and almost all of the #40 holes near the aft end of the skins. Each row of bulkhead holes has 3 or 4 holes in the curved edge at the bottom of the skin. I could dimple the first 1 or 2 holes in the curved area with the squeezer, but couldn't go further than that due to clearance issues. I successfully dimpled the remaining bulkhead holes in the curved areas with the pop-rivet dimple die set. I dimpled the interior flat-section holes with the 22” C-Frame and a standard 3/32” dimple die set, which left a row of holes in the center of the curve transition from the bottom to the sides. I switched to the reduced diameter dimple dies in the C-Frame, but the real trick is getting the hole to lie perpendicular to the dimple dies when the dimples are formed to avoid small dents at the top or bottom of the dimple. The best method for me was to rest the long, flat side of the skin against my chest to hold the hole perpendicular. There are a few that weren't completely flat, but that method worked for the majority of the dimples. I wrapped things up by dimpling the small number of #30 holes in the side skins, taking care with a piece of tape to not dimple the 4 holes called out in the plans. I also dimpled the bottom 6 #27 holes for the nutplates to flush-mount the access panels. The top 2 #27 holes do not get dimpled – they will be machine countersunk a few steps later.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, 22” C-Frame and Hammer, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Die Set, 3/32” Standard Dimple Die Set, 3/32” Pop-Rivet Dimple Die Set, 1/8” Dimple Die Set, #6 Screw Dimple Die Set]

Prime
5/17/2021 – 1.7 hours
5/18/2021 – 1.1 hours
5/20/2021 – 0.9 hours
5/26/2021 – 0.5 hours
6/5/2021 – 1.0 hours
6/7/2021 – 0.7 hours
Priming is generally the final preparation step for individual parts. Once parts are primed, they are ready for installation and assembly. My standard priming process started with the longerons followed by the F-01486A, B, and C J-Stiffeners. I also used this process to prepare and prime the aft fuselage side skins.
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

Assemble
6/6/2021 – 0.9 hours
6/7/2021 – 3.2 hours
The final mockup of the aft fuselage started by clecoing the F-01410 bulkhead into place and inserting the left and right channel stiffeners into the slots in the bulkheads. There isn't much support for the bulkhead at this point, so it is good to work on the assembly upside down on the saw horses to minimize any chances of bending the bulkhead tabs and flanges. I cleco'd the left and right longerons to all of the bulkheads, which provided enough support for the entire structure to be able to turn it upright on the work bench.

The WH-00057 aft fuselage wire harness and the WH-00059 phone cable are routed along the bellcrank ribs and then are nested in the top-left J-Stiffener through the #7 and #8 bulkheads. The initial routing is done before the left skin is attached to the aft fuselage assembly to provide access to the J-Stiffener gaps in the bulkheads. After labeling the WH-00057 connectors, I used twist ties to lay the wires in place and followed up with loosely installing the provided zip ties to hold the wires in place. I completed this step by clecoing the left and right side skins and angle stiffeners to the aft fuselage assembly. It took all of my 325 3/32” clecos spaced roughly every 3rd hole to attach both skins.

  May 30, 2021     10-13 - Aft Fuselage Bottom Skin - (14.8 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

5/4/2021 – 0.9 hours
Happy Star Wars day - May the Fourth be with you! This section continued the work on the bellcrank ribs from the previous section. Specifically, the bottom of the #7 bulkhead was riveted to the aft flanges of the bellcrank ribs. I let gravity help stabilize the #7 bulkhead by working on the assembly upside down and allowing the bulkhead to hang over the edge of the workbench after clamping the bellcrank ribs down. Squeezer access to the four rivets (two per rib) nearest the bottom of the assembly was pretty good, but the battery angles at the top of the assembly got in the way of the squeezer for the final two rivets. I set those with the rivet gun and bucking bar.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, Flat Squeezer Set, 1/8” Cupped Squeezer Set, 3X Rivet Gun, 1/8” Cupped Rivet Set, Tungsten Bucking Bar, Bench Clamps]

5/5/2021 – 0.9 hours
5/6/2021 – 0.2 hours
The aft fuselage has 3 sets of J-Stiffeners and a set of longerons that run down the longitudinal axis of the fuselage and attach to the fuselage skins. I turned my focus to preparing these parts to be ready for the skins that are coming up. I started the deburring process in an earlier step, and finished deburring the longerons and J-stiffeners in this step. Deburring these parts is relatively easy since there are no flanges and tabs that make small, detailed areas to debur. For these parts it is just long edges and holes. The holes in the flanges of the J-stiffeners are dimpled since they are flush-riveted to the bottom skin.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, 22” C-Frame, 3/32” Dimple Die Set]

5/18/2021 – 0.7 hours
5/21/2021 – 1.2 hours
5/25/2021 – 1.8 hours
5/26/2021 – 0.5 hours
I started dimpling parts for this step started with the F-01486B & C left and right J-Stiffeners. All of the #40 holes in the stiffeners are dimpled to attach to the bottom skin with flush rivets. The only issue is properly supporting the stiffeners since they are very long parts. The aft fuselage bottom skin is also dimpled at this point. I scrubbed/scuffed (scruffed) the inside face of the skin as well as the outer skin in the area of the integral edge-stiffeners. The edge-stiffener areas of the bottom skin will ultimately lie beneath the side skins, so this is the best opportunity to prime those areas. I also put a break in the aft edge of the skin to facilitate a tight fit with the most-aft bottom skin.
[22” C-Frame, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Dies, Edge-Forming Vise-Grip Tool, Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

5/27/2021 – 0.8 hours
5/28/2021 – 3.3 hours
5/29/2021 – 3.4 hours
5/30/2021 – 1.1 hours
All the parts for this step are ready for final assembly, which started with an unusual instruction on the workbench. The plans state the bottom skin should be placed upside down across two sawhorses that are at least 38” tall. I was unable to find sawhorses that tall – most commercially available sawhorses are 29” – 32” tall – so the options were to make my own tall sawhorses or improvise another solution. I went with the improvise path. My workbench is much taller than 38”, and is a good working height for me to rivet. I also bought a couple of inexpensive sawhorses and used them to elevate the empennage crate from Van's off the garage floor. I placed the crate on the sawhorses about 4' from the workbench and voila! I had a stable work surface at a good height for riveting with a large gap in the middle for the fuselage bulkheads to hang below the skin. Clecoing the parts together was relatively straight-forward, but you need to pay attention to the placement and orientation of the J-Stiffeners.

It's been awhile since the last session with the rivet gun, and I felt very rusty. I started with the right J-Stiffener between bulkheads 7 and 8. I used my small BB-6 bucking bar, but the end results weren't great. There are a couple of (very) minor dings in the skin, and several rivet tails ended up slanted. I switched to the longer and narrower BB-7 bucking on the left and center J-Stiffeners with much better results. I also used the BB-7 bar on the bellcrank ribs. I had a problem with the rivet at the base of the rudder cable guide. That rivet goes through the skin, center J-Stiffener flange, and the base tab on the rudder cable guide. The problem is the tab only has a single hole, so there is no way to cleco it with adjacent holes to keep it tight for the rivet. I will come back to that hole at the end of the assembly process to see if there is a way to hold it with cleco clamps on the adjacent rib or maybe try to back-rivet it.

The bulkheads were riveted to the bottom aft skin in the final session of this step. I decided to back-rivet the F-01408 bulkhead and the center sections of the F-01407 bulkhead. I was very happy with the results, and the back-riveting goes a lot smoother than working with the bucking bar. I had to switch to the bucking bar, though, for the outer 4 rivets on the F-01407 bulkhead, the two bulkhead rivets under the bellcrank ribs, and the rivet aft of the F-01408 bulkhead for the rudder cable bracket. The bucking bar had the best access to those rivets. There is one rivet on each side of the F—01407 bulkhead that lies beneath the adjacent J-Stiffener, and I had to use the foot on my steel bucking bar for that rivet. Total clearance between the skin and the J-Stiffener is less than 1/2", and the foot was the only thing small enough to get into that space to buck the rivet.
[3x Rivet Gun, Swivel Flat (Mushroom) Set, BB-6 and BB-7 Tungsten Bucking Bars, Footed Steel Bucking Bar, Back-Rivet Set, Back-Rivet Plate]

  May 03, 2021     10-12 - F-01406 Bulkhead Preparation - (7.3 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/18/2021 – 0.2 hours
4/25/2021 – 1.4 hours
The first step in this section is to separate the bellcrank ribs. I decided to do this a little early because I had the bandsaw out to trim the aft bottom skin. The bandsaw made the task very quick and easy. The separated edges of the bellcrank ribs are very long and ended up with several tabs that had to be removed and deburred. This was a good opportunity to try a hand-held grinder with a 2” cut-and-polish wheel. I clamped the ribs to a board, and the hand-held grinder did a good job of quickly removing the tabs. One note of caution – make sure the grinder is turning toward the board or bench where the part is clamped, or it could pull the part off the board and bend it.

I finished deburring the ribs, and then cleco'd the battery angles to the ribs to final drill the #30 holes where they attach. I noticed an error I made earlier where I removed a small notch from the end of the left battery angle (F-1037C) instead of the right battery angle (F-1037B). I corrected the missing notch in the right battery angle, and I don't think the extra notch in the left battery angle will be an issue. I sent a note to Van's builder support about the notch in the left battery angle since this is the time to correct it with a replacement part if that is required. Van's builder support confirmed that the notch in the left battery angle does not impact anything, and encouraged me to “build on.” Apparently I am not the first RV-14 builder to make this mistake.
[Bandsaw, Sharpie, Straight-Edge, Deburring Tools, #30 Drill, Dremel, Metal Cutting Wheel, Hand-Held Grinder, 2” Cut-and-Polish Wheel]

4/26/2021 – 1.1 hours
I wanted to take advantage of the good weather today to prime, so I focused on final preparation of the bellcrank ribs. I pre-cleaned and scuffed the ribs, and then set up to dimple the holes in the bottom flanges and the top hole in the forward flanges. I started dimpling with the C-Frame, but access to the bottom flange holes was less than ideal. I switched to the pneumatic squeezer to do the dimpling job. The squeezer isn't as good at dimpling as the C-Frame, but the results with the squeezer are still good. After dimpling the holes, I degreased the bellcrank ribs and completed the priming.
[22” C-Frame, Pneumatic Squeezer, 1/8” Dimple Dies, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Dies, Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Dish Detergent, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

4/27/2021 – 0.6 hours
4/28/2021 – 0.4 hours
Bulkhead #6 (F-01406B) goes across the bottom of the fuselage just aft of the baggage area. It has several nutplate attach areas, systems holes, and cutouts. Preparing the bulkhead started with the standard process of deburring holes and edges. I finished the initial part preparation by scruffing (scrub/scuff) with a maroon Scotch Brite pad and Dawn detergent.
[Edge and Hole Deburring Tools, Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Detergent]

4/29/2021 – 0.6 hours
The next preparation step for Bulkhead #6 is dimpling select holes in the web and all of the holes in the lower flange. The two outboard #30 holes at the top of the bulkhead web are dimpled flush on the forward side. The two #30 holes at the top of the web near the center are also dimpled. These dimples line up with the ones at the top of the bellcrank ribs. Finally, all of the nutplate attach holes are dimpled flush on the forward side. There are 9 straight nutplates, including one in the center of the web and two on the short top flange of the part. There are also two 90-degree nutplates near the center of the web. The straight nutplates come pre-dimpled, but the 90-degree nutplates need to be dimpled by the builder. Definitely take some time on this step to ensure the correct holes are dimpled in the correct direction!
[22” C-Frame, 1/8” Dimple Dies, 3/32” Dimple Dies, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Dies]

5/3/2021 – 2.9 hours
The battery angles are riveted to the bellcrank ribs to complete that sub-assembly. The trick to this step is matching the correct battery angle with its bellcrank rib, and then ensuring the parts are aligned correctly. If you cleco parts together and notice holes that don't line up, you've probably done something wrong! Fortunately, you are likely to correct a mismatch before the riveting begins. The other item of note is that the left battery angle does not reach the forward hole on the left bellcrank rib, so that hole is left empty when the parts are riveted together. The actual riveting is pretty standard. I put the manufactured heads of the rivets against the thinner bellcrank ribs.

The finishing step for bulkhead #6 is attaching several nutplates and the bellcrank rib assemblies to the bulkhead. I used the pneumatic squeezer to set the flush-head rivets for the nut plates. The bellcrank ribs are attached with a flush rivet at the top and 4 universal rivets below it. I used the pneumatic squeezer for the two top and two bottom rivets, but the yoke wasn't long enough for the universal head rivet in the middle of the bulkhead. I also noted that the squeezer worked, but access to the rivets with the squeezer wasn't great. I used the rivet gun on the center rivet, which would have been a better choice for all of the rivets that attach the bellcrank ribs to the bulkhead.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, 3” Yoke, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, Flat Squeezer Sets, 1/8” Cupped Squeezer Set, 3X Rivet Gun, 1/8” Cupped Rivet Set, Tungsten Bucking Bar, Bench Clamps, Bench Vise]

  May 02, 2021     10-11 - F-01407 and F-01408 Bulkhead Preparation - (11.6 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/20/2021 – 1.7 hours
4/21/2021 – 3.1 hours
4/22/2021 – 1.1 hours
The next two bulkheads moving forward through the fuselage are a little different than the previous three bulkheads. The aft-most bulkheads are mostly solid and relatively small parts that are attached back-to-back to make a complete bulkhead assembly. These two bulkheads are much larger left and right pieces that are not doubled and are largely open in the center when the assemblies are complete. Preparing the pieces requires a lot of edge deburring, including long continuous edges as well as several tabs in the flanges. The plans also include a step to modify the Right F-01408 bulkhead by enlarging a pilot hole in the bottom web of the part, and then trimming away some excess material. I enlarged the hole with the Step Drill, and the used the Dremel to trim the part.
[Step Drill, Dremel, Metal-Cutting Wheel, Sharpie, Straight-Edge, Edge and Hole Deburring Tools]

4/23/2021 – 1.3 hours
I finished deburring the bulkhead halves, and started to prepare them for primer with the initial scuff and rinse. Scuffing is much easier and more effective before dimpling the holes. I had some grey ScotchBrite pads from my earlier process of scuffing with Bon Ami. They did fine with the Dawn detergent, but I think the maroon pads work better.

Dimpling the holes in the flanges was a little awkward due to the shape of the parts. The part cannot sit flat when dimpling the curved flanges, and they are very tall and unstable when they are vertical to dimple the top and bottom flange holes. I managed to support the pieces reasonably will, but in hindsight the C-Frame probably wasn't the best tool for these dimples. Most of the dimples came out fine, but a few of the tabs were slightly bent during the process. I inspected each tab and ensured they were back to straight. The pneumatic squeezer would have done a better job with the squeezer secured in the bench vise or the bulkheads clamped to the bench. I'll remember that when I get to the mid-fuselage bulkheads later.
[Grey Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Dish Detergent, 22” C-Frame and Hammer, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Die]

4/25/2021 - 1.5 hours
It was too windy to prime outside, so I moved ahead to attaching nutplates to the left and right battery angles. I started by final drilling the nutplate attach and screw holes, followed by countersinking the nutplate attach holes for flush rivets. I sprayed a light primer coat into the countersunk holes between gusts, and moved on to other tasks while the primer dried. I then riveted the nutplates to the battery angles. There are a couple of interesting points for this step. First, the battery angles are common parts with the RV-10. There is a single nutplate attach point at the end of each angle for the RV-10 that is not used for the RV-14. Second, the nutplate near the center of each battery angle is slightly different than the other four nutplates on each battery angle. They look really similar and it would be easy to mix them up if they aren't carefully separated and tracked during this step.
[#40 Screw, #12 Screw, #40 Countersink Cutter, Palm Drill, Pneumatic Squeezer, Flat Squeezer Sets]

4/26/2021 – 1.1 hours
Relatively light winds and mild temperatures equals a window to prime parts outside. Both sets of bulkhead parts and the rudder cable bracket received the Scotch Brite with Dawn pre-cleaning and scuffing and final degreaser cleaning. The rattle can primer is the same I've used to this point, and it appeared to spray on fine. My process is established at this point, and there weren't any surprises or issues.
[Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Dish Detergent, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

5/2/2021 – 1.8 hours
Final assembly for bulkheads #7 and #8 is primarily accomplished by setting rivets at the top and bottom of each structure. Bulkhead #7 is made from two halves that overlap each other (left over right) at the top and bottom of the assembly. Four rivets hold the bottom together while a single rivet is used (for now) at the top.

Bulkhead #8 is a little more involved. It has the two main halves like Bulkhead #7, but only the tops overlap and are held together with all four rivets installed. The bottom of each half do not overlap. Instead, they are each fastened to the rudder cable bracket, which essentially forms a butt joint. The final step for the bulkhead #8 assembly is to attach the stiffener clips to the bottom. In hindsight, it may have been easier to attach the clips before joining the two halves of the bulkhead, but I went with the order in the plans that attaches them as the final bulkhead step. I ran into an issue where one of the clips slipped between a couple of the tabs on the bottom flange of the bulkhead, which left some of the clip inside the assembly and some of it outside. It is all supposed to be inside, and I didn't notice the error until after I had set the first rivet. I had to drill out the rivet and try again with the piece cleco'd in the correct position.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, 3” Yoke, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, 1/8” Cupped Squeezer Set, 1/4" Flat Squeezer Set]

  Apr 24, 2021     10-10 - F-01410 Bulkhead Preparation - (5.8 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/18/2021 – 2.7 hours
The forward progress through the aft fuselage bulkheads continued with the F-01410 bulkhead assembly. This bulkhead is a little different than the first two (#11 and #12) since it is a single piece bulkhead with a saddle-shaped doubler instead of two nearly identical bulkheads attached back-to-back. This bulkhead also has a couple of small doublers in the area of the horizontal stabilizer attach bars. The final difference is a systems hole at the bottom of the bulkhead that has to be enlarged with a step drill. I started to make a mistake with the systems hole because there is also oneat the top of the bulkhead that isn't shown on the plans. I started to enlarge the top systems hole, but stopped quickly when I realized it was the wrong one. I fortunately stopped before the hole got too big or too close to other rivet holes and the edge of the part. I rotated the part and enlarged the proper systems hole. The day finished by final drilling the holes where the horizontal stabilizer attach bars are attached to the bulkhead.
[Step Drill, Fluting Pliers, 1/4" Drill, #30 Drill, Deburring Tools]

4/19/2021 – 0.6 hours
The F-01410A bulkhead and associated parts for this assembly went through the primer preparation process followed by dimpling the flanges. I fund the instructions in the plans to dimple this bulkhead a little confusing because it only says to dimple the flanges of the bulkhead. The confusion came from the fact that the assembly is made up of 2 pieces, and it wasn't clear if the holes on the top flange of the second piece should be dimpled. I looked ahead in the plans to see what attaches to the top flange, and it is the aft deck with flush rivets. In other words, the bulkhead flanges and the top flange of the doubler needs to dimpled.
[Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Dish Detergent, 22” C-Frame and Hammer, 3/32” Dimple Die]

4/20/2021 – 0.5
I primed this bulkhead at the same time as the F-01411 bulkhead, which is much more efficient than doing them separately. I cleaned the bulkhead parts with degreaser and then applied the primer. The primer went on reasonably well despite the intermittent breeze blowing the primer the wrong direction. I will complete the bulkhead assembly after the primer cures.
[Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

4/24/2021 – 2.0 hours
This bulkhead sub-assembly has four layers of parts in some areas, which is the most I've done to this point. It also has some of the densest rivet areas (most rivets per area) I've seen. I started the riveting with the holes common to the first two layers of the sub-assembly – the main bulkhead and the large saddle-shaped doubler. These parts are attached with 3/32” universal-head (AN470AD3-3.5) rivets at the top of the bulkhead and along the sides. I then moved on to the two additional doublers for the horizontal stabilizer attach bars at the top of the bulkhead, which are also attached with the small universal-head rivets. The final step was to move up to the 1/8” universal-head rivets (AN470AD4-8) to attach the horizontal stabilizer attach bars. These are the largest rivets I've worked with, and each bar gets nine of them. Drilling out bad rivets would have been extremely difficult, so I took a lot of time to ensure I was setting the rivets as squarely as possible. All of the rivets went in really well, but it was a test for the pneumatic squeezer. That is a lot of aluminum to squeeze, even at 3,000 psi!
[Bench Vise, Pneumatic Squeezer, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, 3/32” Cupped Squeezer Set, 1/8” Cupped Squeezer Set, Flat Squeezer Set]

  Apr 24, 2021     10-09 - F-01411 Bulkhead Preparation - (5.4 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/17/2021 – 2.0 hours
I am working my way forward through the bulkheads for the aft fuselage, The F-01411 bulkhead assembly is very similar to the F-01412 assembly I just went through. There are two bulkhead parts that fit back-to-back, and two horizontal stabilizer attach bars that are riveted to the forward side of the bulkhead assembly. There are also lots of nooks and crannies between the tabs in the flanges, so I spent some quality deburring time today after final-drilling the #30 holes in the assembly.
[#30 Drill, Deburring Tools]

4/18/2021 – 0.2 hours
The plans say the bottom flanges of the bulkhead should be fluted as required to fit the Aft Bottom Skin. After a little prep work on the aft bottom skin (Section 10-15), I cleco'd the bulkheads in place to assess the fit. The fit was actually pretty good, but I did put a mild flute in the bottom flange of the forward bulkhead. The flute didn't appreciably improve the fit, and it looked like further fluting would actually degrade the fit.
[Fluting Pliers]

4/19/2021 – 1.4 hours
The F-01411A and F-01411B bulkheads were prepped for priming prior to dimpling the flanges following my standard process of washing / scuffing the parts with ScotchBrite pads and Dawn detergent. The parts will get a final rinse with the degreaser just prior to spraying the primer. I finished this stage by dimpling the #27 and #40 holes in the flanges except for the non-dimpled holes identified in the plans.
[Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Dish Detergent, 22” C-Frame and Hammer, Pneumatic Squeezer, 3/32” Dimple Die, #6 Screw Dimple Die]

4/20/2021 – 0.5
Actually priming parts goes pretty quickly after all of the prep work is complete. The final steps of my priming process are to do a final cleaning with the degreaser and then spray on the primer. It was a little breezy, but the temperature was nice and the primer went on reasonably well. I will let the primer dry overnight before completing the bulkhead assembly.
[Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

4/24/2021 – 1.3 hours
This bulkhead subassembly includes the horizontal stabilizer attach bars, so it ends up being a fairly beefy structure by the time everything is together. It also means the rivets that attach the bars to the bulkhead are also pretty big. I get a little nervous with rivets half the size of the 30 rivets used here since it is very easy to tip and bend long rivets. I tried to mitigate that issue by clamping the squeezer to the bench and ensuring it was level. The riveting process was to hold the piece in the squeezer with small picture frame levels on the piece during squeezing to ensure everything remained straight. This process worked really well, and all 30 rivets went in really well. I can honestly say I have no concerns about future structural issues in this area!
[Bench Vise, Pneumatic Squeezer, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, 1/8” Cupped Squeezer Set, Flat Squeezer Set]

  Apr 24, 2021     10-08 - F-01412 (Aft) Bulkhead Assembly - (3.2 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/16/2021 – 1.5 hours
The main task for today was priming the parts that have been prepped to this point. This included some touch up on parts primed a few days ago as well as the aft bulkheads and tie-down bracket. The bulkheads and tie-down bracket received an initial cleaning / scuffing first, and all of the parts were degreased before priming. This has been an effective process for me with good results.
[Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Dish Detergent, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

4/17/2021 – 1.1 hours
The front and back aft bulkhead parts come together with 12 flush rivets around the perimeter. The flush manufactured heads of the rivets are on the aft side of the bulkhead. The pneumatic squeezer with a 2 1/2" longeron yoke did a nice job with these rivets. I also planned to rivet the tie-down bracket to the forward side of the assembly. I ran into a snag, however, when I realized that Van's sent AN470 (universal head) rivets instead of AN426 (flush head) rivets with my empennage kit. I didn't catch it during the inventory – I simply confirmed that I had the correct bag number and didn't check to see that the bag contained the correct rivets. I will have to set the assembly aside for a week while I wait for my rivet order from Aircraft Spruce.
[Bench Vise, Pneumatic Squeezer, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, Flat Squeezer Sets]

4/24/2021 – 0.6 hours
The AN426AD4-5 (flush head) rivets arrived in the mail to attach the tie-down bracket to the bulkhead assembly. Of course, I was so excited to set these last four rivets, that I completely messed up the very first one. I had to take a quick pause to remove the bad rivet and re-prime the area around the removed rivet. I allowed the primer to cure and then finished the four rivets to attach the tie-down bracket.
[Bench Vise, Pneumatic Squeezer, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, Flat Squeezer Sets, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can), #40 drill, Small Diagonal Cutter]

  Apr 18, 2021     10-15 - Aft Bottom Skin Preparation - (1.3 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

Initial Prep (Trim, Cut, Shape, and Drill)
4/18/2021 – 1.3 hours
I did this step a little early since the aft bottom skin is required to test the fit of two of the aft fuselage bulkheads, and the test-fit would work best with a nearly-complete skin. I removed the sides of the part with the bandsaw and deburred all the edges. The bandsaw was very useful during this step since the aft bottom skin is made from relatively thick material and the edges that have to be removed are pretty long.
[Bandsaw, Sharpie, Straight-Edge, Bench Grinder, 6” Cut-And-Polish Wheel, Deburring Tools]

  Apr 16, 2021     10-07 - F-01412 (Aft) Bulkhead Dimpling (Tricycle Gear) - (1.2 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/16/2021 – 1.2 hours
Dimpling the aft bulkheads and tie down bracket is different for the tricycle gear and tail dragger models of the RV-14. I'm building the RV-14A (tricycle gear), so the description of this step is specific to the RV-14A. It is very important to identify the forward and aft sides of the bulkheads before dimpling to ensure the manufactured heads of the rivets are on the aft side of the assembly. It is also important to mark the holes that do not get dimpled. I noticed on another builder website that there are two holes in the bulkhead webs that are identified to dimple, but should not be. These two holes are just to the outside of the tie down bracket. The edge of the tie down bracket goes right through the middle of the holes meaning they will not get rivets and if they are dimpled the tie down bracket won't sit flush with the bulkhead. I marked the holes with tape and then put large *'s on them with a Sharpie to make sure I didn't dimple them.

The flanges of the forward side of the bulkhead (F-01412A) also have two sets of nutplate holes on each side that can “optionally” be dimpled for flush screw installation of the access panel that will eventually go there. The #40 holes to attach the nutplates get dimpled to fit beneath the side skins, and I opted to dimple the #27 holes for the flush screws as well. The aft side of the bulkhead (F-01412B) also has a set of nutplate holes at the top of each flange. Those nutplates are not used for access panels (they are above and aft of the access panels), and those #27 holes should not be dimpled. The #40 holes to attach the nutplates, though, should be dimpled. It is definitely worth some time to make sure the correct holes are marked to not dimple and to look ahead in the plans if opting for the flush screws in the access panels.

I made most of the dimples with the C-Frame, which I think does a better job than the pneumatic squeezer. The exception was the flanges of the aft bulkhead because they are canted inward slightly. The pneumatic squeezer was the best way to access those holes. The other operation in this section is to countersink four of the eight holes in the tie-down bracket that correspond to the dimpled holes in the aft bulkhead. I found that 0.007” beyond flush worked well for the dimple to nest securely in the countersunk holes.
[22” C-Frame and Hammer, Pneumatic Squeezer, 3/32” Dimple Die, 1/8” Dimple Die, #6 Screw Dimple Die, #30 Countersink Cutter]

  Apr 16, 2021     10-05 - F-01412 (Aft) Bulkhead Preparation - (2.8 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/14/2021 – 0.6 hours
I went to the attic to retrieve my vertical stabilizer for this step, which includes match-drilling and final-drilling holes from the aft-fuselage bulkhead into the rear spar of the vertical stabilizer. The bulkhead is a two-piece design where the parts sit back-to-back resulting in forward and aft flanges. I cleco'd the two bulkhead parts to the vertical stabilizer locator holes as shown in the plans, and then match-drilled the two #40 holes at the top of the bulkhead. I then moved on to match-drill the #30 systems hole near the center of the bulkhead. This was a little more challenging because the hole goes through the steel rudder hinge bracket as well as the vertical stabilizer spar. The next step for the systems hole is to upsize the #30 hole to 17/64. I don't have a 17/64 drill bit, so I had to reach out to a fellow builder to see if he had one. Luckily he did so the work could continue.
[Clamps, #30 Drill, 1/4" Drill, 17/64” Drill, Deburring Tools]

4/15/2021 – 1.5 hours
4/16/2021 – 0.7 hours
Match- and final-drilling continued with the holes for the tie-down bracket. The bottom two holes and the two holes second from the top of the bracket get upsized to #12 for AN3 bolts. The instructions are to insert AN3 bolts as the holes are drilled. I did that for the first hole, and then remembered that I have some 3/16” clecos that are made for that size hole. I used the bolts to help keep things aligned and the clecos to hold the pieces tightly together. I finished this section by deburring the edges and holes after disassembling the pieces and removing them from the vertical stabilizer spar. I also deburred the new and large holes in the vertical stabilizer.
[Clamps, #30 Drill, #12 Drill, 3/16” Clecos, Deburring Tools]

  Apr 12, 2021     10-04 - Fabricate Horizontal Stabilizer Attachment Bar and Rudder Stops - (7.6 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/5/2021 – 1.2 hours
This is the first “real” fabrication task I've come across. Previous modifications to parts have been relatively minor like separating parts and final drilling holes. This step starts with 2 pieces of Aluminum “L” angle that are to be fashioned into the Horizontal Stabilizer Attachment Bar and Rudder Stops. My first action was to transfer the dimensions from the plans to the “L” angles. I learned quickly that accounting for the thickness of the material can make a big difference in the measurements, so it is important to figure out the correct face of the “L” angle to transfer the measurements to. In this case the best faces to use are the bottom and rear of the “L” angle.
[Ruler, Sharpie)

4/8/2021 – 1.9 hours
4/9/2021 – 2.0 hours
Van's lists a bandsaw as an optional tool, and I've been fine with the Dremel and hacksaw so far. The Horizontal Stabilizer Attachment Bar and Rudder Stops, however, require a lot more precision cutting than simply separating a couple of parts or trimming off some tabs. I studied the section of “L” angle aluminum for those parts, and concluded the Dremel and hacksaw weren't going to cut it. I bought a light-duty bench-top bandsaw for this step, which was a great decision for me.

I focused on fabricating the Horizontal Stabilizer Attachment Bar first. It took some time to lay out the part dimensions again, but I managed to do that more accurately than my first attempt a few days ago. The cut across the top of the “L” angle was too thin for the saw, so I used the bench grinder and flat file for that face of the part. I then turned to the bandsaw for the angle cuts at each end across the foot and back of the part. I put some relief holes in the notch at the center of the part to provide some maneuvering room with the band saw. I then used the saw to roughly form the notch followed by the bench grinder and 150 grit aluminum oxide sandpaper to clean it up. I finished the part by rounding the sharp corners and deburred the holes and edges.

Next on the agenda was the Rudder Stops. These are also made from aluminum “L” angle. The first step was to cut the “L” angle down the center into two parts. The parts are mirror images of each other, and it is important to label the left and right parts to keep them straight. The parts have 3 angled cuts relative to the vertical face of the “L” angle. I started with the easiest 45-degree angle cut nearest to the bottom, outboard section of each part followed by the slightly less than 45 degree cut just above the initial cut, and finished with the longest cut from the top of the part to the inboard edge. The key to this step is taking the time to correctly transfer the measurements from the plans to part and measuring and marking the cuts as accurately as possible. My parts aren't perfectly identical, but they are really close and I'm satisfied with the results.
[Ruler, Sharpie, Builder's Square, Protractor, Calipers, Bench Grinder with 6” Cut-and-Polish Wheel, #10 Drill, Flat File, Bandsaw, Deburring Tools]

4/10/2021 – 1.0 hours
I finished fabricating the rudder stops by deburring the holes and edges, and countersinking the holes in the base of the rudder stops. The holes closest to the flanges are too close for the countersink cage, so I had to slowly countersink those without the cage. The final step is to prime the parts, which I will do when the weather conditions improve since I'm priming outside.
[Deburring Tools, #30 Countersink, Microstop Countersink Cage]

4/12/2021 – 1.5 hours
There is a lot of debate on priming – “To prime, or not to prime, that is the question.” OK, that was cheesy – sorry! Anyway, there are a few spots in the build where Van's says to prime. That includes all non-alclad material and the parts fabricated in this step, which are also made from non-alclad aluminum “L” angle. I've primed basically everything except the exterior skins (those will get primed when the airplane is painted), and I took this opportunity to prime all of the aft fuselage parts I've worked on so far. I waited until close to sunset for the wind to die down, but things looked good in the twilight. I'll know for sure tomorrow when I see them in the sunlight and decide if I need to touch some things up.
[Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Dish Detergent, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

  Apr 07, 2021     10-03 - J-Stiffeners, Longerons, and Bulkhead Doublers - (6.9 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/5/2021 – 1.8 hours
4/6/2021 – 2.8 hours
The J-Stiffeners and Aft Fuselage Longerons are very long parts, which makes them a little awkward to work with. This initial step with these parts is to remove some excess material and, of course, deburr. Each J-Stiffener has a roughly 5” section at the end to remove. I did the rough cut with the Dremel, and then used the bench grinder to clean it up. The key to this step is to carefully label the J-Stiffeners since they all look very similar, but the left and right are mirror images of each other. The longerons had a couple of small tabs on one end to remove. The Dremel did a good job with the initial rough cut, and I cleaned up the area with the flat file.
[Dremel, Metal-Cutting Wheel, Bench Grinder, 6” Cut-and-Polish Wheel, Flat File Ruler, Sharpie, Edge and Hole Deburring Tools]

4/6/2021 – 0.6 hours
The Bulkhead Doublers and Stiffener Clips are small parts that each need to be separated into two mirror image parts by removing the small tabs connecting them. The Dremel and bench grinder made quick work of separating the parts and cleaning up the trimmed edges. The relatively small size of the parts also helped the deburring process go quickly.
[Dremel, Metal-Cutting Wheel, Bench Grinder, 6” Cut-and-Polish Wheel, Sharpie, Edge and Hole Deburring Tools]

4/7/2021 – 1.7 hours
Sometimes you need a micrometer, and sometimes you need a hammer. Straightening a thick piece of aluminum falls into the hammer category. In this case, I used a clamp, flat board, and a 28oz rubber-faced dead-blow hammer to straighten the horizontal stabilizer attachment bars. The process of cutting and drilling these parts at the factory can introduce a bow that has to be worked out. In my case, the parts had about a 1/2" bow that I needed to get to less than 1/16”. I started by deburring the edges and holes. Then I clamped the part between the workbench and a flat board, pushed down on the free end of the part, and hit the end near the edge of the table with a hammer. I then move the part further between the board and bench and hammered again – working my way down the part. The end result is a fairly flat (at least less than 1/16” over the entire length) part.
[Deburring Tools, Clamp, Board, 28 oz Rubber-Faced Dead-Blow Hammer]

  Apr 04, 2021     10-02 - Aft Fuselage Initial Part Preparation - (3.4 hours)       Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/4/21 – 3.4 hours
Assembly of the aft fuselage starts with the preparation of sub-structure parts. The plans call out several parts that need to be separated from each other as well as some minor modifications to a few of the parts. My routine for this type of task is to also completely debur the edges and holes of each part so I don't have to remember to do that later. The first set of parts to separate are plastic cable guides. The cable guides are small – just an inch long when separated. The kit includes two strips of four guides each in the miscellaneous parts bag. The easiest and cleanest way for me to separate the cable guides was with a razor blade.

The next step was to separate the Stiffener Angles. This required the removal of a small set of connecting aluminum between the parts, which I did with the Dremel and Metal Cutting wheel. I finished the separated edges with the bench grinder and 6” cut-and-polish wheel. Separating the J-Stiffeners was similar to the Stiffener Angles, and I used the same procedure to separate and finish the edges of those parts.

The final steps in this section were to separate the Battery Angles, final drilling a 1/4" hole in each of the F-1037A Battery Angles, and removing a small section from the F-1037B Battery Angle. Removing the section from the F-1037B Battery Angle was an interesting process. It started by drilling a #30 hole through the middle of the bend radius. I measured the location of the hole, and used a drill v-guide to drill a straight hole. I then used the Dremel and metal cutting wheel to trim away the material up to the hole I had drilled. The end result was a very clean notch out of the Battery Angle with a nicely radiused inside corner.
[Dremel, Metal-Cutting Wheel, Bench Grinder, 6” Cut-and-Polish Wheel, Ruler, Sharpie, #30 Drill, 1/4" Drill, Drill Guide, Edge and Hole Deburring Tools]

  Apr 03, 2021     10-01 - Aft Fuselage Plans - (1.9 hours) Category: 10 Aft Fuse

4/2/21 – 0.4 hours
4/3/21 – 1.5 hours
The cycle starts again by studying the plans for the aft fuselage and reviewing the RV-14 Revisions and Changes posted on Van's website to ensure that my plans are up to date. I noticed Service Bulletin SB 18-09-17, which deals with cracking of the aft fuselage forward bottom skin. The Service Bulletin applies to empennage kits shipped prior to 9/26/2018 (about 2 years before mine was shipped), so it doesn't appear to affect my kit. The Stiffener Clips in the Service Bulletin are part of my kit, but the Stiffener Doubler and Skin Doubler are not. Apparently the Stiffener Clips are sufficient in this area on newer builds. The rest of the plans are up to date with the Revisions and Changes on the Van's site.

The aft fuselage is much more particular about the manufactured head orientation on some of the rivets than previous sections have been, and there are lots of holes that don't get riveted right away. Another new aspect of this section is the plans and instructions are different for tail-wheel vs. nose-wheel models, so you have to take care to follow the correct set of instructions. Nearly the last 1/3 of the instructions are dedicated to routing wires and static system plumbing. This section introduces J-Channels, which I've heard can be “interesting” to work with. And I can see where a riveting partner will be necessary when the top skins are attached to the framework.

Looks like big fun! Time to get started!