Dave’s RV-7A Building Log

This is the kind of riveting I do not like. Lots of very limited access and difficult angles. I started out trying to use the squeezer, but it was one rivet with this yoke and then one rivet with that yoke and then switch rivet sets, etc. I just went for it with the 3X gun. Much easier, but still not fun with the garage near 80 degrees and me in ear muffs. The rivets on the F-902 right under the canopy deck are particularly unfun. The subpanel structure is mostly riveted in at this point. I can’t wait to get the panel in and start fitting everything together and wiring it up.

Julie was nice enough to jump up after breakfast and help with some riveting, all of which happened to be under the fuselage. We riveted in the floor stiffeners, this time in the right direction. We also got to the COM antenna doublers. And finally finished the riveting on the pitch servo mounting bracket. It all went very smoothly. It’s great to have an experienced riveter around.

Since the doublers were in place, I decided to mount the COM antennas. Looks great except for one minor problem. I didn’t have long enough screws. I added those to the perpetual list. Meanwhile, I’ll leave them clecoed in place. One’s for the GNS-430 and one’s for the SL-40. It’s a little bit of a drag (literally) having two antennas out in the wind, but I’m willing to pay that price to have two good radios. Too many times I’ve heard on the radio “Experiment… shh… shh… two… shh… shh… turning… shh…”. I want to hear and be heard.

Later in the day I started permanently riveting the subpanel structure together. I started with the subpanel ribs to firewall. I realized this was going to be some tough riveting because the engine mount is in the way, so that’s where I started. I back riveted with a bucking bar on the front side. It was really tricky as the firewall is slick and the rivet gun is pretty wiley. I had to drill out and re-do a few of them. And then wouldn’t you know the stupid bucking bar slipped on one of the rivets and I got a little bit of a bump. Oh well. I tried hammering it out a little bit, but it is what it is. Good thing I didn’t bother polishing the firewall.

My major task for the day was to replace the floor stiffeners. I ended up putting them in backward way back. I guess I got confused the the left/right, up/down reversal when the fuse was upside down. All this time, I figured it wouldn’t matter much, but the precut carpets from Classic Aero won’t fit. I could try to re-cut the foam, but I’d rather just make the stiffeners go the right direction. I drilled out the old stiffeneers, as seen in the picture below. Ironic that the one moment Julie decided to capture is when I’m ignobly trying to correct a stupid mistake. I drilled the new stiffeners to the bottom skin, countersunk them, and painted them. They’re now ready for riveting, which probably won’t happen for quite a while the way things are going.

I also worked on the forward upper structure a bit. I riveted a couple of spots that I left undone for some reason. They were tough rivets, but not impossible.

I also dimpled the firewall and the ribs as needed. Dimpling the 1/8″ holes in the firewall was tricky since I don’t have that size pop dimpler set. I ended up using the 1/8″ dimple set in the rivet gun turned way down. Worked great. Trying to rivet in that spot is going to be tight.

I also cut off the front part of the right subpanel rib. I left it on for quite a while, but it’s obviously going to be in the way of the AF-3400 EMS screen. I might move it over. I might leave it out. We’ll see.

I did some other miscellaneous riveting on the structure, but I don’t want to put it in until the floor stiffeners are in. That structure will severly hinder access for riveting the stiffeners.

I made a shelf for the space between the firewall and the subpanel. I’m going to put stuff like fuse blocks and all the little boxes on it. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of it clecoed in but I will eventually. It will be riveted to the top firewall angle and the bottom of the subpanel ribs. The aft edge has a bend in order to stiffen it up.

I also took apart the forward upper structure in order to dimple as needed for riveting.

I just noticed that last night’s session bumped me over the 1700 hour mark. At the beginning of the project, I was estimating it would take 1800 hours. Now I’m thinking it will be more like 1900. We’ll see.

I completed my BFR today. It was crazy at BFI with the Blue Angles in town on top of the usual weekday mayhem. I’d say my landings were some of the worst I’ve done in a while, but the instructor said they were safe and I was good to go. Along with my medical from yesterday (which sadly lasts only 2 years this time), I’m good to fly for another 24 months.

The seats arrived from Classic Aero!! From other builders’ comments, I was expecting them to be great. Well, they are actually better than great. The stitching is as nice as my Audi. I put them together with my harness and of course had to try them out. Very comfy. I know the colors are boring, but I love the mellow scheme.

The side panels and carpets also arrived. These things make the plane look absolutely fantastic. I just set them in place, but you get the idea. I’ve got a minor issue to work out with my ELT placement. I’ll have to peel back the leather and cut a little relief in the aluminum panel. Should be no problem. Everything is fairly light weight, except the seat backs. But they replace the whole seat frame, so that’s why they’re a little heavier. This is going to make for one nice comfy cockpit. The first picture shows the upper side panel which is molded plastic, and the two lower panels that are aluminum and split at the F-704 center section. The second picture shows the baggage compartment side panel which also has aluminum backing (ignore the junk sitting on the baggage compartment floor).

No real work done on the plane today. I was too wiped out after the BFR.

It’s been way too hot around here. Friday was a record temp for Seattle, over 95 degrees. It’s just been too hot to work much in the garage. Today I did go out for a while and finish the segment of the fuel line from the pump to the firewall. A little tweaking here and there and it fits great.

I also started working on fitting stuff in the panel. The cutouts for the CO detector and ELT remote were very tight. I filed them a bit until the fit was better. I was going to drill the mounting holes (not sure why Ross didn’t do this part), but discovered I didn’t have the right site drill bit. I need a #33 drill bit for the #4 screw holes. Then I noticed everything that gets mounted to the panel seems to need a different size screw. I made a complete list of all the hardware I’ll need to mount everything. Looks like I’ll be placing another order with Spruce soon.

I realized a while back that I never finished the fuel lines. There’s still a chunk missing from the the Airflow Performance boost pump to the firewall. It’s a fairly tricky line as it has to do an extended 180 degree turn under the pump and then another 90 up to the firewall fitting. I wish I had done this one when I was doing the others. I’m a bit out of practice. However, at the time I didn’t know exactly where the firewall fitting was going to end up.

I made an initial stab at the line and almost messed it up right off the bat. I’m not sure how, but the 180 degree bend ended up too wide. That mistake actually turned out well as I just tilted the line a bit and it lined up with the firewall fitting even better. My old nemesis eventually bit me in the end. I flared the tube without putting on the nut and sleeve. Dang it. Cutting off the flare left too little left to redo the flare. Luckily I had just enough extra line for a second attempt. I know I bought a bunch of extra 3/8″ aluminum soft tubing a while back, but I’m getting down to the end of it. I started making a replacement. It was just so nice outside that I didn’t get much further. Went on a walk to the store for ice cream with the family and chatted with some neighbors until fairly late.

Riveted the cabin frame support in place. Nothing too tricky about it.

I cleaned up the cabin frame in preparation for painting. While that was drying I installed the custom heat muff that Rick Robbins made for me with the inlet and outlet 60 degrees apart. He turned around my order really quickly and it turned out perfectly. Thanks Rick!

The fit is great. The angle between the inlet and oulet provided the best path for the SCAT tubing. It’s a little tight running the SCAT tubing inside the intake tubes, but there’s enough room. I’ll clamp it in a few spots to keep it from rubbing on anything. Getting the SCAT tubing over the flanges is not fun. Hopefully this is it. These shots are oblique from the front, front shot, and side shot.

The nice part about our recent warm weather is that stuff drys fast. I was able to prime the cabin frame in the same night. Not only that, but I sanded out a few parts, blew off the dust, and did the final coat. The filler isn’t perfect, but it looks much better than without.

Productive night. I wish they could all be that way.

I sanded down the second round of filler on the cabin frame, and it’s looking good. Time for paint.