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RV-7/7a Plan Gottcha's

Floor stiffeners too close together

If you install the F-772B floor stiffeners according to the plans, or if you do it by just clamping the ends of the stiffeners to F-783B and F-601J before match drilling them to the floor, you will very likely end up with them spaced 8" between the OUTER edges of the vertical flanges. This will cause you problems when you try to install the F-782C cabin center cover, which needs the INNER edges of the stiffener flanges to be 8" apart. That might not be a huge deal, since the center cover is thin sheet metal and you may be OK with a little bow across the top - or maybe you could put the flanges outside the stiffeners instead of inside. If you're installing fuel injection, though, the F-7115A cover is .063 thick, 8" wide and won't be coaxed in so easily. A quick web search tells me I'm not the first to encounter this.

I'm still debating how I'm going to address this. It would have been really nice to have known about it earlier so I could have just spaced those stiffeners out 1/16 on each side, even if it took shims on the ends.

If I had this to do over again, knowing what I know now... I'd have skipped the F-7115A cover from the FI boost pump kit entirely. I would have used F-782C as it was, made a .063 stiffener plate to rivet in place underneath the boost pump and filter, and made some mounting saddles for the pump and filter out of blocks of UHMW or Delrin or something. Live and learn.
 
F-719, F-719B, DWG 23

I busted some brain cells on a simple job.

Fitting F-719 and F-719B
I changed plans a bit. I noticed when it was in place, there was a gap between the stiffener and the skin and the joggle was not adequate.
I used the Buller Longeron dies to tweak the stiffener just a bit so it matched the profile of the skin.
So here's the process I used. YMMV
Trim the ends to fit. It doesn't take much. Better to leave a little long if you plan to shape them.
Draw a center line and mark the ends for edge distance. The end holes fall close.
Trim F-719B to fit against the firewall stiffener. Just a little allows it to nestle square.
I made two clips a while back for this sort of thing. Basically a piece of scrap bent 90 degrees with a #40 hole. Place them under using a nearby skin hole. The tab will help hold the part.
Place the stiffener and tab in place and use a cleko clamp or c-clamp to hold the forward ends in place. Do something similar to hold the aft.
Now go outside the fuse and reposition so the centerline is centered. Tighten the clamp holding F-719 and F-719B together.
Remove the parts and drill the two holes between the two and insert clekos.
Reinstall and position as before.
Remove the clekos holding the side skin, peel it back and drill the hole from F-719B to the firewall stiffener. Cleko.
Cleko the skin back. Double check the center line and drill the stiffener. Easy peasy.

34hjepk.jpg
 
The "factory joke" with the longeron plans is they have you measure and cut precisely to a 1/64 measurement which is interesting over the 20 odd foot length, then later in the plans trim to fit.. ha ha...
 
F-796 C&D, F-796B L&R, DWG 38

Not a gotcha. Just another annoying plan issue.

F-796 C&D
Plans dimension is too short to maintain edge distance. I cut mine 2-1/2" and set the pilot hole 1/4" from the end. You can adjust fit between the longerons by filing the ends if necessary.

F-796B L&R
Vans plans don't show a full length dimension. They show dimensions for taper cut lines. More scrap. Full length is 4-11/16". 4-17/32" + 1/32" + 1/8".
Draw all the cut lines and hole location first.
Cut the taper relief without the 45 first then cut the 45 off.
Drill the hole and fit to the longerons.
If necessary, relieve the end without the hole first the touch it up on the hole end till it fits. Round the ends so it nestles in the longerons. Draw a centerline. Yes, Vans blows the edge distance rule here too. No way around it.
Cleko the one hole to the side skin and bulkhead.
Align the centerline and drill the other end hole. Cleko
Now get some long #3 rivets and insert them through F-770 side skin and F-796 bulkhead holes to keep parts aligned.
Pull the middle rivet, match drill F-796B and cleko.
Lather, rinse, repeat for the other two.
Now remove F-796B.
Cleko F-796C to the angle.
Center the line, clamp and drill the third hole. Cleko.
Match drill the center hole. Remove the angle.
Cleko F-796D to F-796C, center the third hole, clamp, drill, cleko.
Match drill the center hole.
Disassemble parts and label as one unit for one side.
Cleko the spacers and angle to the plane and match drill final size.
Done.
 
Drilling rudder pedal blocks, DWG 37

Here's how I did it, minus my mistake. I'll order a new stiffener and fix it next week.
Mark both stiffeners with a dimension from the bulkhead. This insures both sides start at the same distance and all holes will be parallel.
Assemble the rudder pedal assembly with the blocks and place it where it belongs to make sure you have stuff in the right place. Label the blocks and stiffeners.
Now pull the assembly out and the stiffeners.
Mark the blocks and drill the end holes. I used this neat little tubing trick pictured below to get holes perfectly aligned and mirrored in the blocks and the stiffeners. Thanks Dave. I drilled the holes 3-1/4 apart.
Start at the first hole. Clamp the block to the stiffener with the side flat on the bench just like it sits in the plane.
Put the tubing jig invthe first hole and dril the pilot. #41 fits mine perfect.
Pull the block, drill the hole to final dimension, move the tubing jig to the other hole and insert a bolt in the first hole. Clamp it down and drill the second hole through the tubing jug. Remove the clamps and drill the second hole to final dimension.
Perfectly aligned set of holes.
I drilled four sets 3/4" apart.
Fab the center support.
Drill the center block holes.
Cut it in half.
Place the assemvly in one set of matching holes and bolt it in place.
Clamp the block to the center position and place the center support where it needs to go.
Drill the center support to firewall stiffener. Cleko.
Use the tubing jig trick to drill the center support block to the flange for each positon.
Yea it takes some time but the assembly is perfectly aligned.
w8rx1s.jpg
 
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Rudders and brakes

Follow up on rudder assembly
Mine were a tad short. There was a little slop side to side. I bought some thin fender washers and inserted them into the holes in the bearing blocks. It tool up the slop and improved the motion. The pipes drag on the inside of the block. The washer provides a smoother surface. I also polished the pipe bearing surfaces. Much better.

Brake pedals
I found this tip on VAF.
Instead of all the bolts, washers, nuts and cotter pins, one long bolt through each pedal with washers, nut and cotter pin allows them float free.
http://www.europa.com/~swayze/RV-7A/Fuselage/20090810.html

v4s7b9.jpg
 
Wait to finish up F-789 pushrod until final assy

I was "reading ahead" a bit and did some pushrod work. You may want to delay putting all the pop rivets in the F-789 pushrod between the control column and the elevator bellcrank (F-635). It won't fit through all the bulkhead passthroughs if you rivet on both threaded ends before you slide it in place. Rivet one end, put it in place, and then rivet the other end.

Six MSP-42 rivets gave their lives to bring you this information.

2946syd.png


(I could say "ask me how I know", but you already guessed it)
 
I was "reading ahead" a bit and did some pushrod work. You may want to delay putting all the pop rivets in the F-789 pushrod between the control column and the elevator bellcrank (F-635). It won't fit through all the bulkhead passthroughs if you rivet on both threaded ends before you slide it in place. Rivet one end, put it in place, and then rivet the other end.

Six MSP-42 rivets gave their lives to bring you this information.

2946syd.png


(I could say "ask me how I know", but you already guessed it)

A lot of people put a bit of a "doghouse" relief on the rear bulkhead pass-through to make getting this in and out easier...YMMV. A search here ought to turn up plenty of info/pics on this small relief mod.
 
Cost estimate gotcha. Step #1; pick out your airplane you want to build, step #2; stop and calculate how many years it is going to take you to build the airframe, step #3; price out engine and prop, #4; add 1,000.00 for every year in step #2 and add to step #3, step#4; add up total for avionics, then double that, add to step#3, step #5; multiply value of relationship of Sig Other by value of requested # of honey do's by # of years expected in estimate of step#2, add this to step#4, step#6...........start over at step #1 and ask yourself, WHAT WAS I THINKING!
 
LoL

Cost estimate gotcha. Step #1; pick out your airplane you want to build, step #2; stop and calculate how many years it is going to take you to build the airframe, step #3; price out engine and prop, #4; add 1,000.00 for every year in step #2 and add to step #3, step#4; add up total for avionics, then double that, add to step#3, step #5; multiply value of relationship of Sig Other by value of requested # of honey do's by # of years expected in estimate of step#2, add this to step#4, step#6...........start over at step #1 and ask yourself, WHAT WAS I THINKING!

I feel the pain. Those schnitzengruben really wipe you out! 15 is my limit.
 
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Countersinking longerons

This one's not a gotcha. Just a tip.
If you have a set of Buller longeron dies, the one with the slot for the flange makes a great brace to clamp the longeron to the bench. I used a tripod to support the sagging end and some shims to support the flange I was countersinking. Hit a few, move the clamp and die, place the shim under the flange, hit a few, lather rinse, repeat.
Also
I would consider running a reamer through every hole before countersinking. A piece of debris got in a hole and the pilot snapped off. Cleaned the holes up and finished with a spare cutter.
YMMV
 
This one's not a gotcha. Just a tip.
If you have a set of Buller longeron dies, the one with the slot for the flange makes a great brace to clamp the longeron to the bench. I used a tripod to support the sagging end and some shims to support the flange I was countersinking. Hit a few, move the clamp and die, place the shim under the flange, hit a few, lather rinse, repeat.
Also
I would consider running a reamer through every hole before countersinking. A piece of debris got in a hole and the pilot snapped off. Cleaned the holes up and finished with a spare cutter.
YMMV

The only time I broke my CS bit is when it was in a hand drill, for my longerons, I moved the drill press out to the garage door on a small bench and zipped them out in five min.
 
Riveting the F-770 side skins

The manual is a little out of order at this point. It really should read like this...

"RIVETING THE FORWARD SIDE SKINS
Before the F-770 forward side skins can be riveted to the fuselage framework, there is a laundry list of small tasks
that must be completed. You may have done some already. If not, complete them now.
Complete the necessary dimpling or countersinking on the F-770 skin and underlying structure. (See Section 5Em and Figure 5-4.)"

At this point you have to completely disassemble the fuse to perform the debur, dimple, countersink, prime, etc. steps. Once the steps are done, then the fuse can be reassembled and the manual makes sense again.

"Remove the skin.
Rivet the F-684 Gussets to the vertical firewall angles as shown on DWG 23, Detail A.
Rivet the F-7101 Gear Attach Web to the F-902 bulkhead (DWG 23, Sect G-G?.)
Rivet the F-719 and F-719B Stiffener and Angle Clip to the vertical angle of the firewall because they will be very difficult to reach when the skin is installed on the fuselage. These rivets are right next to the spar entry cut-out. Set the upper five rivets forward of the spar cut-out, leaving the lowest one open ...it will be riveted when the skin goes on. Set the six rivets aft of the spar cut-out.
NOTE that the outboard five rivets holding the F-772 and F-776 Bottom Skins to the F-704A
Forward Bulkhead must be installed ?double-flush?. See drawing 28. The flush heads rest on the inside of the F-704 flange are necessary to provide clearance for the RV-7A main gear leg mounts that will be bolted into this
location later. It is recommended that RV-7 builders install rivets the same way to retain the possibility of taildragger to tri-gear conversion.
When preparations are complete, rivet the F-770 side skins to the fuselage. We recommend starting at the F-704 bulkhead and working fore and aft. Finish riveting the F-772 skins.
Complete any riveting on the aft fuselage that has not been finished yet. Remember to rivet the skins to the main longerons with only the rivets specified! The rest of the holes must be left open to attach the top skins."
 
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Gear tower holes, DWG 34a

Before you button up the canoe to rivet there is a laundry list of parts to rivet in the manual. Thanks to a fellow builder, there's a few others (hopefully not more).
First, while the skins are off, check yhe fit of the F721B Aft Canopy Decks. You can still adjust the bend in the longerons if you have Buller dies.
Before you rivet F902 bulkhead to the lower longeron.... mount the gear towers and drill the two holes in the forward leg. Drill them small. They get enlarged later. One hole is right behind F902 and very difficult to access once F902 is riveted in place.
Rivet F902 to the lower longeron and the gear tower brace. This is easier to do on the bench. Pull the assembly, cleko it together, rivet the parts and put it back.
Rivet the two F722B Floor Stiffeners to the F783B Civer Support Rib and F601J Firewall Angle.
Check the plans. The lower hole(s) one hole forward of the spar cut out have a rivet shop head that has to be flush on the inside. The shop head interferes with the gear tower sitting flush against the side. Countersink the hole(s) on the inside before you get much further.
 
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F721 A&B

Before riveting the F721B Aft Canopy Deck and F721A FWD Canopy Deck, set the two rivets holding the two parts together. Easy to set on the bench. Much harder to set on the fuse.
 
F-6111

If you're building a slider, run a search and read about installing F-6111 ribs. DOH! $18 each.
 
Thanks for the heads up. I have formed and drilled but not yet installed the F-6111's. I'm building a slider, and per your comment, I looked ahead at the drawings and build manual but could not find any issues with he F-6111 and a slider.

What is the issue you are talking about with the F-6111?
 
F-6111

Thanks for the heads up. I have formed and drilled but not yet installed the F-6111's. I'm building a slider, and per your comment, I looked ahead at the drawings and build manual but could not find any issues with he F-6111 and a slider.

What is the issue you are talking about with the F-6111?

Run a search on the part #. I haven't installed round two yet but my mistake was starting at the top. They ended up short. Start at the bottom.


Edit...
Do not cut the length. It fits with some filing and tweaking.
Start by drawing a center line on the flange.
Tape a strip of scrap on top of the longeron.
Trim or file the bottom outside flange to match the intersection of the rib and longeron.
Position the rib and check the fit of the rib at the bottom.
Next shape the top end. The length is fine but the flanges need to be shaped quite a bit. Start with the top flange. Taper it from the existing end a little at a time. Check the fit each time till it sits against the bulkhead. Taper the top end bottom flange as well but don't try to get a perfectly flush fit yet.
Start tweaking the twist by hand. When it's close and the line is visible in all the holes, match xrill syarting at the bottom hole.
Next, fine tune the top end bottom flange and tweak the twist till the top end sits fulsh against the bulkhead. Clean up the bottom as needed ti match the longeron.
 
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.032 AS for fabricating R-918

Ok,

Got to step where you have to fabricate the R-918 strips for lower rudder out of AS 032 1 1/8 x 40. Had the correct label on the AS (.032), but was in fact .026 when measured with the caliper

Only way I knew it was when I picked it up it felt way too flimsy for .032.

Vans is sending out a new one, but not sure if anyone else out there might have one from the same batch. Something to watch for
 
Crotch Strap kit

Install the crotch strap kit when the Center Fuse is done. Much easier to work on than later when the fuse is done.
 
FWF - OP22

Not a gotcha, but a note when assembling the mixture arm assembly. The arm has a bushing that comes "installed". It is supposed to become captured with the clamp bolt. Mine was pressed in and when the bolt was tightened, it froze.

I reamed the arm, then sanded inside and sanded the bushing so it moved freely.

Just to be aware of it in advance so you can only torque it together once.

IMG_1804.jpg
 
Install the crotch strap kit when the Center Fuse is done. Much easier to work on than later when the fuse is done.

I found it even easier to fit the crotch straps before final riveting of the center fuselage. Doing it that way let me use bucked rivets to install the brackets. Here is my build log page on how fit the brackets to the seat ribs.

FP06022014A0008G.jpg
 
F-652 Upper Baggage Bulkhead, DWG 29

This is not a "gotcha" but you need to study the plans.
First, the bulkhead has a bend along the edge. It is supposed to be at the bottom.
Next, there's a misleading measurement on the right side of the plan. It looks like the bulkhead is 5/8" from the top of the F-751 Lower Baggage Bulkhead but that is the measurement to the cut out edge. You'll figure it out.
The lower edge of F-652 is 3/4" from the top flange of F-751. Check the Detail B and Section C-C.
Also, the plans don't say to fabricate the F-6114 B&C Wear Blocks. You have to make them and the 1/2"X 1/2"X .040" washers.
Study the plan, measure ten times, call Vans and cut once.
 
F741A, F741B, DWG 30

F741B Tunnel Cover dimensions were not to my liking.
2-3/4". The cover would not be flush with the F741A Tunnel Cover Supports. I changed plan.
I fabricated supports and installed them first.
Measure the dimension for the cover. 2-29/32"
Since my cover fit edge to edge, I drilled the holes 5/16" from the edge which landed the holes on the centerline of the support flanges.
I also left the length long. The cover will be cut to length when I see what fits at the aft end.
 
Seat Backs, DWG 30

Not really a "Gotcha" but there's plenty of precision. Nothing pre-punched here.
Note the edge dimensions. Some are from the edge of the seat back skin. Some are measured from edges of angle stiffeners.
Pay close attention to the hinges and eyes. There are eyes removed, hinges oriented for left and right as well as eyes up and down.

My solution was to mark up one seat skin with all the hole locations.
The holes were drilled to #40 then the two skins clamped together and the second skin drilled. The same procedure was used for the two brace skins before drilling the lightening holes to full size. I'm sure there's easier ways but it saved tons of measuring and marking.
From that point it was just clamping parts to the skins and match drilling.
Remember to keep track of left and right seat backs.
 
Pop rivets for F-782D brackets

I spent some time struggling to install the F-782D brackets that back up the F-782A cover plates that conceal the fuel lines and other plumbing on the foward side of the spar on a -7.

The plans call for LP4-3 pop rivets to hold down the bracket. This is a totally non-structural install and LP4-3's a good choice from that perspective.

However, the space between the F-7101 web and the outer skin is pretty shallow. I had a very hard time setting the LP-4-3's so that the head would be flush with the 782D bracket ... the rivets seem just a bit too long.

I found, though, that MPS-42 pop rivets work very well. Yes, these are structural rivets and are overkill for the job, but they do set down nicely. They are a bit shorter, and permit the head to settle down against the bracket before the backside is fully formed.

Here's how it looks with the MPS-42's

206c3mo.jpg


Also, I've found that I can drill out the LP4-3's and fish out the shop heads with a bit of wire through the hole for the fuel line. It was actually quite easy using an angle drill to shave off the top of the LP4-3, use a poker to flip the rivet nub on its side between the F-7101 web and the outer skin, and fish the leftovers out.

(sorry -7Aers, you got a gear tower in the way ;-)

{and, yes, those are HW store bolts holding down the F-7114 gusset}
 
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ADAHRS shelf

Not a "Gotcha" but something you should think about before riveting the aft top skins.
Vans makes a shelf. I suggest you order it early, if that's your plan, before riveting the bottom skins.
I missed it and decided to go with a shelf mounted on the forward side of F707 bulkhead between the J-Stiffeners. It came out rock solid. I ordered some #6 non ferrous nutplates to install so it will be removable.
I drew the plans. If anyone wants the plan, shoot me an e-mail. It's big enough for two Dynon ADAHRS mounted side by side.

qrzxo9.jpg
 
This is not a "gotcha" but you need to study the plans.
First, the bulkhead has a bend along the edge. It is supposed to be at the bottom.
Next, there's a misleading measurement on the right side of the plan. It looks like the bulkhead is 5/8" from the top of the F-751 Lower Baggage Bulkhead but that is the measurement to the cut out edge. You'll figure it out.
The lower edge of F-652 is 3/4" from the top flange of F-751. Check the Detail B and Section C-C. ....

I found that with my set of parts, the bottom edge of the upper bulkhead ends up 13/16" below the upper surface of the top flange of the lower bulkhead. Any less, and the upper outboard corner holes in the lower bulkhead will be less than 5/16 from the top edge. The most accurate way to locate the upper bulkhead is to just follow the drawing and mark a line 5/8" below each upper corner cutout on the lower bulkhead, then position the bottom edge of the upper bulkhead to those lines.

I agree that the drawing is a bit hard to interpret, but it IS all there if you study it long enough and compare it to the actual parts.
 
F-799, DWG 38

This one's not a "Gotcha". Just a "Heads Up"
The F-799 Wing Fairing is not in the fuse kit even though installing it is one of the steps before removing the wings. It's in the Finishing Kit. Kinda important since you have to install the nutplates when the wings are removed. Ask Vans to include it in the Fuse Kit and remove it from the Finishing Kit. Thank goodness my Finishing Kit arrives Saturday.
Edit...
Finishing kit arrived. Love Vans packing. All the bags, small parts, hinges and of course the wing root fairings were securely taped to the bottom of the crate with that "rip your skin off" speed tape. So the entire crate had to be emptied to retrieve the parts. Gotta inventory anyway.
 
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Flap rod relief holes

This is a neat trick. I can't take credit for it.
You have to enlarge the two holes in the bottom and side of the fuse for the flap rod and rod end bearing. The hole ends up sort of elliptical because the direction the rod moves as it goes up and down. Carefully relieve the hole and side till you have a perfect fit then remove the rod. Tape a piece of paper to the bottom of the fuse. Use a pencil to rub the hole edge and two rivets either side of the hole. Remove the paper, cut the hole and punch out the rivet holes.
Flip the paper over and tape it to the other side positioned over the same rivets. Mark the hole and you have a duplicate. Cut inside the line and relieve slowly till the rod clears.
 
F-799 Wing Root Fairings, DWG 38

These can be annoying judging from the threads I found. Several tips from VAF put together below along with some of mine below.

Draw a line 1/4" from the inboard edge of the tank skin from the leading edge back to the aft edge of the tank skin top and bottom.
Cleko the fairings on using the two tank screw holes and the existing holes along the wing.
Make a few alignment marks where the leading edge bend is located.
Remove and use a piece of 2" PVC to hand roll the fairing to the approximate shape of the leading edge. It will conform later but a little bend makes it easier to install.
Reinstall.
Align the holes with the line on the tank.
Match drill #40 and cleko every hole.
Find a piece of scrap thick enough to use to draw a line 3/16" from the fuse.
Slide the scrap along the fuse while drawing a relief line all the way from the top aft edge, around the tank to the bottom aft edge.
Double check the gap measurement. On the 7(a) it's 3/16" minimum to 1/4" maximum gap. Less is better. You can always file more later. Some areas will need more removed than others. Most important is a uniform gap.
Go back through and drill the holes up to #30 changing clekos as you go. It takes more effort but insures the fairing can't move around.
Do the same with a bit .005" smaller than #19 then again with the #19 reamer to clean up.
Remove and carefully rip the relief line then clean up with a file and scotchbrite. Do not cut past your line. You can go back later and remove but you can't add metal.
Reinstall and check the gap.
Mine ended up 5/32". I can adjust it later.
Build on
LL
zmavr6.jpg
 
Looks Good Larry, I actually forgot to draw this line when I fitted my wings a few years ago, someone also mentioned you can take a 970 washer for a -3 bolt and put the sharpi in the hole and draw that way. ill be refitting the wings again this summer to test the fuel system and engine, and draw this line.....;-)
 
So there I was, leaning in barley reaching the baggage wall with a screw on the end of a magnetized bit in my driver, (WHAT THE) remove wall..... again, come to find out I forgot to install the rear baggage wall lower center two nut plates.....not happy about this! I have removable floors, so those and the center strip need to came out also to install these, all I can say is make sure you have everything like this done while the fuse is on the rotisserie, you are using one aren't you?
 
Rotisserie

So there I was, leaning in barley reaching the baggage wall with a screw on the end of a magnetized bit in my driver, (WHAT THE) remove wall..... again, come to find out I forgot to install the rear baggage wall lower center two nut plates.....not happy about this! I have removable floors, so those and the center strip need to came out also to install these, all I can say is make sure you have everything like this done while the fuse is on the rotisserie, you are using one aren't you?

Glad you installed the removable floors!
 
F-796B Reinforcement Angle Edge Distance

It appears that the AN3 bolt holes for the F-796B angles are required to be off center and subsequently the edge distances are compromised (down to 1.5D). According to Van's, this lesser edge distance is no big issue, as the component is predominantly in compression from the bolt loads. Due to this misalignment, it is best that no holes are drilled in the F-796B angle or the F-796C or D spacers until they are positioned and clamped in place against the F-902 and the corresponding longerons.
Here's the link to my original post.

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=140772

Cheers,

Tom.
 
Holes

It appears that the AN3 bolt holes for the F-796B angles are required to be off center and subsequently the edge distances are compromised (down to 1.5D). According to Van's, this lesser edge distance is no big issue, as the component is predominantly in compression from the bolt loads. Due to this misalignment, it is best that no holes are drilled in the F-796B angle or the F-796C or D spacers until they are positioned and clamped in place against the F-902 and the corresponding longerons.
Here's the link to my original post.

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=140772

Cheers,

Tom.

Tom, future builders
I remember that part now. I drilled them as you did but later discovered just how tight they are.
I had to make a special socket to hold the nut to torque them. I bought several sockets from the thrift store and used a grinder to make a thin wall socket.
 
I clamped in position as well. All the holes are match drilled to either 770 skin, skin/lower longeron or tank attach bracket (F-796A.

The important thing is to make the F-796B as long as possible while fitted between F-713 and F-717 lower longeron.

Another risky move was to rivet on the F-796B before bottom skin was mounted. It worked because I countersunk instead of dimpling the lower 3/16 hole.
 
Forward Covers Page 8-13

There is no call-out in the instructions to fabricate the F-782D cover angle on plans page 34. It is not dependant on anything, and you dont need to make it until you're ready to put your fuel line covers on permanently, but I overlooked it. You might want to make a note to fab it.
 
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Forward Seat Floors and Control Rod Tunnel, pg 8-12

There is no callout in the instructions to fabricate the F-7110 stick boot ring found on the plans page 34. There's no emergency to make it, but just put a note on 8-12 to make it so you dont forget.
 
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Gear WD721, DWG 34a & 11

This could be a headache.
Check your close tolerance bolt clearance through the cooresponding holes in the gear towers. Vans allows you to file the holes enough to allow the bolts to clear.
I made a couple of drift pins to get a good idea of where the holes needed relief.
 
Log of these

Before I start the process, thought I'd ask if anyone's taken the time to create a spreadsheet of these like was done on the 14's page.
 
Spreadsheet

Before I start the process, thought I'd ask if anyone's taken the time to create a spreadsheet of these like was done on the 14's page.

Never heard anyone do it. Sure sounds like an awesome idea. Especially if in build order. One of the down sides of this thread. Keep us posted.:D
 
VS attachment, VS-702 trim, DWG 27A

When attaching my vertical stabilizer to the fuselage, the first thing the instructions say to do is trim the Vert Stab forward spar 5/8 inch, See DWG 27A. I recommend holding off and trial fitting the VS to the fuselage first. You may want to trim less that the full 5/8. I followed the instructions and had edge distance issues. In hindsight I wish i had only trimmed 3/8 instead of 5/8.

Why? The bottom of the forward VS spar connects to the F-781 vertical stab attach plate (DWG 27A) and is back drilled through the pre-punched holes in the attach pate. Exactly where the two pieces fall relative to each other is set as necessary to get the rudder hinge brackets on the rear VS spar to fall in a straight line. Once you've anchored the lower end of the rear spar as specified on the drawing, you adjust the front spar position to get the hinge brackets in line.

On mine, I trimmed per the instructions, then set my rear VS spar at the specified 7 11/32 dimension below the top of the longerons, but then to get the hinge brackets to line up, I had to raise the front spar a little. Once I did, the bottom edge of the VS front spar (VS-702) was less than 2D from the lower line of holes on the attach plate (F-781).

As a fix, I had to make another attach plate out of .063 stock with an 1/8 or so added to the area of the bend to provide the minimum edge distance.

So.. Fit first, then measure twice, then cut...
 
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It might be a good idea to put each kit (tail, wing, etc) into its own sheet in the doc. That way we don't have to worry about crowding the rows.
 
I considered that but didn't want to overly complicate but since someone else brought it up too, I will do it.

It might be a good idea to put each kit (tail, wing, etc) into its own sheet in the doc. That way we don't have to worry about crowding the rows.
 
HS DWG 3, SEC D-D, HS-00005 HS-00006 HS-00001 HS-702 HS-710 HS-714

It says #40 drill. but it clearly says to use AN470D4 rivets on these spots. that would be a #30 drill.

Either way It is a good idea to first use a #40 but the final drill will have to be #30.

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VS DWG 6 Side View, VS-704 VS-705 / HS DWG 3 Main View, HS-0005, HS-0006, HS-601PP

I did not read weather or not these attach holes have to be dimpled and at the time I was unsure and asked here on the forum. Everyone agreed that these are drilled to a larger size later, so do not have to be dimpled.

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Same goes for the HS fairing attach wholes.

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