Dave’s RV-7A Building Log

Now that I finally have some parts primed, I was able to start installing them. I started with the aft deck. I first re-confirmed that the fuselage is level in all directions. I clecoed on the aft deck and confirmed there was no twist. I was able to squeeze most of the rivets using all 3 yokes. There were half a dozen rivets in the corners that were either too close to the bunny ears or too far from a lightening hole. I just used the 3X gun on those. It might have been easier to just shoot most of them instead of monkeying with changing the yokes around. There are still two rivets that need to wait until the top skin is removed.

The aft deck really stiffens up the back half of the fuselage. It feels rock solid now.

Last night I spent the evening with my daughter at a Y Princesses function, playing laser tag and driving go-carts. Fun stuff!

I took advantage of the sunshine today and primed a few parts (mainly gussets) that have been waiting for a week.

For some reason, I wasn’t particularly motivated to work on the project. I did manage to lay out the holes for the baggage bulkhead. The bottom half of the bulkhead is pre-punched, but the top half is not. I carefully transferred the dimensions from the plans to the bulkhead. This would have been easier to do before I cut the radiused corners on it, or if I had at least marked the centerline on the bulkhead. Spending half an hour measuring, marking, and drilling holes really makes you appreciate the pre-punched parts. I also made the two cut-outs for the shoulder harnesses.

Van’s sent confirmation of my Finish Kit order. It’s scheduled to ship the week of May 9th. That would be just about the 10 week lead time advertised on Van’s web site.

Also, when I placed my order I was contemplating using a Whirlwind propeller, so I marked the “no spinner” box. What I didn’t realize is that if I later want to add a spinner, it will cost more than if I include it in the kit. I’m 95% certain I’ll use a certified Hartzell prop, so I asked Van’s to add the constant-speed spinner kit back onto the order.

Clecoed in the baggage side cover and floor. Started fitting the baggage bulkhead. Trimmed the upper part of the baggage bulkhead.

I started off by finishing off the top skin drilling. I also drilled the crazy little angle part for the top rib. The instructions say to peel up the top skins on the right side, which is exactly opposite of what you should do. The left side gives much better access for back-drilling the rib to the angle. I managed to do it from the right side using my angle drill attachment.

The next little task was to correct an omission I noticed. I somehow neglected to drill the one hole in the outer seat ribs to a #12 on each side where they connect to the F-705 bulkhead. I took care of that.

The remainder of the day was spent working on the steps. First I layed out all of the holes for the flange. To get the second-most forward column to hit the baggage wall bulkhead, I had to move it over about 1/8″.

The next step was to drill all of the holes. I used lots of cutting oil and a slow RPM. It drilled through great.

I then massaged (i.e. hammered and bent with a Crescent wrench) the flange until it semi-conformed to the side skin. I was not able to get the bottom aft corner to conform very well, so I used a cut-off disk in the die grinder to remove it as the instructions suggest.

I then drilled the step to the side skin after carefully positioning it. I ended up drilling out one rivet in the side skins that lined up almost perfectly with one of the holes in the flange. I just drilled it out to 1/8″ for the flange rivet.

The final step is to drill the plastic blocks that fit on the end of the step tube. I drilled the holes on the drill press and then installed the blocks on the step tubes. Drilling them to the tube and ribs was difficult. I used the angle drill attachment again.

Here’s what the right step looks like, just because I spent so much darn time on it.

I removed everything for deburring, sanded the rust off the step flanges, and coated them with oil. I’m going to store these for now until I figure out what I’m going to paint them with. I’m glad those things are done with, minus some easy riveting.

A potential RV builder, John Lewis, emailed me a few days ago about checking out my project and maybe trying out some metal working. The top skins needed drilling, so I set him up doing that. He did almost all of it, including the J stringers, and did a nice job of it. I had to crawl inside the canoe at one point to hold a stiffener in place. My first time climbing into the beast!

To give John a feel for the other tasks involved, I cut off a few pieces of scrap aluminum sheet and stepped him through the process of layout, drilling, deburring, dimpling, and riveting. He enjoyed it thoroughly, and did a great job. Thanks for the help John, and order that empennage!

I decided to start working on the steps. These things are not pretty and not fun, but are a necessary evil of a tri-gear model. I previously cut the holes in the side skins and baggage ribs. I worked on figuring out where to drill the holes on the step flange.

I cleaned all of the gussets and other parts in hopes of priming them this weekend.

I also received an order from Van’s. The first thing I ordered was the free fix for service bulletin 05-1-1. Since I haven’t built that part yet, I ordered new parts for the tip-up canopy connection to the F-706 bulkhead. The new parts look even easier to install than the old stuff. They sent a whole new fuselage instruction chapter–not helpful. I can’t switch over at this point. I just need to know what changed.

The other thing I ordered was the 5th point seat belt attach kit. It would have been better to install these when I was messing with the center section, but better late than never.

I’m getting close to having enough parts for a priming session. Unfortunately, the weather this weekend doesn’t look good. We’re finally getting the rain we need.

I removed the canopy decks, side rails, and gussets for deburring and priming/painting. Riveting on the side rails is going to be tricky.

I also clecoed on the middle (the one between the F-705 and F-707 bulkheads) top skin, along with the gusset and stiffener. The top skins are ready for drilling.

The replacement left firewall gusset arrived from Van’s. It was a perfect fit. I drilled it to the longeron and top firewall angle. I then deburred both gussets along with the longerons and firewall angle.

I thought it was cool that they sent a replacement part without any hassle, but it was only a $1.60 part.

I drilled and deburred the gussets that attach the F-706 and F-707 bulkheads to the longerons. The bulkhead holes are pre-punched, but the longeron holes aren’t. There’s nothing in the drawings about how to place the gussets on the longerons, so I just adjusted the angle until the face of the bulkhead lined up side to side.

I also drilled and partially riveted the arm rests to the F-705 bulkhead. I couldn’t reach the outside-most rivet with the squeezer, so that will have to be bucked. I started to drill the arm rest to the F-704 bulkhead, but the cover needs to go on first. I’m not sure when that happens.

The final thing I did for the night was work on the top aft area. I adjusted the flanges on the bulkheads to match the angle of the skins. I pulled out the J stiffeners for the top skins. I don’t remember doing it, but I already cut and shaped the ends when I was working on the tail cone. I put the stiffeners in place and clecoed on the aft top skin. It’s not exactly easy to do. It reminded me of wrestling with the tank skins. It might help to pre-bend the skin a bit.