Category Archives: Custom Elements

Final Paint

18-Oct-2023 10:56 ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Mark

The airplane has been flying about 8 months with over 90 hours accumulated during the Phase 2 period. My scheduled slot has now come due, so N190XB was off to the shop for final painting to include Sapphire Blue upper section and Pharoahs Gold accent striping.

Chemical Strip

Metal prep and alodine application…

PPG primer applied…

Base coat of PPG Snow White applied…

Elevator and wingtip masking stripe layouts…

Wheel pant and fuselage masking stripe layouts…

Rudder, elevators and pants masks for gold accent application…

Fuselage masked for gold accent stripe application…

After gold accents, then upper fuselage blue…

Initial reveal after masks removed…

After control surfaces installed. The plane was then ferried back to home base for installation of the wheels pants.

Assembly complete, ready for the next flights…

The day following final assembly was beautiful, just perfect to refresh my instrument rating to get current again. Now the real flying can begin in earnest.

MISC

Color match card and 3M buffing compound (for windshield cleanup and repair).

Posted in: Phase_1_and Phase_2, Prime/Paint, RV-10 Build Project

Walk Around (1)

10-Nov-2022 08:16 ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Mark

Here is a walk-around of progress made in the last few weeks. These videos show the right and left sides for review.

Right Side

Left Side

This next video shows initial attachment of the NAV2 antenna to the upper vertical stabilizer, applying a door opening decal, and putting on a wingtip.

Posted in: Custom Elements, RV-10 Build Project, Videos

Data Plate

07-Nov-2022 07:39 ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Mark

Last week the data plate was installed on the left rear fuselage under the horizontal stabilizer. Together with the FAA registration I understand this combination means I have a real airplane!

I selected the simplest data plate possible: Builder, model and serial number.

Posted in: Custom Elements, RV-10 Build Project, Videos

VS Attach and Misc.

23-Oct-2022 14:31 ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Mark

Much of the finalized assembly was not photographed in-progress, as fabrication of the parts was generally covered in previous posts. Plus I really wanted to get done without taking further time on the website. A greater reliance on video content was made as the build headed for completion.

VERTICAL STABILIZER

Here the vertical stabilizer was being attached to the empennage – hopefully for the last time.

I made this custom NAV antenna bracket many moons ago. In retrospect, I would probably forgo this bracket and mount the antenna directly under the fuselage.

Anyway – here was the final connection and covering by the VS cap.

The left photo shows the Suntail Strobe/Nav wiring exit between the rear fuselage and the rudder bottom. On the right is the original elevator stop replaced with a much heavier and larger alternate means to comply with Service Bulletin SB18-03-30 from Vans. This modification prevents over-rotation of UP elevator.

Following attachment of the rudder bottom, intersection fairings around the VS and HS were installed. Thin rubber edging protects the HS paint from the elevator trim covering. Note the elevator horn to elevator push rod assembly in the upper right of the first photo.

This photo shows a taut line extending from the main wheels at ground level to the rear tie down point. This confirms the COM1 antenna will not scrape on the runway during takeoffs or landings.

BATTERY BOXES

The Odessey 680 batteries were secured with a Delrin-like polymer frame with a felt underlayment for protection. Here are the components before assembly.

The final configurations of the battery boxes, Artex 1000 ELT, and the Garmin GTX45R transponder/ADSB behind the baggage bulkhead is show here.

Posted in: Custom Elements, RV-10 Build Project, Section 06, Vertical Stabilizer, Section 07, Rudder, Section 08, Horizontal Stabilizer, Section 11, Empennage Attach, Section 33, Baggage Area

Interior Panels

10-Oct-2022 13:16 ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Mark

Now that the airplane has been moved to the airport and wings attached, final painting and installations can proceed.

Interior panels from Aerosport Products were primed with PPG DP48LF white primer. Later the panels were painted PPG Concept Boeing Grey.

The foam backed, fabric material was glued into place on the Aerosport headliner with contact cement by professional auto specialists. (Don’t ask why I did not do this myself). The backing fiberglass was then fitted with Velcro strips and attached to corresponding strips on the canopy.

More views of the overhead console and installed headliner..

The left photo shows fitting the map pockets on the forward interior panels prior to prime/paint. The right photo shows the baggage bulkhead after painting.

A Blue Seas power outlet was fitted onto the baggage bulkhead. A 10A fuse and toggle switch for directing trickle charge power to either PRI or SEC battery were installed with switch guards. This outlet is not intended for ever jump starting the aircraft. The required EXPERIMENTAL decal was installed on the upper bulkhead cover.

The lower bulkhead cover was fitted with UHDP wear blocks for the rear shoulder harness cables. The right picture shows a rear interior panel with the air vent cover installed.

Preparation of the Aerosport dashboard cover included installation of covers for the panel fan outlets and trimming the edges for fit. After trim, I used my fledgling sewing skills to dress the edges against fraying.

The center console and control stick wiring was completed and tested. Labelling of the jack ports was with a Brother P-touch. I would have preferred a laser etched alternative, but maybe than can be a future project.

The dashboard cover was secured with 1″ and 2″ Velcro strips.

Final dashboard cover, center console and control sticks installed…

Front and rear footwell carpet…

Rear seat and baggage compartment carpet…

Posted in: Custom Elements, Interior, Prime/Paint, RV-10 Build Project

Wing Attachment (2)

21-Sep-2022 15:54 ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Mark

The same day as ‘the big move’, we attached the wings with provisional fasteners, then began work fitting the wing root fairings.

Following the Van’s instructions, the wings were first pinned into place with drift pins and hardware store 3/8″ bolts. These bolts have much looser tolerances (~.010 “) as compared to the high precision NAS1309-58 and NAS1306-58 bolts called for final insertions (done at a later date).

Both wings were provisionally attached with just a few main bolts. Thanks to Eric, Peter and Aaron for help during the wing transport and attachment activities.

The wing root fairings were trimmed to match the contour of the fuselage. This left about a 3/16″ gap between the fairing and fuselage. This gap will be filled with black rubber edge molding as some vibration and flexing of the wing will be expected during flight. On the right stiffeners, upon which people will stand when entering the cabin, are clecoed then riveted onto the upper fairing panels.

The inner sides of the fairings were scuffed, washed and then sprayed with SEM Self-etching primer (grey 39683). The outer sides were scuffed, treated with Prekote, then primed with DesoPrime followed by application of Snow White Desothane CA8800 paint. Wheel pants and fairings were painted at the same time.

Posted in: Prime/Paint, RV-10 Build Project, Section 44, Wing Attachment

Wing Attachment (1) (Paint)

21-Sep-2022 15:34 ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Mark

Painting the wings required about three weeks of preparation, surface treatment, and priming prior to paint application.

Custom wing rotisseries were created by Terry G. specifically for RV wings. I created some special attach plates to directly accommodate the RV10 wing bolt patterns. Here the wings are mounted, scuffed with maroon Scotchbrite pads, and treated with Prekote before priming with DesoPrime Grey.

Prior to scuffing the wings I fitted the outboard side of the wing root fairings, but made a mistake by dimpling one of the nutplate holes in the wrong location. The nutplate still went on fine, but did not align perfectly with the pre-drilled holes in the Vans cover piece. In the long term this is not a big issue, especially since this area will be covered by wing walk material anyway. However, it was aggravating not to have paid close enough attention to the plans.

Fastener holes for the flaps and ailerons are filled with ear plugs or electrical tape to prevent covering with primer or paint.

After initial prime and paint a few runs and poor coverage were discovered. As a result the wings were wet sanded with 600 grit, then repainted. The final results were very good.

Here the wings were ready for the move to the airport. They had been painted 2 weeks before and were allowed to cure completely before being taken on the highway.

HS RESPRAY

The original quality of the HS tip bulkhead paint did not meet expectations. So while there was extra paint available from repeat covering the wings, I decided to redo the ends. Here the ends are shown sanded and ready for another coat of primer and paint.

Posted in: Logistics, Prime/Paint, RV-10 Build Project, Section 44, Wing Attachment

Spinner and Cowling (2)

20-Jun-2022 13:54 ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Mark

More fitting and body work has been associated with the upper and lower cowling. The sequence I used for painting the cowl parts: cut and fit the cowl as needed, sand/putty for initial prime, attach hinges and fasteners, Smooth Prime, sand/spot putty, prime again, scuff with Maroon scotchbrite, and final paint. Splitting the lower cowl before final prime to accommodate a three-bladed prop was a difficult process.

Fitting the lower cowl bracket and bending the air outlet louvers were the beginning final cowl preparations.

Holes for the Skybolt camlocks were drilled with a Unibit into the lower cowl where the air scoop will attach.

Superfil was applied to the air inlet ramps of the upper cowl for smooth airflow into the engine compartment.

Sanding the air inlet ramp and application of resin/glass bubbles to secure the Rod Bower scoop inlet piece were also done.

Drilling for the nose connection screws and aft pin retention block were completed on the upper cowl before the final separation.

Fishing line (hard to see in the left photo) provide a trace line for the center cowl center. The lower cowl was held together with a forward custom retaining piece while a curf-less saw started the cowl splitting process from the aft side.

Further splitting of the lower cowl continued with the scoop installed until full separation was achieved. The split process was nerve racking, but seems to have been successful.

On the left, the lower split cowl near the aft section is shown held together with a custom retaining piece. On the right, the side hinges were then riveted using a pneumatic squeezer.

Side piano hinges are shown with intermediate and final rivets.

A thin layer of West System resin and colloidal silica was spread to the upper side hinge rivet lines. After 24 hours of cure time, the layers were sanded smooth before Smooth Prime was applied. Another round of sanding in preparation of the final prime coating.

Here the rivet lines on the firewall hinges for the upper cowl are filled, then sanded smooth.

After the first coat of primer was applied, some body work or spot putty was needed in some locations. Those areas were then sanded smooth for another round of priming.

After the initial prime, Skybolt fasteners were applied to the lower cowl halves and the lower firewall brackets. All the parts were then sanded again and reprimed.

Final prime on cowl parts.

Fitting the Aerosport side cowl pin retention blocks and the Skybolt Camlock pins were the last steps before final paint was applied.

MISCELLANENOUS

The flaps were the first set of completed parts transported from the workshop to the airport for staging in the final assembly operations.

Oil lines were covered with firesleeve, then run from the engine mounted adapter to the remote oil filter on the firewall.

Posted in: Prime/Paint, RV-10 Build Project, Section 47, Spinner and Cowling

Cowl Baffling (1) and Miscellaneous Items

27-Mar-2022 14:20 ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Mark

Preparation of the cowl baffling proceeded in parallel with the initial cowling work. I was essentially trying to optimize parallel work time utilization – while the resin dried on the cowls, progress was made on the baffles.

Back riveting on the forward air dam material is shown on the left. Rough fitting the air dams is shown on the right.

The Vans plans call for fixed height, riveted deflectors in front of the #1 and #2 cylinders. Experience from other builders indicated these may need trimming to optimize airflow inside the upper cowl chamber. I elected to install #8 nutplates instead of rivets to allow easy removal of these parts for trimming or total replacement of these as needed.

Here the famous “paper clip method” was used to establish a 3/8″ gap between the solid air dam sides and the upper cowl surface. The trim lines are the final dimensions of the metal side plates.

Because the metal sides were so thin above the #1 and #3 cylinders, reinforcing backing plates were fabricated out of .032″ sheet aluminum to provide so additional strength.

The cylinder profile was created on construction paper to get a general outline. Then McFarlane air dam material was measured and cut. Pliobond adhesive was applied and spring clamps used to press for curing. This process did not produce great results, as the McFarlane material seems to have a siliconized coating to reduce friction against the inner cowl surface. Probably great for this purpose, but not helpful when attempting to bond with other materials.

The inner side of the McFarlane dam material appears to be some form of rubber, while the outer side is smooth and laser etched to help conform bend to shape.

The rear baffle panel was backriveted into place. Now that rivets have been applied, removing the combined pieces from around the motor mounts will be quite difficult. It was a tight fit beforhand getting the separate parts located around the cylinders and over the mounts.

To finish the back baffle panel a hole for the propeller governor cable needed to be drilled. This required the final configuration of the cable mounting bracket to the prop governor. Notice how the #3 cylinder fuel injection line is configured to clear the bracket and cable.

The side panels for #5 and #6 cylinders have access ports to allow socket wrench insertion for spark plug maintenance. These holes are covered during normal operations with removable components to prevent air loss during flight.

Side gussets were custom formed for the front baffle plates, then riveted into place.

The left front baffle was drilled and opened for one of the heater induction air ports.

The front heater induction port has a meshed screen installed, then rivet into place. At right, transitions between the upper and lower cowl faces were applied for a smooth surface.

Before fitting a special baffle around the prop governor, the simple gasket was replaced with one have a filter screen. Fitting the special baffle over the prop governor should help with air loss.

The forward baffle seals were created with the default Vans material. On the right the distance between the prop governor and the upper cowl was measured with a piece of modeling clay.

This photo shows the final baffle seals around the prop governor.

The right front baffle before and after the seals are pop riveted into place.

Seals were measured, cut, and Pliobond for the lower cowl air inlets from the default Vans material.

Final fitting of the Aerosport pin retention blocks and applying resin/glass bubbles around the edges.

Here the pin templates are shown from the interior space after raw application of just the resin/glass mixture. At right is the final configuration with four layers of 6oz fiberglass applied.

Aluminum backer plates were fabricated for inside the pin block cavity. The plans did not call for these, but I wanted additional rigidity for this area. The plates were relieved in the middle for access to the side piano hinges.

The side fiberglass was also relieved to match the backer plates, then clecoed in place for a final coating of Superfil to create smooth edges. At right a kerfless saw separated the two cowl halves which had been joined by the pin retention cavity build process.

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS

More parts were painted base white…

Headliner base repairs and new grounding straps…

Firesleeve dip for untreated oil and fuel lines…

Band-It Jr hose clamps and rescue tape wrappings for final line application (homemade firesleeve solution).

Custom mounting bracket for Matco glass brake fluid reservoir and custom brackets for under-seat line security (fuel, brake, control stick wires)…

Posted in: Custom Elements, Prime/Paint, RV-10 Build Project, Section 47, Spinner and Cowling, Section FF2 - Cowl Baffle

Engine Installation (1)

16-Dec-2021 16:00 ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Mark

International travel to visit family (first time in two years), supply chain issues and the Thanksgiving holidays have slowed the progress towards mounting the engine. Many of the jobs performed before the engine was mounted would have been nearly impossible with restricted access from the motor mount and in close proximity to the firewall. Advice to any builder – attach as many components as possible while the engine is still not mounted! Also pay attention to the sequence of attaching oil filter base, magneto work, tachometer port adjustments, and vacuum pad alternator.

After three years of storage in my garage, it was finally time to move the Lycoming YIO-540-D4A5 engine to the shop for installation. My sons helped me load and unload the palleted engine onto Tal’s trailer for transport.

My biggest fear from the whole storage period was corrosion of the camshaft due to moisture exposure over time. This proved not to be the case, as Lycoming had done an excellent job of sealing the engine in the crate. The dessicant indicators looked just like new when the protective plastic was unsealed!

One glitch in the process was Lycoming had sent incorrect 19770 mounting brackets (2″diameter hole) packaged inside the plastic seal instead of the correct 70456 (1.25″ diameter) intended for the Dynafocal mount on an RV10. Because of holiday staffing at the factory, it took over two weeks to receive the proper brackets. The time was used to connect as many items as possible on the firewall side of the engine. At right are the fittings to the engine-mounted fuel pump.

Additional fittings were installed for the oil cooler lines, manifold pressure and tachometer port. I decided to use a magneto mounted Hall Effect RPM sensor instead of a mechanical tachometer converter simply because of eliminating moving parts where possible.

Oil thermostat and temperature sensor on the left. The Airwolf remote oil filter base adapter in the right photo proved difficult to mount. The lower right bolt required a special crows foot wrench and many 1/6 increment turns to get attached, then torqued properly.

Safety wiring the oil base adapter was also a challenge – mostly because of my inexperience with the process, but also because of confined geometry.

The remote oil cooler fittings were attached and clocked to point towards the direction of the remote housing. Next was installing the RPM sensor on the right magneto, then fastening with safety wire.

Originally I wanted to install a 60amp backup generator (BC462-H), but the diameter of the main housing was about 1/8″ too big. It bumped up against the Airwolf base adapter just enough to prevent a clean insertion of the spline and flat attachment against the pad. The smaller 40amp BC410-H fit perfectly. The space to access the lower left stud is very cramped.

Tools were modified to achieve some attachments. A normal 9/16″ box wrench was ground to gain access to the back nuts on the engine dog ears, especially the lower ones. A 7/16″ wrench was cut to 3″ to allow the open ended portion to tighten the backup alternator lower left nut. This was the most difficult task of all.

The engine is shown on the hoist ready for attachment. The Lord J3804-20 isolators were taped into place to facilitate the mount process, which I was able to do by myself. The AN7-26A bolts took a bit to align, but eventually slide into place. The actual mounting task lasted about one hour.

Here is the engine installed after so many years of preparation. Quite a satisfying accomplishment.

Other builders have suggested allowing about a month before the cowling should be fit. This time allows the rubber isolators and engine to settle into their final configurations. Next up will be baffle configurations and more painting.

MISCELLANEOUS

Custom brackets were fabricated to hold the aft door open sensors.

Posted in: Custom Elements, RV-10 Build Project, Section FF1 - Engine Installation

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