Final Assembly Time!

Started 5/25/2016

Finally!!!....the painting was done and it was time to start final assembly.  On the RV-10 this took me, I believe, one month to complete...and in some ways I was better prepared on that plane than I am on this one.  But by taking a week off of work and spending a LOT of time at the hangar every day, I've been able to escalate the progress drastically.

This page too will be more of a long collection of pics updated over many days.  Some days there is simply not much that gets done, while others there are things noteworthy.

Empennage attached!  Nice to get these pieces off the bench!  Just some random photos of things.  I haven't stopped even to take many pictures of progress at this point, so you're going to miss a lot of the progress. I got my "EXPERIMENTAL" placard as you can see...too bad I didn't measure the width I had allowable on the baggage wall, so I have to have them remake it.  2" to 6" letters required....but if you put it here, you have only about 19.75" of allowable space for the characters. I ordered the lighting kit.  I was kind of dissappointed once again in the kit, although it was very very nice that they got it shipped out for me, as it wasn't a listed product until I called to order it.  The issue is, it's really made for the AeroLED's sun spot LX.  Yes, it's adaptable, but I ended up with plenty of work to do for my lights and I didn't use hardly anything that was in the hardware bag, so a waste of money in a way, also. The PAR36 HID's I had fit perfectly in the W-00016A part, but the hole in the W-00016B was too large.  The PAR36 is a 4" hole.  So, to "fix" it I had to use a couple of scraps of .063 aluminum and a fly cutter to cut additional W-00016A pieces out of more sturdy material...one for in front and one for behind my bulb.  Then I could screw them into the W-00016B.  I decided to save time and not use nutplates.  I could have, and it would be nice, but the nuts made it quicker.  But after a couple hours I had the bulbs mounted in the wing and was ready to hook up the HID's.
First Engine Start Day!!  I was thrilled to be at this stage. What's missing from the photos? Plenty!  I had to weigh the plane, do the W&B, fully prep the engine, the fill and drain and refill both tanks to calibrate and check for leaks.  Now with it full of fuel, I had to drain the preservative oil, fill with fresh mineral oil, pull the plugs, spin the prop and prime the oil pump, prime the fuel, run the fuel pump for a few minutes and pump all the garbage out of the lines, then install all my fine wire iridium plugs and NOW I could fire it up.  On the last photo above I took a photo of the remaining fuel if you run the fuel pump dry, in level flight.  Yes, that's about 1 cup or slightly more, of fuel that is unusable.  The tanks held about 25.5 gallons when filled high, or about 25 gallons when filled to a "normal" level.  That should make for some reasoable range in x/c flights.
I wanted the lighting all working before the inspection, so time to install the wingtip NAV lights. These are some darn bright lights!! The strobes and NAV lights look like they'll work very well. Thinking ahead to OSH I got an RV-7 cover to test fit. It looks like the RV-7 cover will work, in a pinch, but Abby is going to eventually get an RV14 specific cover ready...once she can get up to get patterns on my plane.  Her covers are awesome..they are black inside, and keep the heat out real well, plus they're light and easy to pack.  For travelers, it's the only cover you'll need, or want.
Also installed is the flightline interiors glareshield cover.  This is a beautiful piece of work!  2 rows below you can see most of the items installed, and it's almost ready for inspection later this week (written 6/13)!  First flight will be very soon.