Mounting the pitot heat controller - 3 hours

One of the ideas that I liked while researching other builds was mounting the heat controller in the bay beside the aileron bellcrank. I figure the best way to align things was to cut out a template and use that as a drill guide on the wing rib rather than try to work with the actual heat controller.


Once I was satisfied with the alignment and the position, I drilled holes for #6 screws. Next I had given some thought to how I wanted the controller to be mounted to the rib. Most have screws but are accessed from the inside. I figured if I installed nutplates on the controller, I could easily install/remove the controller by having screws accessible from the access plate. So that's the direction I headed.

More Pitot work - 3 hours

More monkeying around with the pitot. Ive pulled in the lines and through the new bell crank bracket that I had made. At first it looks good, but then I see the top most line is awfully close to the bellcrank.



I may need to reroute that topmost line down a hole. The clearance is great if I did it that way. I also notice that the AN509-6R6 screws are just a bit too long for the pitot so I will revise these to AN509-6R5 screws (5/16" length)


I took the opportunity to prime the countersunk holes in the mast.

Looking good.

Drilling the Pitot Mast - 3 hours

I've been looking forward to drilling the pitot into the mast for some time now. I've looked at a number of installations and I think that I have wrapped my head around it enough to tackle the task.

Straight away I can finally see where everyone mentions the 'thick part' of the pitot. I will need to ensure that the pilot holes for the #40 drill bit will be centered on these. Easy enough to do if I drilled directly into the pitot. But the tricky part is that I need to drill through both the mast and the pitot so transferring the holes on the outside the mast will be tough given the curved surfaces and the thickness' involved. So I began to mark out all lines on the pitot with the idea that I will transfer them up to the mast.

When inserting the Dynon pitot into the Safe Air 1 mast the slip fit is a little loose. Enough to make me feel nervous about drilling it that way. So I used a piece of electrical tape wrapped around the pitot (1 layer). The fit was not snug but found 2 layers was too thick. So I used 1 layer of electrical tape and 1 layer of masking tape...nice and snug. 

Then I went to work transferring the lines up the mast. Also placing the holes dead centre between the 0.700" overlap between the mast and pitot.

I didn't not feel 100% comfortable that I had transferred the lines right. There is so many ways that errors could have crept in. So I made a paper template and marked out the lines on that and compared that with the markings on the pitot and the mast. Everything seems to be in order. It's still not the most precise way but at some point I just had to roll with it.

I set up the vice on the drill press and drilled the holes with #40 pilot hole. Once I was happy with that, I opened up the holes to #32. I then pulled it all apart and inspected. I am very pleased with the aft holes. Dead centre. The forward holes are a bit off centre (maybe 1/32") but still in the thick part of the pitot metal. But considering how narrow the forward most 'thick' parts are, I think I did just fine.

I completed tapping treads for #6 screws. Now I just need to countersink the mast. I'll do that tomorrow. Getting late tonight, and it's never good countersinking when tired.

Looking back on it I suppose I could have pulled out my pitot hole template. I could have slipped that over the pitot and marked the lines and used that to transfer to the mast. Who knows it may have worked better, may not. In the end I'm happy with the result. 

More drilling the Aileron counterweight pipe - 2 hours

I wasn't sure the best way to open up the #40 holes in the counterweight. I decided to set up to drill the pipe on the press. I will be able to put my drill jig to good use.

That was easy. Next step was to cleco the pipe back into the aileron, and drill out the #30 holes in the skin. Worked very well.

Once both ailerons were drilled. I needed to disassemble the leading edge and complete the #30 holes that are drilled from the backside.

I then disassembled the parts and looked everything over. All looked good, but I wasn't happy with some of the holes in the small tabs of the A-705 ribs. Some were slightly oblong just due to the way they were match drilled. So...It was an easy decision to replace with new. They are pretty cheap $6/each. The 'ol RV two step. Two steps forward, one back. lol.

I also placed a small order to cleveland for a CS4-4 countersink (The irony is I just ordered on a couple of weeks ago for a friend...Now I find that I need one...hahah) 

Proseal wing conduit and match drilling the Ailerons - 4 hours

Managed to put in a decent evening on the project. I needed to proseal the conduit in the wing ribs. This will help ensure that the ribs don't cut into the plastic conduit as suggested by the manual. The only thing I didn't really think about was how to do it so I had a nice job of it. I ended up using a popsicle stick to put a dab of proseal around the conduit where it meets the rib (both side of the rib) and then I used my finger to spread it around and push it in the voids. Not the most attractive but effective.
 
Once that was done, I turned my attention to the ailerons as I didn't want to disturb the proseal.
I began to match drill the aileron structure. Straight forward. The fun began with drilling the galvanized counterweight pipe. Its at an angle and being steel. It take some time to drill. I drilled the holes to #40. Now the compressor is warmed up, I better give up for the night so as to not introduce condensation into the line.

New toys for the wing! - Torquing Aileron bellcrank - 3 hours

Feeling a renewed urge to get building, I finally opened up some goodies that arrived on Friday.

I had received a shipment from Aircraft Spruce and Vans Airforce.


These pieces are just cool!
I also picked up a drilling jig as well and the cabling for the autopilot.

Wanting to get cracking on the wings, I dug out my proseal and mixed a little so I can install the pitot tube/wiring bushings in the wing ribs. I suppose that the bushings will do just fine without proseal, but for me. I like the idea of "Gluing and Screwing" when building so I figure that this would be extra insurance to keep things where they should be with virtually no weight penalty.

 
When I was done with the proseal. I decided to torque up the bolts on the left wing bellcrank. I'm not positive if I need to torque the AN4-32 bolt in the bellcrank. After a short thinking session, In theory If I have trimmed the bushing correct, then the bellcrank should move freely when torqued. So I torqued it to 60 in-lbs. it wasn't binding, but it was firm. So I backed the nut off. Tried again to 50 in-lbs. Very nice, not sloppy, nice movement. If I move it to the side, gravity does not let it fall to the spar, but I can use a feather to push it. I feel that this is ideal and that over time it will loosen up as the powder coating wears. So a quick adjustment to 55 in-lbs gave a little bit of margin for error. A quick recheck and I will call it good!



Update, I called Van's just to double check on the torquing of the AN4 bolt and they confirm that yes, it is a good idea to torque it, but it should not bind. So I feel good about my decisions after I have run them by the mothership.

A little stick time in the RV7

It was good to see the guys out at Cooking Lake airport. It's been such a busy summer and I had not been able to poke my head around too much at the airport. Lots of things going on out there. Projects and planes at every stage of build. I was invited out for a ride in Eugene's RV7A and I gladly jumped at the opportunity. The weather lately has not been great but today, it was beautiful. Cool and Clear.

After jumping in the plane we made our way to the end of the runway. Eugene kindly offered to let me try taxing and I must admit, it has been a while. Not so smooth, Ahh. Rookie things like keeping it smooth and straight, or not straightening out after turning around for the run-up. We took a short flight out to Killam-Sedgewick for a refuel. The air was as smooth as glass and again Eugene offered up the controls. I felt like I did a better job keeping it smooth compared with last time I flew. But I need to work on my scan more. I find I can focus on one thing and lose focus on another. Just need practice.
I had the controls up to getting into final approach which was new for me. Again. Need to practice. Little things like; applying carb heat before reducing power, Or keeping the nose straight while reducing power and deploying flaps.


Again on the return flight, I had controls for straight and level and felt quite comfortable with it. As we approached, I had controls through crosswind, downwind and base leg. Kept going around into final approach with full flap. Again...Struggled a bit keeping it smooth and straight as my focus was on flaps, speed, power. And just when I had my attention on those things my speed was dropping. Eugene was there to remind...but I think that this was my biggest personal no-no. I had let my speed drop a bit too much onto the final approach. I am annoyed with myself for not being ahead of it as I think that is a pretty critical item. Well...Just have to work on it. (And work on adjusting trim after flap deployment....lol another rookie move).

Starting Assembly of the Aileron Structure - 3 hours

Now that the aileron spar had a day to cure with the primer, I was ready to start riveting pieces together. I opted to backrivet the nutplates onto the spar, and the squeezed the rest of the rivets. 
A win in the riveting dept.

Once the riveting was complete, I began to cleco the aileron assembly together. one item to take care of was to mark the holes needed in the leading edge ribs and make the neccessary flutes.

That's enough for today, I have to prep everything for tomorrow as I am hosting the EAA meeting at my house. Lot's to do.

Re-fabricating the Pitot guide and priming work - 7 hours

Managed a long day on the build. I needed to re-fabricate the guide to route the pitot lines under the bellcrank. The last one I made was nice, but the lines were just too close to the bellcrank. I'm not afraid to say that it took me six whole tries at remaking a bracket that I was happy with. Without going into too much detail, it took some head scratching to figure out how to build the bracket to get the holes close to the spar and still be strong, and have all the holes line up correct and straight.
Perseverance paid off.

The tubes will clear nicely.

Since It was a nice day outside...I decided to get a bunch of priming done on the aileron spars so I can forge forward with those. Since everything was out, I completed the priming on the aileron and flap braces.

Pulling conduit in the wing - 2 hours

I had a busy day with other things and I had an itch to complete a task on the plane. I started out with the intention to complete the right wing bellcrank, but there is something not right with the weldment I have. There is a bit of binding when I slide the bushing in. Tries it a few different ways. Nope. So, I will have to purchase another right bellcrank and hope that it will be better.

Not wanting to stop progress I jumped over to pulling the conduit through the wing. It took no time to realize this wasn't going to be easy. I read a few blogs on it and checked with Van's Airforce and the advice is there....Just jump in and pull it through. Makes an awful noise. I noticed that you basically crush the conduit in your hands by pulling it through. At first I was concerned I was wrecking the conduit, but soon realized that the conduit can be massaged back into shape.

After all was said and done....I really didn't care to do this again. Didn't take long, but just felt like i was using a hammer to work on a fine watch. Unnerving.

New tools have arrived - 1 hour

 I needed some grease to fit the bronze bushings in the aileron bellcranks and I didnt want to use just any grease that I had sitting in the garage. I felt it wise to order some proper grease. So I managed to order a few things from aircraft spruce earlier in the week. Well, when I arrived home today there was a nice package awaiting me from Aircraft Spruce.

In addition to grease, some tite-seal, aircraft handbook, more cleco pliers  clamps, and a selection of screws for the fuel tank hatches as well as other odds and ends.

I was eager to get started on the bellcranks. First thing that needed to be done to ensure a proper fit is to sand down some of the powder coating to ensure a proper fit. I used 600grit sandpaper on a oak block and I carefully worked the piece. I want to remove the excess, but do not want to remove the protective coating. After some careful work, I was happy with the result.


Next, the plans require you to trim down the brass bushings to sit 1/32 to 1/64 proud of the bellcrank. After reading a few construction blogs, I felt hand chucking the brass bushing in the drill press the best way to ensure a even trim. I used the same 600grit sandpaper on oak and went to work.

Moving forward on the Ailerons - 8 hours

So I started the day by finishing backriveting the stiffeners on the aileron skins. Similar to the elevators I used a dab of Dow #3145RTV on the aft edge of the stiffeners before riveting.
 
 

 I was now ready to bend the aileron skins. I had run to home depot and picked out the straightest 2x6's I could find and some 3/16" dowels. I taped the dowels in place and began to bend. The manual says to bend the skins such that when relaxed they touch the aileron spar, but I was having a heck of a time getting it to do that. I was at a point where the ailerons where basically toughing together in the brake and was still about an 1" away.   

So a quick call to vans support confirmed that I was in the ball park. The most important part is that there is no danger of the skin bulging when its cleco'd and its nice and straight. It only take a pound of two of pressure to close the skin the last 1" so there was no worry about too much tension. As for the straight edge....A little squeezing with my homemade trailing edge tool made sure it was nice and straight.

Once that was complete I was ready to begin batch drilling the A-408 reinforcement plates and the aileron hing brackets. Of course I did as much drilling on the drill press!