Inventory finishing kit and fuselage: 4.5 hours

Britt helped me unpack the finishing kit box. We were able to inspect and check off all the big expensive pieces.

I then made a lot of progress taking inventory of everything else.

I also packed my wheels, tires, tubes etc. to be sent off to a specialty shop in CA (Anti Splat Aero). They will be installing a new sealed main wheel bearing that doesn't have to be repacked with grease every time the wheel is removed. They will also true the complete wheel assembly.

I also ordered four brake master cylinders from Grove Aircraft. These are a bit higher quality and more adjustable than the standard master cylinders that Vans ships with the kit.

 

Unboxing:

 

Taking inventory:

 

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Oshkosh and engine / propeller order

We had a great trip to Oshkosh and saw a huge number of beautiful RV's and other airplanes.

I visited the Vans and Lycoming displays. I have gone ahead and pulled the trigger on my engine and propeller order.

The order will be processed this week and the engine and prop should arrive here in about 12 weeks.

The engine is a Lycoming IO-360 and the prop is a Hartzell constant speed blended airfoil.

The engine is fuel injected and will produce 180hp. The prop is 72" long and improves on climb rate, cruise speed and noise levels compared with a fixed pitch propeller.

 

The 360 series display engine at the Lycoming booth:

 

 

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Fuselage and finishing kit arrived: 2 hours

My fuselage and finishing kit showed up today!

We are leaving for Oshkosh this afternoon so the timing worked out great. It would have been a real hassle if we had been gone when it all showed up.

The tractor trailer rig was unable to make the curves and hills in my neighborhood so Britt and I took my little trailer and met the driver.

The driver was very accommodating and made two trips back and forth to the house to get everything unloaded. I also spent an extra half hour with the driver afterwards helping him relocate an RV-12 wing that he was transporting.

As usual Britt was a great help and the whole process went very well.

 

Made it to my trailer:

 

It was a short drive to the house:

 

The last 50 feet were interesting:

 

This crate was harder to deal with than the fuselage. It was 330lbs and very awkward with just three people.

 

Looks good:

 

The garage is filling up!

 

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Top skin and fuel tank work: 9.6 hours

This blog entry covers work done on 7/25, 7/27 and 7/29:

- Finished installing plate nuts for the fuel tank bolts

- Britt and I made progress on the right wing top skin riveting

- I solo riveted all the I could along the edges of the top skin with the hand squeezer

- Britt and I unpacked the canopy and moved it to a shelf for storage.

 

My highly attractive and highly skilled riveting assistant:

 

We made enough progress to temporarily mount the fuel tank.

 

Canopy storage:

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More top skin riveting: 3 hours

I had a little extra time before work so Britt and I got the riveting around the wing walk doubler done. This is the tightest space riveting so from here on out it just gets easier.

 

Hardest part done:

 

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Worked on fuel tank and ... Canopy Arrived!: 5 hours

I spent the morning installing the many plate nuts for the fuel tank attachment to the leading edge. I also dimpled the tank and joint plate for the #8 screws that help hold it on.

Around lunch I got a call saying that my canopy had arrived at the freight terminal. It was supposed to ship from Vans with the rest of my finishing kit but there was some mix up so the canopy manufacturer shipped it direct to me from Ohio. The canopy I ordered is non standard in that it has extra UV inhibitors in the plexiglas which are supposed to keep the cockpit more cool without an extra dark tint.

The stressful part will be when I have to cut and trim the canopy into two pieces.

 

A big box for the canopy but the shipping weight was only 72lbs.

 

Looks good:

 

Plate nut progress:

 

Plate nuts finished:

 

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Fuel tank and top skins: 10.3 hours

Attached the right wing top skins for riveting and removed the bottom skins for access.

I then spent the majority of the time doing the fit and finish work for the fuel tank: trimming excess sealant, edge finishing, drilling holes for attachment bolts, drilling holes for nut plates in joint strip, opening p holes for #8 screws, edge rolling for fit, etc.

Finally Britt and I spent a couple of hours getting started on riveting the top skins on.

 

Fitting the fuel tank:

 

After some refresher practice we got a couple of ribs riveted.

 

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