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Done

All done. Now its time to fly.
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All I have to do is fly
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Can't wait till I'm sharing a similar post... but I shouldn't be waiting, I should get back to work. Beautiful aircraft!
 
Just ordered Empennage Kit on my way

Hello group,

I just ordered my empennage kit so after lurking for some time I am on my way and hope to meet new people and make new friends.

This will be my third airplane project. I currently built and I am flying 902AL which is a Zenith, CH650B air-frame (essentially the same as the RV-12) powered by a Lycoming 0235-N2C with MGL Avionics and Comm, uAvionix ADSB.

I love 2AL but I have decided I want to step up my building as well as piloting game.

If anyone has any newbie advice I am all ears.

Looking forward to the RV-Grin One Day.

Steve F.
 
Moving along.

Another quick update.

Here is the rudder masked, blue shot, then the clear.

Horizontal stab this week, elevators next week, and the wings are getting done after March break. The fuse will hopefully be done mid April.

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Oshkosh is looking like a reality this year...hope to see you there Steve R!!

Don
 
Checker Boards

Oh how I remember doing those on a Cessna 170B jump plane, a set on each wing about four foot across wrapped around it, vertical completed. Took 16 hours to do and then paint. Enough to drive one nuts. Looks great.
 
Looks amazing! Is there a time limit between when you have to spray the clear after spraying the color coat?
 
Thanks

Rob is adding the clear an hour after the color is added and no later than 12 hours...the sheets say max of 24 hours and with the metallic, were not going to miss that timeline!

Cheers,


Don
 
Thanks Yves.....

looks great, do you have some Pictures Firewall Forward? Looks like a nice installation!

Don't look to close! I still have a good bit of tidying up yet to do... Once I've tested all my electrical, I'll remove most of the cable ties and replace with lacing cord and adel clamps. I have a full Christen inverted oil system, Garmin G3 IFR with all the engine stuff, RV Bits Plenum on a new Lycoming IO-360 spinning an MT CS prop.... Had quite a time getting all the extras on and in place. I did have to re-glass my air box in order to get it centered.... OCD gives me a fit!!!





 
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Don't look to close! I still have a good bit of tidying up yet to do... Once I've tested all my electrical, I'll remove most of the cable ties and replace with lacing cord and adel clamps. I have a full Christen inverted oil system, Garmin G3 IFR with all the engine stuff, RV Bits Plenum on a new Lycoming IO-360 spinning an MT CS prop.... Had quite a time getting all the extras on and in place. I did have to re-glass my air box in order to get it centered.... OCD gives me a fit!!!

Looks really nice with the Plenum! I am still hesitating if I should build a Plenum or use normal baffling... Do you also have a Picture from the other side? Sorry but most Pictures of the FF in the Forum are dead links.. So I am always happy to see more Pictures. I am currently working on my firewall Forward installation with a IO-360 and a full inverted system.
 
I now have extreme plenum envy.
I'm looking at the left rear corner of the baffle where the oil cooler is bolted to the baffles - as a few other RV8s I'm suspecting that you may eventually get vertical cracking around the bend. It's hard to tell from the picture if there is a reinforcing angle there that some folks add to fix the crack when they occur or prevent in the first place. You'll likely find the issue if you search the forums.
 
I'm hoping......

I now have extreme plenum envy.
I'm looking at the left rear corner of the baffle where the oil cooler is bolted to the baffles - as a few other RV8s I'm suspecting that you may eventually get vertical cracking around the bend. It's hard to tell from the picture if there is a reinforcing angle there that some folks add to fix the crack when they occur or prevent in the first place. You'll likely find the issue if you search the forums.

I was aware of the issue but, I forgot about it until I was past that point. I did have to remove completely the front and rear baffle brace in order to get the plenum to fit. But, after a few e-mails back and forth with Jan at RV Bits he said the plenum itself will take the place of that. So, I'm hoping it will also help with cracking issue in that corner. I did have a tech visit from Vic Syracuse and he wasn't too impressed with plenums overall.... he said most he has seen caused heating issues..... I did use the Airflow oil cooler as per recommendation from Jan. I hope it all works like it's supposed to...... it sure is sexy!!! I'm setting this plane up for acro and most of my friends say the plenum will keep the cowling from blowing up during the dives...... ????? ......
 
I was aware of the issue but, I forgot about it until I was past that point. I did have to remove completely the front and rear baffle brace in order to get the plenum to fit. But, after a few e-mails back and forth with Jan at RV Bits he said the plenum itself will take the place of that. So, I'm hoping it will also help with cracking issue in that corner.

Do give us a report on that at 500 hours.

I did have a tech visit from Vic Syracuse and he wasn't too impressed with plenums overall.... he said most he has seen caused heating issues.....

I'm sure he meant to say a certain leading brand of plenum and cowl caused heating issues, a function of the inlets leading into the plenum, not the plenum itself.

In truth the plenum is the enclosed space about the engine. A stock Vans cowl installation with flap seals has a plenum, which functions the same as a plenum space with a separate lid, as we see here. That lid is unquestionably a better sealing device, as compared to flap seals.

Looks like your installation uses a standard RV-8 cowl. Measured pressure recovery for the stock cowl is quite good. Here the $100,000 dollar question is how you will seal those well-designed stock cowl inlets to your enclosed plenum space. Done poorly, that fancy plenum lid is just bling.

I'm setting this plane up for acro and most of my friends say the plenum will keep the cowling from blowing up during the dives...... ????? ......

That is true. A decent set of inlets with tight plenum sealing and tight cylinder baffles will convert 80% or more of the available dynamic pressure to increased static pressure inside the plenum space. At 200 KTAS and 5000 feet on a standard day, that pressure would be 117 lbs per square foot x 0.8, or about 94 lbs. If we assume the lid to be 18" x 30" for a total of 3.75 sq ft, the total force trying to blow the plenum lid off the engine is 352 lbs. Doesn't matter if the plenum lid is a fancy carbon fiber thing tied to the baffle tin, or the upper cowl half.

The load is increased at lower altitude and higher airspeed. If designing sensibly, we probably want to ensure it will handle at least 230 KTAS at 2000 feet, just in case Bubba pulls a split-S from a roll or something. That would be 570 lbs at 0.9 efficiency.

Kinda puts cowls and plenum lids in a different light, eh?
 
THE KING.......

Do give us a report on that at 500 hours.



I'm sure he meant to say a certain leading brand of plenum and cowl caused heating issues, a function of the inlets leading into the plenum, not the plenum itself.

In truth the plenum is the enclosed space about the engine. A stock Vans cowl installation with flap seals has a plenum, which functions the same as a plenum space with a separate lid, as we see here. That lid is unquestionably a better sealing device, as compared to flap seals.

Looks like your installation uses a standard RV-8 cowl. Measured pressure recovery for the stock cowl is quite good. Here the $100,000 dollar question is how you will seal those well-designed stock cowl inlets to your enclosed plenum space. Done poorly, that fancy plenum lid is just bling.



That is true. A decent set of inlets with tight plenum sealing and tight cylinder baffles will convert 80% or more of the available dynamic pressure to increased static pressure inside the plenum space. At 200 KTAS and 5000 feet on a standard day, that pressure would be 117 lbs per square foot x 0.8, or about 94 lbs. If we assume the lid to be 18" x 30" for a total of 3.75 sq ft, the total force trying to blow the plenum lid off the engine is 352 lbs. Doesn't matter if the plenum lid is a fancy carbon fiber thing tied to the baffle tin, or the upper cowl half.

The load is increased at lower altitude and higher airspeed. If designing sensibly, we probably want to ensure it will handle at least 230 KTAS at 2000 feet, just in case Bubba pulls a split-S from a roll or something. That would be 570 lbs at 0.9 efficiency.

Kinda puts cowls and plenum lids in a different light, eh?

DanH,

You are my hero! You've taught me how to fiberglass, cut and buff, the finer tuning of plenum design and a whole bunch of other stuff that I still don't understand! .... I even quoted you during a conversation with Jan at RV bits..... My plan is to use some gap seal from McMaster Carr along the top edges of the baffle slop to the cowl ramp and along the front edge of plenum at the inlet to provide a positive seal between the two. .... I have several different shapes and sizes to see what, (if any) works best. The only problem I see so far is the top seal may create a small bump in the air flow (but, it wont be a leak).... So far I've spent way to much time shaping, fitting and head scratching between the baffles, the "lid", the top cowl and the inlet ramps.... I finally just quit and figured I'd get back to that later..... I haven't gone as far as some to build a composite boot and I hope I don't have to.... If I understand Jan, they just slope the baffle ramps to the bottom of the cowl inlet ramps and glass up the ends.... we'll see for sure here soon....

Thanks for all you do for us "mere mortals" on the forum!!!!!
Any and all advice appreciated!

Respectfully Submitted,
Tim
 
My plan is to use some gap seal from McMaster Carr along the top edges of the baffle slop to the cowl ramp and along the front edge of plenum at the inlet to provide a positive seal between the two. .... I have several different shapes and sizes to see what, (if any) works best.

Remember, the engine moves around quite a lot, notably nodding up and down in response to G, and rotating on the mounts in response to crankshaft torque. The seal must bridge the gaps throughout the range of motion. Without positive sealing, there is no reason to install a plenum lid.

So far I've spent way to much time shaping, fitting and head scratching between the baffles, the "lid", the top cowl and the inlet ramps.... I finally just quit and figured I'd get back to that later.....

It will absolutely, positively, unquestionably be more of a PITA later. Figure out a sure plan and do whatever it takes, now, at home, in your shop.
 
Oh well......

It will absolutely, positively, unquestionably be more of a PITA later. Figure out a sure plan and do whatever it takes, now, at home, in your shop.

Thanks for that (I do understand) but, can I wait till I get a little more of the fun stuff done.... I really want to see my panel light up.... All this plenum stuff makes my head hurt.......
 
Almost there!

I was hoping to be done to make it to Oshkosh this year, unfortunately I have to wait till next year...

Paint is coming along. Gettng ready for final assembly!

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Wings primed

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Antique silver (metallic) with clear

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Imperial blue and antique silver with the clear.

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I suck at fibreglass, but the windshield fairing turned pretty good.
 
I just used the hot temperatures the last weeks in Europe to start cutting the canopy to shape? Quite a frightening work.. But slowly it gets it shape :)

As I delayed riveting of my fwd top fuselage skin I thought I soon need to rivet it to be able to finish the windscreen. But I wanted to be finished with wiring.
And as visited some airshows this summer and also Luca Perrazoli in Italy, it was clear that I need a Smoke system. So the last days I ripped out my "finished and working" panel and added the cables for the smoke system.

Now I have a switch which "arms" the smoke system and I use the tiny small button on the Tosten Grips to switch the smoke on and off. The status "armed" and "on" are now shown on the G3X.

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And my rivets for the Gear Towers from Gen Aircraft are on their way :)
 
Hey guys, this is sort of a duplicate post, I posted this in the RV Build Forum as well, but since this is specifically the -8 I figured I'd post it here too. I have been building EXTREMELY slowly this past year but plan on picking things up quite a bit and have been documenting the process on youtube. This is the last video of this kind with just the time lapse video and no other commentary or sound, moving forward I intend on making the process a little more interactive and informative for the lurkers that are still on the fence, and hopefully some of you that have been there and done that can chime in with tips and hints along the way as well. This is my first build and so far I'm having a blast... I will likely be ordering the wings here in the next week or so, and should have the Rudder, Elevators and trim tab completed by time the wings arrive.


https://youtu.be/gCuZJMsxl1Q
 
Thanks for sharing your progress with us via video. The fact that I can actually follow along with what you're working on is a plus!

Just out of curiosity, what sort of camera equipment are you using to make the videos??
 
I had been using a GoPro Hero 5 Session for those videos, starting with my next video on the rudder I'm using the new GoPro Hero 7 Black.
 
Rudder Update

Just posted my latest video of my RV-8 Aircraft build! watch, like and subscribe for future videos! This video and forward rather than just the time lapse I actually explain a little more what the process is that I'm doing so it is easier to follow along. Enjoy

https://youtu.be/T497ERMPGj4
 
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We've been finishing a few post-paint tasks off in the workshop - hoping to take this to the airfield in the next few weeks.
 
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We've been finishing a few post-paint tasks off in the workshop - hoping to take this to the airfield in the next few weeks.


That looks amazing!

Can I ask if that?s a standard double garage? I?m just about to start my project and was trying to work out what I can and can?t do at home.
 
It's a probably a bit bigger than a standard double at 6m x 6m, minus a corner behind me in that last photo to the left, where there's a storage cupboard.

It's often required some head-scratching as to how to orientate components and schedule tasks, but we've managed to do everything at home – even the fitting of the wings, though that needed the door open to poke one wing outside for a few hours while they were both on.

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Thanks Ed.
Mines a bit smaller at 5X5m so the head scratching might go on for a bit longer!
Still, Im hoping I can get the fuselage built and hang the engine as long as the tails not on.
 
I reckon 5mx5m should work - we put the empennage on and did everything required, before removing it. That was before the engine was fitted, and we had the fuselage diagonally across the space.

Plan to make your benches easy to move, then you can maximise flexibility of the space.
 
Thanks Greg, the blue is a Jaguar Cars colour called Caesium Blue.

The scheme was from Scheme Designers. Craig Barnett was tremendous to work with, and just kept tweaking it till we had the perfect solution. I had always liked one particular scheme that he had come up with Peter Fruehling's RV-7, and that inspired some ideas specifically adapted to an RV-8 (with the annoying UK requirement for a large fuselage registration).

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Thanks Greg, the blue is a Jaguar Cars colour called Caesium Blue.

The scheme was from Scheme Designers. Craig Barnett was tremendous to work with, and just kept tweaking it till we had the perfect solution. I had always liked one particular scheme that he had come up with Peter Fruehling's RV-7, and that inspired some ideas specifically adapted to an RV-8 (with the annoying UK requirement for a large fuselage registration).

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This looks awesome! I also admired the blue of the first series F-Type. I will paint mine either in this blue or the san marino BMW blue.
 
Our -8 got weighed this week? and had it its first engine run. Couple of tiny leaks, otherwise all good.





 
Came in at 1,117lbs, CofG came out nearly perfect, which we were very happy about.
 
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Hangar


Reviewing the builders work to get myself caught up.

The previous owner has done a very good job and finished a lot of the project. I'm honored that he ask me to purchase this project while he deals with other issues. Inventory is done and I'm looking forward to the adventure.
 
Jeff,

Mount up the vertical stabilizer while you have the fastback skin in place.
It will need to be trimmed to clear, and probably a new nose rib formed.
 
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