RV-14 Build – Page 50 – Building a Vans RV-14

Clecoing side skins

Posted on April 9, 2020April 10, 2020 by Neal

Tonight I hit a milestone, as I clecoed on the side skins and rolled the aft fuse right side up. It’s great to have a major part of the fuselage taking shape!

I started by reading up on the systems that need to be laid out in the aft fuse. There are a number of wiring runs that need to pass down one of the left hand j-channels between the side wall and the bulkheads. It’s much easier to do this before putting the side skins on, so I studied the diagrams to understand it all. I identified that one of the wires shown in the plans was not in the wiring harness, but I went ahead anyway. [edit] I’ve since confirmed with Vans that the wire has been deleted from the plans.

Highlight shows the missing wire in the plans

C410P with missing wire. This is the correct configuration according to Vans Aircraft

I didn’t attempt to use the wire ties at this stage, and instead used a little masking tape to hold the wires in place while getting everything set up.

J channels and longeron installed on the left side. These are loosely held in place with tape while I ran the wiring

I ran the wiring harness and phone cable, then carefully clecoed on the left side skin. Then I carefully rolled the assembly upright.

Left side skin clecoed on, after rolling upright

Once upright, the right j-channels and longeron can be installed, the aft bulkhead (#11) clecoed on, and then the right side skin is clecoed on. With both side skins on, you can really get a sense of the size of the airplane. The longerons extend forward, and diverge from each other at surprisingly wide angles. The bulkheads sit tall and highlight how much space there is going to be up forward. The cockpit will be wide and tall… this thing is big!

This aft fuse section occupies a surprising amount of space

Side skins on, starting to look like a real airplane!

Shaped aft bottom skin

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Neal

Trimming the edges of the aft bottom skin

Dimpling side skins

Posted on April 7, 2020 by Neal

Last night and again today I spent a few hours dimpling the side skins. Doing in one session would have been faster, but each time I started I got interrupted. In any case, I rigged up some extensions by placing some sheets of particle board cover with carpet on boxes, and strapping them down with tie downs. I was able to adjust them a little to ensure I had the right support. The holes on the curved edges were the most difficult, but I found a way to make it all work.

Priming side skins

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Neal

Today I primed the side skins. It was quite straightforward, and aside from looking a bit patchy, I’m happy with how things came out.

Countersinking 2

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Neal

Tonight I finished countersinking the longerons. Another round of very consistent holes. One more thing I found useful was a countersink drilling table another builder had made by measuring the thickness of the skin to be mated, he came up with a range of hole sizes. This is easier to measure than the depth of a rivet in the countersunk hole.

Countersinking

Posted on April 3, 2020 by Neal

Today I countersunk one of the longerones, which took an hour or so. First I set up my single flute countersink, and dialed it in on the drill press. With that done, I hooked up my air drill and countersunk one of parts.

I was really happy with how it worked out. The single flute is superior, and requires a lot less pressure to cut. The consistency of my holes was much better than with the 3-flute sink, and it felt easier to use for some reason.

After a lot of drilling, it was midnight and the compressor had been running almost continuously. I decided to tackle the other one tomorrow

Deburring

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Neal

Over the last two nights I deburred the side skins for the aft fuselage. I spent probably two hours total time, including a few minutes to remove the vinyl on the exterior side. I used an oversized drill bit to debur the holes, which I found more effective than using a countersink bit.

Finished riveting bottom skin

Posted on March 29, 2020 by Neal

After several short sessions, I managed to finish riveting the bottom aft fuse skin today. I had to remove one rivet, but otherwise I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

Bottom skin riveted to j-channels and bulkheads

View from underneath, which is actually looking down at the bottom of the fuse, since it’s inverted

I started deburring the side skins tonight, and couldn’t resist a photo opportunity. I clecoed on the left skin, rolled the section upright and snapped a couple of pictures. It’s starting to look something like an airplane part now! Then I unclecoed the side and went back to deburring…

More riveting bottom skin

Posted on March 26, 2020 by Neal

Tonight I spent about 45 minutes riveting the bottom skin to bulkheads. I set about 50 rivets, most came out well. I’ll need to drill and redo one where there is too much of a gap between the sheer clip and the j-channel. I need to clamp down the end of the clip so it doesn’t lift away when I rivet. I’m going to finish riveting then come back to it. If I can get another 2-3 hours in tomorrow and Friday, I should have this step done by the weekend. Riveting with the gun is a noisy process, so I need to be mindful of my hours.

Riveting bottom skin

Posted on March 25, 2020March 26, 2020 by Neal

On Sunday I dimpled the bottom skin. Yesterday I clecoed the bottom skin onto the 6, 7 and 8 bulkheads, along with j-channels and battery angles. Tonight I set a few of the rivets before running out of steam.

Dimpling the holes was easy, and I was able to get it all done on my DRDT-2 dimpler. I needed to prop up the skin a few times, but that was easily done.

Clecoing the skin to the bulkheads required two saw horses, at least 3 feet tall. Since mine were not that tall, my dad made up a pair of cradles that attach to the top of my saw horses. These worked great, and clecoing was easy.

Bottom skin clecoed to j-channels and bulkheads

I set a few rivets tonight. I actually squeezed several that I could reach, then made up some practice pieces and set a few rivets using my gun. Since it’s been a while since I riveted with the gun, I wanted to make sure I remembered the right settings etc. 25 PSI is plenty to set 3-3 and 3-3.5 rivets. I taped over the holes around the edges, as these are riveted later.