Not much time for the project today but I did get all the holes in the aft inboard rib drilled. No pictures. Just look at the picture from yesterday and imagine more holes in the rib. I’m kinda stuck right now. One of the sections I am drilling is a very tight squeeze (where the…
More work on drilling today. The inboard nose and aft ribs are not pre-drilled like the rest of the ribs. First I had to fit them into the assembly and use the skin as a guide to mark where the holes would go. Then use those marks as a reference for fluting (i.e., flutes have…
Today was another productive day. I spent most of it finishing the ribs and finally, was able to start assembling the whole left side of the HS and final drilling the holes that attach the ribs to the spars: Then I clecoed on the skin and got it ready to final drill all the holes…
The front spar was designed so that it could also be used on the RV-8; however, when used on the RV-7, the tab needs to be “enlarged” for one extra hole. This is done by trimming the flange back. Here, I learned my first valuable lesson. Be very careful bending metal. I notched the flange and…
Continued work on the front spar. The aluminum angles that I match drilled last time had to have their ends tapered and bent 6 degrees. I clamped the ends between two blocks and clamped that to the work bench to serve as a bending brake.
Today was a pretty fun day and already a milestone. Got to set my first rivet of the project. The center elevator hinge bracket required some assembly. I broke out the pneumatic squeezer to accomplish this task. First, I had to prime the steel bearing (I used Dupli-Color self etching primer) Then, I clecoed the…
Continued work on the rear spar. Not much time for the project today as I have an orchestra rehearsal tonight. I match drilled the holes in the reinforcement bars to the holes in the web of the spar. The holes are factory drilled slightly undersize so when resized they will be flush and the rivets…
Today I got started. The first step is to prepare the rear spar of the horizontal stabilizer for assembly. These are the rear spar reinforcement bars. The ends need to be rounded and the sharp edges need to be slightly radiused (rounded and smoothed). Above is before and after. By the time I got to…
Still no building yet. Today I had to inventory all the parts. Took about 3 hours unpacking everything. Van’s does a great job. Here are a few photos from this occasion: Me with the larger box. My Wife, Leza, admiring the goods. Everything from the small box. Fiberglass tips, ribs, hardware, etc. The large box…
I received my kit today. The only thing I am waiting on is a C-frame dimpling tool. I can get started building without it though as dimpling the skins is a few steps down the list. (Dimpling allows the factory head of the rivet to sit flush with the skin). Basically, it serves the same…
Ryan Van Liere's RV-7A Project Page 