Category Archives: Rv-10 Build Project

Cutting pass through holes for 5/8″ conduit under the rear seat panels is no easy chore. With the quickbuild kit, the ribs are already riveted into position about 4″ apart.  Getting a large Unibit into proper alignement is impossible.  My method was use a right-angle pneumatic drill attachment to start a small pilot hole, then enlarge with a hand file to a size big enough to accommodate a knock-out set.

The set needs a 1/2′ pilot hole, then the first punch-out occurs by tightened the 11/16″ driving screw.  On the right is the rough opening for 3 conduit runs.

This shows the full circle first cut, then subsequent half-moon chunks taken out progressive to make the elongated opening for the conduits.

On the left side I made the backing plate first, then used is as a template to serve as a guide.

The second opening turned out much cleaner than the first.  Of course this will not be visible to anyone after the seat panel is pop riveted closed.

The pop rivet has a swivel head, but still there was barely enough room to operate. Slight flexing of both ribs was required to reach the bottom holes.

Final holes under the baggage floor have nylon grommets or conduit attachment brackets.

After completing the oak prototype, a number of items were ordered for the final version. Blocks of acetal copolymer, 3/4″ aluminum bar, 5/8″ end mill, wiggler, some machines screw drills of various sizes, and a set of 3/16″ taps arrived for work on some precision equipment. My friend Tal is also building an RV10, so we decided to both use the same bracket design.  A few trips to another friends shop and access to milling machines and lathes was in order.

We used Tal’s bracket for the initial work, which started with using the lathe to round a 3/4″ aluminum rod down to 5/8″ to match the end mill (more on that later).  The lathe had fine adjustments down to 0.001″ and we came within a few thousandths of the mill diameter.

Next was milling the acetal block for the antenna rods. Here a wiggler is used to precisely measure the center points of the end mill holes.

This shows the block and the antenna rod matched together – near perfect for a pair of amateurs.

Now for drilling and tapping the rods for the actual antennas themselves. Note the special holding pieces in the vice I had gotten from Rich.

==================== February 6

Now that Tal’s bracket was completed, on to my shop for similar work. The rods had been made on the lathe beforehand, by shaping the acetal had to be done with my drill press.  This forced a slightly different approach than using the precision mill.

Here is the raw block with the planned outcome.

While not as accurate as the mill, my drill press is pretty good.  Using micrometers and the drill press laser guide, I was able to get close to the ideal dimensions on the rod holes on the side faces.

The through holes and corners were next. Again dimensions came out good. Note this was achieved using the X-Y drill vice also obtained from Rich from the estate sale previously mentioned.

The band saw and cutting fence were used to get the rough outer dimensions of the block.  A bit work on the bench sander and the sharp edges rounded nicely.

Drill the end and top holes.

Close to done.

This weekend was about prime and rivet the inspection backers to baggage floor, then position and drill for the antenna plates for the right side installation.

Add nutplates and prime with SEM aerosol can.

Top and bottom sides after completion of riveting.

This angle in this photo shows the 9/16″ hole drilled through the baggage floor to allow later access to the step bolt.

Two photos of the inspection plate in position.

Antenna plate for ADSB receiver drilled and clecoed in place.

This angle shows the antenna backer access. Getting to the coax connector and the two hold-down nuts for the antenna itself should be straightforward with this configuration.

These ports haven taken a long time to fabricate, basically because most of the work is being done by hand and I am quite slow with a file.  This results are usually decent for me with this method.

These are the roughed out plates and backers in the left photo after hand shaping and polishing. On the right are both set after initial match drilling the holding rivet and nutplate center holes.

Using the brake to bend a reinforcement angle on the backer plates.

The backer is clamped to an already attached cross-brace on bottom of the baggage floor panel. This serves as the template for the rivet holes and nutplate positions.  The right photo is after all pilot holes drilled and the plate is clecoed in place.

The inspection plate itself is clecoed to the top of the baggage floor to trace an outline hole.

Now for the normal progression – pilot holes, nibble base outline, rough file, finish file, final polish with Scotchbrite.  Again everything is done by hand at this point.

The backer plate is nearly finished.  Adding the nutplates and priming are the remaining step before riveting into place.  These photos are prior to final attachment to make sure the alignment with the baggage floor, cover panels, and step brackets are all good.

The baggage floor panels will eventually be riveted in place, making later access to the step holding bolt or ADSB/transponder antennas impossible. To rectify this situation two inspection holes (left and right) need to be fabricated.  In addition to considering the layout defined by the quickbuild kit, I will make a hole big enough for my fairly large hands.  A hole roughly 5″ x 5″ is needed for comfortable access.

The shows the right baggage floor panel in position just aft of the rear seat angle bracket. Notice the numerous rivet locations already laid out in the quick-build kit. The inspection plates need to avoid the ribs and reinforcing brackets already there.

With the panel out of the plane a proposed inspection port geometry is marked on paper first, then transferred onto .025″ sheet for evaluation.  This picture and the next section show a layout only about 4″ deep, not enough for my hands.  I eventually lengthened the plate to about 6 inches.

The reinforcement plate layout shows the approximate location of the step bolt on the left, and the ADSB antenna fasteners.  The final larger plate should have good access to these locations.

Here I am using another of Rich’s fantastic trickle-down tools (Crafstman Scroll Saw) to rough out the reinforcement plate for the inspection panel.

After the center portion is roughed out, back to hand-filing and shaping on the reinforcement plate.

I started the day wanting to utilize the fantastic CherryMAX and CherryLOCK riveters loaned from my brother on the forward floor pans.  However, the offset head of the CherryMAX is rated for sizes 4,5 and 6 rivets, it does not want to work on generic LP4-4 rivets. The mechanism operates properly, just does not grip the smooth shafts of the generic rivets properly.  On test stock, a geniune CherryMAX rivet worked perfectly.  I may go out to Aircraft Spruce to purchase a few just for practice.

Here the CherryMAX rivet puller is attempted with an LP4-4 rivet.  No joy.

I then decided to start building a prototype bracket for the Comant CI-158C VOC/LOC/GS antenna.  The plan from way-back when building the vertical stabilizer (VS) was locate the antenna under the top fiberglass dome.  I had previously added a 5/8″ black conduit and reinforcing plate to this location on the VS.  Now the antenna puck and whip antennas are physically available for inspection, I probably would relocate some of the holes to make assembly easier. Anyway the mock-up was started with a piece of 3/4″ red oak to simulate the eventual stock of acetal copolymer (ordered today).  The DuPont trademarked material is called Delrin, and differs from the generic acetal by consisting of a monopolymer – somewhat stronger, but considerable more expensive.  I had originally thought of using a nylon block, but my technical counselor advised against due to the greater mechanical properties and ability to machine finish the copolymer.

Here the oak board is clamped in the drill press for side drilling a 1/2″ hole. My thought is use an aluminum rod to hold the stainless whip antennas, then secure with a set screw performing double duty as the electrical connection to the integrated puck/balun.

All the main holes are drilled. The final acetal block will have the set screw location tapped for a #10-32 stainless screw.

Side view of the raw block.  Sanding and fitting inside the upper cavity is next.

Side view of the fitted block, with mounting and set screws in position.  The right photo has the stainless antenna provisionally fit into a 1/2″ wooden dowel.  This matches the final use of a drilled aluminum rod to hold the antenna.

At this point the prototype is done – just need to smooth out the lines and measure everything for when the acetal arrives.

Here is the raw puck bracket.

Left and right views of the puck bracket on the oak antenna prototype.

After building the prototype, I laid out a rough diagram of the final product. I never had any drafting skills, but the outcome should be understandable.

After purchasing the latest RV10 plans CD now available from Van’s, I noticed they have an optional wire covering from the spar bulkheads to the instrument sub-panel.  This part only cost $14, so one was purchased and fitted on the left side.  I like the appearance so well, the left side will be used to build a mirror image for the right.  Adding two upper holes provides four different wiring pathways to the firewall or instrument panel – two above now being created and two 5/8″ black plastic conduits under the forward floor panels. This same configuration will be on both left and right sides and should provide more than adequate wire routes to the wings and tail.

The first step is layout the hole drilling pattern as per the installation instructions.

Drill out the holes to 3/4″ diameter using a Unibit. The angle was a bit tight for the cordless drill, but the results after SEM self-etch priming look good.  I have decided not to fully alodine/prime attachable parts in the cockpit as exposure to elements like in the tail should be reduced.

Here the F-1016H brackets are prepped for priming.  These will hold SB750-10 black plastic bushings for the wire runs.

The holes for the brakets are match drilled through the forward skin under the NACA vents.  After dimpling, the brackets are ready for AN426AD3-3.5 rivets. Note new bushing holes on the right side of the plane are also visible.

JANUARY 6, 2016

Eric and I riveted the dimpled and SEM primed brackets into place.

Once again, climbing inside the unfinished cockpit to buck the rivets is a bit cramped.  Eric outside could drive with ease.

Here is the final view of the right brackets, inside and from the outside.

I bought an inspection plate from AirWard for later inspection of the boost pump and central tunnel wiring.  The installation of the backer and plate is fairly straightforward, but getting a comfortable position to work on the QuickBuild kit is not easy.

Here the backer is placed beside the tunnel for initial fitting and drilling.

Here all the rivet holes are match drilled with the tunnel wall.

The cover plate is clecoed into position to mark the edges for cutting out the hole.

I used a nibbler to rough out the inspection hole using the same technique as for the NACA vents.  Some people use a sabre saw or similar mechanical device, but I seem to get in trouble quickly with such devices.  The hand method is very much slower, but I have better control and fairly good results so far.

The left photo shows the nibbled inspection hole. The right shows the top and left sides rough filed into shape.  Tomorrow I hope to finish off the rough shaping, then do final smoothing and fitting.

DECEMBER 26

Kneeling in the cabin to hand file the edges took a few hours to complete.

Final fitting on the inspection plate, then SEM prime the tunnel opening.

Retaining bracket front and rear after SEM priming and nut plates installed.

Bracket clecoed in position, the final rivets installed.

The original stringer reinforcement plate I made to secure the air supply valve did not turn out as well as hoped.  I decided to rebuild this and combine with a backing plate for the COM2 antenna to be located in the upper section of the tailcone, just behind the baggage bulkhead.

The plate will span between the center stiffener and the one on the right side.  The left edge was bent on Tal’s brake to match the J-channel profile to provide added strength to both the left stiffener and the backing plate.  Here the plate is measured and drilled for rivets.

This photo shows the plate fitted into position under the tailcone skin and beside the center stiffener.  Note the angled bend in the backing plate as mentioned earlier.

Once all the rivet hole were match drilled and the plate securely clecoed into position, it was time to use a Unibit to fashion a 9/16″ inch hole for the antenna BNC connector.

Here the antenna is provisionally fitted to the skin.  Everything lines up nicely!  The final installation will  have a thin cork gasket under the antenna base and above the skin.

Here is the final plate before dimpling, alodine and prime.