29 - Fwd Mid Fuse Side Str. (attached air vents; fuselage complete!); 12 - Empennage Fairings (trimmed bottom rudder fairing); planned wing transport to hangar

The last couple of weeks hasn't seen much work because I am finished with the first 3 kits, minus the fiberglass work and attachment of the tail fins and wings to the fuselage, and am waiting for the Finish kit.  I spent some of the time placing a few orders, to make sure that I have everything before COVID-19 takes over the manufacturing and transport industries (okay, probably not). I also received the propeller - that's quite a large item, still sitting in its box in the living room.  I secured a hangar, and will be moving my wings there in a few weeks.  In order to move the wings, I had to design a set of transport cradles, which I did during this down time.  I'll post the cradles and details of the wing transport in a few weeks.  I finished attaching the air vent assemblies to the fuselage using RTV silicone, and then cleaned and reorganized my area in preparation for some initial fiberglass work. After 1 hour of trimming the rudder bottom fairing, and getting fairly itchy, I doubt a mostly fiberglass airplane is ever in my future.  The best news is that I received the bill of lading from the transport company for the Finish Kit today!  Hopefully, I'll get that delivery in the next 7-10 days, because I'm eager to get back to building.  A few pics, below:

Air vents, assembled and ready for mounting:

29 - Fwd Mid Fuse Side Str (air vents); 37 - Roll Over Structure (finished); Firewall Fwd kit (inventory)

I received the FWF kit this week - damn, there are a lot more parts than I had anticipated.  Only one part was slightly damaged (flange of oil cooler was bent), and The Mothership said I could either gently whack it back into shape, or send it back for a replacement.  I might try a gentle whacking - and yes, that does sound bad.

The remainder of the time since the last post has been to install and paint the roll bar and roll bar brace, do a few odds-and-ends, and figure out how to mount the air vents.  Surprisingly, the air vent assemblies have NO rivets!  I guess RTV silicone will be enough to hold them in place in most instances ... but, that just doesn't sit well with me.  So, I decided that one single blind MK-319-BS rivet that attaches the aft vent flange to the side skin would be apropos.  Most importantly, it will help with alignment when attaching - I've seen a few vents that were attached crookedly, or slid down as the silicone (or proseal) hardened, and I just didn't want to take that chance.  At any rate, here are details of what has been accomplished since the last post:

- Riveted roll bar assemblies to roll bar straps and window shims; attached bushings and bushing doublers on aft roll bar assembly; clecoed roll bar and roll bar brace to fuselage; match-drilled #30 holes into roll bar bases; deburred holes; reinstalled roll bar on roll bar bases; primed and painted roll bar brace (since tough to spray underside once attached to fuselage)
- Riveted roll bar and brace to fuselage; attached fwd bushing doublers and bushings and covers; masked for painting; separated, dimpled and fluted skin stiffeners
- primed and painted roll bar and brace
- riveted skin stiffeners, and finished working on control column travel to get both sides to hit stops at the same time.  Have ~15deg travel forward and 23.1deg aft
- received new air vents (SV-10) since the old ones were too short; re-prepped the vents, test-fit, scuffed, and am figuring out the best way to attach (likely with a few pop rivets that center the vents prior to applying clear RTV - this is a paint without rivet holes, so I’m going to put at least one in the alum. flange and 2 in the plastic vent
- Received FWF kit!!!   inventory for FWF kit (started)
- inventory for FWF kit (finished); emailed Van’s regarding missing/damaged items (very few); inventoried Airwolf remote oil filter package, too
- figured out attachment for air vent assembly, which involves one MK-319-BS pop rivet to attach the aft flange to the skin (will aid in alignment); cut vent assemblies; primed and painted vent assemblies

Match-drilling roll bar bases:

35 - Upper Fwd Fuse (almost complete); 36 - Aileron & Elevator Sys. (complete); 37 - Roll Over Struct. (started); OP56 - Garmin AP Servos (installed pitch servo)

Lots accomplished since the last post ~13 days ago - see below for details.  Most importantly (not shown here), I've ordered the engine, prop, firewall forward kit, put a deposit down on a SteinAir panel, started talks with Abby at Flightline Interiors, and ordered a crapload of materials from Aircraft Spruce for the fiberglass work (esp. the canopy transition).  However, for the past couple of weeks, I specifically accomplished the following:

- installed idler arms; drilled, primed and assembled elevator pushrods and stick link pushrod
- riveted center section of forward top skin to fuselage structure (back-riveted as much as possible with my wife bucking); first time under the panel section - pain in the back; installed bushings into hinge ribs; primed and painted canopy cradles
- a half hour to torque ONE nut/bolt to attach control arm to fwd elevator pushrod; fabricated elevator bellcrank assembly; trimmed and installed AP pitch servo bracket; installed bellcrank mount; installed mid elevator pushrod to bellcrank assembly; installed elevator pushrods to idler arms; checked match-drilling of Tosten control stick with stick bases
- Installed pitch servo
- greased and installed canopy cradle assemblies (4 difficult-to-reach bolts);  attached gas springs to canopy cradle assemblies; installed canopy release mechanism and tested action (very nice); prosealed rest of top forward skin to fuselage; also, prosealed gaps in the firewall and subpanel, but instead of sealing from the inside, after placing a fay seal on the flanges and clecoing the skin, I sealed the remaining holes from the outside, pushing the sealant through the holes. Next proseal session, I may fillet seal from the inside as well (belt-and-suspenders, incase there is a small gap I couldn’t see)
- Final-drilled both Tosten control sticks; attached control stick bases; attached link stick pushrod; worked on control column travel to get both sides to hit stops at the same time; aligned control sticks
continued working on control column travel to get both sides to hit stops at the same time
riveted rest of top forward skin to fuselage; added final bead of sealant to subpanel and plugged any other holes with sealant, taking care to not make it too thick (may impede canopy)
- attached brace brackets to brace; riveted fwd and aft roll bar frame assemblies; clecoed roll bar frame assemblies, roll bar straps and window shims; #30 final-drilled outboard #40 holes
- #30 final-drilled inboard #40 holes; deburred holes; machine countersunk outbd roll bar strap where bar brace attaches; countersunk #30 holes in window shims; primed the inside of the frame assembly

Elevator pushrods (3) and stick link pushrod:

33 - Rudder & Brake Sys (rudder trim and pedal extensions); 35 - Upper Fwd Fuse (subpanel, panel frame); Avionics (fabricated avionics shelves)

Lots of little tasks done in three separate sections, including figuring out how the massive amount of remote avionics boxes and other avionics components will be mounted between the panel and subpanel.  Thanks a bunch to Ken B., whose subpanels I have mimicked - his new website can be found at:   rv-14a.com.   Final major painting of the interior was completed as well (last bits will be the roll bar and associated structure).  Specifically, the following were accomplished since the last post:

- fabricated release pins; assembled release mechanism; installed forward top skin doublers (AD2-2 rivets); trimmed cowl shims
- broke edges of top forward skin; dimpled #40 and #30 holes in skin; countersunk #30 holes in forward parts of longerons; dimpled shims and firewall flanges
- attached Aerosport Products rudder pedal extensions
- fabricating two shelves for avionics that fit under the avionics bay
- fabricated two 2” angle aluminum brackets in the map box - drilled for AN3-3A bolts
- painted panel frame, subpanel, panel standoffs, circuit breaker channel, and canopy rails
- temporarily attached rudder trim arms (only to find out I’ll need to attach them later, permanently, after the rudder cables are attached to the rudder)
- prosealed forward top skin to subpanel and firewall

Fabricated release pins:

35 - Upper Fwd Fuselage (subpanel, panel frame, avionics shelves/angles, canopy release mechanism)

It is very satisfying to see the panel frame attached to the front end of the fuselage - I can easily envision all those expensive doodads on the SteinAir panel sitting right in front of me as I whiz across the country at 200mph. But, that's still a long time in the future, so for now, back to earth - here's what I accomplished since the last post:

- Riveted sub-panel assembly together
- installed instrument panel stand-offs and connector brackets; installed seal angles; installed upper fwd fuselage assembly to fuselage; temp. attached canopy hinge brackets; installed cowl pin retention bracket (prob. won’t use); installed wiring channel assembly; match and final-drilled fwd and aft canopy decks (both sides)
- deburred and dimpled (CS4) canopy decks; countersunk longerons; prosealed longeron-deck space; riveted instrument attach brackets to fwd decks; clecoed and riveted canopy decks to fuselage; riveted wiring channel and cable support; installed instrument panel attach plate; separated panel frame angles; deburred panel frame
- Machine countersunk holes in panel frame and panel flange doubler; riveted nutplates to panel frame; riveted panel angles to doubler and frame; clecoed panel frame assembly to fuselage
- fabricated a couple parts of avionics shelves/angles; another 2 hrs (not logged) spent cogitating over the placement of remote boxes, etc.
- cut another shelf for avionics; radiused/chamfered pivot block; drilled release mechanism; fabricated left and right release mechanism pushrods (pain in the ass!)

Masking the side skin, prior to filling gap with Proseal - sealant is used here to prevent water from intruding into the cabin:

33 - Rudder & Brake Systems (completed); 34 - Flap Actuation System (completed); 54 - Flap Position Sensor (completed); 35 - Upper Fwd Fuselage (started)

Lots accomplished during the past days, including finishing 3 sections and starting the Upper Fwd Fuselage section - i.e., the section that eventually will get most of the avionics!  This post also contains step-by-step instructions on how to attach 4 extremely difficult to reach adel clamps that attach the rudder cable guides, which have stymied more than a few builders.  Specifically, the following were accomplished since the last post:

- drilled pedal bearing blocks; attached rudder pedals to fuselage; attached brake fluid reservoir (bolts and Proseal); attached Aircraft Specialty brake lines to pedals and gear brace (waiting for proseal to cure before installing last two lines on brake fluid reservoir); started two adel clamps that secure the rudder cable tubing
- finished installing all 4 adel clamps to secure rudder cable tubing; separated, deburred, primed, and painted rudder cable links; riveted cable guides to tunnel sides
- Finished attaching the brake lines
- Drilled flap torque arms; connected torque arms and flap crank to fuselage, and bolted (final torqued)
- installed flap actuator; safety-wired and tested actuator (9V batt)
- Installed the flap position sensor, including micro-molex pins in the corresponding connector shell
- Assembled left and right forward rib assemblies and hinge rib assemblies; trimmed sub-panel (including area for center stack); riveted channel assembly

Installed rudder/brake assembly:

32 - Baggage Area (completed AND painted interior); 33 - Rudder & Brake Systems (assembled brakes, rudders)

Finished the baggage area AND painted the interior of the fuselage - what a major step; extremely motivational.  Also started the rudder and brake section.  Specifically, the following were accomplished this week:

- deburred edges of baggage floors; drilled holes for lemo (Bose) plugs; updrilled two holes from 3/8” to 7/16” for mic jacks; dimpled both baggage floors
- riveted nutplates to baggage floors; installed and started riveting both baggage floors to fuselage substructure; clecoed most remaining nutplates to floor and substructure; finishing running rudder cables to forward center console
- finished riveting baggage floors; installed baggage floor splice; installed flap motor channel; installed flap motor brackets; broke edges of baggage side covers
- finished baggage area by riveting side panels; started scuffing interior (for paint); up-sized hole in forward overhang for brake lines pass-through between left/right sides
- finished scuffing with scotchbrite, 2 acetone wipe-downs, 1 SEM Prep wipe-down, 2 light coats of SEM gray primer, 3 top coats of Cardinal Paint light gunmetal gray GR10-4A05 semi-gloss  - interior has been painted!
- separated parts for brake pedal assembly, deburred, and clecoed brake pedal assemblies together; final-drilled #12 holes.  I decided not to paint the pedals - they look great as-is, and the paint will scuff off in the first few hours.
- Assembled brake pedals, bolted the pedals to the rudders, attached the brake cylinders, and clocked the AN fittings on the brake cylinders

Clecoed the baggage floors in place: