1041- H.Stab- p.8-13 step 3-7

Horizontal Stabilizer - 4 hrs 54 mins (H.S. 52:17, Empennage 104:25, Total 118:21)

Rivet count: 634 (Total 2,154)

What better way to spend a Monday evening than finishing up another chapter in the build process? Horizontal Stabilizer complete!

Rivets. Lots of them. Finished riveting the skins to the stringers, then the inspar ribs. Lastly, added the rear spar and riveted it to the inspar ribs. Finished up by riveting the skins to the rear spar. I must say it again, the squeezer works wonders for 3- rivets. It's a bit tougher to get the 4- rivets, but for the 3- rivets, nothing beats the control and consistency of the squeezer.

Looks like it'll be a while before I pick up the rivet gun again. Elevator begins with cutting pieces and deburring edges. Yuck! I'll celebrate the H.S. in the meantime. -M

1040- H.Stab- p.8-13 step 2-3

Horizontal Stabilizer - 1 hr 42 mins (H.S. 47:23, Empennage 99:31, Total 113:27)

Rivet count: 164 (Total 1,520)

A much more efficient night tonight from last session. I'm also minutes away from breaking the 100 hr mark on the empennage, which I'm estimating at about 240 total hours right now.

I turned the H.Stab around and did the remaining 120 rivets between the skins and front spar. Since I finished this half so much quicker, I went ahead and started the next step. This involves riveting the skins to the four inboard inspar ribs, but only up to the stringers. After the stringers are riveted to the skins, then the rest of the inspar ribs (to include the three outboard ribs) can be riveted to skins.

I'm learning a few tips and techniques. As the riveting is blindly done by feel a lot in these steps, I've learned that wrapping the bucking bar in tape helps guard against scratching the surfaces as it bounces. This also allows me to use the adjacent surfaces as a point of contact to stabilize the bucking bar, and in turn requires less taps from the rivet gun to set the rivet. Whereas the rivets on the first pieces I made were quite varied, they are beginning to normalize and look uniform throughout. Cheers, -M

1039- H.Stab- p.8-13 step 1-2

Horizontal Stabilizer - 1 hr 59 mins (H.S. 45:41, Empennage 97:49, Total 111:45)

Rivet count: 132 (Total 1,356)

In the words of -L, I had a riveting time riveting tonight. I also grossly underestimated the 6 hours to finish the H.Stab yesterday. All of the rivets on the skin are individually placed and then I have to stand on a block of wood to give me the extra reach to get my arm and bucking bar inside. Of course, I'm basically blind on one side as I rivet, so each rivet takes a bit more time to get done correctly. But no worries. Each one is one rivet closer of the remaining ~600 for the H.Stab. Let's call it 9 more hours after tonight's work.

As far as the steps, I placed the final two inspar ribs on each end of the H.Stab and then riveted the skins to the front spar. Only managed to get the first half done tonight. I'll get the other side of the front spar tomorrow. -M

1038- H.Stab- p.8-10 st 1-2, 8-11 st 1-3, & 8-12 st 1-2

Horizontal Stabilizer - 3 hrs 19 mins (H.S. 43:42, Empennage 95:50, Total 109:46)

Rivet count: 170 (Total 1,224)

First time touching the workshop in three weeks... sad. It feels great though! Made it through an entire three pages on this monster work session.

I was sick for a week, and have been swamped with this Master's thesis. Even with snowmaggedon, I still only managed to get schoolwork done and no plane building. I finally found a few hours to sneak away and work in the shop instead. Two more weeks and education can be put on the back burner, for a few months at least. I found out about that job application... and I'll be going to Air Force pilot training at some point in 2014! I'll find out when and where within the next few weeks, but that's where the books will take over my life again. 

I riveted together the skeleton of the H.Stab. All the stringers and inspar ribs attached to the front spar. Then, I riveted the nose ribs to the skins, and then the skeleton assembly to the skins and nose ribs. All that's left is to finish riveting all pieces to the skins, add the rear spar, and a few random bushings. Easier said than done. I'm estimating about 6 more hours of work, and I'm likely on the short side of the estimate. That will have me finishing the whole H.Stab in 50 hours of labor.

Two key points for those who might be preparing to labor themselves.

1) I went with online estimates of other builders and saw they all had about 350 hrs for the empennage and X hrs for each chapter. I had finished the V.Stab and Rudder a lot faster than them and was worried. Now the same for the H.Stab. At least I'm consistent at about 60-70% faster than the sites I saw. You'll have to factor your own work pace, and be prepared to deviate faster or slower. In my case, I may be working faster, but I'm missing out on workdays due to illness, travel, work, school, etc. So I'm lucky that mine offset, but they could all work against you or for you. It's just part of the build and something to be ready for. You can't schedule every little variation, unless maybe if you're retired.

2) I started to rivet with my left hand today. More and more, pieces are getting more difficult to reach, and at times, being ambidextrous has helped immensely. Im still not as good on the left, but getting much better. Recommend you practice with your weaker arm once you get comfortable with your dominant because you will need to use both at some point in your build too. -M

1037- H.Stab- p.8-6 step 1-2

Horizontal Stabilizer - 1 hr 7 mins (H.S. 40:23, Empennage 92:31, Total 106:27)

Rivet count: 84 (Total 1,054)

I started riveting the H-Stab today by putting together the second spar. If you notice from the page number, these were steps I skipped previously to avoid having to set up the alodine/priming steps a second time. It's the homestretch now, with only riveting left to go for this chapter!

I also had the chance to look ahead at the next chapter: Elevator. All I can say is wow, there is a lot going on at the same time there, and there are a lot of little pieces to keep track of. These chapters are obviously arranged from least to most involved. However, the motivation is high to continue to make steady progress. I have to balance this motivation with my Master's thesis. I'm on the final five weeks of the curriculum, and it is requiring a greater time commitment than I imagined. At least there is a finite time remaining until I won't have to worry about schoolwork any more. Additional balancing act in the form of planning a wedding also takes its toll. Luckily -L is helping out with more than her fair share, so it makes it much easier for me to focus on the other things.

I should also be finding out about a job application in the next few days. I'm really excited about the opportunity, and I'm hoping it works out. A lot of moving pieces all at the same time. Luckily, plane building is the most enjoyable and the most "therapeutic". Time just passes and my mind clears when I spend a short hour working in the garage. Probably more information than anyone cares to know, but I'll really enjoy reading this post in a few months when all the current bustle has passed and I'm dealing with a brand new set of priorities. -M

1036.3- H.Stab- p.8-9 step 9

Horizontal Stabilizer - 2 hrs (H.S. 39:16, Empennage 91:24, Total 105:20)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

From gold to green. Parts are primed and ready to start riveting next week! -M

1036- H.Stab- p.8-9 step 8

Horizontal Stabilizer - 4 hrs 45 mins (H.S. 37:16, Empennage 89:24, Total 103:20)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

Made it to 100 hours! Started off by spending an hour to finish the machine countersinking of the two spars. Then spent 4 hours prepping the prime. I set up the alumiprep and alodine tanks again, and managed my way through all the H-Stab parts. Note to self: acetone, alumiprep and alodine all are extremely cold liquids and make your fingers numb. Glad that's done. I can see now why so many people start with the process and then give up later in the build. It's tedious, but now I have a beautifully gold-colored H-Stab. Time to make it green with AKZO next. I need to check the process sheet, because it may be too cold for priming tomorrow, and I refuse to do it enclosed in the garage again, after the mess it left last time. -M

1035- H.Stab- p.8-9 step 7-8

Horizontal Stabilizer - 1 hr 39 mins (H.S. 32:31, Empennage 84:39, Total 98:35)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

A lazy workday today. Finished up all the dimpling and started up on the countersinking. My hands are bruised and blistered from the 10 hours of work so far this week. No complaints, but a well-needed break today. -M

1034- H.Stab- p.8-9 step 7

Horizontal Stabilizer - 3 hrs 37 mins (H.S. 30:52, Empennage 83:00, Total 96:56)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

I sneaked in about 40 minutes this morning before work, hence the outfit change. Simple day today.
Scuff and dimple. I used the squeezer for the ribs and the big dimpler for the skins. Also used the pop rivet dimpler for the skins, which got cut out from the video. I still have all the holes along the edges of the skins that I can reach with the squeezer and will be less cumbersome than with the dimpler. Until tomorrow. -M

1033- H.Stab- p.8-9 step 4-6

Horizontal Stabilizer - 5 hrs 17 mins (H.S. 27:15, Empennage 79:23, Total 93:19)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

A holiday off from work, and with it the ability to make some good progress. I worked on and off throughout the whole day, so I just merged everything into one video instead of seven short ones. Tedious progress is still progress. I started where I left off last time by match-drilling the skins to the skeleton. Once that was done, I was able to disassemble the whole thing after carefully labeling all the pieces. The second part of the night was spent deburring all the holes of everything that shares a rivet with the skin. That about summarizes the night. It's amazing that a short paragraph translates to 5.25 hours of work. I predicted minimum of 4.5, so not too bad.

The last things left to do are to scuff everything, dimple the skins and ribs, and countersink the two spar flanges. Then it's off to the races for cleaning and priming. -M

1032- H.Stab- p.8-9 step 2-4

Horizontal Stabilizer - 1 hr 41 mins (H.S. 21:58, Empennage 74:06, Total 88:02)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

A short night of work, and unfortunately this is all the work that will be done for the week. Bummer. Work took me out of town for 3 days, and we have a wedding to attend tomorrow. The potential exists for some very good work-related news to come out in the next few weeks, so fingers are crossed. I will share as I find out more.

Started today by attaching the final part of the H-Stab assembly (Stringer Web) and match-drilling it. I don't have an angle drill, so you will see me disassemble some ribs to match drill the holes. I should probably invest in an angle drill, but then again, I could just not be caught off-guard next time and borrow the tool from someone.

After, I attached the rear spar and match-drilled it. Finally started the fun task of match-drilling the HS skins to the skeleton. Really repetitious, and with each hole drilled, comes at least four sides of holes that will need to be deburred next week. I forecast about an hour and a half of drilling, and I would say at a minimum, three hours of deburring holes. I'll still need to clean, scuff, dimple and countersink everything before a final cleaning and priming. Seeing as I'm at 22 hours, I believe I will easily beat the 75 hour build time for the HS that I saw documented by two previous RV-10 builders. I really am starting to worry that I'm working too fast, but I don't feel rushed or hurried at all. I'll evaluate my estimated hours required for the emp kit when I finish the HS in preparation for ordering the next kit. Even with an adjustment, I'm still 3-4 months away from placing the order.

1031- H.Stab- p.8-8 step 5-8 & p.8-9 step 1

Horizontal Stabilizer - 2 hrs 1 mins (H.S. 20:17, Empennage 72:25, Total 86:21)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

Bonus hours for the week, and I hit the three day mark for the empennage!!! I didn't think I was going to be able to work today.... Started off by deburring the edges of the HS skins. Then it was a matter of transferring the nose ribs from the spar assembly to the skins. It was a pain to cleco those in place with skins that aren't quite flexible. After, the plans call to cleco the remainder of spar assembly with inspar ribs in place. I almost put it in backwards, but caught myself fortunately.

The last step was to assemble the support braces and put those into the spar assembly, and lastly, cleco the rest of the skins to the spar and ribs. I used alot of clecos. An easy step to describe, but a timely step to accomplish... My hand hurts. This assembly will sit idle for the next six days, so plenty of time for the pieces to adjust. I also placed the rear spar in position so it wouldn't be leaning against the wall for a week. See you next week hopefully! -M

1030- H.Stab- p.8-7 step 3-5 & p.8-8 step 1-4

Horizontal Stabilizer - 4 hrs 10 mins (H.S. 18:16, Empennage 70:24, Total 84:20)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

Great night of work! Started by deburring the edges of all the inspar and nose ribs from yesterday. Part of this involved grinding down the corners of the nose ribs so they won't dent the skins. I almost lost it when I thought I had modified the wrong pieces. It was the correct part, but the HS-905 piece looks different in the plans. Van's has already made the wire-routing/lightening hole in the ribs and added cuts to minimize the need for fluting, they just haven't updated the plans.
With all edges smooth, it was time to make brackets that will hold the H-Stab while I work on it. I used a small piece of the original plywood from the crate (glad I saved it), and even used the cutouts as the base. I also used scrap pieces from other projects to attach screws. The brackets don't look pretty by any means, but they work, and they are made from all re-used materials. Next was time to attach everything to the front spar and match-drill all the holes. Last, I got the skins from indoor storage and removed the vinyl. I'll get around to hole deburring and assembly next week. I'm out of town the first half of next week, so unfortunately the project will grind a little slower once again.
I got 11 hours of build time in this week, which is what I'd like to be doing on a more consistent basis. With time it will continue to happen. This week away is hopefully going to benefit my future, so the time away from building will be well worth it in the end. I'll keep you posted. -M

1029- H.Stab- p.8-6 step 3-4 & p.8-7 step 1-2

Horizontal Stabilizer - 2 hrs 18 mins (H.S. 14:06, Empennage 66:14, Total 80:10)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

Straightforward night of work and it's good to be back in rhythm and working efficiently again. Started by disassembling the front spar sub-unit and deburring all holes. I'm pretty sure I did this for nothing. The plans call to do it because the plans have you prime and rivet the sub-unit together before continuing. I thought it over a few days and called Van's to confirm. I will be skipping the priming for now and assembling the entire H-Stab before priming all remaining pieces at once.

With the sub-unit cleco'd back together, I spent the rest of the night trimming the inspar ribs, adding a few bends per the plans, and deburring edges. Tomorrow will be more of the same, with at least another hour of deburring edges on 10 more inspar ribs and 8 nose ribs. However, once that's complete, it will be time to start assembling the H-Stab skeleton and skins. Can't wait! -M

1028- H.Stab- p.8-5 step 2-7

Horizontal Stabilizer - 2 hrs 21 mins (H.S. 11:48, Empennage 63:56, Total 77:52)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

Awesome night of work despite the frost vortex outside. Started off by match-drilling the spar caps to the spar along the flanges and webs. Also deburred holes on the spar caps. Those two sentences took a full hour in the video. I paused recording for a phone call for five minutes, and the webcam froze on me (no pun intended) for the last hour. In that timeframe, I reassembled the spar caps to the spar, then attached the spar doubler and hinge brackets. After aligning the brackets, I match drilled through the entire assembly. This was "heavy" drilling and I found out that a new drill bit does wonders. Last, I had to countersink on the web of the doubler, and on the flange of the spar. Tomorrow I'll get to disassemble the whole thing and deburr all the holes.

Here's the final product after 80% of the clecos were removed.The video of the first half is below it. -M

1027- H.Stab- p.8-4 step 1 & p.8-5 step 1-2

Horizontal Stabilizer - 2 hrs 17 mins (H.S. 9:27, Empennage 61:35, Total 75:31)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

Last Friday, I spent 20 minutes installing the new bandsaw blade and then cutting the corners off the six pieces on p.8-4. I invested in a metal cutting blade and it worked a whole lot better. I'll just have to swap out blades for woodworking weekends nor when I have to make those H.Stab brackets in a few days. I didn't make a video or post it before heading out for the weekend.
Tonight was a boring night primarily spent polishing the sharp edges off of H.Stab pieces. I did barely start on match-drilling the spar, but nearly two hours of working the grind wheel takes its toll. Feeling re-energized to see pieces come together again. It is also frigid in the garage despite the fan heater with this "frost vortex" or whatever they are calling it passing through the country. I'll work on remedying that tomorrow night. -M

1026- H.Stab- p.8-3 step 3-4

Horizontal Stabilizer - 2 hrs 39 mins (H.S. 7:10, Empennage 59:18, Total 73:14)

Rivet count: 0 (Total 970)

Progress! I have eclipsed the 3-day mark of time spent on the project. To commemorate the occasion, here are three reasons why the "word of the day" is REGRESSION.

1- Two and a half hours to make two small brackets for the H-Stab is WAY too slow. I spent a lot of time trying to make things too perfect when it was completely unnecessary. I also noticed today my proficiency around the shop has suffered from the month off.

2- To make matters worse, I figured I'd measure and cut the pieces from the next step while I had the bandsaw out, but then my blade snapped on me. Tomorrow will require a trip to replace it.

3- The month of December was very good to me. Almost too good. Thanksgiving break, then two weeks in Las Vegas, and finally a week at home for Christmas equals a good bit of winter padding on the midsection.  The video reflects the lack of working out, and it's time to get on it and make it disappear. Ironman 70.3 training begins soon, so may as well get an early start since I've packed on a full 25 lbs since the full marathon last January. But enough about me, onward with the build... -M

1025- H.Stab- p.8-2 step 5-6 & p.8-3 step 1-2

Horizontal Stabilizer - 1 hrs 50 mins (H.S. 4:31, Empennage 56:39, Total 70:35)

Rivet count: 74 (Total 970)

I'm back from the dead!! Over a month off has been more than enough. I was expecting it, but it still sucks.

I riveted the back spar of the H.Stab together tonight. These were the pieces that were primed way back when. -L came by towards the end and even tried at riveting. A bit of miscommunication on my part, and we had to drill it out, but we got it done right the second time around. Hope she's ready for the extensive two-person riveting that will be a part of tail-cone and fuselage... I can now start working on the H.Stab full-time. Over the Christmas break, I looked ahead in the plans for the H.Stab and Elevators, and the next few months will be interesting to say the least!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!

-M

1016.3- V.Stab p.6-4.5, Rudder p.7-6.13, H.Stab p.8-2.4 Part 2

Vertical Stabilizer - 1 hr (V.S. 15:01)
Rudder - 1 hr (Rudder 16:04)
Horizontal Stabilizer - 15 mins (H.S. 2:41, Empennage 36:27, Total 49:53)

I've eclipsed the two day mark. 7 minutes short of 50 hrs, which for a nominal 2,500 hour build means I'm 2% complete! (I'm sure it will be less in the long run, but time will tell)

I was going to prime last night, but I ran into a few logistical issues with setting up the HVLP gun. I primed this morning instead and I'm glad I did. I originally mixed up two cups of primer for the batch, and that got me about half way through the parts. A second batch of primer was necessary. 

The first thing I primed was one of the skins and I made it "orange peel." I was using way too much primer. I adjusted it a little better, and did the rest of the project but as look back on it now, I still used way too much primer. I need to figure out a better way to evenly distribute the paint. I'll keep searching the forums.

In the mean time, it's a trip to the Outer Banks for the holiday weekend, so the riveting will begin in earnest next week. Maybe I'll sneak in a rivet or two tomorrow just because. I started the build with 30 mins of work the day before a trip, and here will be 28 days later before a trip. It's only fair! -M

1016.1- V.Stab p.6-4.5, Rudder p.7-6.13, H.Stab p.8-2.4

Workshop- 30 min (Workshop 13:26)
Vertical Stabilizer - 1 hr 30 mins (V.S. 14:01)
Rudder - 1 hrs 30 mins (Rudder 15:04)
Horizontal Stabilizer - 30 mins (H.S. 2:26, Empennage 34:12, Total 47:38)

I built a long dunk tank for the HS spar out of 12 ft. 2x4 and spare pieces and ply from the crate from Van's. Glad that is done!

Massive night of work with alumiprep and alodine. All the pieces that were sitting around are complete. Part of me is glad I did everything at once to save on the set-up and clean up (about 45 min total), but wow is it tiring...

Either way, the parts came out really nice.... Priming tomorrow! -M