The DRDT-2!

The DRDT-2 dimpler has arrived. Trip helped me set it up and I messed up the #6 screw dies. I bent the retention spring on the die shaft and cant get it bent back. Darn!

Still learning

Learning lessons today. Spent some time on the practice project. All in all it turned out well. But not as good as it needs to be. I counter-sunk the number #30 holes in the aluminium angle. They were perfect if I used the 426AD4-4 rivets, but when I put the 0.040 dimpled skin over top the angle... Skin does not sit flush on the angle because the angle countersink was not deep enough. Makes perfect sense now that I think about it, but I realized it after I riveted. I also played with the air settings on the gun and found that lower settings work so much better that the higher settings I was using. I also discovered why the flush rivets do not sit quite so flush with the skin. My swivel flush set has a rubber ring around it which sits proud of the skin. Unless I press really hard with the gun, there is a possibility that the rivet is driven with its head slightly proud of the skin. I also noticed that I scratched the head of my flush set so now each flush rivet is being marred. After reading up on the forums, I see that you can polish the flush rivet set (one the rubber is removed). Did that and it turned out very nice!

Finish the Toobox and start the Practice Project - 5.0hrs

I woke up this morning and could wait to finish off the tool box. It's really bugging me that the riveting did not turn out as nice as I wanted it to. I used the pneumatic squeezer on the front stiffener which turned out very nice. I think if anything I now feel quite comfortable with the squeezer. I tried to buck a few rivets and i'm a little more pleased with the results. I need more practice to set up the rivet gun pressure and get the feel of the trigger. I also need to practice holding the bucking bar more. I know one thing. I like the tungsten bar WAY more than the steel bars. I finished off the toolbox with less than desirable results. When I riveted the handle on I slipped with the gun and dented the top...doohhh!

I took a break for a while and then I went and dove into the practice project. Everything went really well until I went to drill the trailing edge. the holes in the two skins do not match up really well. I made the best of a bad situation and when I was done, I was happy with the job....Until I cleco'd the structure together and saw how crooked the trailing edge was. I've seen folks complain about this on their blogs however I see just how critical it is to lay everything out on a smooth hard edge, and go slow. Ensure that each hole is drilled precise! I'm stopping for the day! I really need to practice a lot more. I feel like i'm rushing through things way too quickly and I am making mistakes. I want to order another tool box and practice project. I really want to nail this before I start on the plane.

Tools Arrive & Toolbox construction begins - 7.0hrs

The tools came to the door!!! Yeah! Took inventory and laid everything out. Planetools.com has a very nice kit and I was really pleased with every piece. Everything came out of the plastic and had a good wipe to get the tool oil off.  I didn't waste any time. I started the toolbox project and everything was falling nicely into place. The clecos when on, the holes where lining up. The plans were a bit difficult to follow and I choose to assemble the pieces in a bit different order. By the end, I had a perfect tool box! I was feeling really confident. Then I began to rivet.....this is where everything went south. I tried the pneumatic squeezer first, things went much better when i found that i could tease the trigger and close the gap to make sure that the squeezer was on the rivets square. But then I pulled out the rivet gun....and made a real mess of the toolbox. I found it difficult to hold the gun against the work, while holding the bucking bar. then when I pull the trigger everything seemed to jump all over the place. I had to drill out about 5 or 6 rivets, a lot of rivets were not nice and square. I can see that I am going to need a lot of practice with the gun.

De-Vinyl - Day 2

It just bugs me that I came away with disappointing results with de-vinyling yesterday. I stopped by Active Electronics on the way home from work and picked up a few different solder iron tips. I looked for larger chisel tips and knife edge tips. I also decided to up the temperature of my solder iron. Playing between 750 and 800deg. I am now seeing much better results. I have slowed down the pull of the iron across the aluminum to ~1.5sec/inch. If I pull the vinyl back 180 deg back over itself it leaves a very clean edge. Any edges that I didn't melt through can be very quickly rectified with a simple touch of the iron. I'm much more pleased with the results.  Although I must say that there is still at times just a very faint line where the iron has passed over the aluminum. I would say 5% has just a hint of a line. I resolved that this is acceptable and to carry on (although I might just double check with Vans Force)

To de-vinyl or not

Well I received word yesterday that my tools where being shipped! So, while I wait for them to arrive I thought I would make myself useful. I got out my wood ruler and my solder iron and started to de-vinyl the left elevator ( the bottom). I made sure to take the solder iron out to the scotchbrite wheel and round the tip. I've read some comments that folks have pressed too hard and scratched the aluminium. So I set out to just remove the strips that are in line with the rivet holes. WHAT A PAIN. The blue vinyl is a bit tricky to take off. Its a fine line between pressing enough, and not pressing enough. I'm trying to be EXTREMELY careful not to scratch the aluminium. After about 10 strips (25% of the left elevator) I was just not pleased with how it was turning out. There were some scratches where I had used the iron, even though I was soo careful. On close inspection these scratches are so small - less than a hair, But the shiny aluminium in the bright light makes them pop! Logically they will scotchbrite out (as I plan to paint the plane) but it just doesn't sit well with me. After reading some more on the forums, i've opted just to remove the vinyl when I'm ready to work on a given piece.

Wrote the letter of intent to the MD-RA

Wrote the letter of intent to the MD-RA. In the letter of intent, I have set the Max takeoff weight (gross weight) at 1800lbs. After reading into the forums on weight and cg measurements. I see that some folks increase gross weight rating and extra 100 lbs or so. I thought about doing this....but it would mean that I have to correct and resend in my letter of intent. Also I understand that flight testing with the increased weight is a bit of a pain as you need to prove that the increase in weight is still safe. I have made up my mind that I will stick with the 1800lb rating and concentrate on building a light RV (The plane is supposed to fly much better when light).