DOG Aviation Adorned With Aviation Ceiling Art

It is interesting how a joyous moment such as completing a major component of the RV-12 such as the stabilator can, the very next day, become a major dilemma. Where do you store large eight foot part in tight quarters and also keep it out of harm’s way?

Originally the plan was to store the completed assembly vertically on the shelf at the rear of the assembly facility … measurements had been made long ago and it was deemed it could be stored sitting vertically just fine. However, some may remember reading about the “head bangers ball” where I kept walking into the shelf and decided to tear it down and raise it 9 1/2 inches. One problem solved, one problem created … no more head banging, but now the clearance is such that the stabilator no longer fits vertically on the shelf.

After a little head scratching, decided upon suspending the stabilator from the rafters that were installed a few months ago and place it above the tracks for the assembly bay door. My friend Bernie swung by on his way home after work to assist in suspending the stabilator. We had a couple of issues to iron out but finally got the rigging to cooperate and got the stabilator suspended without incident. Once seeing the stabilator suspended from the rafters, it reminded me of a TV program from a few years ago called Wing Nuts … a show about a small business which made cool artwork out of aviation parts. Now DOG Aviation has its very own piece of hand crafted aviation art hanging from the rafters making room for the assembly of the RV-12’s tail cone.

                                  DOG Aviation adorned with aviation ceiling art in the form of a RV-12 stabilator.

Savvy builders will notice I have removed the blue protective film. An inquiry was made to the builders forums regarding the best long term storage strategy based on the climate here in northeastern Ohio. Based on the replies and a report by another builder in central Ohio stating he experienced a small amount of corrosion along the edges of the blue plastic film where it was removed along the rivet lines, the consensus was remove the blue film and cover the parts with a sheet … so that is what I did.