QuickBuild
Fuselage Construction:
We ordered the Dual Step
Kit Option, and since this is an option, the builder is
required to drill 1.5 inch
holes through the side of the fuselage and first floor rib.
Using a 1.5 inch hole
cutter with a six inch extension, the job was not difficult.
I used some cutting oil
on the hole saw to prevent binding. Most of the time was
spent ScotchBrighting
the four holes. Once the holes were cut-in, the steps were
drilled into the
fuselage as outlined in the step installation manual. A nylon block
with three bolts is
installed on the second floor rib to prevent the step from rotating.
The step is then riveted onto the fuselage.
After the step kits have
been installed, the next logical starting point is to install
the baggage floor and
Elevator Control Tunnel. Because the floor is riveted down
permanently, it made
sense to us to apply a light coating of Zinc Chromate paint on
the sub flooring and
ribs.
Once the baggage floor
was in place, we started on the seat braces and seat backs.
The seat back braces are
attached to the rear cross support and fit into a slot that
the builder fabricates
from several pieces of aluminum stock. The seat backs are
allowed to fold forward
and are attached by hinges. In addition, each seat can
be adjusted to one of
three positions by moving the floor pins to a new hinge
location. We will also
probably make or own seat cushions before the RV-9A
project is completed to
save money. Living in Seattle allows us to shop at the
Boeing Surplus Store for
fabric and other materials.
We felt that building up
the forward and rear decks and deck skins was the best
next step. Even though
we are fitting the skins at this point, we do not plan
on riveting them in
place until all of the systems in the RV-9A have been installed.
Therefore, once the
skins have been match drilled, deburred, dimpled and primed,
we will set them in a
safe place until it makes sense to install them. You will also
notice that the
instrument panel has emerged to be fitted into forward deck assembly.
By the way, the
following demonstrates another way I found I could use my C-Frame
for dimpling those hard
to reach places on the Fuselage.
We decided to use a
combination of #6 flush head screws with nutplates and a
little RTV to mount the
NASA fresh air vents. The vents will not be installed with
the RTV until the
forward skin has been riveted into place to allow us to reach
into the holes for
bucking the rivets on the forward skin.
The electric flap system
was fitted into the RV-9A along with the torque tube
and nylon bearing blocks
that hold it into place. The electric flap housing and
electric flap actuator
pieces were built-up, then disassembled as shown:
Next, the Center Console
containing the cabin heat vents, located on the front,
and fuel selector box,
located on the rear, were completed with the
#8 nutplates that hold
everything in place.
At this point, it made
sense to paint the cabin area and associated covers. The
paint used was a tough
Epoxy paint with a dust coat applied to the top to give it
a nice easy to touchup
soft matte finish. It worked out very well with the proper
cleaning and masking of
the surfaces to be painted. We made the decision to not
paint the forward cabin
until all of the other systems requiring fitting are installed.
Speaking of fitting and
drilling, the following photos show the fitting of the Main
Gear Leg Mounting
Points. Before they can be fitting and drilled into the side of
the fuselage, an oval
shaped hole needed to be cut into both sides of the front
of the Main Center
Section. The reason that Van's does not install this hole
is because the fuselage
can be either configured as a tail-dragger or a tri-gear
airplane that changes
the position of the Main Gear Mounts. We found it
best to bolt the Main
Gear Attachment Points to the Main Center Section before
drilling in the 7 holes
for the side fuselage attachment bolts on each side.
Have patience when doing
this, and take your time!
The Rudder Pedals need
to be fabricated, which we found to be fun, except
that there are four of
them to make. The Rudder Assembly is fitted and three
bearing blocks are
drilled into the fuselage to locate the assembly. When mounting
the Rudder Pedals to the
Assembly and drilling the Master Break Cylinders to the
pedals, relative pedal
alignment in important. We used a simple method of centering
the pedals and checking
the height above the work surface.
We wanted to get the
Rear Skin installed, so we decided to complete all tasks
necessary to allow us to
close out the rear fuselage. We built up the Elevator
Push Rods and Bell Crank
and primered both the inside and outside to protect them
from humidity. Once the
rod ends were adjusted to the proper length, we then
installed them as shown
along with the Rudder Cables and Shoulder Harness Cables,
which attach to the
inside of the rear fuselage. This was also a good time to
install the wire run for
the Electric Elevator Trim Servo.
Once all of the
necessary parts for the rear fuselage were installed, we riveted
the Rear Skin into
place. Vivian lives for this kind of work and does a very
nice job, so I ended up
being her "bucking buddy" for most of these rivets.
After we completed the
rear skin, we decided to cut and fit the carpet for the
forward floor area. We
cut four sections in order to fit the carpet between
aluminum angles located
between each forward bay. After completing the
carpet installation, we
then finished the paint for the forward cabin area.
Shown here is Upper
Management and "Number 1" Son working feverishly
through the weekend
testing for just the right Rudder Pedal feel.
