18 - Fuel Tank (installed final screw); 19 - Wing Systems Routing (completed right wing); 23 - Aileron Actuation (torque tube, pushrod, bellcrank); OP38 - Aileron Trim (fabricated EA-10, checked clearance); OP56 - Garmin AP Servos (installed Roll servo)

Van's charged my credit card for the remainder of the fuselage purchase, so in about 3 weeks, I hope to have that kit in my garage!  Exciting, but the clock is ticking for me to get most of the wing kit completed.

This week saw the attachment of the right fuel tank to the right wing, the start and completion of wiring the right wing (including 25' of RG400 for an eventual Bob Archer antenna in the wingtip), fabrication of all parts of the aileron actuation pushrods, bellcrank and torque tube (all but installing the bellcrank-to-aileron pushrod), installation of the roll servo to the right bellcrank, and fabrication and initial checks of the EA-10 aileron trim motor.  Details follow:

Wired the autopilot servo molex connector, and added a little silicone wrap to reduce stress at the bend:

16 - Top Wing Skins (finished); 17 - Outboard Leading Edge (finished); 18 - Fuel Tank (attached to wing); 22 - Ailerons (started fabricating, up until stiffeners)

I haven't posted in ~2 weeks, because of a little trip to NYC to watch the US Open and eat at a few restaurants that only NYC can provide.  We just beat Dorian, which is now a Cat 2 hurricane and likely to miss our house.  In honor of Dorian, I worked over 6 hrs in the shop today, as well as a bunch the days prior to our vacation on a total of 4 sections:

- riveted skin to all ribs, mounting bracket, splice strip and j-channel; drilled 3/8" hole for tie-down
separated, deburred hinge brackets; deburred, buffed, and dimpled nose rib flanges; countersunk and riveted hinge brackets to nose ribs; riveted nutplates to nose ribs
- separated, deburred, dimpled and riveted main ribs to hinge brackets; deburred spar and nose skin edges; clecoed nose ribs to spar and nose skin; match-drilled 6 holes in the stainless steel counterweight.  THAT by itself took well over 2 hrs, a lot of swearing, some boelube and water as lubricants, and a broken drill bit
- match-drilled #40 the remaining 8 holes in leading edge to SS counterweight; final-drilled #30 all 10 leading-edge holes to SS counterweight; final-drilled #40 holes in skin stiffeners
- Riveted right top skins to 4 ribs, skin overlap, and main spar (my wife used back-riveting bucking bar)
- Riveted top skins to rear spar
- riveted outboard aileron to spar and outboard rib; riveted inboard rib to skin and nutplates
- cut and deburred 32 aileron ribs (for both sides)
- riveted j-channels with my wife; top wing skins done
- attached leading edge skins to right spar (my wife helped buck the top flange); blind-riveted ribs to spar;
- attached right fuel tank to right wing … all nuts final-torqued and screws; except for ONE screw, b/c Van's provided me a nutplate that has no threads - time to order a tapping toolkit and tapping fluid

Riveted the last parts of the right outboard leading edge:

Section 18 - Fuel Tank (finished and leak-tested right fuel tank); Section 20 - Bottom Wing Skins (ADAHRS bracket/harness; lower skins finished; Gretz Pitot mount)

Had to attend a 5 day work conference this past week, so I did not get to do as much on the build as I would have liked - nevertheless, the major milestone of finishing and leak-testing the right fuel tank was completed this week ... and good news, I now have two leak-free tanks! Well, leak-free with air - not oozing 100LL is a different matter, and that won't be tested until I move everything to a hangar.

The following was also completed this week (from this point forward, I will cut/paste detailed tasks from my MS Excel log sheet, to make posting on this blog a little easier):  riveted right tank baffle, installed fuel finger strainer and plug, and, installed fuel drain CAV-110 (all with Permatex #2); installed fuel cap; deburred long and short j-channels - lower; deburred holes in ADAHRS mounting bracket; dimpled j-stiffeners/channels; drilled and deburred nutplate attach holes; deburred edges of both lower skins; deburred holes in inboard and outboard lower skin; finished fabricating GMU-22 9pin ADAHRS connector; tapered and primed overlapping corners on forward part of lower skins; dimpled inboard and outboard lower skins; worked on Gretz pitot mount (made hole in skin, drilled skin, final holes drilled, dimpled, primed); riveted ADAHRS mount assembly together and to the j-stiffener.

Right fuel tank, nearly completed:

Section 18 - Fuel Tank (left tank attach; right tank near-completion); Section 19 - Wing Systems Routing (Gretz mount for pitot/AOA); Section 20 - Bottom Wing Skins (finished gap fairings; started ADAHRS bracket)

I worked on 3 different sections in the wing kit this week, and got a lot accomplished:  Fuel tank, wing systems routing, and bottom wing skins.  Specifically, I did the following:  riveted j-stiffener and attach bracket; Prosealed (4th cartridge) inboard aft rib and bulkhead union and nut, encapsulated shop heads of rivets in j-channel and attach bracket; finished attaching left fuel tank (screws and final-torqued bolts and applied torque seal); worked on Gretz mount for Garmin AOA/Pitot - planned, cut, drilled, deburred.  Fabricated L-bracket (Gretz mount), drilled, deburred, and it is ready for priming and installation on rib; riveted inboard aft rib to skin, attach bracket, and inboard forward rib; installed and tightened fuel vent line; installed fuel float; Prosealed (5th cartridge) fuel level sender, checked continuity; prosealed & clecoed baffle and z-brackets to tank; wet-installed pop-rivets; finished and installed flap gap and aileron gap fairings to top skin and rear spar; and, match-drilled ADAHRS mounting plate to lower j-stiffener - short.

Riveted attach bracket to right skin:

Section 18 - Fuel Tank (Riveted ribs; prosealed attach bracket, j-stiffener, shop heads; leak tested left tank; left tank mounting); Section 19 - Wing Systems Routing (ran WH-00011 and WH-00012 harnesses)

This week, I took a little time away from my project to help a friend, Ken B., attach the main gear and nose gear to his RV-14A; it was an all-day experience, but well worth the effort (see pics below). It was motivating to see what is nearly the end of his project, and thus when I returned home last week, I continued working on my wing kit with renewed gusto:

Riveted 7 ribs to skin, prosealed (3rd cartridge) j-stiffener, attach bracket, 11 stiffener shop heads, 5 internal rib shop heads - just enough to cover everything; prepared, scuffed and dimpled baffle; scuffed z-brackets; marked places where proseal is needed on shop heads (mostly stiffeners); cut and flared vent tubing; and, final leak-tested LEFT tank (no leaks!), and partially installed the left tank onto left wing.  I also had some time to run the WH-00011 harness (lights) and the WH-00012 harness (ADAHRS), and crimped and installed the wire to stall horn switch prior to installing the fuel tank (easier access to stall horn switch).

Pics from Ken's gear-attach party:

Section 18 - Fuel Tank (left leak test; right ribs etc. prep)

Completed the first-pass leak test for the left tank, as well as a number of odds-and-ends on the right tank.  A couple hours each day can get a lot accomplished ... even when my 80 year old mother visited (her nap time was a great chance to go back into the shop).

Prepped parts for first Proseal event for right tank:

Section 18 - Fuel Tank (finished left tank; started right tank)

Finished the left tank yesterday, after riveting the baffle and installing the fuel finger strainer and plug (with permatex #2 thread sealant) - it needs to cure for several more days prior to leak testing under <1psi pressure. Also, I made substantial progress over the weekend on the right tank. Since the steps are the same as the left tank, most of the posts on the right tank will be shorter.

Here we go again!  7 RIGHT tank ribs, straightened and ready for fluting:

Section 18 - Fuel Tank (j-stiffener; inboard aft rib; vent line; fuel level sender; proseal baffle & z-brackets)

Finished sealing the fuel tank this week!  First, I riveted the j-channel and attach bracket to skin, and then Prosealed (5th cartridge) the inboard aft rib, bulkhead union fitting and nut, and encapsulated shop heads of rivets in j-channel and attach bracket.  Then I fabricated left fuel level sender (most of time was to bend wire - first one broke, used wire from right sender; had to order another sender [$29] since Van's nor vendor sells just the wire). Finally, I torqued the bulkhead union nut (55-60in-lb) with a crowfoot wrench attachment for a torque wrench, and then Prosealed (6th cartridge) the fuel level sender (checked continuity after sealing), and prosealed & clecoed the baffle and z-brackets to tank, as well as wet-installed pop-rivets in the baffle/z-brackets. Images are a bit out of order:

 Encapsulated shop heads on j-stiffener:

Section 18 - Fuel Tank (riveted ribs, prosealed j-stiffener and attach bracket, encapsulated shop heads, prepped baffle)

I'm slowly progressing through the left fuel tank, trying to take my time and be methodical so that I don't screw up something vital. This week, the primary tasks were to rivet the 7 ribs, proseal the j-stiffener and attach bracket, encapsulate shop heads of the internal ribs, put a belt-and-suspenders fillet seal on the inside of the outer ribs, prep the inboard aft rib, and prep the baffle.

I moved the left wing assembly to the wing cradle, to be able to utilize the 4'x8' table for construction.  It helped to lay the fuel tank on the table (bottom down) to insert the j-channel; when gobbed with proseal, it's a PITA to feed through the holes in the ribs.

Section 18 - Fuel Tank (riveting stiffeners, et al.; next two Prosealing sessions)

Slowly, but surely, the left tank is coming together ... and the gooey Proseal is getting a little easier to manipulate. During these sessions, I first back-riveted the stiffeners and fuel filler flange to the skin, riveted the drain plug, and riveted various fuel and vent ports on the inboard aft rib. The second Proseal session included encapsulating rivet shop heads, while the third Proseal session involved sealing 7 ribs to the skin.  The latter took a lot of planning and testing to ensure that the ribs would hang without smearing Proseal all over the skin.  Details of that process are provided, below.

Riveted and Proseal-encapsulated the vents/ports on the inboard aft rib:

Section 18 - Fuel Tank (final prep; first Proseal session)

A few last-minute prep chores were completed prior to the dreaded first Proseal session.  These tasks consisted of countersinking the fuel cap flange, fabricating the attach bracket assembly, scuffing the hell out of all mating surfaces with scotchbrite pads (that took hours), and cleaning with Acetone and a final wipe or two with MEK. I then Prosealed using the fay-seal-and-forget method, as recommended by Rick on VAF:  fully cleco the mating surfaces that have Proseal slathered on them, try to work a fillet seal around the edges, and let it cure overnight or over a couple/few days. At that point, I'll wet-install the rivets (swirl Proseal in the dimple, stick rivet in hole, and bang n' buck).  Even using a Semco sealant gun with pre-filled cartridges from Aircraft Spruce, the process was messy.  But mess favors the prepared mind ... and workspace.  Have a plan, lots of wipes, double glove, and don't turn up the pressure too high on the sealant gun (40psi on mine works well ... 90psi is like a noodle-maker), and it is manageable. Thanks, Ken B., for recommending the Semco gun and pre-filled cartridges - I can't imagine doing it any other way!

Countersunk the fuel cap flange:

Section 18 - Fuel Tank (ribs, stiffeners, zee-brackets, skin)

Lots of little tasks were completed on the left fuel tank:  deburred the tank ribs (edges and holes); dimpled the rib flanges; cut, deburred and dimpled stiffeners; cut, deburred, countersunk and riveted nutplates to zee-brackets; deburred edges and holes of tank skin; cut, drilled, deburred and dimpled j-channel stiffener; and, dimpled tank skin.  NOTE that all internal structures (e.g. ribs) were dimpled using Cleaveland Aircraft Tool tank dimple dies, which dimple slightly deeper to accommodate a thicker layer of Proseal - not sure if this matters, but since I bought those dimple dies, damnit I'm using them! Any task that did NOT involve proseal was welcomed (I'm dreading the mess, and time constraints; thus, I'm still finalizing the plan of attack).

Tank ribs, completed - I didn't feel like spreading them out (again) to photograph ... but, they're done:

Sections 17 & 18 - Outb.Lead.Edge & Fuel Tank (riveted leading edge to spar; light lens; started fuel tank)

It's been 2.5 weeks since I last updated the blog ... but, I've accomplished a few tasks during that time, as well as did a few non-build items (Sun 'n Fun; work retreat; kids' activities; etc. etc.) that took more time than usual away from the RV-14A.

I finished the outboard leading edge, which involved a lot of new skills when working with the plexiglass light lens. From reading the forums, many builders have had to repeat this step due to lens cracking, mostly at the drilled holes.  It involves using #30 and #27 plexi-bits (60deg point), and drilling VERY slowly.  The pneumatic drill is too fast, so I used my Dewalt cordless drill on the slow setting. Cutting the edges was a dilemma that I researched for quite some time - do I saw, route, melt? A 1.5" diameter plastic-specific cutoff wheel for my Dremel seemed to work well, and was what some folks use (others use different cutoff wheels).  Plastic EVERYWHERE, including a small, hot piece that went into my eye (even with eye protection over my regular glasses) - that was my fault; I was looking right over the work and my eye protection was slipping.  Lesson learned.

Used pneumatic squeezer to rivet bottom aft rivets on outboard leading edge to main spar: