I agonized over how best to raise the airframe to install the gear legs. I gathered some family muscle to lift it up onto a workbench, but aborted the attempt after it became clear we couldn’t do the lift with enough control.
I borrowed a 500kg lift table, removed the handle, and made up a frame that provided support under both the main and rear spar. I wanted a backup in case there were any problems with the lift table, so I crudely extended the forks on the tractor, added a bit of padding, and held these an inch below the airframe, as shown. As it turns out, the table did fine and the tractor was not required.
I fitted the left main gear leg and wheel, then had to cut the old dolly apart (committed at this point!) to get it out of the way and fit the right main gear leg and wheel. After fitting the nose gear, I let the table down and the fuselage settled in a nose high position (because of the missing engine weight). It looks awkward like this, but it’s still quite a milestone to get it up onto the gear.
Raised by lift table, getting backup tractor forks in position
Raised by lift table, tractor forks for safety
Raised by lift table, tractor forks for safety
Cutting away the old dolly
Left main gear on, ready to do the right
Left main gear on
Both mains and nose gear on
Back down, on the gear, nose high with no engine weight
My current plan is to get the airframe up on the gear so I can roll it in and out of the workshop to do the remaining fiberglass work outside. I decided to do a trial fit of the Avionics before doing this, just to make sure everything fitted properly after riveting together all of the sub-panel brackets.
The trial installation took about 3 hours, and no adjustments were required. I only did the minimal amount of wiring to get power to the panel, installing a single master switch controlling the primary (left) system master solenoid. Power came from a car battery on the floor next to the baggage door. I left out the Transponder/ADSB system, the Avidyne IFD didn’t have a GPS antenna, and of course with no engine there were no EMS sensors. I taped a COM Antenna, and the Dynon GPS puck, onto a chair outside the workshop. I ran the ADAHRS cable through one of the conduits and connected the primary ADAHRS only, sitting on a shelf in the rear. Didn’t worry about the harness cables much, just crammed them in – a real installation will take a lot longer when it happens.
It all worked at first turn-on, apart from warnings associated with the pieces that were left out / not connected. Nothing calibrated but I was able to use the COMM’s, enter flight plans, wobble the ADAHRS and see the screens update correctly etc. It was a useful exercise and helped firm up how I was going to route some of the wiring.
Now I get to take it all out again (which won’t take long) and get back to the plan – up on the gear and a month or so back in fiberglass hell.
Now that the upper forward fuselage assembly is riveted on, I can go ahead with the firewall insulation, using the Titanium foil and 1/8″ Fiberfrax I had previously prepared.
In order to prevent the Titanium from puckering, I used 1/8″ stainless steel spacers (available from McMaster Carr) for all #8, #10, 1/4″ and 5/16″ holes, and stainless steel washers for larger sizes. I used RTV to hold the spacers “in place”, a few swizzles of Fire Barrier 2000+ to hold the Fiberfrax in place, and then put on the Titanium. I used machine screws to retain the Titanium in place, these will later be replaced by whatever their respective position calls for. There’s a few pulled rivets across the bottom, and for most of the pass-thru’s I had left one rivet position open so that retaining rivets can be used here as well. The rivets I used are stainless steel, and have a closed end cap, so they should seal up quite well.
I installed the A/C pass-throughs and steel AN fittings for the duplex fuel system, and riveted on the oil cooler mount. I previously made up a Titanium insert for the center recess. I subtracted 1/8″ all around from the recess dimensions, and made the insert accordingly. The thing’s a work of art, but it turns out I should have allowed more wiggle room so I’m going to toss it and make up another one.
I went on a bit of a campaign mounting various items on the firewall, to get them off the shelf and out of the way. Finally, the engine mount went on and that’s another large item no longer on the floor.
I moved the paint booth out and tossed it in the farm shed. I don’t really have much use for it in the coming months, and moving it out clears up a lot of room in the workshop. At the very least it needs re-lining, it’s more like a dark room these days. It might get torn down, I think its usefulness is over after four years of dedicated service – an entire slow-build RV-10 got primed in that little paint booth!
1/8" spacers RTV'd to firewall
All spacers and washers RTV'd to firewall
Trial fit of Titanium, taped together in correct alignment
With all the avionics in hand I decided how everything needed to fit behind the panel. This included not only the avionics, but also the SDSEFI system. Cable routing is another consideration – D connectors, and in some cases a “straight” section of cable running into the D connector – have to be accounted for. Suffice to say, the final layout turned out to be different than the layout I had previously worked out simply based on box dimensions.
I made up brackets for securing the rear of the IFD GPS chassis, and added stiffeners to the sub-panel where required in accordance with Van’s guidelines. I had to mount one item – the secondary system voltage regulator – on the back of the sub-panel. To make it easily removable I added nutplates to the mounting flanges. These will be easy enough to drill off and mount on another regulator if/when it must be replaced. I also drilled two fan mounting holes in the top skin, using a circle cutter in the drill press set to 250 rpm.
Once I was happy with all of the brackets and stiffeners, I primed them, riveted together the forward front fuse subassembly – including all of the brackets and stiffeners – and painted the exposed interior and top shelf area in a flat black polyurethane.
While the forward fuse was still open, I trimmed and fitted the Aerosport interior side panels, installed nutplates for these side panels, installed the NACA vents, and installed the rudder panels for the last time. I also completed all of the tunnel work, permanently installing the brake lines, fuel lines, fuel filter and wiring for the fuel pumps.
Finally the time came to rivet the subassembly onto the fuselage. One advantage of the Control Approach rudder pedals is that access is quite good through that area, once you’re upside down with your head under the panel. The riveting went fine and I was also able to complete the firewall riveting, including the brackets and spacers I had previously made up for the Skybolts.
Next job is to fit the firewall insulation and engine mount.
Drilling and cutouts in Aerosport 310 panel backplate
Making brackets for AFS ACM module
Making brackets for rear of GPS tray mount
Fitting brackets for rear GPS tray support
Fitting brackets for rear GPS tray support
Fitting brackets for rear GPS tray support
Fitting brackets for rear GPS tray support
Remote audio module fits in same bracket
Figuring out nutplate positions for Adel clamps
Drilling nutplate holes
Modified B&C regulator for rear sub-panel mount
Modified B&C regulator for rear sub-panel mount
Trimming Aerosport side inserts
Priming extra sub-panel brackets and parts
Cutting Fan holes in front forward subassembly skin
Riveting brackets to forward front panel assembly
Fitting skin to forward front subassembly
Upper forward fuse subassembly riveted together
Upper forward fuse subassembly riveted together
Ready to paint flat black on upper forward fuse subassembly
Painted upper forward fuse subassembly
Painted upper forward fuse subassembly
Fitting Aerosport side panels, NACA vent proseal'd in
