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RV10 - Project Planning - When to order Engine\Finish Kit

steve murray

Well Known Member
I am probably 6-12 months away from finishing the fuselage kit and starting to planning finances and timing for finish kit and engine. I am not yet certain where I will order the engine from so not sure of the lead time for that item.

Questions

1) How much work is there to done (hours) on the finish kit that does not require engine to be hung?

2) I am building in my basement so I want to keep if off the gear as long as possible as it will not fit out my basement with the gear on. Is it possible advisable to mount the engine without the gear in place? (Keep it on a cradle with engine?)

Steve
 
If ordering a Lycoming order it now. It took mine just over 6 months to get here despite Van's 12 week lead time on their website. Ordered at Sun-N-Fun, arriving today. If you order through Vans you will pay a deposit and then the balance before it ships.
 
Finish kit

Depending on you work speed there is several hundred hours of work in the finish kit. The biggest single task is the doors.

I went to the finish kit as soon as the fuselage structure was near complete in order to add the doors and seats to get a feel for the ergonomics of switch placement, overhead clearance and getting the wiring well under way.
I would love to have the engine in place to get the balance of the sensor wiring complete before I close the front top skin and bond in the windows. That will likely not happen due to timing of funds and my desire to continue working.

I still don't have the gear on, but am getting close. (just like I havn't bonded the windows in yet) It is just so much easier to work on/in the fuselage with it low to the floor. The flip side is there is a lot of work in the gear, brakes and wheel pants to get done. I don't like the idea of 50+K worth of engine and prop gathering dust while I plug away at the gear.
 
Depending on you work speed there is several hundred hours of work in the finish kit. The biggest single task is the doors.

Leo, I think I will be following a similar approach.

Does anyone know the maximum lateral swing dimensions of the door as it opens and final vertical dimension once they are fully open (Referenced to the door sill --F1015-C - Mid Cabin Deck) I am trying to figure out if I could work on the doors in my basement but I may have some height\width limitations in my workshop ....?
 
Door swing

The doors are approximately 2 feet above the fuselage/cabin top and 1 foot out from the fuselage side when fully open. (a little less on each) The swing envelope is all within those dimensions.
 
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Panel in?

What about your panel? I'm being told that in order to hang the engine, you need to rivet in the top section of the forward fuse, which includes the subpanel, panel and the top skin above the panel. Once this is riveted in, it limits your ability to install avionics on the subpanel, doesn't it? It seems, if one wants to get all that panel stuff figured out when access is good, then it would have to be done way ahead of installing the front windshield, cabin top center brace and engine/prop. Is this incorrect information? Can one easily do all the avionics build out, with the metal work permanently installed? In the instructions for the fuse kit, Vans has you permanently install that section of the structure before doing the cabin top...

Confused.
 
Forward fuselage skin

Mike,
Thanks for asking this as I was wondering as well. I want to hold off in this forward skin as long as I can.
 
Forward fuse

Many people can, and do, hang the engine before riveting that section. I have seen some that just hang the engine and press on and some that hang the engine and leave the lift attached to take the weight off of the mount.

There really is only one section, in between the firewall and the mid bulkhead that you can?t readily get to...but you really wouldn?t mount anything there as, well, you can?t really get to it😜
 
What about your panel? I'm being told that in order to hang the engine, you need to rivet in the top section of the forward fuse, which includes the subpanel, panel and the top skin above the panel. Once this is riveted in, it limits your ability to install avionics on the subpanel, doesn't it? It seems, if one wants to get all that panel stuff figured out when access is good, then it would have to be done way ahead of installing the front windshield, cabin top center brace and engine/prop. Is this incorrect information? Can one easily do all the avionics build out, with the metal work permanently installed? In the instructions for the fuse kit, Vans has you permanently install that section of the structure before doing the cabin top...

Confused.

This is not at all a concern.

If Van's still tells you to do the avionics cutout however, I recommend you not do this until after you decide where to place stuff. The Van's location was useless. It is easy enough to do after all the rest of the plane is done.

Do however install your parking brake valve and ground block "forest of tab" now.

Carl
 
While I'm building an RV-3B which is somewhat different from a -10, my approach is simply to buy the next box that follows the one I'm about to start, at that time. This way I've got parts, I've had a chance to look through things and think about them, and all that stuff.

It's worked well so far.

Dave
 
What about your panel? I'm being told that in order to hang the engine, you need to rivet in the top section of the forward fuse, which includes the subpanel, panel and the top skin above the panel. Once this is riveted in, it limits your ability to install avionics on the subpanel, doesn't it? It seems, if one wants to get all that panel stuff figured out when access is good, then it would have to be done way ahead of installing the front windshield, cabin top center brace and engine/prop. Is this incorrect information? Can one easily do all the avionics build out, with the metal work permanently installed? In the instructions for the fuse kit, Vans has you permanently install that section of the structure before doing the cabin top...

Confused.

As long as you pre-fit the forward top fuselage and the cabin top, you can remove the forward fuselage sub-assembly and attach the cabin top with the forward fuse off of the airframe. You can also mount the engine with the forward top fuselage off of the airplane, but you'd need to rivet the firewall/side skins and cowl attachment hardware (hinge halves or skybolt strips) prior to hanging the engine. The difficulty there might be access to buck or squeeze a handful of the rivets because the motor mount could be in the way.

Personally, I'm close enough (I think)* to the finish line that I'm doing much of the panel installation and wiring right now while the cabin top is mounted, but the windows and forward top fuselage are off of the airplane. It is much easier to work on the top forward fuse and panel on the bench, rather than in the airplane. Also, the fuselage is sitting about 8" off the ground, which is much easier to deal with than it'll be once it is on the gear. In addition, off the gear and with no engine attached, the fuselage still fits in my air-conditioned basement with a bathroom 10' away. I'm much more productive down there than I will be when I move things to the garage.

*I have made the assumption that there won't be any major avionics announcements between Oshkosh 2017 and basically SnF 2018. In any eventuality, I'd need the avionics before SnF, so I ordered 'em with the idea of installing things now, when it'll be easier than in a month or three.

So, my schedule is cabin top & doors (finished), panel, upper front fuselage mounting, windows, gear, gear fairings, FWF,...airport.
 
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Thanks you guys!

I think I'm leaning towards Kyle's "schedule." I guess I just always assumed that the avionics would be the last thing I purchased for the airplane, behind the engine and prop. Thanks for all the quick responses.
 
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