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RV14A - N225HK

Not much to report here. Ailerons are still finished. I've begun the scrape, scrape, screech, screech with the flap parts.

I did have a visit from a new friend, Nate. He wanted to come by and see the build in action so he came to Oakland and brought some good beer with him. I answered all the questions he had and we finished up the right aileron together.

See folks I'm easy. Bring beer and I'll let you rivet up (or deburr) all the parts you could ever want...

Anywho I have the last two videos of the right aileron going together for you here. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/nFlF1wQu-Yo
https://youtu.be/UlwPCFhqFEo
 
One flap mostly down

Hello all,

So I finally found time to make headway on the left flap. After a couple of days of deburring duty I found myself ready to prime and dimple. Everything there went normal. I did have to do a few pop rivet close quarters dimples in the front of the leading edge skin for each rib. Doesn't matter much they all get pop riveted in the end anyways.

The biggest challenge with the final construction has been having the ribs be one piece attached to the spar first vs the zipper method of the rudder or the stiffener design of the ailerons. With both skins in place you need to put your hand between the skins with a small bucking bar and buck the rivets for the leading edge/spar/bottom skin holes. I have a 1x1x2 tungsten bucking bar that thankfully fit but where the ribs are you have to get your bar in there and the angle of the rib doesn't flex like the skins do in between the ribs so you need an even smaller face'd bar. That way it will buck all the way in without being stopped short by the rib or the skin and doesn't run the risk of causing a dent in the skins as well.

Anyways here is a mess load of video feeds I've accumulated. Enjoy

https://youtu.be/GAmNSp1bZGw
https://youtu.be/CFFXslluFJQ
https://youtu.be/4yI7w3OpRXM
https://youtu.be/iqvCtmv04YY
https://youtu.be/DOSMVmrjljQ
https://youtu.be/9SHjyuBc5oo
https://youtu.be/b939v94u_uI
 
Tanks for the memories

I didn't realize that I hadn't made an update post in a while so I thought it important to put one in!
Firstly I'd like to thank the people of Amsterdam for their hospitality! My wife and I took a 2 week vacation
to see some friends and it was glorious. It's glorious there because every neighborhood still has one of these:
oQq.jpg

And of course there was a bock beer festival going on at the time so I just had to go:
oQC.jpg


Anyways a few days before we returned I had the forethought to go ahead and order a quart of
tank sealant from Vans so that it'd be at my house when I returned and I could get sealing on
the tanks.

Before that though I guess I should go through what I've done since my last post: The flaps are done,
the ailerons are done. I started working on the left fuel tank. Observations about the tanks:
I love that I don't have to worry about priming but how I do wish that priming were a perfectly
acceptable replacement for tank sealing. The only thing I think I might be doing wrong is using too
much sealant. I bought a quart of the mix but it wasn't quite enough to finish one tank. Yes I certainly
have been putting it on nice and thick but what's a few extra pounds of peace of mind? I've just riveted
in the j channel and am giving the sealant a couple of days to cure before I go in and start with the
overflow line. I'm hoping to have it sealed up enough before next weekend that the week after that I
can fill it with water and test it.

Anyways here are some pics and links to the latest of the many flap and tank video feeds I've posted:
oQD.jpg

oQN.jpg

oQk.jpg

oQn.jpg

oQs.jpg

oTA.jpg


Video feeds:
https://youtu.be/tjqOHOjbHlk
https://youtu.be/a1ffW2Ir30c
https://youtu.be/HUFU_tnBX6s
https://youtu.be/bAv9FAsr4Yo
https://youtu.be/fhCY8oSqEZg

Another bit of thanks to bkervaski and halie.com for having a great way to host images for the forum!!!

- Kilroy
 
Isn't that the way it goes? You really have to focus on the task at hand and be thinking constantly about each step. I creased my rudder skin because I ran off the back rivet plate. It sounds so simple to avoid such a, frankly, silly mistake, but it will happen the moment I lose focus.

.

huh? I never made any dumb mistakes like that like that
 
Isn't that the way it goes? You really have to focus on the task at hand and be thinking constantly about each step. I creased my rudder skin because I ran off the back rivet plate. It sounds so simple to avoid such a, frankly, silly mistake, but it will happen the moment I lose focus.

.

huh? I never made any dumb mistakes like that like that
 
Just watched your videos.... holy **** you work fast! How much coffee do you drink?:eek:

LOL. Well I'm lucky I live 5 minutes max from my hangar, I'm there a lot because I'm the maintenance officer for my flying club and I love working on this project so much I steal every single second I can find. Tonight, since I'm stymied on my left tank due to no sealant available, started deburring the ribs for the right tank!... otherwise known as hopefully the not as ugly with tank sealant smeared all over it.
 
What I meant by the "How much coffee" was just a laugh at you putting those videos in high speed. :) I just saw your youtube channel and realized that you were drinking Miller Lite! Hilarious!:D

Anyone who wants to build an RV should see your videos. They are an excellent representation of the project.

But seriously, after watching some of the videos of your youtube channel, I am amazed at your dedication to document everything. Please keep it up, I'm sure that this will motivate a lot of people to build a -14.

Thanks, Jamie
 
Thanks and I appreciate it! Logging this whole in video starts to feel like, 'aw ****... I gotta find the camera, get the memory card, bring it with you, record everything, etc etc' EVERY time you want to go out to build. One of the advantages to just speeding up your video by 20 times is that the 5 seconds of ball scratching every half our is reduced down to .25 seconds :D

I'm sure once this shifts from air frame to wiring/systems the language will get a lot more colorful.
 
Hi everybody,

So I received a new supply of tank sealant from Vans and continued on with the left fuel tank.
Here is a snap of the fuel sender temp installation into the tank. That wire holding the float in place is STOUT.

oT4.jpg


Here's the outside shot of the tank. This is all presealing of the attach bracket and the inboard rib.

oTT.jpg


The sender is now sealed into the tank, the attach bracket and rib are in and the vent line connection is both torqued in and sealed. Now I play the waiting game until at least Wednesday. After that I'm going to beef up the tank cradle to withstand the weight of 25 gallons of water for leak testing.

My flying club's Christmas party was Friday night and I thought about making punch and dispensing it from my fuel tank but I thought that tank sealant might leave a slight aftertaste. Bitter... like anise. Anyways common sense got the better of me.

Anywho, here are the latest video feeds of tank work AND building of some EAA workbenches! Yes!! I finally got around to building a couple of them to replace the craptastic folding tables in our hangar. Once the locking casters get put onto the bottom they'll be perfect.

https://youtu.be/zztZG3AhMts
https://youtu.be/DwnFI6vlQes
https://youtu.be/WRJw39hmO9w
https://youtu.be/aM6cn8UF8BE

- Kilroy
 
Hi everybody,

Since we last spoke the tank sealant has cured enough that I felt comfortable filling it up with
water and leak testing it! Our hangars only have a couple of places with a water hose so it was
off to the plane wash and hauling over 4 gallon jugs of water. I filled the tank up just waiting
for some kind of comedic spout of water to start shooting out sideways like a broken dike.
Thankfully nothing like that happened. The only place the tank leaked was out of the overflow
vent spout (because I didnt have an appopriate cap nut) and from the fuel cap. I'm not worried
about leaking from the fuel cap as I won't be doing inverted flight very much.

While waiting for the sealant to cure, instead of going onto the next fuel tank I've decided to take
a break from ribs and sealant and start working on the main spar. Of course in order to do that
I had to build a couple of work benches as the one i have is nice but not near large enough to
satisfy the space requirements of the spar. Anywho, after I made those I got to the j-channel
fabrication then the tank nut plates. Drill, baby, drill! Here are some pics from the last couple weeks:

oT7.jpg

oTP.jpg

oTv.jpg

oTW.jpg


And as always here are the video feeds from that work. Enjoy

https://youtu.be/DwnFI6vlQes
https://youtu.be/WRJw39hmO9w
https://youtu.be/aM6cn8UF8BE
https://youtu.be/qu93relRUyY
https://youtu.be/VQwrbJOARUU
https://youtu.be/TRtOaQrfJi8
https://youtu.be/Jh2E7pp2_7U
https://youtu.be/JaL21AynklM
 
You do not want the fuel cap to leak

Adjust the seal on the cap as needed (loosen the locking nut, then turning teh bottom disk, and retighten the locking nut).

You don?t want water getting into the tank when sitting on the ramp in the rain.

Carl
 
Adjust the seal on the cap as needed (loosen the locking nut, then turning teh bottom disk, and retighten the locking nut).

You don?t want water getting into the tank when sitting on the ramp in the rain.

Carl

Very true. I'll adjust it tomorrow and refill the tank.
 
Okay so the holidays are over finally and it's time to get back to work on the plane!!! Over the holidays
I had a nice time back home in the south with my dad and siblings. I shot a couple of deer, drank a lot
of wine, etc etc

Anyways back to the important stuff. As suggested to me by Carl Froehlich I had adjusted the fuel cap
on the left tank, refilled the tank and tested again for leaks. This time no dribbling of anything from
the fuel cap so its all happy there.

One of the VAF members, Mikeandmaz, came in from over the pond to check out the build and get his
hands dirty. I'd been kind of putting off riveting the back baffle and attach Zee's to the left tank. It
was really nothing more than silly fear. I knew what it meant to have to open up the baffle to get inside.
Once sealed up that was it, theoretically anyways.

oay.jpg


oa6.jpg


oa9.jpg


I put the fuel sender float on the inside, we cleaned the inside out thoroughly with lint free clothes, and
commenced to clecoing the baffle on. Together Mike and I riveted the baffle then attach Zees in place.
Once that was done nothing to do but wait. The sealant should be dry tomorrow. At that point
all I need to do is go back, countersink and rivet the remaining baffle rivets and that SHOULD be it.
After that seals it's the balloon test and when that passes I'll call it done.

With the tank in waiting I turned my attention back to the main spar and the ribs. I took an hour and
shored up one of the work benches. Note to self but the next time I build a set of the EAA work benches
I'm going to buy 2 extra 2x4s and use those as the source for the 33" pieces. The original 4 used are
going to stay full length. 8' tables are much more useful. Also I've started re purposing one of my ram
mounts to use to help me document my build.

oaK.jpg


Anyways, The ribs have been fluted, flattened, final drilled, deburred, dimpled (bottom flange only),
primed, step drilled, bushings put in and are riveted to the main spar itself!

oaU.jpg


And of course the obligatory through the ribs pic:

oaZ.jpg


It's making me nervous though as now the ribs are held onto the spar with nothing but rivets and
a couple of bolt/washer/nut combos. Once I get the rear spar on I'll feel a little more comfortable.

Anyways here's just a few links to the video feeds that have been put up. There's a lot of them
so I'm only linking a few. Enjoy.

https://youtu.be/ELeL0lj1FrI
https://youtu.be/i9HqQp1sMn0
https://youtu.be/-PPBZVfI9r4
https://youtu.be/va90x4sRjy4
 
Rear Sparring

Hi all,

So I've been lucky and have had an over abundance of time the last couple of weeks to work on the left wing a little bit more. I've gotten the ribs on, the rear spar on along with the aileron hinge brackets and today got about 50% of the top skins on.

I'm so glad that I built those two work benches and even happier that I kept the tops of them at 8' long.

Here is a pic of the left wing with the rear spar having been riveted on and the top skins cleco'd in place. I'd left the J channels in place to test the fit. They hadn't been primed yet:

oau.jpg


Here's the opposite direction. I'm very happy with the way it fit. I just made sure to support the main spar as it's laid out down the workbench to maintain a straight spar.

oaE.jpg


Afterwards I test fit the ailerons and flaps just to make sure it looked well. I have to admit they fit better than my elevator trim tab does:

oab.jpg


I should be finalizing the top skins tomorrow then I'm moving onto the leading edge. I need to order a PAR 36 LED light for the landing light still. Any suggestions?

Here are some of the video feeds from the rear spar. Enjoy:

https://youtu.be/wgrdKX89tos
https://youtu.be/aKpA-Ed5Vbk
https://youtu.be/Jahi1HU6lbk
https://youtu.be/RDawJrSeUqE
https://youtu.be/kFl42dh6pWI
https://youtu.be/VjQ6n9LarPE

- Kilroy
 
Last edited:
Let there be LIGHT

Its been 9 months since my last post. A lot has gone down since then:

Lost my job in January along with my entire team. That one sucked. I wasn't even in the office the day it happened. I had members of my team texting me around 10:30am mostly containing expletives. The details are fuzzy mostly due to a non disparagement clause in my release contract.

Afterwards I took a few months off to catch up my right wing to match the left. It was a nice break. I got to spend more time with my wife, my kitties. I got to be at the airport everyday making sure the club planes were happy and flying well.

Around June I realized that I needed to get back into the working world. I didn't need more time off... I needed to get back to running a software team and making good product. Plus... fuselage kits, engines and things don't pay for themselves you know!

Here's a rundown of all the things I've learned in the last 9 months of plane building I didn't know before:

- Right wings are just as difficult as left wings.
- Just because you practiced with tank sealant doesn't mean your other tank will be any prettier or less messy!
- Fiberglass, wiring, etc... its all a piece of cake (if you go slow, practice and do it right)
- Wiring... okay so wiring is in itself easy but if you want it to actually be clean and work well it gets complicated.

I got around to finally wiring up my Fly LED lights and making the breakers, switches, etc work. Gotta say I love them. I had to rewire it about 10 times to make sure all of the wires in the connectors were wired up correctly. Never blew any circuits and didn't ever see any smoke but it wasn't like I didn't try!

Anyways, there's more I'm sure but I wanted to just post a few pics of the fun:

ovE.png


ovb.png


ovt.png


ove.png

Notice the victory stance and the arms raised... I was praying to some
sort of god... not sure which one.

Fly safe,

- Kilroy
 
keep plugging away

My RV project saw 3 jobs and 1 wife go away. 2 of the 4 were my choice, 2 were not. But the RV gave me something to always strive for and something to occupy my hands and my mind when they needed it.

IT WAS WORTH IT!! Don't give up the good fight.
 
Awesome. Havn't even got my plane back from paint yet and already want to build another one LOL.
 
I built the flyleds kit too. There was nobody more surprised than me when it all lit up first time! :eek: I am still a year (bwahaha) from flying but an RV10 on my field has the same lights and I saw him arrive in the evening and they looked great. I don't think there is a better value for nav/strobe lights. And building stuff is fun. The guy (Paul?) is very helpful and fun to deal with too. He seems to be one of us.

My project is a 1990 era RV4. The guy had it for 25 yrs, 3 moves and 2 marriages. So it is a familiar story. These things do take over your life. I got it as an empty shell. Heck, 6 months to hang an engine and put some gauges in and I'll be flying. That was in 2014. :eek: I'm a bit wiser now. In fairness, my hangar is 45m from my house so it only sees me on weekends. That makes a huge difference in build time. But I don't have a garage so there is nothing I can do about that. You do what you can.
 
I got around to finally wiring up my Fly LED lights and making the breakers, switches, etc work. Gotta say I love them. I had to rewire it about 10 times to make sure all of the wires in the connectors were wired up correctly. Never blew any circuits and didn't ever see any smoke but it wasn't like I didn't try!
Love the picture! It wasn't that hard to put together was it?! I'm glad you passed the smoke test.

I built the flyleds kit too. There was nobody more surprised than me when it all lit up first time! :eek: I am still a year (bwahaha) from flying but an RV10 on my field has the same lights and I saw him arrive in the evening and they looked great. I don't think there is a better value for nav/strobe lights. And building stuff is fun. The guy (Paul?) is very helpful and fun to deal with too. He seems to be one of us.
"One of us", huh? I'm honored! I'm not the owner but I did spend almost every weekend and plenty of hours at home over four or so years helping to build 'our' RV-10, so I think that qualifies! I loved the build process, and I can see why there are so many repeat offenders.

Having been soldering stuff for 40 years I thought I'd show you guys how easy it is to do with the Flyleds kit! Your feedback pleases me no end. I reckon riveting is much harder to do...

One bite of the elephant at a time...

 
Paul,

Your product rocks! All of my friends are very impressed with the brightness of the lights. That taillight blazes like the sun!

The soldering of the pieces was a piece of cake. Of course I still managed to solder in one of the wire connectors on BACKWARDS. They're sturdy and survived the fix.

I didn't use the supplied wire for the sub assembly connection. I used pieces of 3 conductor 18 ga for it. I'd recommend that as a good practice for terminating shields. Plus I have as much shielding as I can get since my magnetometer is going out into a wingtip.

Now making the dsub harness for the control board was interesting. I hadn't done a dsub where most of the wires coming in are 18ga. Its a tight fit but it works. That's where I got into trouble. I had black wire for the shields but everything else was white wire... which got me tripped up. Out of the 65+ connections I made I think I had 3 crossed and that ain't bad. No I didn't bother putting labels on every wire :D

-Kilroy


I have video of the entire wiring process including that Eureka moment. I'll be posting those over the next couple of weeks.
 
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