Painted! By Evoke Aviation

This post has been a long-time coming - N14YZ finally has a beautiful paint job by the master, Jonathan McCormick and his team at Evoke Aviation at the end of May, 2022.  A couple years ago he designed the paint scheme with input from me. I can highly recommend both the design firm (Evoke Aircraft Design) and his paint shop (Evoke Aviation) - they are the best in the business!  

As of today, my RV-14A has flown just over 105hrs and is going strong. She is simply a joy to fly: nimble, and precise in all flight regimes.  My bird cruises at over 160KTAS, burning around 9gph; her range is at least 700nm (~4.5 hrs) with a full hour fuel reserve. I don't fly with less than an hour of fuel in reserve.  

I received my repairman's certificate from the FAA earlier this year, and am in the middle of an extensive condition inspection (CI), which I am performing progressively over a couple months. The CI is the experimental version of an "annual" inspection in the certified aircraft world.  The FWF portion was completed with the help of my friend, Joe D., last week (e.g. compression test, borescoping the cylinders/valves, checking mag timing, etc.) and there are only the cabin and fuselage sections left to complete.  In total, the CI takes about 40 or so hrs; I like to spread out the work so I can use the plane once each section has been completed, instead of having the plane down for a couple weeks to complete it all at once. In reality, I'll be performing many of these tasks more than just during the CI - for example, if I rotate the spark plugs, I'll check the mag timing and borescope the cylinders.

Here are a few pictures, professionally taken by Jonathan McCormick at his home base in Gadsden, AL. Click on them for a larger image. I can't stop looking at them; the plane is this gorgeous in person, too. 

 

Transition training, Airworthiness Certificate, and ... First Flight!

Today, 4/13/21, was the big day - First Flight of my RV-14A, N14YZ!  It flew beautifully and the day was uneventful, but likely because of all the preparation and planning that went into it.  First, I'll have to thank my wife, who has put up with a 2 year and 9 month project and all the time and resources that it took to see this to completion.  She actually had a hand in thousands of back-riveted rivets, and is one of the reason some of the main skins look so nice.  Now it's HER turn for a project!  

A huge thanks goes to Ken B. who has not only been my Tech Counselor and Flight Advisor for my entire build including the first start and the first flight, but he has become a very close friend.  You meet some great people through aviation (especially the Van's community), and along with Ken, I have to thank my other new friends in the RV-14(A) world:  Glenn M., Mark A., Shane B., and Dan R.  All of us have or are building RV-14s - yet are at different stages of the journey - but we support (and chide) each other on almost a daily basis.  Thanks, "Gang of 5," for all your support!  

Below is an iMovie that I quickly spliced together from Ken B.'s footage.  It's my first time using iMovie, so it isn't going to win any Oscars (maybe a Golden Globe):

Before the Big Day, I traveled to Vernonia, OR, to take 3 days (6 lessons) of transition training in the company RV-14A with Mike Seager.  I HIGHLY recommend Mike - not only does he have the most hours in RVs of anyone dead or alive (~20,000; i.e. about 4 times as many as Van himself!), he is a really great person and the perfect instructor.  So calm, so cool, so collected - he's the Bob Ross of RVs (happy little Van's airplanes).  Mike's info is on the Vans website; he is booked 5 months out right now, so get in while the gettin's good!  Here is the airplane as I found her the day I arrived at Mike's beautiful grass strip (ICAO code 05S): 

Three days after I returned from Oregon, I had a wonderful visit from my Designated Airworthiness Representative (DAR), Vic Syracuse, who flew down from just south of Atlanta, GA, to perform my Airworthiness Condition Inspection. Vic said that my build was essentially perfect, which was great to hear.  Vic is a wonderful person, and I highly recommend his books and his DAR services.  Here is the obligatory handshake holding the Airworthiness Certificate.  I'm on the left and yes, I need to lose weight (my next project):  

You viewed the video above, but here is the "RV Grin" that everyone talks about.  I still have mine and it is 8 hours after the First Flight as I write this blog post:

Yup, I did it:

And here's my super-supportive wife - and a silly pic of me:

For those of you who haven't finished (or haven't yet started) your RV build, know this:  I had no experience when I started, but I gained the necessary knowledge and experience as I progressed through this journey.  You can do it, too - it just takes motivation, an attention to detail, and a love for all things aviation ... and a few extra dollars lying around. :) 

Final touches, several more engine starts, taxiing around, and ... she's ready for the Airworthiness Condition Inspection!

The big day is getting closer, and I am pleased to say that my bird is now officially ready for her Airworthiness Condition Inspection, which is scheduled in a couple weeks!  All the paperwork has been completed, and everything I can think of has been done to the airplane to make her ready for flight.  I'm sure I'll fuss over her a ton, recheck everything, and pitter around over the ensuing days.  

I performed several more starts to set the low pitch on the prop to obtain 2650rpm at max throttle, which took only two tries since I read that others had to turn the set screw "in" (clockwise) at least 1.5 turns - mine took exactly 2.5 turns.  I also taxied around and checked the brakes - I'm not used to taxiing a castering nosewheel, so it took a couple turns before I got used to the feeling.  I'm looking forward to transition training in the factory RV-14A, since this beast is very different from the Cessnas I'm used to flying.  Hopefully, the next post will include a picture with my DAR and an aircraft airworthiness certificate.  As usual, below and past the break are details from the last two weeks:

- final-drilled #19 holes, deburred, drilled #40 for nutplates; countersunk holes; riveted nutplates; checked prop clearance of gap filler and spinner (and adjusted as necessary); safety-wired 4 bolts that attach forward spinner bulkhead to prop hub

- finished spinner - riveted gap fillers to rear spinner bulkhead (involved removing rear bulkhead to gain access, and retorquing those nuts); sanded aft edge to be flush with bulkhead; checked gaps again and adjusted; safety-wired main wheel pants brackets; torque-striped painted as many nuts/bolts as I could find that were torqued but weren’t striped

- finally fixed the flaps switch!  required reversing the flap molex pins at each stick; thanks Ken B. and Glenn M. for making me do this; checked function of autopilot in heading mode (works - goes side to side when the HDG bug is turned); painted seat pans

- worked on the emp. fairing (improved fit, blind-drilled using magnets, up-sized #27, drilled nutplate rivet holes in VS and HS, countersunk #27 holes in fairing)

- deburred holes of emp. fairing, riveted nutplates, attached gap fairings, outlined areas to trim on emp. fairing

- performed second and third run-up; static RPM is now 2650-2660rpm (IAW Hartzell manual, increased fine pitch to reduce top prop. speed); started cleaning plane 

- Sanded edges of emp fairing, installed and floxed all “high” areas for better fit; filled fuel tanks with an additional 20gal (approx. 38 gal remaining on board now)

- Removed emp fairing, sanded edges, epoxied inside parts that touch metal; Finished ELT installation, performed ELT self-test, performed yearly ELT function test (between top of the hour and 5min past the hour); installed Canopy Hinge covers; installed database updates

- Taxi and brake test and mag ground check (Hobbs: 0.5h; Tach 0.3h); added W&B to G3X; applied 3M 2000+ degree fire barrier to firewall pass-throughs;  attached crotch seatbelt straps; finished initial Condition Inspection and wrote the certification statement in my logbook.  The airplane is ready for the Airworthiness Condition Inspection (although I’m sure I’ll still fuss over it)

Emp. fairing, floxed on the airframe:

FIRST ENGINE START!!; 24 - Wing Tip (finished); 12 - Emp. fairings (almost finished); 44 - Spinner & Prop (almost finished); Other (lots of misc. finished)

Big milestone:  FIRST ENGINE START!  Thanks to Ken B. and Glenn M., who were with me for 5 hrs that morning to do a number of tasks prior to the first start.  After we had Sal Capra from On-Site Weight and Balance perform the W&B, we performed a fuel flow test for both tanks (~45gph) to confirm fuel flow and rid the lines of any debris, and we pre-oiled the engine by removing the top plugs and running the starter 3-4 times for 10sec each until oil pressure registered on the G3X.  I then reinstalled the plugs, we chocked the tires, and I started her up - looks like about 3 blades until she caught (see video, below) ... and the engine ran very smoothly, and the prop cycled well at ~1800rpm.  The next day, CE Avionics performed the IFR certification for the transponder and pitot/static system.  There aren't too many tasks left until the Airworthiness Condition inspection!

As always, here is a detailed list of tasks that were completed during the past ~3.5 weeks (also click "read more" for additional pics):

- finished trimming, drilling etc. left tip lens; started AeroLEDs Sunspot LX Nav light (red for left side)

- a few different sections, so I’ll put that under “other” - installed BSR landing light lenses; installed wing tips and finished wiring lights; started working on rudder bottom fairing (up to attaching the nutplates)

- installed VS fairing; floxed rear AeroLED light doubler for bottom rudder fairing; worked on left elevator fairing

- installed left elevator fairing, worked on right elevator fairing; installed tail light and lower rudder fairing; checked Nav/strobe lights (worked!); played with G3X a lot to calibrate ADAHRS, setup autopilot, and figure out trim system and how it integrates (or not) with autopilot servos.  I need to calibrate magnetometer first

- finished right elevator fairing; started working on HS tip fairings (cut, sanded, drilled #40, made 2 bi-layer fiberglass patches)

- floxed/epoxied patches to HS tip fairings; started working on metal rear emp. fairings

- floxed and glassed inside of patches for both HS tip fairings; figuring out p-mag; leveled pitch on G5; started emp fairing

- Worked on HS tip fairings (sanded and micro-epoxied); figured out p-mag setup mode (has to be “off”, i.e. p-lead grounded); figured out mounting location for VIRB camera

- worked on flaps, which won’t detent (i.e. press once and it goes from -3 to 0deg, twice to 15deg, thrice to 30deg); called SteinAir and worked with Tim D. 

- worked on flaps, which still aren’t working correctly; rewired POS-12 sensor connection with d-sub pins; figured out wiring with Tim D.; no dice - still won’t work

- HS tip fairings (sanded the micro-balloons and painted with filler primer); figured out flaps, sorta (had to reverse wire for flap motor; detents work, but have to press up for flaps down and vice versa - may rewire later, or just keep as-is and get used to it - NOTE: - Ken B. and Glenn M. told me I can't leave it like this, so I will reverse the switch wires; micro-molex pin extractor is being sent from SteinAir); mounted VIRB camera; confirmed traffic ADS-B works (pulled bird out of hangar)

- finished and installed the HS tip fairings; timed Emag and Slick mag (thanks, Joe D., for the help!); redid safety wire for one pair of prop bolts; added hole and redid safety wire for remote oil filter; recalibrated flaps; attached left baggage side carpet

- installed seat harnesses (mostly); redid 8ga cable from bup alternator to ANL fuse; put dollop of silicone adhesive to tip of ELT ant (to secure to rear window

- prepped for W&B; W&B (Sal Capra); first oil pressure (run starter w/o top plugs for ~30-40 sec); fuel; fuel test (approx. 45gph each side); first start!; magnetometer calibration

- IFR certs. completed by CE Avionics (Transponder, Alt, pitot/static); fixed a few items brought up by Ken B., Glenn M., and Joe D.; fixed G3X settings for RPM and fuel pressure

- removed seats, seat pans, control sticks; finished wire-tying all avionics wires under the seats; started spinner (drilled #30 holes, drilled #40 holes for spacers)

Here is the video of the first engine start (thanks, Ken B., for taking the vid!):

41 - Wing Attach (finished); OP52A - AeroLEDs Sunspot LX (finished); Other (lots o' stuff); 24 - Wing tip (mostly finished)

It's been a month since I last posted, but I have been working as diligently as possible on the bird.  I had a little (well, it was yuuuge) snafu at work that I have been spending an inordinate amount of time dealing with, so working on the plane has been good therapy.  I hope to finish in a couple months, and there are still tons of items on my to-do list.  Nevertheless, I accomplished quite a bit during the past month:

- Attached fuel lines between wing and fuselage; continued working on left lower wing root fairing

- worked on wing root fairing fit (left upper and lower) to clear fuselage by at least 0.040”; riveted root fairing stiffeners to upper left root fairing

- finished most of the wing root fairings, except for lower right; attached OAT probe; wired OAT probe (spliced to pigtail at wing root)

- finished lower right wing root fairing; RTV-attached UHMW spacers to both wing roots (using instead of proseal; will keep an eye on it when removing upper root fairings; rigged ailerons (the control stick moves like buttah); attached flaps and started rigging flaps (need to file a bit off the edge of the right flap) 

- removed lower cowl and two landing light lenses; started working on landing light brackets; attached magnetometer; other misc. stuff

- worked some on landing light brackets (mostly painting); final-attached and checked canopy switch; routed and attached Pitot and AOA tubes to G3X and G5; tidied wires under panel some more; attached brake modification (thanks, Mark A. and Shane B.!) which affords a spring-return to not accidentally drag brakes

- finished attaching and wiring landing lights (AeroLED Sunspot LX); the two adel clamps were a pain, since they were on the inboard side

- fueled left tank with 20gal (no leaks so far), and started to calibrate fuel sender in G3X; added canopy latch warning from Van’s; played with G3X settings; installed and painted canopy guide pins

- drained left fuel tank, filled right tank with 20gal, calibrated both fuel senders; programmed G3X limits and calibrated aileron trim and flaps; tried to calibrate elevator trim servo, but couldn’t get a voltage reading (I’ll redo micromolex connector with D-sub pins, as recommended by Ken B.); painted seatbacks

- added 7qt of oil to engine (Aeroshell 100 mineral oil); worked on tail light wires; drained 20gal of fuel from right tank (no leaks so far!); attached seatback interior to metal painted seatbacks

- attached wingwalk pads to both wing roots, so I stop scuffing the aluminum (or slip); finished tail light wires, and tucked under rudder so I can do the fiberglass; started playing with brake bleeder, but the container won’t prime - needs new seals, or I need to buy a new pressure vessel

- bled brakes after fixing container; re-did elevator trim wiring again, this time with d-sub pins (thanks for suggestion, Ken B.!) - successful calibration

- Completed much of the right wing tip up to installing the nutplates; also started installing Archer tip antenna (for VOR/ILS)

- finished right wing tip, including nav light lens and wired nav lights (started)

- started left wing tip, finished Archer tip antenna (floxed/micro’d to inside of wing tip), finished nav lights

- finished 2/3 of left wing tip up to installing nutplates and installing wing tip rib

- sanded trailing edge of left wing tip, sanded nav light area; cut and trimmed left tip lens to size (what a pain)  

There are approx. 50 pictures that follow, but unfortunately they are not in order - I'll still annotate each.  Here are the seat backs, after priming and painting:

12 - Emp. Fairings (Rudder and VS fairings); 41 - Wing Attachment (wings are ATTACHED!!!); Other (lots o' stuff)

Although I haven't updated this blog for a month, a LOT of major milestones were achieved.  First and foremost, my buddies, Ken B., Shane B., Mark A., and Glenn M. (all RV-14 or RV-14A builders) descended upon my hangar last week to help me install the wings.  Ken B. helped me a few days prior install most of the tail feathers.  Together, it really looks like an airplane - I couldn't be more pleased with the progress ... and also that I got to hang out with my RV friends one more time.  Wish they all lived a lot closer.  A bunch of other smaller projects were completed - I'm at the 90% done, 90% to go phase, which means that every time I complete one task, two more get added to the list.  Here are what I accomplished this past month (not a lot of pics, but a lot was done):

- cleaned garage, organized for next part of project, drained compressor; painted 3 closeout panels for interior

- installed shelves in hangar, moved more stuff to hangar

- worked on VS and rudder fairings - made 2-ply backing for VS fairing as well

- trimmed backing for VS fairing; floxed to VS fairing

- sanded VS fairing; temporarily installed rudder to VS to check fit of rudder and to check fit of VS fairing.  Needed to flox and sand the aft part of the fairing to clear rudder forward counterweight section.  Added flox today

- cleaned garage some more, moved last big stuff to hangar with wife - hopefully last Uhaul trip for this project!

- moved more stuff to hangar - about 90% complete (the move, anyway); organized hangar and new tool chest/tools

- finished moving stuff to hangar and organized hangar - she’s ready to go!

- worked on empennage attach - elevators attached temporarily to work out spacing, massaged leading edges to get +30deg/-25deg clearance with no binding/rubbing

- final-drilled elevator horns - measure 10x, final-tighten the rod end bearing jam nuts (!), measure 100x, then drill 2 holes.  Sounds simple, but many a builder has screwed up this part, had to weld the holes shut, and try again.  Thanks to Ken B. for telling me to clamp the wooden block for the lower hole extremely tight! 

- installed HS, elevators, and VS to fuselage with Ken B.! 

- Final-torque 4 of 5 elevator bolts; attached pushrod to elevator horns; filed elevator stops to get at least +25deg/-20deg of travel; attached flap pushrods to wings; drilled 4 holes and installed snap bushings for OAT probe

- hung rudder and attached rudder cables; finished rigging elevator pushrods, including ensuring control sticks don’t interfere with anything on the panel

- finished wiring elevator trim tab and checked function and deflections; started final-installing pitot/AOA (had to bend around control rod) 

- Attached wings with Ken B., Shane B., Mark A., and Glenn M. - great to see my RV-14(A) buddies again, and thanks for all your help! 

- finished installing pitot/AOA tubes in the wing, and routed them behind the panel; routed RG-400 for Archer Nav antenna from wing to behind panel

- Installed grounds from wing to fuselage; connected pitot heat to molex connector; worked on flaps

Attaching the top rudder fairing:

38 - Canopy & Window (finished); 42- Misc (attached foot steps); 47 - Cowl Baffle (closeout; oil door); 51 - FWF Misc. (various); Other (moved fuselage to hangar!)

First and foremost, I moved the fuselage to the hangar - specifically Parkers Towing and Transport moved the fuselage, and spent a good deal of time designing ramps for the main wheels for transport.  The Parkers are great people, and were very interested in all aspects of my RV-14A - most importantly, they took great care to secure and transport my bird.  I highly recommend them if you live in central Florida; they drove 50 miles each way for the transport, and now that they have transported two Van's aircraft (my buddy, Ken B's RV-14A and now mine), they are pros. 

The rest of the past 2 weeks involved a bunch of odds-and-ends, in an attempt to finish as much stuff in the workshop prior to moving the fuselage.  Specifically, I did the following: 

- finished attaching Koger sunshade; cleaned canopy and removed some of the inside protective plastic (for sunshade); painted baggage covers for steps

- tightened alternator pulley/belt and torqued and safety-wired bolt; attached boot to p-lead of magneto

- lower cowl closeout completed w/distal part of sniffle line attached to it; attached step attach covers in baggage area (used thin nylon #8 washers so paint doesn’t chip when screws tightened)

- greased nosegear Zerk fitting with blue marine grease (had to push out the Aeroshell 5, which is more hygroscopic); added 2000deg fireshield barrier to “red cube” fuel flow transducer, since so close to exhaust pipe; prepared oil cooler scat tubing

- painted baggage floor closeout and access panel from baggage area to tailcone; finished oil door; vacuumed tailcone, tied up loose wires in tailcone

- cleaned baggage area and tailcone with damp cloth; closed out baggage area and passthrough to tailcone; started installing aft window (siliconed screws in roll bar; loose attach of 22 of 29 screws in aft section of window)

- finished installing and prosealing the aft window

- cleaned garage, moved plane outside to attach canopy (with wife and daughter helping); realized aft edge of canopy was touching parts of the aft window, so sanded and scraped aft part of canopy to ensure adequate gap (4 iterations - pain in the ass, but it’s done)

- prepped plane and workshop for fuselage move (final prep)

- moved the fuselage to airport hangar using Parker’s Towing; cleaned hangar; cleaned workshop some more

Here's a pic of the first step of the move: