TitleGarrison

No bird ever flew nonstop from New York to Tokyo, or raced 15 miles high at triple the speed of sound.                                                                                                   
  But birds do something else.
  They do not conquer the air; they romance it.
.”

  Peter Garrison

HoursAndCounting

Jur's RV7 Aircraft Factory
2917 hours
and counting
Some decisions in life are bare of any obvious logic

 

Broke out the C-Frame dimpler today. Haven't seen my buddy for months since the elevator skins.

Started dimpling the skins of the left fuel tank. It is important here NOT to dimple the long line on the aft side where the baffle will attach. These will be machine countersunk.

I borrowed some special fuel tank dimple dies from Hugo. These can be bought at Cleveland tools and they produce a bit of a deeper dimple then the regular 3/32" dimples do. Guess this is to compensate for the thin proseal  layer under the rivet head.

Whack away !

Jacques came by to help with the ones near the bend as it's difficult to keep the skin open by yourself.

Then we installed the fuel drain valve plate. This comes pre-drilled in the kit and pre-countersunk. Yeah ! thanks Vans (for once :) )

I just ran a unibit in there to open the hole a fraction of a mm. Not really necessary I guess as the drain plug won't screw that deep anyway.

Then positioned the drain valve plate on the bottom side skin. Just make sure to check from the back that the per-cut hole in the skin is nicely centered over the plate. Then clamped it.

Drilled one hole and clecoed. And then more drilling and clecoes as you go through all holes.

The final result looks like this with the plate removed and the holes deburred. NO dimpling here... remember, the drain plate is already countersunk.

Another view of the finished dimpling on the fuel tank skin.

In preparation for the next work session, I took the inboard rib and experimented a bit with the access plate components. Drawn a hole on the inside radius of the reinforcement ring.
Guess next step is to drill out the opening using the flycutter.

How to use

Use the kit buttons in the top ribbon bar to see a chronological overview per sub section per kit. For the full chronological article list, see chronological build link in prelude menu here below. The easiest way to lookup information is by typing in some part numbers or keywords using the search option in the ribbon bar

 

Caution !

Some advice on reading my log for fellow builders !

In some articles, I made corrections at later date on the original article to rectify my own stupidities or faults. Read through the entire article if you intend to use my findings/experiences on your own project !

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Legal Mumbo-Jumbo

It’s possible (not likely) that I’m not as smart as I think I am. (Occasionally, I have moments when I know this to be true. Fortunately, the feeling passes quickly.) Although I have tried to make this information as accurate as I can, it is not only possible, but also quite likely, that erroneous and misguided information lurks within these pages. I cannot and do not warrant these pages to be error free and correct. Furthermore, I accept no liability for the use of this (mis)information. And, as many would say, your mileage may vary. If, after reading this, you are intent on proceeding, please be aware that the contents of this site are protected by copyright (copyright © 2011 and 2012). Nonetheless, you may copy this material subject to these two conditions: (1) any information used is for non-commercial purposes, and (2) the source of the material is properly credited. Of course, you may link to any page herein. At some articles, snippets of the plans from Vans are visible. These are for educational and illustrations purposes only and should never be used as plans for part construction or assembly as plans may have changed since the picture was taken and more important they are protected by Copyright by the Vans Aircraft Mothership company.

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