How many parts did you replace building your RV?

My dad and I were working on our RV-7 aileron tonight and we had some bad luck. We made a bit of an error putting it together and bent the skin before we put the stiffeners on. We tried riveting them on after but this was very difficult and resulted in damage to the skin. We are being pretty fussy with this plane so we have decided to replace the skin. We have so far replaced several parts (rib in HS, Spar channel in HS, fuel tank cover panel to name a few) I'm sure we could have fixed most of these if needed but we just decided it was best to replace them.

This got me thinking, what and how many parts have others replaced when building their RV's
So here is your chance to spill the beans.
We are 600 hours in and have replaced 6 parts. How about you guys?

When I finish my -9 I plan on putting all the parts in a big pile and taking a pictures of them. Right now there isn't room because the plane is in the middle of the basement.

I've trashed more parts than I even want to think about. My goal is to finish the plane by the time the trashed parts equal 1/2 the projected empty weight.

None, but...

I didn't replace any because of my mistakes, I chose to fix them even though I wanted my airplane to be perfect (for us - not for awards - even though I tried to win some). As with you I had to make a choice and I chose a repair or modification that would get the job done to a level of satisfaction that I could live with. On my quick built fuselage the interior structure was built in such a way that the forward brackets that secure the tanks could not be installed per the drawing so I used some much thicker angle stock and made brackets with a longer reach against the fuselage - worked fine. I had to do things like that in many places while building the plane.

Bob Axsom

I'm convinced that Vans' makes more money from replacement parts than they do from the kits themselves ! I won't admit to how much I've contributed to this statistic

I replaced the trim tab skin and the glareshield skin on the tipup frame. I also replace one wing tie down anchor after I broke a tap in it.

Roberta

We plan on taking all the "leftovers" and building a kinetic sculpture with them.

Bean spilling

ged380 said:

..........I'm sure we could have fixed most of these if needed but we just decided it was best to replace them....... what and how many parts have others replaced when building their RV's So here is your chance to spill the beans. We are 600 hours in and have replaced 6 parts. How about you guys?

Click to expand...

I have joked to others that "Darla" is the second RV I built because she contains so many replacement parts and on 2 occasions, THREE parts to finally get it right. Sure, I could have easily made do with almost all the original parts but chose not to and almost always for petty superficial reasons. The higher dollar replacement parts I recall are thus. I replaced the aft turtle deck skin simply because the rivet line around its aftmost bulkhead was noticeably crooked when I positioned that bulkhead slightly off the vertical line. With the empennage fairing in place, no one would ever know...except me. Contained within the finish kit, the windshield portion of the (slider) canopy had a deep scratch on the inside I didn't catch within 30 days of its delivery from Van's and there it sat on the basement floor for over 2 years before I finally took notice. I blended the scratch out well enough but because of the slight optical distortion that resulted and only viewed on the passenger side just in front of the roll bar, I chose to buy a replacement windshield. Bottom line...critical parts replaced.....just a very few dollars. Vanity replacement of parts....around 1K with shipping and handling. I've ocasionally thought about overseas builders who usually purchase all 4 kits at once for obvious shipping reasons. They must have to think long and hard about casually replacing a perfectly repairable part.

Rick Galati RV-6A "Darla"

Hmm - my memory is weak, but here goes:

• probably a rib or something on the tail
• the tail bulkheads (botched something or another - can't remember)
• middle (slider) roll bar support (ouch - it was stainless so $)
• fuel selector plate (needed to slightly offset for the andair fittings)
• flap pushrods

I screwed up a couple of holes on the nose pant, but glass is easy to fix up and try again. I couple of places I needed an extra shim or some such.

My plane was a QB, so I'm sure I would have had more if I had 'actually built it'

New trim tab skin on the way. Actually the end tab bends came out perfect and I was thinking I was actually going to stay in the one-trim-tab club.

Then I realized I hadn't made the trailing edge bend first. Instead of making the bending brake in the book, I tried bending it with shorter wood pieces.

Now I have the just-made hinged 2x8 brake sitting in the corner and am waiting for the delivery guy to show up.

Oh - and it took three tries to get that little gusset from the IB elevator rib to the elevator trim spar. Seeing as it's self-manufactured and I didn't have to re-order a part does that count?

Mike Behnke
RV-9A Empennage
Andover, MN

- Glareshield skin for the tip-up (I think this one is quite popular)
- Bottom "folded box" of the rudder
- Canopy latch handle (and because this one came with holes we could not use the replacement and had to make one new from scrap!)
- Front deck baffles

And now for laughs:

The counterweight Lead for the elevator because I mistook the drawing one early sunday morning and chiseled/grinded away the wrong half for two hours

Do you have any idea what the cost are for shipping LEAD to Europe?

Sign me up for the trim-tab club...AND I KNEW ABOUT IT, AND WAS BEING EXTRA CAREFUL TO NOT SCREW IT UP!

I was thinking that was about it, when I read another post about the flap pushrod, and said, "oh, yeah"...so throw one of those in.

The only other thing I can remember is the angle piece on the rudder bottom that the rudder cables and tailwheel chains attach to. Drilled the holes too large.

I have to think that there must have been some other piece here and there, but the only piece I had to actually order was the trim tab skin. I'm convinced that as a matter of fairness, that should come prebuilt!

A thought... the early kits (my -4 was #2179) had such bad instructions and plans, and so many discrepancies between the plans and manual, that we were forced to be REALLY careful at all times. Reading the other posts about numerous parts re-built by what would be a "pre-built" by my experience, I have to think that it's less terrifying to go charging along these days. I suspect that I would! Us older kit guys (that's "older kit" guys, not older "kit guys") could have probably built two kits in the time we took, just due to the head scratching, re-measuring/re-measuring/re-measuring, re-reading and re-measuring time spent.

One more thought... when I looked at my plans, with revision lists two inches long, I couldn't help thinking "how the heck did the first guys ever get these things built???" (There were many "changed plans to agree with manual" or "changed total distance to agree with incremental distances")

Sound like fun?

Jeff

In looking through my records, I was astounded to find out that I only re-ordered one piece during the construction of my QB - the flap hinge. This was because when I first drilled it to the wing, and installed the ailerons and flaps, the traling edges didn't line up. Van's tech line's response was "there's nothing in theplans that say they need to!" Well, I wanted them to, so it cost next to nothing to get a new piece of hinge...

This isn't to say I don't have a box of mis-drilled and poorly cut parts, but they are all small stuff I remade from trim bundle stock.....us Quick-Builders have far fewer opportunities to screw up big pieces!

Paul

First and only actual reorder (so far)

I screwed up the bottom rudder brace by not having enough edge distance.

I have mady many more mistakes, but they have all been recoverable, inconspicuous (perhaps not to other builders), and non-structural.

I think that I have found myself not doubting and double-checking the plans often enough. I'm not forcing myself to think hard before drilling, trimming, riveting, etc.

Well, my first mistake was building 2 left side flap spars. Since then, I've gotten two replacement fuselage skins (top forward and the top one behind the canopy-didn't like how they fit), a replacement canopy side skirt brace (****** flycutter!) and a couple of instrument panel blanks. I knew I would need a second instrument panel blank because of the way I planned to build the panel with removable sections, but I didn't plan on needing a third one until Dynon came out with the large display EFIS one month after I had carefully laid out and cut out a panel based on the smaller one! I wasn't going to change it, but a couple of friends pointed out that I'd probably regret not using the larger display. Maybe I'll use the old panel as a picture frame for airplane photos.

The plexi canopy is the only part I re-ordered due to my error .. wish it were just a rib or something, would have been much cheaper. My left wing spar and center spar were also replaced because they were damaged in shipping - i don't count those since it was not my fault ;o)

So far 2 parts for understandable, but dumb mistakes

1. Really make sure the male dimple die is in the rib hole before pulling trigger on the pneumatic sqeezer. This punches a nasty hole that left a crack from the real hole to the newly "punched" one. My non-expert feeling is that cracks that cannot be drilled out will just get worse with vibration during flight. $10 rib + $4 handling + $7 shipping

2. Really, really make sure the backriveting plate is in under the rivet when pulling the rivet gun trigger. The rudder skin is so thin that you will get a very nasty crease that is cosmetically unacceptable. $39 skin + $12 stiffners + $4 handling + $ shipping (not arrived yet).

$1500 for empennage $90 new parts is less than 10%
If you're like me just replace it and consider it overhead cost.

From my Technical Counselor, Jack Hakes, on being a first-time RV-6A builder (slow-build kit); "You'll probably build one and a half (1.5) planes your first time around..." No worries.....everything is repairable! Rosie