Right Tank done! - Happily on to next part of the project..

Today was a great day.   I am done with the right tank.  No more black death for quite a while (months or years even.. !)  Just wait now for it to dry and next weekend pressure test it.

Even on the second tank, the baffle install was tougher than I thought.   Don't underestimate this last step in the tank install.   Riveting that root Z-bracket onto the tank was impossible on both tanks.  Probably in the future I would use Cherry Max Pop rivets here.  Save a few drilled out rivets.

After the tank was done, I kept going.  Getting that second wing to the same stage as the right wing.  Then working on top skins by next weekend..  The right wing leading edge is now going on permanently.  Learned a lot on the left and this one is going on almost perfectly.  Outer two ribs on both ends of the leading edge get solid rivets shot and  bucked by yours truly.  The 3rd rib from the outboard gets LP4-3 rivets, and the fourth rib from the outboard gets  LP4-4 rivets.   In the internal shot below you are looking at the second rib from the outboard and the 3rd rib from the outboard further in.  Lookin good.

Right Tank; Vent and Senders Ready to close

Planning a busy weekend this weekend.  Tank is ready for the baffle, will get to that over the weekend.  Here you see the vent and senders in place.  Also, trap door and fuel pick up at the lowest point in the tank.  Notice the vent under the fuel cap, will be at the highest point of the tank, just like it is supposed to be.

Fuselage on order ! !

Sorry, long time since last post.  I am still making progress, just haven't gotten any recent pics.   The right tank is ready for the baffle which will go in this weekend closing it out.   Then a week of drying before the pressure test.  Will try to get more pics up soon.

Today was a big day none the less, I ordered my 7 fuse..   Got the order in before the prices go up in Feb and due to extra order volumes, Van's will take about 3 months for delivery.  Perfect for me at my current pace.

I am going with the Tip Up canopy for the extra visibility and a tail dragger version of course; as it looks way better..   The only debate that I was really on the fence with was right side (passenger) brake pedals..  Decided to go without.  Here was my thinking:

Tail Dragger RVs can still be steered by the pedals on the right side without brakes; Trike RVs must use brakes for steering.

Additional Brake pedals weigh more, Cost $$, and have more opportunity for leaks or problems with the brake cylinders.

Also, realistically right side brakes can be dangerous on a tail dragger.  Tall person hitting those brakes by accident on takeoff or landing, or even taxi is equal to an immediate nose over, which is equal to about 25 thousand bucks..   So - No right side pedals for me.

Right tank - Still in process.

OK, I had to drill out a few rivets, took a couple steps backwards and got pretty frustrated over the last week.   I am now back moving along though and will post some pictures shortly.  Currently I am on the final inboard rib on the right tank and have installed 90% of the capacitive senders and will be ready to close it out later this week.   Looking forward to getting through the tanks and moving on..

Right Tank Progress !

Ok, Birthday weekend and I was able to spend lots of time on the right tank.  Bekah helpled me riveting all 5 center ribs.  I was able to get them in and get them all cleaned up.  Filets on all edges and the inside rivet heads covered with dabs of sealant.  I also got the outboard end rib in place in the tank and got it all cleaned up.  This week I should have time to insert the vent line, finish the inner end rib, and work on the capacitive senders; getting everything ready to seal up with the rear baffle.  Looking good so far, and liking the progress.  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel; the end of working with the Black Death is in sight.  ;-)

Oh, and look what Bekah gave me for the birthday ! !   Dynon Heated Pitot Tube with AOA !

Deburring/Dimpling forever . .

Since I need a large section of time for the next step with the right tank (birthday weekend coming up.  ;-))  I decided to use this week to get the right wing skeleton ready.  Deburring/Dimpling thousands of holes and working the edges of the skins so that it is ready when the tank is complete.  Actually just getting the right wing to the same stage as the left wing as quickly as possible.

On the skins, I am working the scarf joint between the two overlapping skins.  Also using my new cleavland edge roller to make the edges slightly bent inward on the rivet lines where they overlap the spar and other skins.  This keeps the skin from folding up when final riveting is complete and just looks much better in general.  Lots of work to get these skins ready, and I haven't even scotchbrighted them or primed them yet.. 

Of course tonight, was working on the skeleton with the deburring tool..  One of those things you can do without getting out of your work clothes.  But oh my back..  ;-)

Left Wing Leading Edge Complete !

OK, I am kind of slowing down on the building but hope to kick it into high gear over the next couple of weeks.   My B-day is coming up and Bekah has promised me an entire day of riveting ! !  Which will come in handy working on the right tank.   For now though I did finish dabing sealant on the stiffeners on the right tank and as well completely finished mounting the left Wing leading edge.  Here ar some pics with quite a bit fewer clecoes.  ;-)  Yeah !

I had challenges with riveting the ribs to the spar on the left leading edge, so ended up using LP4-3 and 4 rivets on the inner most two ribs.  All the other ribs I was able to reach with regular rivets without too much problem.  With my experience, I am sure the right wing will look better, it took me lots of tries with the rivet puller to get it to set the rivets flush.  I ended up grinding the cheap puller down to almost nothing and it worked great.  The key is to bevel the very tip of the puller so that it could go in at an angle and still be flat on the rivet on the surface.   Also, bend the rivet pin just a bit so that you can get into the corner.  EAA has videos on how to get into tight spaces with pop rivets.   Worked great.

Right Tank Stiffeners

It seems that I am learning how to work with this sealant stuff (black death) fairly well.  Tonight I riveted the skin stiffeners, fuel cap flange, and drain flange all in one sitting.  On the left tank it took me two nights to get this far, so moving faster and getting better results with this tank.

I still need to dab a bit of sealant over each rivet head and fillet the edges of the stiffeners, but things are going well so far.  Tomorrow I will dab the sealant as well as seal up some of the items on the end ribs..  You can seal the vent fitting, sender BNC fitting, fuel pick up and outside edge nose stiffener prior to final assembly so going to get that done all in one sitting as well.

Misc Items - Left Tank Pressure Test Successful !

After returning from Arizona I pressure tested the Left Tank.   It took a long time to get set up correctly, but finally the test was successful !  No Leaks !   I used the water tube (manometer) test and air kept coming out of the fuel cap.   Finally I figured out how to stop it by cutting up a balloon and putting it over the cap from the back.   Will show you a pic of this next time, but it worked like a champ. 

Also, I started riveting the left leading edge and ran into some big challenges, but think I have them resolved now.   For the inner most 2 ribs I will use LP4-3 and LP4-4 Rivets as necessary.   Bucking these is impossible and Vans indicates the LP4 rivets are acceptable.  I do need to drill out a few rivets that went bad on the leading edge, but am sure it will all be salvaged shortly.  

Also, starting work on the right tank.  Deburring/dimpling holes.  Tonight I will finish the skin rough it up, clean it and get ready for the first pro-seal treatment.   Should be a pro now at this.  ;-)  The skin stiffeners are next on the list.