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What to order with the wing kit?

H

hendrik

Well Known Member
I'm ordering my wing kit, and I'd like to know what you would order along with it. I'm thinking about things like some stock angle, bar, (what sizes?) ... So what else comes to your mind, what did you need?
 
Just a couple suggestions, from experience.

Order a couple extra stiffener pieces, you use a bunch of them and you'll likely screw a few up while cutting them.

I would order a stick (several feet) of extra 3/4"x3.4"x.063 angle, it seems like I'm always needing a little more of that. It's just basically good stuff to have a little more of.

The Z-brackets for the fuel tank attachment to the spar - I screwed one up and had to order another, then found out they are only available as a set of 7, just something to keep in mind.

I ordered the Vans basic wiring kit with my wing order, and ran the flexible conduit and wires in the wing as I closed it up, and left a pull-string in the conduit to be able to run more wires if needed in the future. If you are going to put strobes or HID's on the wingtips, plan on two conduit runs to keep antenna lines separate from the noise-makers.

If you want an autopilot, order the wing servo from your vendor of choice and install it just before closing the wing.

If you want to run a heated pitot (or one with AOA), they don't go in the same spot as the Vans-plans pitot tube - DO NOT DRILL the spar for the pitot tube as indicated on the drawings. If you do, you'll need to fill it with something (like I did) - I put my OAT sensor there.

If you don't already have one, a tungsten bucking bar REALLY comes in handy when riveting in some of the close-quarters spaces on the wing kit, especially when closing the wings.
 
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what have I ordered so far?

flop tubes
-6 return line tubing/fittings/bushings
37degree flare tool
pipe bending tool (for 1/4" and 3/8" fuel lines)
extra proseal (i don't see how people do it on one quart)
tie down rings (they don't give you these, vans sells forged ones)
wing conduit
denon roll servo bracket
AN wrenches
duckworks light kit/brackets
AN4706-3 Rivets (you need at least 6 of these to close the tooling holes on the fuel tanks)
SafeAir pitot/AOA kit, pitot mount
fly cutter for tank access hole
safety wire 0.32" and safety wire pliers


If I think of more I'll add it!
 
airguy said:
I ordered the Vans basic wiring kit with my wing order, and ran the flexible conduit and wires in the wing as I closed it up, and left a pull-string in the conduit to be able to run more wires if needed in the future. If you are going to put strobes or HID's on the wingtips, plan on two conduit runs to keep antenna lines separate from the noise-makers.
Click to expand...

LED strobes do not require this seperation, right?
 
In addition to the above

In addition to above I had to order extra 3/8" aluminum tubing for the fuel pickup. You only get enough for 2. The fuel pickups have to line up with the new anti-rotation brackets - D'oh! You can get the premade pickups.
 
gimp2x said:
LED strobes do not require this seperation, right?
Click to expand...

Depends - some of the power packs for the LED's are quite noisy, electrically speaking. I haven't bought mine yet so I can't give you any direction on that other than "do your homework."
 
larrynew said:
In addition to above I had to order extra 3/8" aluminum tubing for the fuel pickup. You only get enough for 2. The fuel pickups have to line up with the new anti-rotation brackets - D'oh! You can get the premade pickups.
Click to expand...

they sell a pre-made fuel pickup with a screen on it that is way nicer than what they ask you to make, i'd recommend that
 
I went with these powder coated tie-down rings...nice for me since my plane will be mostly red. You can get the AEX pieces aleady tapped as well from Cleaveland (I only got the tie down rings) if you are squeamish about tapping them yourself. Just have Van's remove it for credit if you go that route. The tapping isnt difficult however...just go slow and easy.

http://www.cleavelandtoolstore.com/prodinfo.asp?number=RVTDK
 
flop tubes... Are you going to do lots of -g acro ?

AN4706-3 Rivets (you need at least 6 of these to close the tooling holes on the fuel tanks)..... its been a long time since I did my tanks, and im not at home to see what I did. However why do you need to close these up, as fuel will flow from each bay anyway ?
 
Order the fuselage kit with it.:D Then you'll all kinds of extra parts just sitting there.

Marshall Alexander
 
More questions ...

Thanks for all the replies so far! Several of the things were already on my list, but I also got a couple of new ideas (and questions!) -- that's good. I'm learning a lot here.

Now to the questions:

- Autopilot: I'm considering TruTrak, and it seems that their roll servo is installed in the fuselage of the -8, not in the wing, so I can postpone this. Is this correct?

- Being a glider pilot I'm still pretty clueless about the fine details of the fuel installation. What do I need to pay attention to and what kind of hardware do I need to build the tanks and be prepared for FI? What's the disadvantage of not having a fuel return (as far as I can see, Airflow Performance doesn't return fuel to the tanks)? Anything in the fuselage can be dealt with later, but I don't want to paint myself into some corner when building the tanks.

- What exactly is the "Fuel Tank Test Kit"?

- The pre-made fuel pickup ... is there any real advantage to it, other than looking nice and saving some time?

- What's in the basic wiring kit, and how much conduit do they include?

Thanks again for your help!
 
Jamie Aust said:
flop tubes... Are you going to do lots of -g acro ?

AN4706-3 Rivets (you need at least 6 of these to close the tooling holes on the fuel tanks)..... its been a long time since I did my tanks, and im not at home to see what I did. However why do you need to close these up, as fuel will flow from each bay anyway ?
Click to expand...

the inboard/outboard ribs have tooling holes that need to be closed, primarily the outboard rib....
 
gimp2x said:
the inboard/outboard ribs have tooling holes that need to be closed, primarily the outboard rib....
Click to expand...

Stupid question, but when you're talking about AN4706-3 you mean AN470AD6-3, right? I don't see such short ones in Van's webstore and Aircraftspruce also starts with -4. Of course I could cut/grind them down ...
 
hendrik said:
Thanks for all the replies so far! Several of the things were already on my list, but I also got a couple of new ideas (and questions!) -- that's good. I'm learning a lot here.

Now to the questions:

- Autopilot: I'm considering TruTrak, and it seems that their roll servo is installed in the fuselage of the -8, not in the wing, so I can postpone this. Is this correct?

- Being a glider pilot I'm still pretty clueless about the fine details of the fuel installation. What do I need to pay attention to and what kind of hardware do I need to build the tanks and be prepared for FI? What's the disadvantage of not having a fuel return (as far as I can see, Airflow Performance doesn't return fuel to the tanks)? Anything in the fuselage can be dealt with later, but I don't want to paint myself into some corner when building the tanks.

- What exactly is the "Fuel Tank Test Kit"?

- The pre-made fuel pickup ... is there any real advantage to it, other than looking nice and saving some time?

- What's in the basic wiring kit, and how much conduit do they include?

Thanks again for your help!
Click to expand...

Autopilot - I installed the Dynon, the roll servo goes in the wing. I'm not familiar with the Tru-Trak but if it attaches to the aileron push rods in the fuse, then it can wait.

Fuel system - Just follow the kit instructions for a standard install, you'll be fine. Tip tanks can be added later if you decide you just need more fuel capacity, but the stock tanks are plenty for almost everyone (this coming from a guy that doubled the stock capacity - adds a lot of build time!).

Fuel Tank Test Kit - this is used to pressure-test the fuel tanks after you finish sealing them, to make sure there are no leaks. There are a variety of ways to do this, you don't have to have this test kit but it is pretty handy.

Wiring kit - all that info is on the Vans website, just go look in the online store and they will have descriptions of whats included. If you can't find it I'm sure someone will scan/email you a list of the contents.

Tooling hole rivets - yes, it's the AN470AD6-3 rivets. You don't necessarily need to close the holes with a rivet, you just have to close the hole - I cut a small square tab out of scrap alclad and prosealed it over the hole because I didn't want to order the rivets and wait for them to ship.

Speaking of proseal - I don't know how in the world some people do it with only 1 quart, I certainly didn't. Don't order it until you are actually starting on the fuel tanks because it has a limited shelf life, and then you can keep it in the fridge to extend that shelf life considerably. Let it warm to room temp before trying to mix it. Get some latex or nitrile gloves at the hardware store, some wax paper or butcher paper, and plenty of acetone or MEK for cleanup.
 
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hendrik said:
- The pre-made fuel pickup ... is there any real advantage to it, other than looking nice and saving some time?
Click to expand...

There are 1000's of RVs flying with the original make-it-yourself fuel pickups with no problems. Basically 3/8 alum tubing flared, bent, end crimped and slotted. Takes about 15 minutes.

IMG_0664.JPG
 
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