What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Show us a picture of your RV-10 progress.

I don't have the doors finished like Bill, but I just finished the cabin cover interior a few days after him.

FP23052011A0001Q.jpg


Aerosport Products Overhead, Map lights and air vents from SteinAir, general work lighting from Vans, Door Strut brackets from Planearound.com.

Yes, it is two colors. Geoff used my cabin cover as the master for his headliner mold, so the rear was finished awhile ago for that function. Since I'm using the Aerosport Products headliner, I chose not to waste paint where the headliner will be.

I plan to put individual task lighting on the aluminum inserts in the overhead.

bob​
 
Last edited:
Here are some recent shots of the -10. Almost ready for paint...

w019g4.jpg


1imubs.jpg


2vwsaoy.jpg


2ptsz7l.jpg


24ymekm.jpg


3480b9e.jpg


oi83sl.jpg


10zwxnt.jpg


ogaq9y.jpg


1zvs875.jpg


Walt Fuller
N420CF
RV-10 build #40584
 
Last edited:
Looking good Wesael! I remember that milestone well. We must have had the cabin on and off about 10 times trimming it down:eek:
 
Last edited:
N410BL has wings with a little help from some friends!

n410blwing.jpg

Brad Leffler, Ray Latham, me, Tom Webster, Mike Cencula, Brad Kyser, and Joe Strausbaugh​
 
Getting your wings on must be a welcome sight of progress.
It looks like you are surrounded by good company too.
Keep at it.
 
Congratulations Bob!

Looks like an airplane. ;) Big congratulations on getting your wings on. Still slow going for me, but I am almost completely set up in the shop, so I should be posting soon about mashed rivets and dinged skins pretty soon. :rolleyes: Keep up the good work. Maybe someday I'll get to fly my 10 next to your 10...
 
Finished my right tank today.

It will be nice to move on to something less sticky :) I will do the leak test when I get home from OSH.

photo-746408.JPG
 
Put the canopy on for the final time yesterday. Managed to get the pulled rivets done and the front strut before I had to leave for work.

Should have a rivet buddy next week to complete the fit of the rear skin :)

img4176z.jpg

By paul330_340 at 2011-09-05

That's the big bit. However, there is also a lot of satisfacton from the smaller bits where you have to use a bit of design and ingenuity.

The AHARS tray:

img0161df.jpg

By paul330_340 at 2011-09-05

The rear seat headset sockets:

img4177h.jpg

By paul330_340 at 2011-09-05

Standby power fuse:

img4179t.jpg

By paul330_340 at 2011-09-05

It's starting to have that "finished" look.

Apart from the HOURS of fibreglass work to go......:(
 
paul330 said:
Apart from the HOURS of fibreglass work to go......:(
Click to expand...


That would be an understatement! It seems that I've been is this stage for months. The more fiberglass work I do, the more I find to do.

I've got about 60 days to finish the fiberglass, or it will have to wait until spring.
 
Paul,
It's starting to shape up like and comer together. The bracket looks great! I too finished the cabin top a while back, but the other day I walked into the basement and saw the cowling and wheel pants staring at me. Just when you think the fiberglass work is done......
Bill
 
Thanks for the supportive comments. It seems I'm at the 90%/90% stage. It's not helped by the fact that I am building in UK and working in Hong Kong! At least I am flying :D

Unfortunately, (or more accurately, inevitably) lots of non-building stuff required each time I get home .......

We have our LAA rally each autumn (fall to you guys). Nothing like the scale of Oshkosh but hope to be ready for the 2013 event.
 
Looking to go the RV-10 route this fall (I want 4 seats and good cruise).....what are the main fiberglass components/work?

Cowl

Upper Cabin Section/Doors

Wheels Pants

Any others sections that I am missing here?
 
Welcome to VAF!!!!

Chris, welcome to VAF:D

Fiberglass parts include gear leg fairings, wheel pant fairings, spinner, wing and stab tips, stab intersection fairings.

Doors are probably the worst, cabin top almost as bad. Rest of it is not a biggie, IMHO.
 
This may not look like much of a milestone, but it really is.
FP06092011A0000V.jpg


The skins have been match-drilled, dimpled, and clecoed to the tail cone for well over a year. The delay in riveting is so I could plan and prepare for all the systems installations and wiring runs, not just in the tail but also through the fuselage. Riveting the tail cone means that the forward fuselage is also ready to rivet (side skins are next) and I hope to be joining the sections within the month. I've been waiting a long time to do this riveting; now I'm installing the tail surfaces before removing them again until the fuselage is entire and on gear.
 
Mike S said:
Chris, welcome to VAF:D

Fiberglass parts include gear leg fairings, wheel pant fairings, spinner, wing and stab tips, stab intersection fairings.

Doors are probably the worst, cabin top almost as bad. Rest of it is not a biggie, IMHO.
Click to expand...
OK that is great to know. Looks like trim out and fitment work with smoothing and final surface prep...not too bad but time consuming work.
 
What did you do with your summer?

I built a RV-10. Doors. Began the door section on July 18 and worked pretty steady on them since, with some time out for the merriment of fitting windows and finishing the cabin cover. Many clouds of fiberglass dust later, today I completed final fitting (I hope). They actually fit fairly well, nice even but tight gap all around. Some minor deviations from cabin surface elevation, but nothing that some fiberglass work can't fix. Latches work smoothly and without undue force. Proper engagement with the door seals. Only an RV-10 builder can appreciate the emotion associated with this particular milestone.....

DSC_4163.jpg


DSC_4162.jpg
 
Last edited:
Great progress

As a 10 builder I know just how much work went into those doors.
A lot of on and off and a little grinding here and a little there but in the end you can make them fit very well as you have apparently done.
Keep it up.
 
Looking great!

Andy,

It is all down hill from here with a few bumps to get over...Wheel pants, spinner, cowling, baffles and filter air box. Of course a few big checks to write, then it will be time for some good trips with the family.
 
Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!!!!

Ernst, buddy you have been busy:D

Looking really good.

And you painted it in your garage???
 
Nice Paint!

Wow! I am impressed with your paint job, especially if you did that yourself. Congratulations and good luck with assembly and test flying.
 
Thank you!

Yes, the paint was done in my enclosed carport.
It is Loehle aero coating.
I truly underestimated the scope of the paint job but I would do it again.
I'll post details of the paint job later when the airplane is all done and assembled.
 
Scott, very nice. Looks identical to the airplane in my garage, and I think we have similar builder numbers too (784 for me).

-Andy
 
Be sure you have the hinge assemblies in the correct locations when you put the doors on.

The hinges have the axis of the pivot line canted to the body of the hinge, to compensate for the curve of the cabin cover.

The two pivot axises should be in line when the hinge is mounted to the cabin cover.

If you have the front and rear hinges swapped, the hinge axis line will be way off, and cause binding of the door.
 
And then there was one

Well its been a long time coming ( four and a half years to be exact) and finally the tailcone was mated to the fuselage this weekend. Everything connected perfectly and its just about time to sit in it and make airplane noises:D
15gzdxy.jpg
 
Well, I'm working to catch up. Last night the local EAA chapter turned out before our meeting to help flip the main fuselage and the next tasks are to add the gear towers to finish section 29 and then join the tail cone. I found it easier to rivet the fuselage sides while it was upside down; I had better access to the rivets at the bottom bends and the bucker was able to sit relatively comfortably under the fuselage and reach up rather than sitting on the unfinished structure and hunkered over to reach rivets at the bottom.

Anyway, here's a link to the video: http://youtu.be/e-shaHZCZyQ. It's not a quality production, just a camera on a tripod while I try to organize a bunch of rugged individualists. The actual flip is at about 3:50 into the video.
 
And, in what seems like no time at all, the fuselage is joined (riveting will be done in a day or so) and it's on the gear. I'm doing things a bit out of order to facilitate my building needs and putting it on the gear early just seems to make sense for me.

DSC01132.JPG


I talked to Gary at Copperstate and work has started on my panel. Soon.:D
 
Two multi-year projects inside the same photo!!!

Two project pic's in one photo!! :cool::cool:

The official nose weight arrives late next week. I'll post an update photo once it's firmly attached.

391728_2386052184631_1650597149_2453102_2061227205_n.jpg
 
Last edited:
I think more than a few of us here on the forum basically have $100,000 playhouses sitting in the garage.

DSCN4364.jpg


DSCN4480.jpg
 
Last edited:
We just found out we're expecting our second RV-10 builder in June. He (I made sure it would be a boy) might cost some time in the short term but we'll figure out how to get along, live life together, and then finish the airplane together.

We just can't have any more airplane builders in the family because we've only got 4 seats and I'm not starting over!!!

Phil
 
Last edited:
Maybe we should start a new thread: Show us a picture of your RV building crew progress. ;)

Anyway, Phil, I'm impressed that you had time to build a P-51 while building the -10. Now, got any performance numbers? :D
 
I don't qualify for the repairman's certificate on the P-51. I exceeded the 51% minimum on it. :)

It's a very nice airplane though and was built by a friend of mine here in Houston. Top speed is 3 knots, but there is some static port error so I can't be completely confident in the numbers.
 
Nice...

Phil said:
I don't qualify for the repairman's certificate on the P-51. I exceeded the 51% minimum on it. :)

It's a very nice airplane though and was built by a friend of mine here in Houston. Top speed is 3 knots, but there is some static port error so I can't be completely confident in the numbers.
Click to expand...

Hahaha. Repairman cert or not, it's good to give your kids "a taste" early. Could prove to expensive for you later though.. Nice!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top