Lunch at the Hangar

Today Tim and I went to the hangar to install the wings and do a few things before the family came out to have lunch together.  It was basically our family who have helped to build the airplane over the last few years.  Tim and I put in the last three labels in the airplane.  We put in the gas shut off valve label, the 12V power out let label and the music input label.  Then we moved the airplane out onto the apron and installed the wings.  We rolled it back into the hanger and waited for the family to come. 

After the family came we had sandwiches and then the kids took turns sitting in the cockpit.  They also had a lot of fun seeing the airplanes come and go.  It was a bit windy but I think everyone had a great time. Now I need to remove all of the upholstery and access panels to be ready for the certification inspection.

Upholstery

The first thing I did today was connect the tank filler to the top of the tank.  

I began to install the upholstery and bulk-head covers.  We are having a family and friends gathering at the hangar on Saturday the 29^th for lunch.  I want the airplane to look as finished as possible for the lunch.  I set the baggage compartment bulkhead in place then put in the rear bulkhead upholstery. It is all there temporarily.  I also put the tank cover in place and by pressing down on the Moller fuel gauge I was able to make an indentation on  the back of the cover so I could cut out the opening for the Moller gauge.  I also cut a slot and a hole for the new tank vent.  I laid the baggage floor access panels in place then installed the rest of the upholstery including the tank cover.  I think it looks pretty good.

I removed the seat backs and installed the upholstery on the floor of the fuselage.  I also put the upholstery over the tunnel between the pilot and co-pilot pedals.

For now much of the upholstery is laid in loose because I will need to remove it along with the access panels for the certification inspection.  I have spoken with and exchanged emails with Tom Gierhart, the DAR who will be doing the inspection.  I also checked with the Federal Aviation Title Company about the status of my registration.  The forms have been submitted but they don't think any action will be taken until after the 18^th of April.  I let Tom know.  He is going to Colorado in April so we will probably have the inspection towards the end of the month.  I will be flying to the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX area on the 28^th-29^th of April for some RV-12 transition training.  Things are moving along but they are getting complicated.  I also spoke with Dave Wisenger who is going to paint the airplane.  I told him I am going to Erie, PA for 10 days in April and maybe he could begin painting while I am gone.  We'll see how things go.

Instrument Panel Placards and Labels

Today I went to Sign*A*Rama and ordered the N Numbers for the tail.  The registration number (N Number) is N419AJ.  The sign company is going to make 2-sets of the registration number so I can put them on both sides of the vertical stab.  These will be temporary for the inspection/certification.  I will have them make the permanent numbers in a maroon color after I pick the paint color at the painter's.  I also went by the Trophy Case and ordered a plastic name badge with the registration number engraved to mount on the instrument panel.  This will be a 1"x3" black plastic badge without the back so I can attach it to the panel above the SkyView display.  When I got to the hangar I began installing the placards and labels on the instrument panel.  I put the black, red and silver RV-12 placard on the upper portion of the center panel.  I think it looks pretty good there.  I also installed the other labels on the throttle, cabin heat knob, auto pilot disconnect switch, choke, etc.

Rear Window and Tail Fairing

Today I installed and sealed the rear window.  I used Dow Corning sealant, beige in color.  I think it worked out well.  The sealant is not effected by fuel so it should be a good thing.  I started by cleaning the window and then I put it in place on the airplane.  I used fasteners to attach the window to the roll bar and clecoed the turtle deck and the window together.

After clecoing the window in place I put red electrical tape around the edge of the aluminum.  Then I removed the clecoes and put popsicle sticks in the joint to make room for the sealant.

Next I cut the tip of the sealant tube at and angle and squeezed sealant between the turtle deck and the window.  I then installed screws in all of the holes.  I put sealant on the threads of the screws just below the head and inserted them in the holes.  I then put a washer and a nut on each screw.  I started on the right side and tightened the screws and nuts.  The sealant squeezed between the turtle deck and the window a squeezed out onto the red tape.  I wiped it off and cleaned the turtle deck with MEK.  

After the sealant set for a short time I pulled the red tape and the edge of the turtle deck looks pretty good.  The rear window is now installed and sealed in place.

The next step was to install the tail fairing and make sure the stabilator and the AST arm clear the fairing.  After installing the fairing I discovered it rubs on the right side opening in the stabilator.  Both the top and bottom skins rub the fairing.  I marked the stabilator skins with a marking pen. 

I also noticed the AST arm rubs on the left side of the opening in the fairing.  I removed the fairing and using a sanding drum removed the top and bottom stabilator skin to clear the fairing.  I also used the Vixon file to trim the fiberglass fairing to clear the AST arm.

That part of the build is now complete.

Canopy Seal

I purchased the canopy seal kit from Van's.  One of the things the kit includes is extensions for the 1x1 tubular frame at the forward arms.  Yesterday I cut 2-short pieces of the tubing supplied with the kit to the right shape.  I then prepped, primed and painted the pieces. 

Today at the hangar I installed the extensions.  They are riveted to the frame to extend the tubular framing.  When the airplane is painted I need to touch up the black on the inside of the forward part of the canopy.

Complete Wing Repairs

Today I spent some time at the hanger finishing the repairs on the wing.  I was able to sand out all of the body filler patches made yesterday.  I also made a trip to Lowe's and purchased some 8/32x3/4" stainless steel flat head screws for the PVC fairing on the vertical stab.  The 5/8" screws are just a little short so the longer screws work really well.  I used some 220 grit sand paper and sanded all of the filled areas from yesterday.  After doing the sanding I needed to so some additional filing on the stabilator trailing edge.  I mixed some body filler and applied it to the low spot from yesterday.  While it was setting up I drove to Lowe's and purchased the screws.  Upon my return I sanded the stabilator patch.  I then used some 400 grit paper and resanded all of the patches.  They are in pretty good shape for painting.  I used a cloth and cleaned up all of the sanding dust and wiped off the surfaces. 

After taking care of the sanding mess I reinstalled the flaperon on the right wing.  I need to turn the right wing around on the wing rack and push it back into the corner of the hangar. 

 

As I was installing the flaperon I had a visitor drop by.  This fellow is an instructor at the Salt Lake Community College in the Aviation Maintenance Program.  He was very interested in the airplane and wanted to know all about it.  He said one of his assignments given to his students is an effort where they have to contact the many kit manufacturers and do some research on the kits they offer.  The students are supposed to pick a kit and then write a report telling all about it.  He said many of the students write up Van's RV's.  This is the first time he has seen an RV-12.  He was very impressed. He asked if I would be willing to speak to his classes this fall and tell my experience in selecting and

building my own airplane.  I told him I would be happy to.  He said he will come and see me again.  My next project is to install the rear window and then the trim tab on the rudder.

Wing Repairs

Today I took the camera to the hangar to photograph the damage done yesterday when the right wing was blown off of the wing rack by a wind gust.  The wing tip was tweaked  and some of the skin under the wing at the end were bent.  The bottom edge of the rear spar was bent.  The root end of the wing also suffered some damage.  The bottom of the rear spar was bent and the skin had some wrinkles in it. 

The root end of the flaperon skin was bent and there was a kink in the trailing edge about 1' from the end.  The flaperon also seemed to have a bit of a bind when it was moved from side to side.  I took some photos of the damage.

I started  to work on the root end of the wing.  I removed the flaperon.  As I removed the bolt at the root end of the wing it was really had to get the bolt to come out.  After removing it I realized why the flaperon seemed to be binding.  It was.  The holes in the bracket and the bearing were off by almost ½" from lining up.  There was also a bit of a crease in the trailing edge of the flaperon. 

I drilled out the rivets in the wing skin from the end of the wing back three ribs, and from the mid wing spar to the rear spar.  I pulled the skin back and found the end of the root wing rib had been bent.  I purchased some auto body tools at Harbor Freight and set to work to straighten the bent section of rib.  It worked perfectly.  I made a little reinforcement piece to rivet into the corner of the rib and rear spar.  I also straightened out the edge of the rear spar which was slightly bent.  I used the hammer and dolly to flatten the wing skin.  After straitening all of the bent pieces I clecoed the wing back together.  I retrieved the flaperon and put the bolts through the brackets and bearings.  It all fits now, just like it did when it was new.  

Satisfied with the repair I riveted the root end of the wing back together.

I then began working on the wing tip.  I drilled out the rivets on the skin area next to the flaperon.  Also the narrow piece of wing skin on the bottom of the wing next to the tip.  I also drilled out the rivets on the concave bottom skin on the wing tip.  I drilled the rivets from the trailing edge to just

about mid-span on the wing.  It became obvious the edge of the rear spar was deformed which cause some wrinkling and bending in the various pieces of wing skin at the tip.  The pictures tell the tale.

After removing the rivets and looking inside, the damage was not as bad as it looked.  I was able to bend the end of the rear spar back into line and then using the body shop tools I straightened out the various bent, tweaked and wrinkled pieces of skin.  After that I was able to clecoe the wing tip back together and install new rivets.

After riveting the wing tip back together I decided to put some body filler over the wrinkles I was unable to remove.  I also put some body filler on the top of the wing again.

The Flaperon was next to be repaired.  I straightened the skin at the bottom root of the flaperon.  I then began working on the kink in the trailing edge.  With my duck bill pliers and the auto body hammer I was able to get the flaperon pretty straight, but I could not remove the dent.  I filled the dent with some body filler.

That's it for today.