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136 hrs |
153 hrs |
1/16/06: Ordered the empennage kit (fancy French word for "tail section") and QB kit for RV7. Received serial #72637. Got electric elevator trim, manual aileron trim, right step, float fuel sending units (told that QB must have resistive units), dual brakes, static air. Was told there would be a 3 to 4 month wait for the fuse and wings.
1/18/06: Ordered tools from Cleaveland Aircraft Tools; substituted the pneumatic squeezer for the hand squeezer . Reserved N98DA with the FAA.
1/19/06: Got a storage space (10'x10') and moved part of the garage out.
01/23/06: Last load to storage. Bought table material, bench grinder, and band saw (need 6 tooth-per-inch blade). Built two 2x5 tables, got a sore back.
01/24/06: trimmed table edge; prepared garage: lights, heating, cleaned up, finished air compressor system, set up bench grinder and band saw; inventoried empennage kit, sorted hardware in storage container.
01/25/06: finished sorting hardware in storage container; Cleaveland tools arrived: inventoried, stored, labeled; tested air tools, installed Scotchbrite wheel, READY TO GO!!!
01/26-01/30/06: chilled in Key West with Sally. Great food, great drink, lots of people watching (several loads of Carnival Cruise Lines floating fat farms).
01/31/06, 10 hours: started building empennage: completed rear spar assembly and began front spar assembly prep.
02/01/06, 8 hours: continued on front spar assembly and prepared the ribs (yum). Received notice from Van's that my QB fuse and wings are ready for shipment; the 3 to 4 month wait has turned into a 2 week wait... Holy f***in' f***k!!
02/02/06, 8 hours: drilled horizontal stabilizer skins, started preparing the horizontal stabilizer for assembly. Paid balance on the QB fuse and wings.
02/03/06, 7 hours: deburred, cleaned, and dimpled the horizontal stabilizer structural parts and skins. Pneumatic squeezer is THE SHIT!!! I only had a couple dozen dimples left to do on the skins with the C-frame riveting/dimpling tool. Primed the non-alclad parts. Adjusted the pneumatic squeezer in preparation for Monday's riveting extravaganza.
02/07/06, 8 hours: assembled the horizontal stabilizer, using my new longeron yoke for the pneumatic squeezer and learning to rivet/buck the small skin rivets. Smiled one on the upper left skin - actually it's more like a huge shit-eating-grin, dammit, but otherwise all went well. Should be able to finish the hostab tomorrow.
02/08/06, 9 hours: finished the horizontal stabilizer (45hrs total build time), began vertical stabilizer. Prepped all the parts, match drilled, deburred, cleaned up, etc... Ready to start dimpling and countersinking tomorrow. You might notice I am wearing gloves in the last picture; it was 35 degrees outside and the garage is neither insulated nor heated...
02/09/06, 8.5 hours: finished the vertical stabilizer (12hrs total time), began rudder. Trimmed a few stiffeners after a couple of duh moments trying to interpret the instructions; light came on after a while. Don't even want to imagine doing the stiffeners without a band saw ($99 at Home Cheapo). Also from Home Depot, the little gas heater you see in the upper left corner of the third pic; very naaahhhce.
02/10/06, 8 hours: cut and riveted stiffeners to rudder skins. Ordered engine from Mattituck: TMX O-360, constant speed, with one LSI Plasma II, 9:1 pistons, port/flow match/combustion equalization, precision balancing, and 55A 12V alternator. They don't take a deposit, just a credit card number and you agree (verbally) to be charged $1,000 if you cancel. Sounds pretty freakin' good to me. Should be here in about 14 weeks. Also ordered a Hartzell blended airfoil prop, firewall forward, and finishing kit from Vans. Those should be here in about 14 weeks too. Panel is the last big decision!
02/13/06, 9 hours: prepared all the rudder pieces for riveting, which will start tomorrow.
02/14/06, 7 hours: began assembling rudder, determined that two skins did not line up and therefore would result in bowed trailing edge. Deepened the countersink on the trailing edge wedge because dimples were not fitting properly. Drilled out a bunch of rivets and reassembled everything in order to get a better trailing edge line. Applied adhesive to the wedge and reassembled everything.
02/15/06, 9.5 hours: Finished the rudder and prepared the elevator stiffeners.
02/16/05, 7 hours: worked on the elevators and riveted stiffeners on the right elevator. Bought the materials for the elevator folder at Home Depot. Back killing me.
02/17/06, 8.5 hours: continued on the elevator. Built the wing cradle but was unable to figure out a time-efficient way to cut out the wing shape. So, made two 8"x17" cutouts and plan to pad the hell out of the bottom and sides.
02/21/06, 3 hours: short day today. Continued to prep the right elevator for assembly.
02/22/06, 11.5 hours: long day, that began at 4am cuz I couldn't sleep. Completed the right elevator and drilled the left skin to the understructure. QB fuselage and wings left Spokane today and will be in Monday, Feb 27th or the next day! May have the empennage completed by then!!!
02/23/06, 5 hours: prepped the left aileron for assembly. Ready to begin riveting, but have to stop and take a look at the trim servo installation first. Turns out I missed inventorying the servo kit and I am missing a part. Vans will send it out tomorrow. Should be able to proceed tomorrow nevertheless.
02/24/06, 4 hours: flew the Archer around the pattern to work the engine and took care of some admin items, so there wasn't so much time for working. Folded the ends of the left aileron skin that abut the trim tab, and arranged the garage for the projected arrival of the fuselage and wings on Monday or Tuesday.
02/27/06, 9 hours (7 build, 2 receiving kit): Riveted the left elevator and began assembling the trim tab. Received the QB fuselage and wings, courtesy of Tony Partain's shipping outfit. Everything in good shape save for a couple corner issues with two skin; all in all, a 99.9% perfect shipping job. A little overwhelming but in a couple of days I'll be done with the empennage kit and can immediately plunge into the wings. Very exciting.
02/28/06, 8 hours: finished the left elevator, laboring over the electric trim attachment to the tab. Vans' instructions for attaching the Ray Allen servo SUCK!!!! because if you follow them to the letter the actuating arm is not properly aligned with the trim attachment angles. So, I had to fabricate a replacement trim cover plate and drill the attachment holes slightly offset (I didn't take pics cuz I was too busy working, sorry). Then, I struggled with mating the elevators to the horizontal stabilizer. The issue is inserting the hinge bolts; the opening is too small for adult fingers and no ordinarily available tools work. Turns out Avery and other make a device but I don't have that silver bullet in my tool kit. It'll just have to wait until tomorrow.
03/01/06, 9 hours: using the picture of Avery's bolt handling gizmo, I fabricated something similar and was able to proceed with the mating of both elevators to the horizontal stabilizer.
03/02/06, 10 hours: woke up at 2am and couldn't get back to sleep. Finished the empennage! Rewarded myself by inventorying the QB fuse and wing kits... Read through the slow build instructions for the wings and all its appendages and started work. The aileron bellcranks are back ordered, so I started on the aileron pushrods. Onward and forward.
03/03/06, 4 hours: built the aileron pushrods. Not big event, but getting the six holes arrayed evenly around the head of the larger pushrods meant using a strip of paper cut to the circumference and poking six holes for the magic marker to fit. Drill press and aluminum angle were very helpful for keeping everything looking professional. Used -11 rivets instead of the -12s called for; the calculations actually called for -10s, but I don't have those. Shop heads turned out fine. Primed all four rods and clecoed the aileron brackets for assembly on Monday.
03/06/06, 8 hours: completed and installed the aileron brackets and the left wing's aileron gap fairing. Uneventful, except for some tricky riveting of the aileron brackets and vague rivet callout information on the gap fairings.
03/07/06, 6 hours: completed assembling the aileron gap fairings. Prepped and clecoed flap braces.
03/12/06, 2.5 hours: as an investment in future sanity, I organized each and every bolt, washer, nut, platenut, etc... in transparent boxes. Tedious, but essential to smooth building, in my opinion.
03/13/06, 8.5 hours: installed flaps and ailerons on both wings.
3/14/06, 8 hours: looked at starting pitot installation, but decided to order the Gretz heated setup. Once that is in, as well as the missing bellcranks, I'll move the wings to the bench and finish the wing stuff all at once. Did the inspection plate thing on the bottom skins, and moved on to the fuse. Fabricated and installed the tailwheel brake plate on the firewall and did the fitting/dimpling of the firewall extension (601K).
3/15/06, 7.5 hours: Assembled the control stick unit and installed the plates behind the seats, as shown in the pictures.
03/16/06, 8 hours: installed the flap actuator bearing blocks and tail spring mount, and fabricated angles and shims for the next step . Working my way line by line through the fuselage pages, finishing on page 8-8. I'm trying to figure out what the downside of going the QB route is, but nothing comes to mind. I am blessed. Talked to Jeremiah at Classic Aero and now just need to decide between the Aviator and Sportsman leather seats. Two pics of the fuselage below show my motorcycle stand in action; very handy for adjusting working height.
03/17/06, 7 hours: encountered a question regarding the installation of the tank attach bracket angles (p8-9), so moved on to assembling the brake pedals until it was time to call Van's. The second picture below shows how the tank attach location came in the QB fuse; the vertical five rivets at the bottom center of the picture shouldn't be there. Van's replied that they will bring that up to the builders via their QC guy. Drilled them out and then proceeded with fitting the 796 angle and shims uneventfully. Finally received the aileron bellcranks from Van's, as well as the plastic drill bits for the landing light lens installation, so I will probably move back to the wings next week. Oh, also confirmed with Van's the fuel sender arm bend parameters; the instructions mention every RV model except the RV7. Told to use the RV8 dimensions.
03/20/06, 8.5 hours: assembled the rudder pedals and brakes. Installed in the airplane but had to stop for lack of an angle drill to drill in the mounting holes. Will order and proceed upon arrival. Moved on to the gusset shown on third picture and then assembled the elevator bellcrank.
03/21/06, 8 hours: completed and installed the elevator bellcrank. Clecoed the forward top skin and 788 gusset to the 706 and 707 bulkhead, which involved having to trim the upper stiffeners which were too long. Next, attempted to fit the F6111 ribs which stiffen the curved part of the top skin, but badly over cut both sides, as shown in the fourth picture below. Because of the three-dimensional curve and the fact there is no indication regarding where the piece begins and ends, I bet I am not the first to dork up the installation and match-drilling. Accordingly, ordered replacements from Vans and will use the left side rib as a model for the new -- and hopefully, correct ones. Next, prepped the baggage compartment floors but did not install them as I want to put soundproofing under them first. Will order that tomorrow. Fit the baggage tunnel cover and riveted the seat floors. Started the forward tunnel cover.
03/22/06, 4 hours: finished the forward tunnel cover. The cover is not as wide as the brackets and then hangs over the aft edge, but it seems to mirror others I am seeing online, so I didn't trim anything. Began preparing the pieces for the seats. Off to a college visit for the next 1.5 days.
03/24/06, 8 hours: worked on the seat frames. Very tedious job. One seat is ready for riveting, at this point. Angle drill kit arrived in the mail today, so I am ready to go back and finish the rudder pedal fitting.
03/25/06, 8.5 hours: finished the seats. Finalized the brake pedal installation now that I have a killer angle drill setup. Also finished the center cabin and fuel valve cover unit.
3/27/06, 8 hours: installed the gusset shown below and the forward covers. Very trying and frustrating experience, partially because of poor accessibility and partly because it's hard to fit everything correctly. Used two 1/4" nylon bolts to locate the gusset before drilling it to the side skin.
3/28/06, 9 hours: made and fit the stick boot frames, and then installed the flap mechanism. Ready for the flap compartment covers tomorrow.
3/29/06, 7 hours: finished up the flap system. Received visit from Martin Gomez who is also building an RV7 QB slider and he bucked some rivets while I drove. Also helped me move the right wing onto the bench. Installed the aileron bellcrank and fuel sender. Need fuel tank sealant to finalize fuel tank details.
3/30/06, 7 hours: installed the right wing's landing light. Did not heed the warnings about warming up the plastic before trying to cut it and, sure enough, it cracked. Used the saber saw upside down in the clamp with the <1/8" plastic blade and it cut beautifully. Happened to receive the second landing light just as I was finishing cutting the broken lens, so moved on with the new lens. Kept it warm in the oven in between cutting, drilling, and countersinking. Light on in the oven (after warming it up with 30 seconds of broiler) keeps it at 102 degrees. Ready to finalize installation tomorrow. In between warming cycles, prepped the replacement forward top skin ribs for installation.
3/31/06, 6.5 hours: fitted the front top skin ribs, as shown below. The secret to fitting these in properly is that there is NO trimming of the rib's length. Only the flanges are trimmed back, the rib twisted, and the rib sometimes bent in past square. Match drilled the forward top skin and removed it.
Next, arranged the workshop to fit the right wing to the fuselage. Adjusted the height of the bike lift to line up the fuselage properly with the wing which I placed on the kitchen table (moved into the garage...the table, not the kitchen...).
