Section 31 - part two

This past couple of weeks I was able to able to finish this section.  As I mentioned last time there are several modifications that need to be done and here are a few of them.

The first modification is the use of the Aerosport 310 instrument panel.  This is a beautiful carbon fiber panel that is designed to support 3 10" screens (hence the name).  I did run into a small issue in that the frame I received is actually backward with the flanges pointing aft instead of forward.  I contacted Geoff at Aerosport and he said its no big deal, just drill the center hole in the proper location as the rest of the panel is symmetrical. Easy enough to do by laying the van's provided instrument panel on top of the support frame and using the pre-drilled hose as a drill guide.

I'm also installing nut plates so I can just bolt on my avionics and wire supports.

Oh, since I had to do some priming for some non alclad parts I went ahead and finished the fuel pump brackets so I could install them as well.  See below for more.

I snagged this picture from one of the security cam's in the garage.  I realized I don't have many pictures of me building the airplane.  This happens to be the first day I was able to actually sit in the airplane.  No airplane noises yet....

Here is the support frame that I mentioned above.  See that screw at the top center?  It should be a little more to the left so I can flip the panel around and have the flanges at the bottom facing the other way.

The fuel pumps sitting on their brackets.  Bolts are not tight yet as I have lots of work to do down here but at least everything fits.

Another view of the fuel pump through the side access panel. These pictures were taken before I finished riveting the brackets in place.

Finished product.  Its not riveted to the fuselage yet as that comes in a step much further down the road.  Still lots of stuff to install under that section (rudder pedal for example) so it sits like this for now.

If you look closely at the sub panel you will see where I installed nutplates in several locations for avionics mounts and wiring organizers.

Section 31 Begins

After a rather busy work week that included some travel I got a chance to start working on section 31.  This is the forward top skin and the instrument panel assembly.  There are a few modifications to this section simply because this is where most of the avionics will be installed.

Oh, and I did finally finish riveting the last parts for section 29 so I can officially close the book on that chapter.

First things first...Jeff and I had our first day of sitting next to the runway watching airplanes for the year.  Nice day!

This is the section of the airplane I am working on now.

This is the first modification I had to make the this section.  The center pane of the Panel will have a 10" G3X display (currently that is the plan anyway) but this rib interferes with the placement of the display.  So, I cut back 3" and then formed a doubler that will restore the integrity of the part.

Here it is all riveted together

This is what the panel looks like in a stock RV-10.

In this picture you can see that I overlaid the stock panel with the Aerosport 310 panel frame that I will be installing.  Its actually on backward here because of the flanges.  I wanted to see how much of a difference there was between the two and since both panels are symmetrical it didn't matter when way I put it in.

Cleaning up a bit

I got a little help from some friends this past week...well actually two weeks ago to get the fuselage moved over to the new stand.  Harry also helped me finish riveting the aft top skin on the tail cone.  I'm almost ready to join the two but as I mentioned in my last post I want to try to keep things in the small garage bay.  That means its spring cleaning time!  I sold a few things, moved a few things, and trashed quite a few things.  Now there is enough room for the fuselage with the tail cone attached and it leaves me about 12" of space to walk around one end.  I hope this is enough for a while anyway. 

Not much for pictures this week simply because of the clean up work but here is the garage almost ready to get back to work.

In this picture it doesn't look as clean and open as it does when you can see the entire garage.

A few tools/parts that I am going to put up for sale soon.  I also have an extra pneumatic squeezer that I should probably add to the pile.

Steps are in

After spending at least two months on section 29 I felt kind of weird when I was able to finish up section 30 in just a few work sessions.  Section 29 is not technically complete but its close.  This week I did get the gear weldments bolted in and that was quite a project.  Those weldments require a little "persuasion" to line up properly but I had already created a small AN3 persuasion tool (AN3 bolt with the threads removed and a tapered end) so I was ultimately successful. 

The steps were not too terribly hard to install.  I did remember to install those bushing I turned on Ben's lathe a few months go.  They fit nicely and I think the steps will stay nice an tight....or at least I hope so because getting those bolts back out will be a bugger with the floor installed on the baggage area.

Finally I finished off the week by building a fuselage stand that I will use for the remainder of the build (until I finally get it up on the gear).  I had grand plans of building a all metal adjustable stand that would last generations but after a few hours of cutting, a few welds, and a trip or two to the welding supply store I gave up on that project.  The design I used will allow me to use jacks to raise the entire fuselage high enough to put the gear in and that's all I really need.

The next section I am going to complete is the tail cone attachment.  Unfortunately that also means I may have to move to the larger bay in the garage.  I did a little measurement and its going to be darn tight in the smaller bay once the tail cone is attached.  I may be able to do a little rearranging and get it to work but its going to be very tight no matter what.

One of the first tasks to installing the steps is to cleco the baggage floor into place to hold the ribs in the proper position.  Once cleco'd in you bend them up and cleco them to the seat brace.  I did a modified version of this.

Next step is to install the step and the support block so you can drill the block into the rib.  I stopped taking pictures at this point because there wasn't much to take pictures of.

Oh yea, I had a little help from Jeff to get the tail cone down from the hangar ceiling sling I had it stored on.  Then Harry helped me load it up into Ben's Suburban.  Finally Ben came over and helped me unload it.  Now it sits in the ever shrinking garage waiting to be installed.  That is the next section.

Pilot side gear weldment installed.

Co-Pilot side gear weldment installed.

And finally, the new fuselage stand sitting under the aft end of the fuselage waiting for some help to lower it down.  

Section 29....still

I think I'm beginning to understand why people don't like section 29.  I've been almost done for two weeks now!  Well actually I've been on vacation for the past two weeks with not much time to work on the airplane but still...shouldn't it work on itself while I'm gone?

Travis came over and helped me with the last of the skin riveting before we left for vacation.  That was a huge help to me.   I almost hope he decides to build an airplane some day because he has an amazing ability to visualize parts as well as read the plans.  Anyway in addition to the skins I was able to finish up the rear vents (which I don't really like but...) and I've finished riveting the front floor skins in.  Actually I'm not 100% done with the front floor skins because I still have a few side rivets to put in that will have to wait until I am done with the fuel pump mount that goes in the tunnel.

The only steps left for this section is to rivet in two side ribs (which should go pretty quickly) and to install the main landing gear weldments.  That last step will probably be a bugger since it involves many bolts and holes that all have to line up properly...and never do...depending on the temperature in the garage, the phase of the moon and how I position my head while banging it on the wall.  :-)

I'm probably going to step forward to the next section before I try to install the gear weldments.  I have a couple of shims that I need to prime before I install the weldments and the steps (next section) are made of steel and need priming also.  If I'm going to mix up a batch of primer I might as well try to use all of it.

Did I mention we went on vacation?

Yep, definitely vacation...

meanwhile back at home.... and this was only the first night...there was even more snow fall after we left for the Dominican Republic...24" in fact!

Floors riveted in place.

Outside of rear side vents installed.

Inside of rear side vents installed.

And a really hard to see picture of the fuselage with the side skins riveted on...no cleco's except those that wont be removed until I do the firewall steps later on.

Riveting....lots of riveting

Most of the past week has been devoted to assembly and riveting.  As the title suggests its a lot of riveting and I'm trying to do it mostly by myself.  There are many rivets I just can't do by myself so at some point I will have to call for help but so far so good.  :-)

On a related note I finally made the decision to use the Grove brakes that come with the kit.  Originally I was concerned about the brakes based on comments I read on VAF but it seems Van's has made a change from the older Cleveland brakes to the newer Grove brakes like the ones I have on my 9A.  With that decision made I was able to order my finishing kit.  They say its a 10 week wait so I figure it should come just about the right time, or a little early is fine too.

Oh, one more thing, Jeff and I did a little IFR practice this past week and were treated to a beautiful sunset.  Obviously the pictures below don't do it justice but I thought I would share.

I decided to insulate the floor area both in front and back.  There will be carpet on the floor but I like the idea of extra insulation to keep our tootsies from getting too cold in the winter.  This picture is of the passenger side front.

I took this picture after the assembly process was completed and just before the marathon riveting started.

And here is the same side after day 1 of riveting.  Note that the fuselage riveting is broken into 4 sections starting with the aft half of each side.  This week I was only able to get half the riveting done or more specifically the aft half of the assembly.  As I already mentioned I do have about 8 rivets in the aft half that I need help with.

Aluminum is really a bugger to photograph.  This is the aft half of the left side of the assembly but the reflection of the blue tarp on the side skin makes it hard to see.

Finally I had to take a picture of the whole thing as it sits this afternoon.  Now its time to go watch the Superbowl...for the advertisements only since I don't really give a rats butt who wins.  :-)

Dimpling, deburring, countersinking, etc complete

As I mentioned last week this week was about dimpling, deburring, countersinking, and even some priming.  I finished up the priming last night and had to do it in the garage because its too cold to use my basement (crawlspace actually) painting booth.  That means hanging lots of plastic and putting up with the smell of Akzo 2 part epoxy that seems to permeate anything!

I can't believe I am saying this but I miss the priming process.  The parts look so nice when they are fully primed but I'm trying hard to stick to my plan to not prime things that don't need it on the interior of the fuselage.  It just adds weight and no benefit.  Some parts still need priming such as anything made from the aluminum angle we work with.  The longerons and a few other parts that I manufactured all got some primer.  I also primed a few small parts simply because they were pretty scuffed up from the initial assembly process.

Looking at the pictures below reminded me that I don't think I have ever talked about the priming system I use.  A couple of years ago I purchased the 3M Accuspray system and have been very happy with it.  Its a system of disposable cups, and spray nozzles that makes mixing, spraying, and clean up a very simple task.  The spray pattern has been excellent, in fact its as good or better than the expensive paint gun (Devilblis) I purchased when I was working on the 9.

I'm afraid I only have two pictures for this weeks post...

Longerons, and other parts after priming.

Fuselage under plastic to keep the primer dust off.