New Wings – RV-14 Build

Landing lights and wing root fairings

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Neal

Not much progress this week. I focused on switching out the connectors for the landing lights, and then installing the landing light lenses.

The original landing light wiring setup used molex connectors for the three wires providing power and ground to the Landing and Taxi lights. I was never very happy with the crimps on the wires, the poor connection, and the awkward angle of the wiring entering the molex connector.

I decided to replace them with DTM connectors, and re-route the wiring. DTM connectors provide better wire support, are water resistant, and have a much more positive connection and locking mechanism.

I removed the landing light clusters from both wings, brought them home and switched to DTM 3-wire connectors. Once I had them re-installed in the wings, I tested the lights and then installed the landing light lenses. The wiring setup is much more robust now, and I’m sure it will work out well.

I spent some time on the wing root fairings. Each fairing consist of two parts, an upper and a lower fairing. The upper is thicker and covers the area from the flap to just forward of the main wing spar. This is designed to be walked on when entering and existing the cabin. The lower fairing is thinner and longer, and covers the bottom of the wing, and wraps around the leading edge. Forming the curve around the leading edge was a bit time consuming. The plans explain the initial bend, which is easy enough, but then some careful manipulation by hand is needed to get the final shape. It took an hour or so to get the curve right on both sides.

There are a few more steps to finish these fairings, including riveting on a series of stiffeners.

Landing light bay with the new DTM connector visible.

Wing root fairings on the left wing. I was test fitting these, getting the bend right before installing stiffeners and dimpling holes etc

Bottom wing fairing where it bends around and forms the leading edge.

Trim System

Posted on December 6, 2025December 15, 2025 by Neal

I didn’t have much time this week, but I was able to get the trim system working correctly.

Using the laptop and a long Ethernet cable I was able to use the VPX configurator tool on my laptop to send power to the trim motors. I was pleasantly surprised that both the roll and pitch servos worked correctly. I carefully verified that the orientation was correct. It would be easy to reverse either one. For example, the elevator trim tab moves up and down just like the elevator, but it has the opposite effect from the elevator itself. Pitching “up” causes the elevator trailing edge to move up. Trimming “up” causes the elevator trim tab to move down, not up. It moves opposite the elevator, providing a force that moves the elevator to change the aircraft’s pitch.

After confirming the motors were working, I was able to set the correct max, min, and midpoint settings for both servos.

I then worked on mounting the aileron trim brackets on the right wing aileron pushrod. These connect the springs from the servo control arm to the pushrod, actuating the aileron.

Aileron trim servo. The servo mounts onto the access panel at this point. Springs will attach to the holes in the end of the arm, and extend to the brackets on the pushrod.

Diagram of the aileron trim system showing the springs and how they connect to the pushrod and servo arm

Using the laptop to run the trim motors and to set the trim limit parameters

VPX config tool. The whole electrical system can be configured and activated from the laptop. The blue Ethernet cable is a 50 foot cable that plugs into the VPX box behind the panel

Due to interference between the springs and the pushrod, I bent the servo arm to gain some clearance

One last picture before closing this up. Note, the d-sub connector is safety wired together

Assembly Tasks

Posted on November 30, 2025December 6, 2025 by Neal

This week I’ve continued with various assembly tasks.

Lighting:

I resolved the issue with the strobe lights, finding I had mis-pinned a molex connector on the wingtip. Once I corrected the pins, everything worked just fine. It took longer than I care to admit to troubleshoot and find the problem. I learned that it’s useful to start by validating assumptions around where your wires are going by measuring impedance and verifying there is a good electrical connection. Then start measuring voltage drop, once you know your wires are going where you thought they were going.

Comparing this picture to the diagram below, you can see the difference in the pinout. This is actually how I left the connector. Previously the female molex connector actually had the correct pins, but the male was incorrect. Rather than switching the male pins, I just changed the female.

How it’s supposed to be wired. I had the right hand side of this correct, and the left hand side incorrect. I changed the right hand side to match the left .

Aileron Attach:

With help from a saw horse with adjustable leg height, I was able to quite easily install the ailerons. I used new hardware, except for the bushings, since I’ve had these on and off a few times. I was wondering if the install would be more difficult than when the wings were in the stand, but I found it the same, or maybe slightly easier.

I installed and final torqued the aileron pushrods, verified they were correctly rigged using the templates. The templates allow for the pushrod between the aileron and the bell crank to be correctly sized to establish the correct neutral point. Later in the week I rigged the stick-to-wing root pushrods per chapter 41, and adjusted pushrod length until I had the neutral point on both ailerons aligned with a level stick base. I was then able to test the stick clearance, and found I need to trim more off both sticks to avoid hitting the throttle (pilot side) and mixture (passenger side).

I hung the flaps and connected the pushrods, adjusting them to get both flaps all the way up, then verified they have enough clearance from the fuselage.

I also secured the wiring for the magnetometer. I had installed this a couple of years ago but hadn’t finalized the wiring. I had plenty of length so I created a large service loop and secured it out of the way of the pushrod.

Calibrating the pushrods took an iterative approach but I eventually got it

Wing tip template helps keep the aileron neutral

Getting the washes onto the bolt that secured the pushrod at the stick base was a challenge. Note, this picture was taken before I torqued up the nut

Assembly Tasks

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Neal

This week I made multiple trips to the hangar to work on various tasks.

Wing attach bolts

I finally torqued the wing attach bolts. The night before, I tested out my torque wrenches to ensure they were reading correctly, and they were both very close. I used a vice to hold the wrench, and then secured a weight over the arm and measured the distance from the fulcrum. For weight I used a 1 Gallon plastic jug filled with carefully measured amounts of water. The nuts were easy to torque, I only found one where it took a second to figure out how to torque it. I ended up using a socket extension that allowed some movement, so I could torque the nut without fear of bending small bits of aluminum that were close by.

Pitot tube:

I finalized the wiring and install of the pitot tube. I used butt splices to connect the pitot heat wiring, replacing the original molex connector. In the process I included a service loop to help with any future maintenance.

I also trimmed the pitot and AOA pneumatic lines at the wing root, inserting them both into the connectors under the seat. I still need to test the system for leaks, and to verify I didn’t switch Pitot and AOA at any point in the system.

Strobe lights:

I did some troubleshooting on an issue with the wing tip strobe lighting. Both sets of strobes are flashing, but weakly. There is only 6.6V at the wingtip, so I’m losing half the voltage somewhere in the system. I tried the easy tasks such as unplugging and reconnecting connectors, but no luck.

VOR Antenna

I completed the VOR antenna wiring, and was happy to tune in a nearby VOR and see a positive ID and a needle on the CDI. The reception seemed good, even though the antenna isn’t well grounded (I don’t have all the screws in the wingtip, and they provide the ground path). The job was quite simple, I just needed to cut the cable to length and install a BNC connector, then plug it into the fitting I had previously installed under the passenger seat. I added a service loop, for ease of maintenance. At the right wingtip I connected the ring terminals to the antenna and torqued them up. I also tidied up the wing tip wiring and then secured the wingtip fairing. I then fired up the instrument panel, turned in the Julian VOR and was happy to see the reception, even on the ground in a metal hangar at 20 miles, and without a properly grounded antenna.

The main spar wing attach bolts, final torqued

Signs of life from the VOR antenna. The Nav radio is tuned to 113.75, and the green line on the left hand screen (PFD) is pointing to the VOR station

The VOR antenna connection under the passenger seat

Right wingtip wiring. With the wingtip off, I found I could rotate it and set it on its aft edge, balanced against the wing. This made working on the wiring much easier.

Service loop for the pitot heater wiring. Insulated butt splices are visible here and would be the recommended place to disconnect the pitot wiring for any maintenance

Another angle of the pitot tube install. Note, the pushrod is disconnected to allow more room to access the pitot tube wiring.

Wing Move

Posted on June 7, 2025June 26, 2025 by Neal

Today my friend Jeremiah helped me move the wings to a hangar at the airport (KRNM) at Ramona.

I rented a 20 foot u-haul truck and transported the wings in their cradle. In terms of the order of operations, we took the wings out and lay them down on a couple of mattresses. Then loaded the empty cradle into the truck, and secured it to the sides of the truck by lashing it down in several locations. With the cradle rock solid, we carried each wing into the truck and secured into the cradle. The clamp I made at the forward end (wing root end) held the spar in place, and rolled towels on the outboard end helped pad the straps that we used to secure that end. I used some foam triangle shape to peg the wing against the frame of the cradle in a couple of spots, just so that nothing would move. Then we loaded up a storage rack with ailerons, flaps, and wing tips.

The trip was uneventful, and the unload was the opposite operation.

Wing cradle secured in the truck, about to load the wings.

Blanket covering the wings. Storage rack on the left. The green color is the cling-wrap used to secure the ailerons, flaps and wingtips

Trim Servo

Posted on June 2, 2025June 26, 2025 by Neal

Tonight I finished a couple of wing-related jobs. I wired a connector onto the Trim Servo, and corresponding right wing wiring harness. Then I worked on a wing cradle modification in preparation for moving the wings to the airport.

For the servo, I installed a 9-pin d-sub connector. I contemplated different arrangements, and eventually settled on a d-sub connector. I plan to safety-wire the two connector halves to prevent them from loosening, and to keep the wiring secure I glued a zip-tie holder onto the servo housing using some epoxy glue.

I still haven’t installed the tabs onto the pushrod, which is what the servo attaches to via a couple of springs. I need to do that before the wings are attached, but I’m slightly concerned I may end up needing to adjust the pushrod length when I rig the ailerons, and that might require a rotation of the pushrod.

On the wing cradle, I made a fitting to hold the wing spars in position on the cross beam. I’ll add a padded “cap” to the fitting to grip the spars and prevent any movement.

Wing Tip

Posted on May 14, 2025June 3, 2025 by Neal

Last night I fitted the left wing tip’s rib. This involved locating some holes on the rib and on the fiberglass, so that the web of the rib is flush with the edge of the wingtip.

I miscalculated one hole, and needed to fill it once I was done with locating all of the other holes. holes are then countersunk, and the rib deburred and primed.

Tonight I riveted the rib into position. This required the rivet gun, as the flange of the rib is facing inside the wingtip (i.e. outboard). The riveting was quick and easy.

Rib taped into position, and drilling underway.

Once the rib was installed, the wing tip was completed, except for trimming the rear edge. I installed it and marked the line where it will need to be sanded back

Wing tip nut plates

Posted on May 12, 2025May 27, 2025 by Neal

Tonight I installed the wingtip nutplates on the left wing. I had to order a few extra from aircraft spruce the other day, because I was 5 short of the number I needed.

I found one nut plate where the holes weren’t quite aligned, so I filled one of the holes and will re-drill, countersink, and rivet the nutplate on tomorrow. Otherwise I finished the task.

Clecoed nutplates. The one in the foreground has one hole filled to fix a misalignment problem

Wing tip

Posted on May 11, 2025May 17, 2025 by Neal

This weekend I focused on the left wing wingtip. With the flap and aileron installed, I confirmed their alignment, then mounted the wing tip and match drilled holes into the wingtip. The holes in the skin are then deburred and dimples, while the fiberglass wingtip tip holes are countersunk, and rivet holes are drilled to install nutplates.

Checking the alignment between flap and aileron

Using a ratchet strap to apply pressure to hole the wingtip in position.

Match drilling holes into the fiberglass wingtip

Marking and drilling holes for rivets to hold the nut plates

Aileron Rigging

Posted on May 9, 2025May 17, 2025 by Neal

Tonight I installed the left wing aileron and used the templates to find the neutral point.

I got a little concerned when I found the pushrod rubbing on the aileron attach bracket, but then realized that it only makes contact at the end of the aileron travel, which is likely beyond the stop on the other side (once the wings are installed and both ailerons are rigged).

I also found that I wanted to use a combination of the flap and the templates to determine the correct aileron neutral position. Luckily these two methods concurred, so I taped the aileron into position. This will then inform the placement and fine tuning of the fiberglass wingtip, which is up next.

Note the blue template being used to help identify the neutral aileron position

Rigging the pushrod from wing root to bellcrank

Where the pushrod extends through the rear spar and attaches to the aileron. I ended up rotating the pushrod so the manufactured heads of the rivets face the spar and bracket, given maximum clearance

Aileron and flap installed, establishing the neutral position.