This blog was created to memorialize the building process of my Van's Aircraft RV-14 and to satisfy the requirements for certification in the Experimental Amateur Built Aircraft category. It will also serve as a central location for ME to reference in the future on processes and techniques I used during the build. Additionally, it will allow my family, friends, and other interested builders the opportunity to follow along during my build…..and might be helpful to someone along the way.
I said yesterday it would take us about 45 minutes to finish the Horizontal. I was close.....it took us 54 minutes (0.9) to install the last 144 rivets. We used the pneumatic squeezer for the last three sections of the Skin to Rear Spar. It still amazes me how consistent the pneumatic squeezer sets all the rivets.....all were perfect.
We continued installing rivet after rivet into the Horizontal Stabilizer. It is amazing how many damn rivets are in the Horizontal. Only counting the rivets associated with the Skins, there are a total of 740 rivets (370 rivets per Skin). Again, this count does not include the rivets installed in the substructure of the assembly.....only the Skins.....WOW! That is a great example of how well the RV-14 is built.
After eight hours of work today, we only have about 45 minutes to go tomorrow to finally complete the Horizontal. We started the day by continuing to rivet the skins to the flanges of the Front Spar. Next, starting from the Front Spar Assembly, the Skins were riveted to the HS-904 and HS-1004 Inspar Ribs (only up to the HS-00914 Stringers). This will prevent any wrinkles in the Skins as the Horizontal is completed. The next step was to rivet the Skins to the Stringers and then to the remainder of the Inspar Ribs.
The picture below shows all the rivets listed above installed in the upper right side of the Horizontal. The clecos are holding the Rear Spar and the Skins together and are the next pieces to get riveted together.
This picture shows the Rear Spar Assembly riveted to the Horizontal. The inner HS-1004 Inspar Ribs used AN470AD4-6 rivets, the Outer HS-904 Inspar Ribs used AN470AD4-4 rivets, and the remainder of the Ribs used LP4-3 pop rivets.
Finally, we riveted the right bottom skin of the Horizontal to the Rear Spar using AN426AD3-4 rivets. Below is a picture of the progress.....
Tomorrow, we will rivet the three remaining sections of the Skins to the Rear Spar and complete the Horizontal Stabilizer.
During tonight's session, we were able to shot around 50 rivets. We completed riveting the right Horizontal Stabilizer Skin to the Front Spar assembly. I had to drill out one of the rivets during the process because I didn't quit get the bucking bar in the correct spot to the shop head. I drilled it out, re-installed a new rivet, and got it right the second time around. The two pictures below are of the right side of the Horizontal Stabilizer. The first picture is of the completed line of rivets on the lower side.....
And the completed line of rivets on the upper side.
We will move on to the left side of the Horizontal on Saturday.
This session was actually completed yesterday; however, I wasn't able to publish the post prior to midnight. As a result, it was officially published today. Oh well.... I'm currently in the home stretch on completing the Horizontal Stabilizer.....just have to put a BUNCH of rivets in it!!! My stepdad is going to help me for about a week, so we had time tonight to shoot about 25 rivets to get things started. We began riveting the HS-00901-1 Skins to the flanges of the Front Spar assembly using AN426AD3-4, 3-4.5, and 3-5 rivets as directed in the plans. We will continue this process in the next session......
I actually started work on this session yesterday, but finished up early this morning. I was just about to cleco the Front Spar into the Horizontal Stabilizer assembly for the final time. BUT prior to that, I needed to install the last 18 rivets (9 on the top and 9 on the bottom) in the right side of the Front Spar assembly. The remaining rivets will be installed in where the clecos are located in the picture below.
Once that was completed, I installed the Front Spar into the Horizontal Stabilizer assembly and clecoed it to all the Inspar Ribs and Skins. Once in place, the six nose Ribs where riveted to the leading edge of the Skins.
All the Alumiprep, Alodine, and Akzo priming was completed over the last few sessions. So, let's put it all together....
To begin, I riveted the two modified inboard HS-1004 Inspar Ribs to the Flanges of the HS-00916 Stringer Web using AN470AD4-4 universal rivets. The HS-00914 Stringers were then riveted to the Stringer Web. Here's what it looks like.....
The two outboard HS-905 Nose Ribs were riveted to the Front Spar assembly using AN470AD4-4 rivets. The two modified Inspar Ribs, Stringer, and Stringer assembly was clecoed into position on the Front Spar (but doesn't get riveted until later). The remaining six 904 and four 1004 Inspar Ribs are then clecoed and riveted to the Front Spar.
Below are the six 1004 Inspar Ribs and Stringer assembly riveted to the Front Spar.
The four cradles that were constructed earlier were setup on the work tables to hold the Horizontal Stabilizer assembly during construction. Below, you can see the left and right HS-00901-1 Skin supported in the cradles. The six Nose Ribs were installed in the Skins and are being held in place by the clecos.
The Nose Ribs need to be riveted to the Skins prior to the Front Spar being installed. I'm not going to rivet the Nose Ribs tonight, so in the meantime, I clecoed the Front Spar into the Skins. I did this for a couple of reasons. One, I wanted to make sure everything in the assembly lined up correctly. Secondly, I prefer the assembly to "sit" in its final state as much as possible this close to being riveted together and completed.
Today, I finished up all the priming for the Horizontal Stabilizer assembly. I needed to prime the inside of both Skins and the Rear Spar. Here are the two completed Skins.
I plan to let the remaining parts and pieces dry overnight and start the assembly tomorrow.
I used the Akzo Nobel Epoxy Primer to prime the parts I prepared last night with Alodine. Here are a few pictures of the HS-905 Nose Ribs, HS-1004 Inspar Ribs, and HS-904 Inspar Ribs after being sprayed. Tomorrow I will spray the inside of the Skins and begin assembly of the Horizontal Stabilizer.
According to the plans, now is the time to start riveting all the pieces of the Horizontal together. So, its time to Alumiprep, Alodine, and Akzo prime. Most of the parts were small enough to "dunk" in the bins. In my time lapse video below, you can see the expedited process. I completed the Alumiprep and Alodine process today. I will allow all the pieces to dry overnight and Akzo prime them tomorrow. Here is a few pictures of the parts after Alodining.
After a few days off, I continued work on the Horizontal. I used the DRDT-2 to dimple the 3/32 (#40) holes in the HS-00901-1 Skins. I used the pneumatic squeezer for a few of the holes on the Skin edges near the leading edge bend. I'm just very cautious about manipulating the bend in the leading edges of the Skins. There were a few holes I had to use the 3/32 Close Quarters Die Set.Hereis a video from Mike at Cleaveland Aircraft Tool demonstrating how to use the Die Set.
Below is the outside of the leading edge of the Skin with the male side of the Close Quarters Dimple Die Set installed. You can see the copper mandrel inserted through the Die. As the video shows, you insert the copper mandrel into the pop rivet tool to make the dimple in the Skin. Cleaveland very clearly states this tool will not make the same quality of dimple as the standard Dimple Die Set....and isn't supposed to.
Here's the inside of the leading edge. You can see the female side of the Close Quarters Dimple Die Set and the head of the copper mandrel.
After all the dimpling was completed, the next step was to machine countersink the #40 holes in the Flanges of the Front Spar, Rear Spar, and Stringers. I clamped the Spars to the workbench and drilled away. Here's a picture of the Rear Spar being prepared.....
Covered ALOT of ground today. I primed the Front Spar, Spar Doubler, and Spar Caps that were prepared yesterday. As usual, I used Akzo Epoxy Primer and the Preval Spray System to apply it to the parts. The Preval Spray System does not apply the primer as nicely as an HVLP spray gun would.....and isn't expected to. However, for the purpose of applying the primer to internal parts, it works great.
After the primer dried, I started riveting the Front Spar, Front Spar Doubler, and Front Spar caps using a combination of AN426AD4-6, AN426AD4-7, AN470AD4-5, AN470AD4-6, and AN470AD4-7 rivets. I used the pneumatic squeezer to install all the rivets listed above. There were a total of 18 AN426AD3-4.5 rivets that were installed in the Front Spar flanges through the Spar Caps. I used the Tatco hand squeezer to set those rivets because I had a little more control with the smaller rivets. Here is a picture of the back side of the Spar assembly after all the rivets are installed.
Below is the opposite side of the Front Spar assembly. As the plans stated, you can see the holes that were taped over to prevent me from accidentally riveting them.
Yesterday, I had to modify two of the HS-1004 Inboard Inspar Ribs by using a hand seamer to bend the aft flange of the Rib open by 10 degrees and forward flange closed by 12.5 degrees. Two of the HS-905 Nose Rib aft flanges also need to be modified with a outward 10 degree bend by the hand seamer. The modified Nose and Inspar Ribs were clecoed to the Front Spar and need a couple of holes Match-Drilled. They also needed a few holes marked to prevent accidental dimpling. Finally, all the #40 holes on all the Nose Ribs, Inspar Ribs, and Inboard Inspar Ribs flanges were dimpled with Substructure Dimple Dies and the pneumatic squeezer.
After all the Ribs were prepared, I moved on in the plans to the Horizontal Stabilizer Skins. As with all the other parts in the kit, I had to remove the plastic protective film installed from the factory. The film has been rather easy for me to remove; however, I've heard horror stories about the difficulties other builder's have experienced (mostly after its been on the piece for an extended period of time prior to removal).
I deburred both of the Skins edges and marked several holes that will not get dimpled. Those holes will be prepared later in the build and correspond to the screw holes for the Empennage and Tip Fairings. Next up.....dimpling ALL the holes in the two Horizontal Stabilizer Skins.
I only spent a couple of hours working on the plane today. I Alumipred and Alodined the Front Spar, the two Spar Caps, and the Rear Spar assembly. I did this outside, so I did not film the process. This is a picture of the Front Spar, Rear Spar, Spar Doubler, and Spar Caps after being prepared. I'm going to prime these parts tomorrow and start the assembly/riveting process.
I wasn't really motivated to work with chemicals (Alumiprep, Alodine, Akzo Primer) tonight. So, just like last night, I continued working on the Horizontal Stabilizer. I started out by deburring the edges of all the HS-905 Nose Ribs (x8), HS-1004 Inspar Ribs (x6), and HS-904 Inspar Ribs (x6). To begin, I had to remove all the plastic protective coating from the pieces. Here is an example of a few pieces that still have the plastic on them.
I used a 1" ScotchBrite Wheel in the hand die grinder and the process went pretty quickly and easily. Here are all the completed parts.....ready for the next step.
After cleaning all the edges of the eight Nose Ribs, the forward ends also need to be radiused to prevent the flanges from making small dents in the Skins after installation. Below is an excerpt from the plans and the finished Nose Ribs.
The plans have you fabricate four cradles to hold the Horizontal Stabilizer during construction. They specifically tell you not to waste time making the cradles perfect because they have no bearing on the alignment of the Stabilizer. I used leftover wood from the shipping crate I received from Vans's when the Empennage Kit was delivered. This is not my best work, but they said don't make them perfect.....
I took a break from the Rudder tonight because I'm not 100% confident in the process I'm going to use to rivet the trailing edge. I've read the directions in the plans several times and have seen a few different methods on other build sites. I just need to do a little more research to determine exactly how I want to complete the task. So, in the meantime, I started working on the Horizontal Stabilizer again.
All of tonight's work was deburring the holes on the Spar, Spar Doubler, and the two Spar Caps. So, there isn't much to show here. The pieces are now ready for Alumiprep, Alodine, and Primer.
Started tonight's work by removing the Spar Cap from the Spar and deburring all the common holes Match-Drilled #30 during the last session. After deburring, the two pieces were clecoed together again. I clamped the Spar Cap to the Spar Flanges and Match-Drilled #40 the Flanges into the Spar Caps. I left the hole open between the cleco and the row of clamps (for drill clearance), drilled the hole, clecoed the hole, and move the next clamp to the end of the row. I repeated this process until all the holes are drilled.
This picture shows all the holes Match-Drilled on both sides of the Spar Flanges (all the silver #40 clecos).
The middle nine holes on each side of the Spar Flanges were countersunk #40 for AN426AD3 Flush rivets.
The next step was to cleco the HS-00907-1 Front Spar Doubler to the Front Spar. With the exception of a few holes, all the common holes were Final-Drilled to #30.
Four of the holes were Final-Drilled to #12, two were Final-Drilled to 1/4", and 12 holes were machine countersunk for AN426AD4 flush rivets. Below is the Front Spar assembly with all the completed and prepared holes.
I continued plugging away on the Horizontal Stabilizer. The Front Spar Caps are nested inside the flanges of the Front Spar. The get the alignment right, you have to make a mark 3/16" from one of the ends of the Spar Cap. The mark is then centered on the 28th flange hole from the end. Conversely, the opposite end of the Spar Cap should be in the same spot 28 flange holes from the other end. Once the alignenment is correct, numerous clamps are used to keep the Spar Cap and Spar in the correct position. The Spar Cap was #30 Match-Drilled through the Spar web holes into the Spar Cap.
The picture below shows a portion of the assembly clecoed together following Match-Drilling. Here you can see the Front Spar and the Front Spar Caps in their correct position.
This is one end of the assembly. The trimmed flange of the Spar Cap (prepared last night) is positioned against the Spar web as shown below.
This is the opposite side of the assembly showing numerous clecos installed in the Spar.
Another one of those....lots of work days, with not much visual progress. I started by trimming excess material from the HS-00913 Front Spar Caps (x2) and HS-00914 Stringers (x2). My buddy Jeff help me out and used his die grinder to cut off the largest part of the excess material. Below is the excess material removed from one of the Spar Caps.....
.....and one of the Stringers.
And here is a finished Front Spar Cap and Stringer after cleanup work on the bench grinder.
Lastly, I deburred the edges of the HS-00902-1 Front Spar. I used my 2" Scotchbrite Wheel in the die grinder to debur all the Spar edges and the 1" Scotchbrite Wheel to debur the Spar's lightening holes. No video for this session. I mistakenly turned on the regular video recording function instead of Time Lapse.....MY BAD!
Well, I took a few days off from working on the airplane to go to Sun-N-Fun 2017 at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Florida. I flew over Friday morning with my buddy Jeff in a friend of our's RV-7. Several additional friend's and airplanes meet up with us at the airport and we camped with our airplanes. Incredible weather and great friends!!!!! While at the show, I got to eyeball several RV's and visit the Van's tent to see Mitch's RV-14A. We all packed up and sadly left this morning. When is Airventure again?????
After being exposed to ALL the motivation, I eagerly started working on the plane this afternoon. I resumed work where I left off on the Horizontal Stabilizer. I got started by riveting the HS-906 Rear Spar Doubler to the HS-00903-1 Rear Spar with AN470AD4-6 rivets. As the plans directed, I marked the 12 holes (clecos actually) that do not recieve rivets at this time. You can also see the two AN426AD4-6 rivets in the center of the Spar.
The HS-912 Hinge Brackets (x8) were then riveted to the Spar using AN470AD4-5 rivets. Here is one of the finished products.....
The VA-146 Flange Bearing was then clecoed between the two HS-911 Inboard Hinge Brackets. The holes common to all the parts were Final-Drilled to #30, the Flanges were Final-Drilled to #12, and then all the parts were disassembled and deburred. The Brackets were also scuffed in preparation for painting in the future.
After preparing the three pieces, they were riveted together using AN470AD4-6 rivets. Here is the finished product.....
.....and installed on the Rear Spar with AN3-5A bolts, NAS1149F0363P washers, and MS21042-3 nuts. The Self Locking Nuts were torqued to 28 in lbs as indicated in the plans.
