Pre Cover Inspection

[blincaviation]

While I am nowhere near needing a pre cover inspection, I do have a question regarding the point of construction when you book it? I know the title is the answer itself i.e. "pre cover", is there an expectation from the inspector that, lets say a HS Skin is attached on the bottom only or to leave it off completely? I assume, maybe wrongly that if they are inspecting your riveting skills then the more rivets to look at the better

Or of course I could be completely out to lunch with my assumptions....its been known!

With the above in mind, is there a ball park on how long it takes to get appointments or is it too variable to judge?

 

[riseric]

While I am nowhere near needing a pre cover inspection, I do have a question regarding the point of construction when you book it? I know the title is the answer itself i.e. "pre cover", is there an expectation from the inspector that, lets say a HS Skin is attached on the bottom only or to leave it off completely? I assume, maybe wrongly that if they are inspecting your riveting skills then the more rivets to look at the better

Or of course I could be completely out to lunch with my assumptions....its been known!

With the above in mind, is there a ball park on how long it takes to get appointments or is it too variable to judge?

Hi,
Normally, you can /should rivet one side of an element as the HS, VS, rudder, elevator, wings... As long as the inspector can see inside the element, it's ok.
They look for quality of assembly and conformity to "best practices". That's what my inspector told me.
I would strongly recommend that you send your request sooner than later, the inspector and you can coordinate for later the lieu and date of the inspetion.
And ask your inspector what's expected during the inspection if he/she doesn't say beforehand.

If you can, have only one inspection visit for all elements, tail, wings, fuselage, as each individual visit has its price.
The final inspection is when the airplane is ready to fly.
Good luck !!

 

[Rv-12David]

Hi,
Normally, you can /should rivet one side of an element as the HS, VS, rudder, elevator, wings... As long as the inspector can see inside the element, it's ok.
They look for quality of assembly and conformity to "best practices". That's what my inspector told me.
I would strongly recommend that you send your request sooner than later, the inspector and you can coordinate for later the lieu and date of the inspetion.
And ask your inspector what's expected during the inspection if he/she doesn't say beforehand.

If you can, have only one inspection visit for all elements, tail, wings, fuselage, as each individual visit has its price.
The final inspection is when the airplane is ready to fly.
Good luck !!

I’ll second those recommendations. Request the inspection early. MD-RA will assign an inspector to you and you can then discuss with the inspector how far build things.

 

[vinzer]

While building my first RV I ordered two pre-cover inspections. The first one I booked for empennage and wings kit and the second one for fuselage kit. The reason I did so was to ensure that I am doing things correctly before I deep dive in to fuselage. My inspector is a great guy and he helped me a lot to straighten what I do in a right direction. Second inspection of fuselage was a breeze with just a few minor snugs.
I am now building the second RV and will likely do only one inspection at the very end when my fuse is half done through. I feel that I know a little bit more now and likely can fit everything in one pre-cover inspection.

When to book: I would say month ahead of the anticipated date. MDRA should send physical mail to inspector so expect 2 weeks only for that. Also inspector may be booked ahead of time by some other builders or just unavailable.
During inspection booking with MDRA you will get the name of your inspector and contact information. Contact with him and present your self. He will likely tell you what and how he expects to see parts during inspection. In my case I had all parts separately placed on tables at my hangar to ensure that inspector has easy access to each part.

All parts should be riveted until the point where inspector can easily see ALL rivets you bucked. If you doubt in some rivets do not rush to remove them and re-buck. You may end up damaging the part until the point when you need to upsize the rivet or even shim the material. And guess what - your initial rivet could be perfectly fine and SAFE.

I found inspection to be a very good thing - it gives you lots of information and asses your work. It motivates alot during the build. This is extremely important when building for the first time.
Good luck with your build and inspection !