Sections 21 & 22 Completed - Jumping to 28

After a morning trip in Mike’s airplane to Latrobe PA and back, the latter part of the afternoon was spent working on the RV-12 project. There were a couple of lose ends to finish up sections 21 and 22.  The last step in section 21 involved placing 6 screws and nuts in the tunnel area which will be used to mount standoffs for the fuel lines. A little blue Loctite was used to insure the screws don’t back out when the standoffs are secured with nuts.

To complete the mating of the forward lower fuselage assembly with the fuselage mid-section, the last few remaining rivets securing the F-1271 corner skin onto the F-1274 skins were set today ...  after Mike helped out with rolling the fuselage assembly off its side. There were six rivets remaining to install and once they were installed, it marked the completion of section 22 of the RV-12 assembly instructions.

Using the hand rivet puller to set the last flush rivet completing the mating of the forward lower fuselage assembly to the fuselage mid-section.

Completed mating of the forward lower fuselage assembly with the fuselage’s mid-section.

Yet another detour. Based on the suggestions of other builders who feel installing the fuel system plumbing is much easier to accomplish prior to installing the fuselage side skins, rather than continuing into section 23, a quick detour to section 28 is being made. Makes sense to me … do things now while access is good. Section 28 is basically the fuselage’s fuel system and work began with prepping the electric fuel pump and fuel on/off valve with fittings. After installing fittings, the fuel on/off valve is riveted onto a bracket which then mounts onto the fuselage’s bottom skin.

 Mike riveting the fuel on/off valve onto the F-1259A fuel valve bracket.

With any luck tomorrow will begin with bending and flaring tubing for the fuel lines.

Forward Fuselage Joined To Mid-Fuselage

Construction of the RV-12 continued this morning with riveting of the remaining F-1213-R step floor onto the F-1203 bulkhead and F-1212 step ribs. As with the left F-1213 step floor, the rear flange was riveted onto the F-1203 bulkhead first, then the step floor was riveted onto the F-1212 step ribs. Mike came by to lend assistance with the mating of the forward fuselage assembly onto the mid-fuselage … so he was put to work putting the finishing touches to the F-1213-R step floor by way of riveting two nutplates on the forward edge of the step floor.

Mike using the hand rivet puller to rivet a nutplate on the forward edge of the F-1213-R step floor with flush pop rivets.

Once the riveting of the F-1213-R step floor was completed, the shop was prepared for the mating of the fuselage sections.  We decided there would be more room to work if the fuselage assembly were given a 180 degree turn before we attempted to mate the two sections together. This turned out to be a good idea and made mating the two assemblies easier.

The forward fuselage assembly was fairly easy to mate onto the mid fuselage section … especially because of Mike’s assistance. The dimples in the skins for the flush rivets being used on the RV-12 project made the job a little more challenging than it would normally be. The parts had to be slowly worked together while making sure that the forward fuselage skins overlapped the F-1276 bottom and F-1274 corner skins.

Mike holding the forward fuselage assembly in position while the forward fuselage assembly is secured onto the mid-fuselage assembly using Clecos placed through the aft flanges on the F-1217A tunnel ribs into the F-1202F bulkhead.

After the two fuselage sections were mated, the sections were carefully aligned and then Clecos were placed in all the overlapping rivet holes on the bottom and sides. Following a tip from Joe, a builder in Michigan, the vertical rivets were set first before riveting any of the bottom or corner skins. This was GOOD ADVICE because there would have been no room at a few rivet locations to get a rivet puller positioned properly had rivets already been placed into the bottom skin first. After the vertical rivets were set, the whole fuselage assembly was rolled over onto it’s side to make riveting easier.

Placing Clecos into the overlapping area of the forward and mid-fuselage sections.

Riveting the overlapping areas of the forward and mid-fuselage assemblies with flush pop rivets almost completed … making the two assemblies one.

Riveting The F-1213-L&R Step Floors Begins

The F-1202F bulkhead required a little finish up work in the form of riveting the F-1202F bulkhead onto the F-1236 step angles and the F-1251 nut plate brackets. Access for the pneumatic squeezer was good so the top three rivets received AN470AD4-6 rivets and the rivet holes the squeezer could not reach received either LP4-3 or LP4-4 pop rivets depending on how many layers of material there was for the rivets to go through.

At this point in time, the F-1202F bulkhead is NOT riveted onto the F-1276 bottom skin. However, it is riveted onto both the F-1274 fuselage corner skins ... so the flush rivets being used on the RV-12 project were used in place of LP4-3 rivets. During this step of construction a small oversight was caught and corrected. The rivets going into the F-1274 were being partially set with the hand rivet puller and were going to be finalized with the pneumatic rivet puller. After partially setting the six rivets on the left F-1274 corner skin it was discovered the blue plastic protective film was not removed from the rivet line. So all six rivets required being removed so the blue film could be pealed away from the rivet line. A good way to sour a good mood … DUH!!! After the blue film was removed from the rivet line, the F-1274 corner skin to F-1202F bulkhead riveting was completed.

Next the F-1213-L&R step floors were rounded up. All of the dimpling and installing of nutplates was done previously, so all that was left to do was to Cleco the F-1213 step floors in place and begin riveting. Blue tape was placed on the step floors to protect the paint from becoming scratched by the Clecos, Cleco pliers, or the hand rivet puller while riveting the rear flange of the F-1213 step floors onto the F-1203 bulkhead.

Securing the F-1213R step floor onto the F-1212 step ribs with Clecos.

Once the F-1213 step floors were properly aligned, decided to rivet the rear flange onto the F-1203 bulkhead first. There is not much clearance for riveting the rear flanges of the F-1213 step floors onto the bulkhead. The Clecos rested on the painted floor and the close quarter hand rivet puller just barely had enough clearance to get onto the rivets without needing to use the trick of bending the mandrel and using an AEX wedge or the offset tool.

Using the close quarter hand rivet puller to rivet the rear flange of the F-1213L step floor onto the RV-12’s F-1203 bulkhead.

After the rear flange of the F-1213’s was riveted in place, the remaining rivets were set with the pneumatic rivet puller. All of the rivets used were LP4-3 with the exception of the inboard edge of the F-1213 which receives nine flush rivets where the center tunnel inspection panel will sit when it is finally installed at some point way down the road.

 Using the pneumatic rivet puller to rivet the F-1213 step floor onto the F-1212 step ribs.

Setting the last rivet in the F-1213L step floor.

Riveting completed on the F-1213L step floor.

Tomorrow hope to finish up riveting the right step floor and then join the forward fuselage assembly to the mid-fuselage assembly.

W-1202F Bulkhead Riveted Onto Step Ribs

Taking full advantage of the one day 30 degree heat wave last Friday and the accompanying calm winds, a small batch of Akzo primer was mixed for the airbrush so the two replacement F-1236A step angles could be primed. In addition to priming the two F-1236A step angles, some additional pieces which either had the primer sprayed a little lighter than optimum or had been scratched were touched up as well. Mike’s two burner heater was doing a swell job of keeping the shop well over 60 degrees so the epoxy primer  was able to cure correctly. The parts were suspended from bungee cords in front of the heater to absorb the warmth radiating from the heater.

F-1236A step ribs and a few other parts suspended from bungee cords in front of the heater to absorb the radiating warmth.

After the primer on the W-1236A step angles had a couple of days to cure, all the F-1236 step angles were secured onto the F-1212 step ribs with Clecos and then riveted in place.

Securing the F-1236A-R step angle onto the F-1212 step ribs with Clecos.

Using the hand rivet puller to rivet the F-1236B-L step angle onto a F-1212 step rib.

The F-1202F bulkhead received four nutplates then the bulkhead was Clecoed onto the F-1212 step ribs for riveting.  The pneumatic squeezer was used to set AN470AD4-4 solid rivets in the top two rows of rivets and the remaining rivet holes that the squeezer could not reach received LP4-3 rivets with the exception of the two flush rivets in the corners called out in the plans. There are also four rivet holes the plans instruct the builder to skip, so they were marked with blue tape.

Using the pneumatic squeezer to set AN470AD4-4 solid rivets in the upper two rows of rivets securing the F-1202F bulkhead onto the F-1212 step ribs.

Riveting of the F-1202F bulkhead onto the F-1212 step ribs completed … blue tape on Clecos denotes holes not riveted at this time.

DOG Aviation Receives RV-12 Finishing Kit

It was a cold blustery morning at DOG Aviation when the Roadrunner freight truck delivered the RV-12’s finishing kit. When the truck arrived, temperatures were around 18 degrees and the wind was blowing briskly, creating a bone chilling cold with snow flurries added in for dramatic effect.

Placing furniture moving dollies under the RV-12’s finishing kit crate for the trek from the street to the DOG Aviation receiving bay.

The job is never done until the paperwork is completed … now the finishing kit officially belongs to DOG Aviation.

Before the RV-12’s finishing kit crate could be rolled into the shop, a little rearranging of the shop was necessary to make room for the crate. Having no room to spare, for the time being, the not yet empty fuselage crate needed to be placed on top of the finishing kit.

Hindsight being 20/20, the finishing kit delivery should have been made to the hangar at the airport. The finishing kit weighs just shy of 300 lbs and is a rather large crate at over 6’1" long, 4’1" wide and 29" high. Unfortunately, the crate will not fit in the back of the DOG Aviation support vehicle … so it will be necessary to obtain a trailer and manpower to transport the crate to the airport for inventory. Van’s requires the builder to inventory shipments within 30 days and there is just absolutely no room left in the shop for opening the crate and sorting through all the parts … so performing the required inventory of the RV-12’s finishing kit will need to be done at the hanger. A problem for another day.

After the late morning delivery, a small amount of work was performed on the fuselage step angles.  The plans instruct the builder to remove the F-1202F bulkhead from the fuselage assembly while the F-1236 A&B step angles are still Clecoed in place on the F-1202F bulkhead. The reason for this is so the F-1251 nutplate brackets can be match drilled to the now freshly drilled F-1236 step angles. A bolt is inserted into the nutplate and tightened to position the F-1251 nutplate brackets for match drilling to the F-1236 step ribs.

Now that the replacement F-1236A step angles are completely drilled, they require priming. Unfortunately, the cold/windy/snowy weather is not cooperating at the moment and tomorrow is forecasted for a high of 20. Will try to wait until Friday to hopefully take advantage of the forecasted one day 30 degree heat wave and prime the parts with the airbrush and quickly get them inside the shop in front of the heater so the Akzo primer can cure properly overnight.

Replacement F-1236 Step Angles Match Drilled

The replacement part for the F-1236A-L&R step angles that were trimmed in error arrived from Van’s few days ago. The recent cold temperatures have been more conducive for staying inside and reading a good book than holding onto cold aluminum and tools. So for the last few days, there has not been a lot of enthusiasm to get into the cold soaked shop to work on the RV-12.  Getting cabin fever, decided to bundle up, toughen up and get some forward progress going in the shop.

The replacement F-1236 angle was marked and quickly passed through the band saw to create the two replacement F-1236A-L&R step angles. After a little dressing on the Scotch-Brite wheel, all the step angles were Clecoed onto the F-1212 step ribs and match drilled to the holes on the F-1202F bulkhead.

Replacement F-1236A-L&R step angles ... note the un-drilled side is wider than the side with the predrilled holes … quite different than the way I originally cut the parts.

Match drilling the F-1236A-L step angle to the rivet holes in the F-1202F bulkhead.

After all the F-1236 step angles were match drilled to the F-1202F bulkhead, the lowest hole in both F-1236B step angles are final drilled to 1/4". At this point the WD-1233 steps are temporally bolted onto the F-1202F bulkhead using the newly drilled 1/4" holes and the steps are to be leveled horizontally. The instructions inform the builder that if the steps can’t be made horizontal without the upper portion of the step being higher than the F-1202F bulkhead’s flange, adjust the step so the upper portion is positioned at the beginning of the flange’s bend to insure the step is lower than the upper flange on the F-1202F bulkhead. That was indeed the case for my RV-12 … so the steps were clamped at the point where the bend for the upper flange on the F-1202F bulkhead begins and a 1/4" drill was run through the upper bolt holes in both the left and right WD-1233 steps into the F-1236A step angles. The end result … the steps are a couple of degrees shy of being horizontal.

The left WD-1233 step clamped in position and the upper ¼" bolt hole is used as a guide to match drill the F-1236A step angle.

After match drilling the left WD-1233 step, the same procedure was used to match drill the WD-1233 step for the right side of the fuselage. By this time my finger tips were beginning to get numb so decided to call it quits for the evening.

Hangar 45 - Stage Set For Winter Operations

Not a lot of big progress has been made the last few days on the RV-12 construction due, in large part, to the wait for the replacement F-1236 step angle. However, some small progress was made on components for the fuel system. The fuel valve handle required a little drilling for the on/off lever and mounting onto a bracket. The fuel pump mount also required a couple of nutplates be riveted onto the bracket before it was riveted in position on the fuselage's bottom skin. Work was about to begin bending the fuel lines but a two day bump in temperatures prompted a change in plans.

Riveting nutplates onto the F-1048F fuel pump mount with the pneumatic squeezer.

When hangar 45 was secured for DOG Aviation, one of the topics of discussion with friends Bernie and Mike regarded how best to conduct winter operations in the hangar without freezing in the cold. Bernie came up with a great suggestion of hanging tarps to separate the rear portion of the hangar from the front portion of the hangar … thus creating a smaller shop area to heat. Mike was then quick to point out the way the hangars are laid out, that portion of the hangar is surrounded by interior walls which should help keep the heat inside better than if they were outside walls.

With the fuselage quickly growing in size, it won’t be long before it’s necessary to move the RV-12 project to DOG Aviation’s hangar. Knowing that, thought it would be best to finish up preparations for the move into the hangar ASAP. So taking advantage of a two day heat wave (50's&60's), Mike and I rented a portable scissor lift to install two high intensity T5 fluorescent light fixtures in Mike’s hangar and a second high intensity T5 fluorescent light fixture in the DOG Aviation hangar.  While lending assistance hanging the tarps, Mike came up with two suggestions that proved to work out quite well. The first suggestion that worked out great was hanging the tarps from the side hole in the beam clamps using bridle rings as opposed to hanging the tarps from the bottom hole … this kept the tarps tight alongside the beam and closed what would have otherwise been at least a 4” gap between the top of the tarps and the bottom of the beams. The second suggestion Mike made that worked out great was to tie a rope to the lower outer edges of the tarps so the tarps could be pulled up using pulleys much like a theater curtain … worked great and looks good too.

On the SkyJack scissor lift repositioning the power cord to the newly installed T5 high output fluorescent light fixture after using Mike’s suggestion to reposition the tarps to obtain a tighter fit.

Mike straightening out the tarp for the stage curtain opening test.

Mike walking away after opening the curtain in preparation for act 2 scene 1 of “Building An RV-12 At Hangar 45 - Winter Operations”.

 

Astute photo viewers may have noticed how wet the floor is. This came as quite a surprise … when the hangar door was opened, the air and floor temperature was such the humidity in the air caused the entire floor to get wet almost instantly. Mike said this phenomenon only happens a couple of times a year when the temperatures are just right. Hope Mike's large fan dries the floor before the now plummeting temperatures turn the hangar floor into an ice skating rink for the entire winter.

Have to say the SkyJack scissor lift did a splendid job and made all the light hanging, beam clamp/bridle ring instillation and tarp hanging a piece of cake. Sure beat working on a ladder. Kind of hate to see it go back onto the trailer … it was fun to operate.