Modified the F-716 ribs for the control access - 1.5 hours

Small day today on the build, I cut the two (2) F-716 ribs for the removable piece that allows installation of the stick controls. I used the band saw to make the cuts and then used the sanding station to clean things up. A final run through with the 3M wheel cleaned it all up.




Although a small build day, it was a heavy research day. First I needed to figure out how may F-716 seat ribs I wanted to modify to allow Stick control access. The plans indicate two, however many folks modify four. I finally settled on only doing 2 ribs...I can always easily modify the other 2 ribs at a later date if I hit a brick wall down the road.

As well, I decided very early on that I wanted to make removable baggage panels but had no idea what was involved. Yesterday I sent off an email to Van's just to get things on record for my build and to ask about #8 vs #6 screws if I did the removable baggage panels. But today I had to figure out process, configuration and counts. There is not a whole lot of information out there on how to do this but with enough research I see WireJock's RV7 page gives a good idea of what he's done. I will try to document my process a little better to answer all the questions I had. Basically I decided to follow wirejock's plan and use countersunk screws for everything aft (and including) the F-705 bulkhead. Everything forward of F-705 will be standard screws.