Dimpled all the flap parts and scuffed the skins.
Everything is ready for priming and assembly.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 2.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 156.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 367.0 |
Tag: dimple
…And tanks are on hold again
Same drill as yesterday… Match drilled the right J-channel stiffener and machine countersunk the skin for the tank baffle rivets.
Then I started dimpling the skins. I started by using the squeezer to dimple all the holes it could reach. I caught one hole off center. Then moved on the second skin. I got through the all the ones with the squeezer and then moved to the DRDT and had the skin pop off of the dimple die just as I was pulling the handle. This created an extra hole about 2 mm from the original hole. I could probably salvage both of these issues if this were a regular skin but I’d rather not chance leaky tank skins. So ordered replacements from Van’s. Not my best day of building.
The good news is I’m not stuck waiting on the replacement parts. I can move on to the flaps and/or ailerons in the meantime. Could have been worse.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 2.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 144.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 355.0 |
Installed landing lights and lenses
Cut the plexiglass lens to 3/4″ larger than the opening in the wing using the Dremel with a diamond dust blade. Cut like buttah.
Covered the lens with tape to protect it. Put in in place within the wing and traced the opening onto the tape. I lined up the backing places and marked the tape with the finished cut lines. I cut to final size with the Dremel and sanded the edges smooth with a sanding drum in the drill press.
Set the lens into place and used the tape “leash” i made on the front of the lens to pull it tight against the inside of the skin. Drilled and clecoed all th holes with a #30 plexi bit.
Remove the lens from the wing and removed the tape. I countersunk the holes with 100 degree zero-flute countersink bit in the electric drill. I deburred the back side of the holes with a single turn of the same bit.
I used VHB double stick tape to secure the backing plates to the lens.
I installed the landing light onto the bracket that I had riveted into the wing in an earlier step.
I secured the lens in place with #6 stainless screws.
And then repeated the whole process for the right wing.
This completes section 17–Outboard leading edges!
| Today’s Time (hours): | 4.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 137.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 348.0 |
Prepared tank stiffeners
Dimpled the nut plate attach holes in the inboard tank ribs.
Separated the stiffeners.
Used snips to make all the cuts. Doh! Should have peeled the blue vinyl off before I cut them.
Then cleaned them up on the scotch bright wheel, scuffed the mating surfaces and dimpled.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 2.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 127.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 338.0 |
Started work on fuel tanks
I ordered plexi bits and a zero flute countersink so that I can fabricate the landing light lenses. While I’m waiting for those to show up, I started on the tanks.
Fluted and straightened the tank ribs yesterday. Final drilled all the #40 and #30 holes in all the ribs tonight.
Located and drilled the 3/4″ hole specified in the plans.
Match drilled the rivet holes from the finger strainer flange in the inboard ribs.
Dimpled all the holes in the top and bottom flanges of all the ribs.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 2.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 125.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 336.0 |
Finished dimpling everything
Clecoed the left leading skin to the ribs.
Slid the j channel into place and clecoed the starter hole. Then match drilled all the holes from the skin into the stiffener.
Match drilled the aft-most top and bottom holes in each of the ribs.
Disassembled everything and repeated the whole process for the right wing. Deburred and dimpled all the holes.
Dressed the edges of the skin with a file and sand paper. The cut-outs for the landing lights were pretty jagged. I cleaned them up with an abrasive drum on the Dremel and some sandpaper.
Dimpled the skins with the DRDT2 and scuffed the insides with a scotch brite pad.
Dimpled the rest of the parts.
Everything is ready for priming and assembly.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 7.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 101.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 312.0 |
Work continues on outboard leading edges
Deburred all the edges of all the things. The doublers for the landing light lenses looked like they were crafted by Van’s with a chainsaw. You can see the before and after shot below. I used sandpaper to work the flanges around the nose of the ribs so that the skins don’t telegraph any faceting.
Trimmed the four ribs called out in the plans so that they will fit around the spar braces. Finished with files and sandpaper.
Flattened, straightened and fluted all the ribs. Then final drilled and deburred all the holes.
Dimpled all the holes with the squeezer.
Cut the J-channel stiffeners to length and drilled the first inboard hole in each.
Final drilled #19 the screw holes in the splice strips. Carefully deburred the holes and dimpled for #8 screws. Dimpled all the #40 holes as well.
In other news, I received the order confirmation for the engine I ordered at Sun ‘n Fun. The ship date from Lycoming is October 11.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 5.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 94.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 305.0 |
Dimpled all the ribs and stiffeners
Got my rivet set and AD5 rivets from spruce and replaced the rivets I removed after screwing up last week. See Finished riveting everything to the rear spars… almost.
Dimpled all the ribs in both wings…
…and the J-channel stiffeners
| Today’s Time (hours): | 1.5 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 75.5 |
| Total Time (hours): | 286.5 |
Dimpled right top wing skins
Lot’s of holes!
| Today’s Time (hours): | 1.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 74.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 285.0 |
Dimpled left top wing skins
Removed material from the corners where they overlap and butt up against the tank skin so that they’ll lay flat. I used 60 grit sand paper. Then deburred all the edges of the skins and wing walk doublers. I deburred all the holes I drilled in the doublers too.
Dimpled the skins with the DRDT-2.
Made it through both left wing skins before my arm got tired.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 2.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 73.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 284.0 |
Ron's RV-14A Build Log 