Primed all the aileron parts.
Riveted the various hinges and doublers to the various ribs.
Clecoed the nose ribs to the spars and set in the skins with the stainless counterbalance tubes. Match drilled the inboard and outboard holes from the leading edge of the skins to the counterbalance.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 4.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 175.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 387.0 |
Picked and inspected all of the aileron parts. I peeled the protective blue vinyl off of all the parts. Cut apart all of the doublers, hinges, ribs, and stiffeners on the bandsaw. Deburred everything on the Scotchbrite wheel. Dimpled all the ribs and stiffeners with the pneumatic squeezer. Machine countersunk the hinges and doublers.
Everything is ready for scuffing and primer.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 4.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 171.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 382.0 |
Same drill for the right flap… Just barely set the trailing edge rivets with the squeezer then set the shop heads flush with a mushroom set in the gun and a back riveting plate. I riveted the bottom skins with blind rivets. Then I installed hardware.
Flaps complete!
Emailed Van’s about my tank skins and heard back on Friday. The right skin is back ordered so they estimate that they will ship end of next week. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy until then… On to the Ailerons.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 1.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 167.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 378.0 |
Worked on both left and right flaps simultaneously; performing each step on one then the other. Riveted the top skins and nose skins to the spars and then to the ribs. I back riveted the aft-most two holes in each rib.
Clecoed then riveted the bottom skins and nose skins to the spars. I had to stick my arm down between the skins, slightly pulling back the bottom skin to be able to back these rivets. Glad I deburred well. My arms were pretty well scraped by the end of this step.
Final drilled #33 and blind riveted the nose skins to the nose ribs.
Applied 3M double-sided VHB tape to the trailing edge extrusions. I clecoed the extrusions in place in the left wing, removing the bottom backing from the tape as I went. I let the VHB adhesive set up for an hour or so and remove the top backing form the tape; removing and replacing clecos as I went.
I let the top tape set up for a couple of hours. I clecoed and taped the trailing edge into the right wing at this point and moved on to riveting the left wing while the bottom tape set up.
I used the squeezer to just barely set rivets in the trailing edge. Then used a mushroom set in the gun with a back rivet plate to fully set the back of the double flush rivets.
I final drilled #33 all the bottom skin/rib holes and blind riveted. I used the squeezer to set solid rivets in the inboard and outboard end ribs. I installed the rod end for the flap actuator. Left wing done!
I removed the backing form the top tape on the right trailing edge. I’ll finish the right flap up in the morning.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 6.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 166.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 377.0 |
Clecoed then riveted each flap substructure together.
Clecoed the leading edge skins in place and set the flap assemblies into the cradles. Clecoed the top skins in place. Riveted the right top skin.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 2.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 160.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 371.0 |
Primed everything
Riveted the nutplates and doublers to the rod end ribs.
Riveted the hinge halves to the ribs. Then installed the hardware and double flush riveted the halves together.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 2.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 158.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 369.0 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
When I bought my tools I bought my tools for this project, I decided to buy a DRDT-2 dimpler. I decided not to bother with a c-frame. Until this point I have not found anything that I couldn’t do without a c-frame. Today I needed to fill the locating holes in the inboard and outboard ribs with AN470AD6-5 rivets. I don’t own any tool capable of setting those big rivets reliably. Fortunately Jared offered up his c-frame and I went to his house and got these rivets set. Thanks, man! Ended up cutting the rivets down to like a 6-3. They are not structural and they were way to long. They just plug up the machining holes in the external fuel tank ribs. The shorter rivets set perfectly with the c-frame and a heavy hammer.
I primed the exterior side of all the fuel tank parts.
I riveted the bearings for the aileron controls to the tank attach bracket.
I riveted the shims and nutplates to the tank attach brackets.
I riveted the nutplates to the aft inboard ribs. I couldn’t get a mushroom set in between the clecos to rivet these. So I used a back rivet set on the tail and a bucking bar on the factory head.
I’ve completed everything I can on the Tanks until I get the J-Channel I ordered from Van’s. On the bright side… I received the tools I need to install the landing light lenses so that will be tomorrow’s project.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 3.0 |
| Wing Time (hours): | 133.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 344.0 |
Ron's RV-14A Build Log 