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RV-8 Andy Karmy

Forward top skin

Once I was on a roll, I had my friend Curt (RV-4 guy) come over Sunday evening and we closed out the front top skin. 3 hours later we were done! Not the most fun riveting on the project, but hey it had to be done. Access is quite limited in most locations along the longarons.

Weekend progress by akarmy, on Flickr

Weekend progress by akarmy, on Flickr

Yes I used CherryMax pop rivets to close out the gear towers along the longarons. Can't really see any other way as I have already put too much stuff into the gear towers at this point. They look way nicer than I though when I considered using "pop rivets" for this visible location.

Weekend progress by akarmy, on Flickr
 
akarmy said:
So following the lead of DanH for some neat brake lines I had Tom at TSFlightlines make up some custom hoses. The problem is, With the new Matco brake puck's being shipped with the new kits the geometry changes a touch when matching them up to the Grove gear legs. The 45 in the bottom of the leg hits the caliper so you have to go to a straight fitting. Tom was able to make a nice package with two 90's to fit the new setup great! Tom is so easy to work with and really knows his stuff.

Final brake line by akarmy, on Flickr
Click to expand...


Andy that's cool. I was trying to do a mock up with 45 to determine the length and couldn't get it past the caliper. What is the length Andy? I want to order from Tom but I need to know how long from flare to flare...
 
Vlad said:
Andy that's cool. I was trying to do a mock up with 45 to determine the length and couldn't get it past the caliper. What is the length Andy? I want to order from Tom but I need to know how long from flare to flare...
Click to expand...

Check with Tom now. He just made these for me last week and can duplicate. I don't know the flare to flare but it was 5" of flex hose visible outside the 90 ends. He will know the exact size to make now that I confirmed they fit.
 
Don Patrick said:
Nice job Andy!

Which cherry rivets did you use for the top skin to the gear towers?

Thanks

Don
Click to expand...

They are from Genuine Aircraft Hardware

CR3214-4-04 PKG/10 - I used 2 packages of 10 with a couple left over. Ordered 3 to be safe. You could just order 2 unless you have other uses for them.

All you do is drill out the already prepped hole for #30 and you are good to go. Same head size as 3/32 rivet.
 
akarmy said:
Check with Tom now. He just made these for me last week and can duplicate. I don't know the flare to flare but it was 5" of flex hose visible outside the 90 ends. He will know the exact size to make now that I confirmed they fit.
Click to expand...

Thanks Andy.
 
Thanks!

The setup for your brake lines look great. I purchased the grove brakes and have the grove gear.

I'll reach out to Tom to see what he can do for me too!

Cheers,

Don
 
Ya'll---hose assembly length is 7.25 inches.
Andy--EXCELLENT job! Very proud of you!!! Hope my 7 looks that good (when I get to built it!)
Tom
 
RV-8 Cowl fitting

Time to get the cowl fit & finished. I'm using all skybolt fasteners with the v-loc flanges. They have fairly detailed instructions, when combined with some forum searching and the vans instructions you have more than enough to go on.

First up was getting the firewall flanges installed. I have to put myself in a few pictures to prove it's really me building this thing. :)

Cowl fitting by akarmy, on Flickr

Then locking everything in place with the spinner backplate.

Cowl fitting by akarmy, on Flickr

Cowl fitting by akarmy, on Flickr

Cowl fitting by akarmy, on Flickr

Trimming the top half of the cowl using a 2 inch line on the top skin.

Cowl fitting by akarmy, on Flickr

Getting the lower half added to the equation.

Cowl fitting by akarmy, on Flickr

Searching for hole centers using a variety of lights on the inside of the cowl.

Cowl fitting by akarmy, on Flickr

Spacing the rivets for the split line. First use of the fan spacer on this project!

Cowl fitting by akarmy, on Flickr

It all worked out fairly well. I ended up needing 1 extra fastener with the spacing I decided on so that will have to wait a week until I get more parts. Everything snugs up nice and tight when you lock them down. Will be interesting to see how it goes over time using these skybolts vs the hinges I put on my 9A.
 
Measure twice, cut how many times?

It seems my lower cowl is too short on one side. I didn't even cut it yet!

It's too short by akarmy, on Flickr

So what should I do? I know, search the archives...

Thanks DanH for this gem http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=81595&highlight=extending+cowl+edge

A bit of sanding down the edge with a scarf, a backing plate of aluminum & tape, 3 layers of glass and some peel ply and I have a longer cowl again.

Fiberglass work by akarmy, on Flickr

Also, trying not to get distracted by this box that arrived last week.

Catto Prop arrives by akarmy, on Flickr

Took just about 6 months to the day from ordering a Catto 3-blade.
 
Good work Andy. You won't be wrestling with cowl pins, I see. They are a pain in the beginning but get easier after a while.

Your workmanship looks great!!
 
Very nice, Andy. Your pictures are excellent and will really help a lot of us when we reach the cowling stage. I'm thinking of using the Skybolts for the top cowling/fuselage intersection, and piano hinges for the rest?I just don't like the idea of fishing the hinge pins out of the oil filler door.
 
Baffles

Well, let's get those baffles done!

Baffle fitting by akarmy, on Flickr

Once the basics were done it was time to fit them to the top cowl. Using the well documented paperclip method of verifying you have cut enough off the sides.

Setting the baffle height with paperclips by akarmy, on Flickr

Then it was time for disassembly, riveting, and painting to get them ready to install.

Finished baffles by akarmy, on Flickr

Need to glue in those cooling ramps to the top cowl so the sides can be trimmed for them as well.

Gluing in the cooling ramps by akarmy, on Flickr

I put a bit of work into the oil cooler to fit everything and I re-inforced the corner with some .125 1 inch angle. That really made the outside attachment solid!

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

I also installed a shutter to close off the airflow in the winter to the cooler. Took several iterations to get everything lined up and working without binding when tightening down the bolts. It was mainly about the right sized spacers so that everything was held solid, but spaced right.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

I was quite surprised by the amount of room that there was with the install. I remembered having to hack away at the cooler on my 9A to get it to fit in the location. Here I could have had half again as large of a cooler and still fit I think! Oh well, who's to complain with extra room!

Just the rubber seal left to do and baffles will be complete.

Had a bit of a problem with the airbox project.

Measure once, cut once, re-glass once

measure once, cut once, re-glass once. by akarmy, on Flickr

This is turning out to be more of a pain than it should be. Oh well, will be done soon!

Last major job before moving to the airport is to glass in the windscreen. Picked up some cab-o-sil and slow resin hardner this weekend to get ready for that project. Should be fun! :)
 
Hey Andy, I was a buyer, not a builder, but after looking at all your pics, maybe even I could do it-------NOT:D
 
Windscreen glassing

Carb Airbox & carb heat cable done.

Airbox installed by akarmy, on Flickr

and then it's on to the windscreen fiberglass.

First up is marking the outline of where the glass should go and where it should not go.

Taping the windscreen outline by akarmy, on Flickr

and then through the miracle of modern technology, it's done!

All glassed up by akarmy, on Flickr

I admire those that post pictures of the entire process, because the last thing on my mind was cleaning up enough to pull out my phone and taking pictures. It was 6 hours of whirlwind resin mixing, brushing, glass cutting, stippling, etc to get it done!

Windscreen fiberglass by akarmy, on Flickr

Glad that's over. Now it's on to filling and sanding! YEA, fiberglass the gift that keeps on giving. I used glass with black pigment in the epoxy around the front basically following the manual for process. Then used 1 layer of glass over the top, followed by 2 layers of carbon fiber, followed by 2 more layers of glass on top of that for the top joint to the canopy. I've found the carbon makes things stiffer and holds up better on my 9A when done this way, but the glass is there to encapsulate it on both sides and give you something to sand into for contouring a bit.

Next up is getting the canopy open again! :)
 
Canopy Done

Well, opening the canopy was easy, only because I read about all of you and your solutions to the challenge. No amount of pulling on my steel cable out the back would budge it. I took a thin feeler gauge and slipped it in to break the seal against my tape on the sider. Once it was free all around it easily opened!

Windscreen fiberglass by akarmy, on Flickr

Windscreen fiberglass by akarmy, on Flickr

I started the entire process with some black colored flox and micro in the gap. I tried to push it in a bit, but not too much. Looks like it turned out just perfect with a nice defined edge of filler in the crack when looking from the inside. All the effort to use black dye in the epoxy looks to have paid off as it looks very nice from the inside.

Windscreen fiberglass by akarmy, on Flickr

So now that the canopy job is finished, it's on to the next thing. I started a punch list of every possible item I can think of that needs to get done so that I can try and remember it all. Today is moving day to the airport! So exciting...

Canopy done by akarmy, on Flickr

Canopy done by akarmy, on Flickr
 
Moving Day

Ok, let's move this thing... First up I needed to make some room in the hangar. If airplanes could talk, I'm not sure I want to know what my Kitfox is saying as I left her with her new stable mate. Once she's used to being away from home I'm sure there will be some good stories from her new friend the Navy RV-4 :)

Kitfox enjoying some new company by akarmy, on Flickr

My friend Curt brought over the trailer and it just fit. It was exactly the right width and the tailwheel just rolled on the very end as well. We doubled up all the straps for good measure and headed out on the 5 mile journey.

Moving day by akarmy, on Flickr

Moving day by akarmy, on Flickr

The move was painless and we soon had the RV-8 unloaded and sitting proud in the middle of the hangar.

Moving day by akarmy, on Flickr

Moving day by akarmy, on Flickr

another big milestone done! It's getting very exciting now. (except for the fiberglass sanding) :)
 
oh for crying out loud... :) those look very nice. I had only seen the non adjustable ones used on my Rotax engine. I like the looks of those step less crimp variety. Of course they would be disposable, but then you really are not removing things that much.

I'll have to see about that.
 
I had a feeling you would like them. I discovered them on my sea-doo which also runs a Rotax.
Enjoy the build and keep up the nice work.
 
Beautiful work,
When I moved my KR-2 to the airport years ago, I was blown away to read the g-meter upon arrival 4g!
I was driving as if hauling nitroglycerin too.
Suggest you make sure you tie that beauty down secure (in and out).
Daddyman
 
Prop & tail installed

The prop fit up just nicely. Had to put it on twice since I missed the alignment with the spinner backplate and the cone wouldn't fit the holes. Catto nicely drilled the spinner and backplates for me so everything would fit nicely. After pulling it back off and turning it one lug everything lined up great.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

It was more work than I remembered to get the tail installed with all the hardware and washers. Guess I had sort of left some of them off during the last fitting. Everything went back on fine and the elevator and rudder swing free with the pivot bolts tight! It was a bit of head scratching to get the manual trim tab installed and cable run, but it all followed the plans in the end and I was able to get the required angles in the adjustment.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Next up wings!
 
Wing mounting

It turned into a bit of a long day as we mounted the wings for the first time, drilled the rear spar, marked the nut plates and drilled the tank brackets, then pulled the wings off, and I worked the rest of the day finishing all the nut plates and brackets off so we can mount them back for good later this week.

First off, It was great having a good crew of help. Marv Scott one of our EAA chapter tech counselors, Allan Scott, RV-8 builder and Marv's brother, and Curt Bryan, retired Navy, RV-4 builder came to help out. Lots of hands make it a fairly painless job!

The wings slid in easily with some wiggling at the tips. We had some ground down 7/16 pins from Pete another RV-8A builder on the field to secure the wings in place.

Wings are on by akarmy, on Flickr

Then lots of measuring and conversing commenced! No shortage of pictures of head scratching as we considered the various measurements and what they meant.

First the measurement from each tip to tail was taken to get them symmetric.

Pondering a measurement by akarmy, on Flickr

Then the plumb bobs come out to check the sweep. Got it to within 1/32 (or half the width of the string we were using) and symmetric both sides. I think that will do.

Checking sweep by akarmy, on Flickr

Then we checked and set the incidence. I had a standard bubble level, a digital "smart" level, and a Starrett engineering level. Guess what they said, all were different! When the smart level was showing zero, the Starrett was full scale off. It was quite a bit more sensitive and the perfect tool for the job.

Adjusting incidence by akarmy, on Flickr

My favorite part was when Marv suggested we check the wings just inboard of the tips as well. because you can't do anything about it if it's off, but it will give you something to think about tonight! :) lucky for me they were dead on level just like the root so no twist in the wing panels, YEA.

Finally it was time to drill the rear spar bolt.

Drilling the rear spar by akarmy, on Flickr

We started small and worked up in size and then final reamed the hole.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

As I said, in the end there was a lot of head scratching as we went through each step, but we kept working fairly fast in spite of that. We had the wings on and back off in 3 hours. This is my favorite picture from the day.

Head scratching by akarmy, on Flickr

Thanks to Allan for taking the pictures while I was crawling around drilling holes and making measurements.
 
Wings mounted for good

Got the wings mounted for the last time with the help of Marv Scott, Kevin Behrent and Curt Bryan my good friends from EAA326.

It went easy other than the bolts are quite tight! Even with grease I pulled out the rivet gun which made things much easier!

Wings mounted by akarmy, on Flickr

Wings mounted by akarmy, on Flickr

Wings mounted by akarmy, on Flickr
 
Last 10%

Been working days and nights on the last 10%, everywhere you look there's a small project needing to be done, but having 4 straight days to work all day really allowed me to power through the punch list.

First up was wrapping up the AeroLED Strobes and AeroSun VX lights! Man these things are BRIGHT!

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Vent lines and front tank attach bolt complete the wing root area.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Flaps and ailerons rigged, this took much longer than I figured. When I got them all in place the right and left flaps were at different distances from the fuselage bottom. One twice the other. Hum, that just doesn't seem right. Spent 3 hours chasing down the rigging and making sure each step was correct. Sure enough I found one aileron off to the tooling hole jig, and once I raised that, the flaps matched much nicer. Then I put on the flap intersection fairing. Bit tricky to get to the rivets on the inside, but it's doable, other than 1 pulled rivet I used on the bottom where I didn't have bucking access.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Oh, and you know all those neat methods to secure the flap hinge pins, ya I didn't do them!

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Some filler on the overlaps of the cowl to tune up the gaps.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

to be continued...
 
Before putting down the floors I snapped a few pictures to remember what's under there.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

by akarmy, on Flickr

by akarmy, on Flickr

by akarmy, on Flickr

by akarmy, on Flickr

by akarmy, on Flickr

by akarmy, on Flickr

Then I mounted the wheel pants in prep for weighing. It was fairly easy, but took quite awhile. I kept thinking how smart DanH was at doing it on the bench before mounting the gear as I was crawling around the hangar floor...

but I did get to use a laser!

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Put the data plate on...

Data plate by akarmy, on Flickr
 
Weight and Balance

Lucky for me our EAA chapter has some nice race car scales which make it easy work to do a weight and balance. So much anticipation, what will it weight? I really wanted it to come in around 1050lbs... so onto the scales it wen't.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Don't forget to actually measure your wheels to get the moment arms. In my case with the Grove gear and DJM tailwheel I needed to see what mine actually were not just use the book values. They were off by a bit compared to the sample data.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

and, finally, drum roll please...

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

1035 lbs all up with interior, but no paint. With an empty CG of 78.2

SWEET!

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr
 
Clear prop

Time for some fuel.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

man this is getting very exciting now. I just love the visuals of the RV-8, can't wait to be flying it!

by akarmy, on Flickr

So far so good, both tanks took 4 gallons of gas and didn't show any leaks. Won't know for sure until I fill them up full later, but it's a good sign. I drained them to check for debris via a funnel filter.

One final check of the dual P-Mags for timing, it was already perfect. Used the EI-Commander to set both P-Mags to the A curve (more conservative) for initial runs to keep the temps in check. Spent an hour configuring the Dynon Skyview with all the EMS sensors etc.

Turned the prop over by hand with the bottom plugs out. Took quite a bit of turning before I got some oil pressure on the Skyview. Plugs in, pull out, and it fired right up easy as can be!

http://instagram.com/p/sa-DnvgG65/

It's a very short punch list now! :D
 
Andy;
That weight is dang good!
It will never be that light again. Good thing you are hangared next to the club scales.
We discussed how light an RV-8 can be, and you guessed 1050.
Maybe-Just Maybe you can stay there with the addition of wheel pants.
I guessed 'way too low, but now I have a goal to work for.
1050 Geesh, I gotta remove something else...
 
You're at least a dozen clecos heavy! ;)
Looks good. Hoping to see your W & B e-mail, when you have a chance…Thanks.
 
Quick update

Just posting a quick update. Things are fairly quiet at the moment with work winding down. I've been ready for inspection for the last week, waiting on paperwork to clear the FAA and have the DAR come out.

Did a second engine run. Wow this is going to be fun. Starts easily, leaps forward on the taxi way, tracks straight with very positive control. Full power run-up shows 2250rpm as expected. I think it's ready to go!

Fingers crossed that we can get everything lined up this week and be in the air!
 
Wow, so near to the maiden flight. I'm sure your plane will pass the DAR inspection with flying (pun fully intended) colors! :):)
 
Airworthiness Inspection

Friday was the airworthiness inspection. Charlie Cotton came out to do the inspection. Charlie is a good friend of all of us at EAA326 and helps us out with the DAR duties. He inspected my 9A years ago as well.

After a detailed inspection, and batch of paperwork, I got my pink-slip! Best of all was this...

RV-8 FWF by akarmy, on Flickr

No issues found!

As a followup at the end of the day a local NTSB accident investigator happened to stop by and gave it the once over as well. He suggested keeping an eye on the ray allen plastic trim tab clevis as it would be bad if it broke.

Spent the rest of the day installing panels and parts to get ready to fly. Boy oh boy is it a pain to get all the panel screws installed up against the sidewalls. I'm really considering switching out to allen head cap screws so I could get a ball driver on them in the drill. Oh well, something to think about at the first annual.

Stand by for first flight..........
 
congatulatuons on the inspection

Judging by how beautiful the weather turned out to be today after the marine layer burned off, and the pace at which your project is moving, my guess is that you just landed from your first flight!
 
Thanks for the pix

Pics like yours are very useful for guys like me who don't have other -8s to look at for comparison. Seems like you built this plane in 6 months! Have a great first flight. Can't wait to hear the news!
 
N898TT First Flight

Well, Saturday dawned foggy as can be, that must mean the plane is just about ready to fly! :) By noon it cleared up and my ground crew arrived. There wan another hour of kitting out all the electronic gear and final prep. After 14 months of building, with nothing left to do but fly it was now or never so to speak.

First flight by akarmy, on Flickr

First flight by akarmy, on Flickr

First flight by akarmy, on Flickr

First flight by akarmy, on Flickr

I rolled out on the runway, put the power to it and we were off in a flash. Before I knew it I was circling high overhead where I stayed for the next 20 min. This airframe is so clean and straight. It flew hands off perfectly balanced in all axis. I did follow Scott's excellent guide on checking all surfaces with a straight edge and bending them a bit more before flight. CHT temps were high as expected (it was 78 OAT) but came down with a power reduction and more airspeed in the climb. At 140KTS the oil door popped open like a turkey timer telling me I was going fast enough for the flight! After 20 min I started my decent to landing (I had done some slow flight to know that it was fine at 60kts) so I flew 70kts on final aiming for an "Easy" RV-8 wheel landing. :) It rolled on smooth as silk. First flight done!

Oh, I suppose you want to see the video too huh?

http://vimeo.com/106771206

Enjoy!

PS, I fixed the oil door with some angle riveted on to stiffen it, then did the second flight. Then today (Sunday) I flew 4 hours! Without wheel pants I'm seeing 165KTS indicated at 2000ft (174KTS TAS). Can't wait to get it cleaned up and go even faster! :)

One last shot to leave you with. You can only circle your friends house for so long before they launch to come investigate.

Untitled by akarmy, on Flickr

Like David before me, I'm tempted to close out this thread with this post and call it done!
 
Congrats Andy

Andy, you are a building machine! Congrats on your successful flights and I'm envious of you as I watched you blow by me with supersonic like speed in your build!

Enjoy your beautiful machine!

Cheers,


Don
 
Andy!
Congrats!
I love seeing first flight pics with Mt Rainier in the Background!
I'm running a bit behind you with my re-engine job. I got the engine running last Thursday, and I'm sure liking my 3 Blade Catto.
I'll be barking at your heals soon enough!
 
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