Monthly Archives: November 2017

The tailcone attachment is done. I wound up spending a very large amount of time preparing items that needed to be dealt with prior to attachment, including battery mount modifications, avionics shelf supports, a yaw damper servo bracket (modified Van’s RV-14 bracket), but most notably the A/C evaporator shelf, inlet air and bulkhead outlet air (into the overhead). Many hours of design for the 3D printed parts involved in the A/C system, which will be the subject of a separate post.

In the meantime, I fitted doublers for the ADS-B antenna and A/C drain pipe, and finally fixed a dent in the side of the empennage where, a long time ago, I dropped a bucking bar. I used the “packing tape and spoon” method to work the dent back in, and then drilled a #40 hole right on the peak of what was left in order to de-stress the area. I then dimpled the hole and back riveted an AD3 rivet into it. Once painted, an astute observer might notice a rivet in an odd place, but otherwise the panel is fine now.

I fay sealed the attachment skin overlap with some Sikaflex Pro. This makes for a few nerves because it means once the assemblies are slid together they really need to be riveted in one long session. We did this with no real dramas and only one drill out. At this point in a slow build project, “Rosie” and I really have our act together and riveting goes quite quickly.

With the tailcone attached, the next step is to fit and match drill various floor panels.