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RV-9A, pilotjohns

Baffles done

The baffles are completed. I found the two pieces on the inner area, on the left and right side, need to really be one piece. I tried two pieces, but there is no way to get the two pieces to lay flat. In the pictures I showed my approach and I circled the baffle that I think needs to be one piece.

Also started the louvers installation. I have an older cowl so I have to take out the honeycomb and add some glass. Not a big deal normally, but with temps in the 40F's, it is a little cold for the epoxy to cure. Seems to be curing OK thou after 24 hours.
 

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Oil door done

Oil door is done. I might add a strip of stainless steel as a strike plate; we will have to watch the wear during flight testing. I used the trimmed piece off the cowl as a reinforcement, as others have suggested. I had the hinge backwards, couldn't figure out why it wouldn't open..... :)
 

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Aircraft. Spruce

What specific hinge and latch did you use? Where were they sourced?

Since they are an advertiser here on VAF, I can say they latch and hinge are Cessna style from Aircraft Spruce. They also have some surplus latches for less money.
06-00676 Cessna Latch
12-04708 oil door hinge
 
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Testing testing

Test fit.

Lower cowl needed the slot extended 3”. Was not a big deal.

When I cant think of anything else to do on engine, I will do wings and preliminary weighing
 

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Cowl Tidying Up

I finished tidying up the cowl.
I lengthened nose gear slot 3 " to be able to remove cowl with prop attached. It works out well.
I also make the baffle rubber that goes between the front cowl inlets to the lower baffle ramps removable. There was no way the cowl would not go off and on with this baffle piece rigidly attached.

(pictures to come)
 
Wing Install

Built a wing cradle to help wih wing install. I was mentally ready to install today but when I brought the wing close to the fuselage, i realized the pitot and AoA lines have to move, and some wiring needed to be extended.

Got the left wing wiring done. I have the harness connectors between the wing and fuselage. I installed the left wing using the stand. It worked well, and made it a one man job.
I had redone the wires but realize they hit to control rods. The wires need to go through the original holes but with enough wire the connectors can sit between the inner rib and fuselage.
Edit: Yes I pulled both wings off and redid the wires and pitot lines at the root. Here are the final pictures. It seems there is only a 1/2 " available on the wing lightening hole for "stuff"; basically half the difference in diameter of the wing hole and the fuselage hole. If one exceeds this 1/2", then it will touch the aileron control rod.
 

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Oil door looks great, similar to what I did. You will probably want that strike plate.

Take your time getting the wings on. It really feels like you are in the home stretch once those are attached!
 
Thanks

Oil door looks great, similar to what I did. You will probably want that strike plate.

Take your time getting the wings on. It really feels like you are in the home stretch once those are attached!

Thanks Ryan. I was all set to install but decided to wait and think some more. Now I think I will add in the fuel vent tube before install; I was gonna wait, but seems it would be tight working in the gap between the wings and the fuse.

It really feels like an airplane now.
 
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Wings on

Wings on with temporary bolts.
Update: Had to pull both wings off due to wires and stuff hitting aileron control tube (see post above)
But cradle made it relatively easy to remove and reinstall wings.
Preliminary measurement shows no sweep and incidence within 0.5 degrees; Next up is drilling rear spar...
 

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Wings and flap

Below is the manometer setup to compare left and right wing incidence and flap setting. I think everything is within 0.2 degrees. Not bad for a airborne tractor.

I initially set the flaps angle with a digital degree meter. But I ended up measuring the space between the rear edge of the wing skin to the flap’s rivet and set both sides equal. Then I used the manometer to measure the incidence of both wings, from leading edge to rear edge of flap, and they are within 1/8” . I think that will be OK; I dont fly straight anyways.
 

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Tidying Things Up

I am putting the wingtips on. i used a piece of foam stuck in the end to temporarily give it some shape to line everything up.

I also installed the clear brake fluid reservoir from Matco. i used a street elbow in the bottom and a custom sheet metal mount to put it in the stock location. Should work out well and now there is never any guess during pre-flight.

I still need to add some extra wires for future taxi light in the cowl. And then I will seal up the firewall.
 

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VOR antenna installed

The VOR/ Localizer antenna is installed. It works remarkably well. In my hangar, with the door open and facing away from the runway, I still get good localizer signal strength. Go figure.

I will probably glue some soft shipping foam padding on the ends to keep it from rattling in the wing tip.

Note: I did this VOR antenna install to check out the nav radio prior to finishing the tip. I may incorporate the antenna into the lower section of the tip using the nut plates as the ground.

Update: I did not incorporate the VOR antenna into the bottom of the tip. Ask me at Oshkosh why not.
 

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Wing Tip Install

I have been putting on the wing tips. I have the VOR antenna and the FlyLED lights in the tips so I am going to put them on with 6-32 screws per the drawing in the plans.
*I lined up the tips with the ailerons, drill thru the pre punched holes in the wing into the tips with a 3/32 drill.
*After making sure everything was good, I enlarged the 3/32" holes to #26 (I think) This make the holes a little tight for the 6-32 screws, but still able to thread into the fiberglass.
*I removed the tips, installed the two ribs per plans,
Then I put a screw and 6-32 nut plate together to make a drill guide for the Nut plate rivets. Being a smaller hole, this screw and nut plate combo was screwed in to fiberglass tip holes and the nut plate mounting holes were drilled for rivets
* The rivet holes were then countersunk
* Then the 6-32 screws were threaded thru the undersized fiberglass holes and the nut plates were riveted to the fiberglass tip.
*Once all the nut plates were installed to the tip, I took a 9/ 64 bit and opened up the undersized holes in the wing skins and the fiberglass to easily accept the 6-32 screws
* for all these steps , I used hardware store common allen 6-32 screws.

This is where I am at today
* After a trial fit on the wings to make sure the holes are all in the right spot, I will go back and counter sink the 6-32 holes and dimple the wing skins.

In general, when installing nut plates, once they are riveted in, I will go back and open up the screw holes with a larger bit so that the nut plate sets the position of the screw, and not the hole in the material. (This only works for non-floating nut plates)
 

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Are you not installing the aluminum reinforcing strip with the nutplates? On my RV-7A it (W-728) is shown in Section H-H on wing drawing 12. Maybe the RV-9 is different.

VAF used to have a section called Articles, and Darwin had some great tips for installing Wing Tips. I can't figure out how to get to the Articles from the VAF home page any more, but I think Google found them: https://vansairforce.net/articles/Darwin/
 
Wingtips

Finished wing tips. I chose to use screws and put the Archer VOR antenna on a mid rib support instead on the bottom; mainly because I didnt want to be unwiring the antenna everytime the tip comes off. (Which I hope is never) I used the soft foam to keep the antenna from vibrating against the fiberglass wingtip.

With platenuts, the factory said there is no need for the aluminum strip.
 

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Bleeding Brakes

Today we bleed the brakes.

I first tried to suck all the entrapped air from the fluid using the air compressor as a poor mans vacuum pump. There wasnt much air but some bubbles appeared in the fluid and quickly moved to the top as foam and then disappeared.

I used a hand pump and slowly pumped from the bottom of each caliper. It worked out well. Brakes appear solid. I tried the parking brake and it seemed to offer some drag, But without the brakes bedded in I dont expect much holding power yet.

The clear brake reservoir made it real easy to see the level. Maybe I will put a piece of white paper behind the brake reservoir to make the level easier to see.
 

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mount bolt.JPG

Turn your motor mount bolts around. It is far easier to inspect
the nut and cotter pin and re-torque if needed......
 
I am soo close to being done...

I am sooooo close to being done, I weighed the plane today. With the whole G3X suite and the new nose gear, it came in as expected.

But the important part is that everything was ON for the weight and balance.

There are still some things to clean up, like re-bonding tie bases, checking trim throws, fuel testing, etc.

Doing the CG math, if the pilot and passenger combined weights are between 100 lbs or total plane is below gross weight, and I adhere to the 100 lb baggage limit, I cant exceed CG limits. I am glad I have a lightweight Catto prop.

It seems the RV9A CG is perfectly designed; Vans did this one right.
 
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I am sooooo close to being done, I weighed the plane today. With the whole G3X suite and the new nose gear, it came in as expected.

But the important part is that everything was ON for the weight and balance.

There are still some things to clean up, like re-bonding tie bases, checking trim throws, fuel testing, etc.

Doing the CG math, if the pilot and passenger combined weights are between 100 lbs or total plane is below gross weight, and I adhere to the 100 lb baggage limit, I cant exceed CG limits. I am glad I have a lightweight Catto prop.

Next update scheduled to be after first flight.

Got your inspection scheduled? Super excited for you man!
 
It’s amazing how fast it moves at the very, very end. One day you’re 90% done, 90% to go, and then all of a sudden the A/W inspection is happening!
 
Engine start

First engine start today.
It was a non event.
I did the fuel flow test yesterday with 3 gals in each tank. It took a bit to get the fuel pump primed. I had to blow in the fuel filler to push some fuel to the pump, then the fuel pump worked great. ( Unlikely to self prime in flight with low fuel, guess I am never gonna run it dry)
After that I disconnected the fuel line at the distribution block and pushed all the preservation oil out of the fuel servo into a bucket.
After filling the oil cooler as recommended by Lycoming, I turned the engine over by hand, with the lower plugs removed, to push all the oil out of the cylinders. Once tied down outside, i engage the started with the fuel valve close and fuel pump off, to build oil pressure.
Then performed a normal prime and engine start. Engine started on second blade. I was shocked it fired right up.
Ran it until cylinder head temps got to 300C.
Mag check was good; idle speed and idle mixture were good too. No adjustments needed!
No leaks or other issues.
My A&P friend and I dont see a need to run it again before first flight.

To answer a question from the other thread, battery charging was, like, 9 amps at about 1100 rpm. I think I am really gonna like this B&C alternator mounted on the vac pad.
 
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You may need to bed the brake pads by taxiing, so that will require another engine run.
Where's your phase 1 area going to be?
 
I Spy

You may need to bed the brake pads by taxiing, so that will require another engine run.
Where's your phase 1 area going to be?

Well I guess you will have to I Spy me!

Inspection this weekend, then move to an airport that is most inconvenient.
 

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Its an airplane!

Its an airplane!
Hide your fuel pumps and gas cards!
 

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chnaged status

Be sure to let the mothership know. Vans Aircraft website has a form to fill out to let them know.
I dont see a form, but changed my status on the Vans store to "flying". I will do a first flight report in a week or so.
 
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Plane is Complete

Plane is Complete.

I have been telling everyone it will be done on a Tuesday, and guess what, it was done on a Tuesday.

First Taxi test complete! Runs like a champ.

a BIG Thank You to all those who have helped with parts, services and support. Much appreciated.
 

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Plane is Complete.

I have been telling everyone it will be done on a Tuesday, and guess what, it was done on a Tuesday.

First Taxi test complete! Runs like a champ.

a BIG Thank You to all those who have helped with parts, services and support. Much appreciated.

Lets see some first flight action soon John! It didn't happen if there aren't pictures/ video! haha Fly safe man!
 
First Flight!

7 days short of 7 year build. Another RV9A took to the skis today.
Flew straight as an arrow, no indication ball was not centered.
Flies like a true, honest airplane. And she is fast too!
 

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Hobbs 10 hour update

I passed 10 hours on the Hobbs on Friday 8/23. Mostly doing short hops in my test flight area to break in the engine; I see no use doing performance testing with the engine not broken in,

But on Friday morning's first flight, 9,500' over Techacipi, the engine hiccupped, just once. Then all was good again. And I finished the 2 hour flight.
Refueled and took off for another go, and at 2000 feet, the engine started missing, left or right mag made no difference. Immediate return to airport, and once I pulled the power back, engine ran smooth in pattern.

I decided to do the 10 hour oil change, fuel filter cleaning, and general look over. Oil change was done and both fuel filters were clean as a whistle. All things pointed to ignition switch (mine is keyed and FAA-PMA). But couldn't get my head around a PMA part being bad.

After oil change and fuel system inspection, during run up, engine started missing again with afterfire. This was with magnetos on both, left or right, made no difference. Retimed mags and both were off 2 degrees. Cleaned plugs; retried. Still rough at higher RPMs. These were all ground runs.

Finally decided to change the switch. During runup today, purrs like a kitten.
Will try again tomorrow morning, if runup good, will try flying, staying local for 2 hours.

Update: after changing switch, have an additional 8 hours with no hint of original problem.
 
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You should definitely download the engine data to savvyanalysis and take a real close look at what parameters changed with the rough running engine.
I don't understand why an ignition switch would necessarily cause rough running. The mag is either working or not. Running on one mag will see a rise in EGT. You will see lower RPM's, but it shouldn't run rough. At higher RPM's the spark from the mag is more powerful, and it might be then leaking through the leads. Maybe check the spark plug leads for leakage? Bad plug? Any carbon tracking?
Did you check the continuity of the switch?

Some tips here: https://resources.savvyaviation.com/wp-content/uploads/articles_eaa/EAA_2013-11_rough-engine.pdf
 
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Switch went bad

Ignition (mag) switch went bad. Replaced it with a Cessna switch.
Only started shorting at 2300 RPM, not at 1700 RPM (mag check)

Plane will get changed to two toggles so the mags are truly independent systems.

Started another thread on this topic for discussion.
 
Phase 1 complete

Phase 1 complete.

Some things I learned:

The plane flies better than the pilot.

A big test area is helpful.

I could not get the engine to run lean of peak until after break in. This is a sure sign of the last cylinder breaking in.

Better to use toggle switches for mag ignition than standard single ignition switch.

Pad mounted alternator is not the best. On taxi back, battery is not being charged so on next day’s start, battery is not fully charged.

Cowl ramp on the right bank of cylinders needs to be close to the front. On a Lycoming, those are farther forward than the left and the #1 cylinder blocks the air to the #3 cylinder; I am going to modify the fiberglass ramps to get better air over the #1 cylinder.

Main wheel pants need generous holes for the tires to flex. (or my landings need to improve)

Garmin's RPM sense from the P-Leads is for the birds. If there is an ignition problem, then one may lose the RPM signal. It is not a good thing to lose two things due to a single fault. I am switching back to a mag pick up. Also, when the engine was running rough during break in, it seems the Garmin RPM sense occasionally introduced noise into the EFIS system. I see no reason to put noisy electrical signals through the panel wiring, even if it is attenuated by a 400K resistor. There's just seems to be no reason for the P-lead RPM sense except to cause confusion when things don't go well. JMHO
 
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finished

My plane has been painted, so by definition it is finished.
7 year build.
as of today, 118 hours on the hobbs.
 

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