Dave’s RV-7A Building Log

Way back when I fitted the gear mounts into the fuselage, I didn’t make the opening quite big enough. After I had the mounts permanently installed and the plane on the gear, I realized that the gear mounts were actually rubbing on the bottom skin. It probably would have been fine, but in the back of my mind I had a nagging worry about it. I was concerned the bottom skin (and center section flange) would fret against the gear mount and cause problems down the road.

I decided to fix the problem right before fitting the wings. I made a sawhorse to support the fuselage and then jacked the fuselage up onto it. After removing all the bolts and screws, I was able to move the gear and mount far enough forward to get a little needle file into the gap. I spent probably half an hour filing away at the area that was too close. Half an hour might seem like a long time, but it’s better than removing the gear and fuel line and brake line and wiring to get the gear mount out.

Once the filing was done, I reinstalled the gear mount. This was quite a hassle, even more so than the last time since I now had wiring and plumbing in the way. Left side is done. I’m happy I went back and did it.

I also got the elevators permanently installed, the push tube connected, and the elevator trim wiring hooked up.

Trimmed and fitted the other wing tip lens. I’m glad those are done. Also put another coat on the LED nav lights.

I spent most of the evening organizing all the papers that I’ve collected for the project over the past several months. Wiring diagrams, installation manuals, instruction sheets, etc.

I worked on one of the wing tip lens. I cut a bit more off one edge with a Dremel cut off wheel and then sanded with the belt sander until it fit perfectly. One more to go.

First evening session down at the hangar worked out really well. It’s a bit chilly and dark, but not bad at all. I did some organizing of stuff, and started attaching the empennage. I thought I could hammer that out in a few hours, since I’ve attached the tail parts numerous times by now. However, it takes a bit longer when you’re actually attaching the parts for real. Have to find the right bolts, put in the right number of washers, torque the bolts, etc. I managed to get the HS and VS installed and started on the elevators. The center bearing on the HS is a real pain to reach and needs multiple washers. It doesn’t seem as dim in there as the picture indicates, but it’s definitely not bright. Need to buy a few work lights. And definitely need to build some work benches.

I met my first hangar neighbor as well. Turns out it’s a guy I met a few years back at an EAA meeting. Will is building an RV-8 (slowly), teaches aerobatics in his Decathlon, and is just finishing up his CFII. And best of all doesn’t mind training in other people’s RV’s. Very cool neighbor to have.

Progress will be in bursts from now on. When I get to the hangar, stuff will get done. Tonight I did not get to the hangar.

I cut up some lumber that I’m going to build into a sawhorse to put under the fuselage. I’ll use that to keep the fuselage level and steady while I adjust the wing incidence. I might also fit the wheel pants at that time, since the weight needs to be off the wheels to correctly align them. We’ll see.

I worked a bit more on the wing tips lenses, getting one side sanded straight on each one. Unfortunately, I need the Dremel to cut quite a bit more off the other edge. The Dremel is at the hangar.

I put another coat of paint on the back of the LED nav lights. I think the paint is going to work out quite well.

I rented a small moving truck and got all the tools and miscellaneous parts down to the hangar. I wasn’t feeling too good today, so that’s about all that got done. I messed around a little bit back in the garage with painting the nav lights. The instructions say to paint them in order to seal off the electronics. I’m using a white paint which I’m also hoping will make the lights a little more stealthy than the red/green of the circuit boards. We’ll see.

Back after a short business trip. Man it’s frustrating being away from the project when it’s so close to the end.

I spent most of the day packing up all the parts and tools around the garage. It took a lot longer than I expected, sorting, cleaning, organizing, etc. So that I didn’t go completely crazy, I worked on the wing tips a little bit between packing. I made a cut out in both tips for the nav light/strobe unit that I got a long time back from CreativAir. I used a fiber cut-off disc in the Dremel plus drum sander attachment. Very quick and easy. I positioned the lights right where I wanted them and drilled through them and into the wing tips. Last step was installing the nut plates.

I’m trying to get the wing tips finished up before I move all of the tools and parts down to the hangar. I countersunk the rest of the holes and installed all of the nut plates and the wing tip ribs. Just need to put in the antennas (VOR and MB) and install the nav lights.

I mainly cleaned up and re-arranged the garage, but did some countersinking on the wing tips.

Finally. The plane is in the hangar. Julie wanted to mark the occasion with a picture for some reason.

Skyway Towing sent out 2 guys and a tilting flat bed, 8′ wide, car hauler. They did a really good job of taking care of the plane and getting it secured on the truck. Winching the plane up onto the truck was easy. They secured the wheels with straps tied down front and back and ran a strap to the tail tiedown with only minimal tension. They also wanted to throw a couple straps over the top for good measure, but I didn’t let them tighten those down very much at all.

It definitely got some stares driving down the freeway. I wish I had some pictures of that, but I was out front leading them to the hangar.

The only difficult part of the whole process was getting it off the truck. The free-castering nose wheel kept wanting to turn in the wrong direction. Unfortunately, I forgot the tow bar at home. Every few feet we had to stop. I pushed down on the tail while one of the guys straightened out the nose wheel.

I’m very glad it’s safely in the hangar. This has been the single most stressful part of the project so far, hopefully second only to the first flight.