38 - Canopy and Window (canopy frame and aft window)

Section 38 is quite a bear - the aft window alone took at least 14 hrs of slooooow drilling, reaming, tapping, deburring, countersinking, and trimming - with a decent amount of help from my wife, who sat patiently in the baggage compartment with a backing piece of wood while I drilled.  But the window is done for now - the next time I do anything will be to permanently install it toward the end of the project.  Specifically, the last ~13 days saw the following tasks completed:

- Fluted and clecoed canopy parts; detached and deburred canopy rail bases and frame splices

riveted canopy frame assemblies together; clecoed skin to assembly

- verified fluting of frames; temporarily installed and leveled canopy frame closeout; final-drilled frame closeout and fwd canopy frames; fabricated aft canopy rail angles; marked canopy rail angles

- fluted aft canopy rail angles; machine countersunk canopy rail flange; started assembling canopy rail assemblies

- fit, cut notches, and defined plastic trim line in aft window; match and final drilled #40 holes in aft canopy rails into aft canopy rail angles (both sides), and unclecoed

- countersunk canopy rails; riveted canopy rails to canopy rail angles; fabricated canopy handles; final-drilled canopy side skins

- removed ~1” of vinyl/plastic adhesive around edges of the aft window; #40 drilled and clecoed ~60% of the holes in the aft window (slow process, using plexibits for the lexan and metal bits for the aluminum roll bar) 

- finished drilling and clecoing the aft window; started reaming (#36) and tapping (#6-32) front part of window, shim and roll bar

- finished reaming and tapping window/shim/roll bar; reamed #27 and countersunk holes in window; - trimmed forward edge of window; beveled and sanded edges of window; deburred shim/roll bar; broke edges of top and side skins

- #27 final drilled and deburred holes common to top and side skins and aft window; primed and painted a lot of parts for the canopy latch mechanism and stiffener angles

- saran-wrapped edges of aft window, and stored in house; riveted stiffener angles and side skins; attached canopy latch assembly; installed latch bellcrank angles; detached and deburred canopy rail shim; vacuumed mess from window drilling

Riveting canopy frame assemblies:

Wings transported to airport; Finish kit arrived!; 38 - Canopy & Window (latch assembly; canopy hinges, skin)

Our county and state were fortunate enough to not have had a COVID-19 stay-at-home order, until a few days ago. Because I had anticipated this draconian move, I expedited the construction of wing transport cradles and moving the wings to our new hangar.  If I had to do it over, I wouldn't make the roller wing cradle (constructed about a year ago) - I'd just construct these two transport cradles, since they are a lot more useful.  A fellow RV-14A builder pointed out that, with the wings separated, one can also work on both the top and bottom of each wing (thanks Mark A.!).  The day before I moved the wings, my Finish Kit arrived - as usual, it was an approximately 8 hr inventory process (yes, I take my time). Only one bolt was missing in the entire kit - and I counted everything!  Kudos to Van's.  Specifically, these tasks were accomplished during the past ~2 weeks:

- Designed and constructed transport cradles (2) for wings - each has handles on both ends, so the wing can be placed in cradle and then loaded into a U-haul
- Put finalizing touches on everything to take with wings to hangar; finalized method to secure wing cradles in U-haul
- Rented U-haul (20’), transported cradles to hangar - Thanks to Gary W. (neighbor) and Steve R. (lineman) for lifting on either end of the trip!
- Inventoried finish kit
- Prepped canopy latch assembly
- Separated stiffener angles, latch links, bellcrank angles; riveted canopy hinge assemblies; separated forward canopy rails and support flanges
- Assembled canopy latch pushrod assembly; deburred and dimpled canopy skin

One transport cradle (without the carpeted sling) is shown below. These are very easy to construct, and take exactly five 8' 2x4s, with no leftover wood remaining. Here are the cuts for each 8' 2x4:

1&2) each longitudinal piece is a full 8' board (no cuts)
3) the four vertical pieces that hold the carpet are each 18" tall (shown on the right of this pic). The ~23.5" leftover piece will be cut in half to make the two small handles shown on the left side of this pic, which will help carry the inboard end of the wing.
4) the two vertical pieces on the left and the 3 horizontal pieces on the bottom are all 16" cuts (5 total).  The remaining ~15.5" piece will be used as the top horizontal piece/cap, shown on the left. The horizontal cap will support the inboard spar.
5) the two long handles shown on the right, which will support the outboard end of the wing, are 48" long (i.e. cut an 8' 2x4 in half).

Everything gets screwed together with 3" hardware/construction screws (#9; Torx head) - I highly recommend drilling an 1/8" pilot hole at least 2" deep, and then use an impact wrench to drive the screws. I did not glue the pieces together. The longitudinal spacing of the vertical pieces that hold the carpet was approximately 17.5" ... but that was based on the piece of "scrap" carpet that I got from Lowes.  It happened to be about 18.5" wide and I wanted a little overlap. I estimate the smallest carpet width should be 16", and the largest carpet width should be 20", so space the vertical members accordingly.  (more pics/instructions are after the break)

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: