I somehow missed sharing this short time lapse of Anna, Grace, and Josephine hanging out and helping on June 19th. Was a fun day and we made good progress riveting the empennage (tail) to the fuselage. No idea why I’m wearing a hat in June.
And two become one
The joining of the empennage to the fuselage. A milestone moment! April 2, 2022 A really big day. The empennage had sat against a wall for nearly 3 years while worked continued on the wings then fuselage. But on this day, it was dusted off and attached to the beginnings of the fuselage. My father came to help which was…
The Seatbox
Assembling the Forward and Mid Fuselage From December 2021 through March 2022, the Fuselage really starts to take shape. It starts with Section 28, when the “Forward Fuselage Lower Structure” is built. Which translates into attaching the footwells and the forward bulkhead (where the wings will attach) to the firewall. Overall a straightforward section, though I had to make factory…
The Firewall
The building of an RV-14A Firewall as part of the Fuselage kit for what will one day become N14KR. This is Section 27 of the Van’s kitplane.
Start of a Fuselage
The chronicling of the building a Van’s RV-14A fuselage that will one day be N14KR. This is the start of the fuselage, which begins with the Forward Mid Fuselage Bulkheads – Section 25. Then it continues to Section 26, Mid Fuselage Lower Structure.
Roll to the left. Roll to the right. Ailerons complete
Building of an Van’s RV-14A aileron that will one day become N14KR. This is a homebuilt, experimental plane.
Flaps – What a lift
Finally. Not working on fuel tanks. It’s a breath of fresh air to be building new components – the flaps. They came together pretty quickly while still incorporating new elements and building techniques. I started in mid-January 2021 about four weeks later.
The long journey of building the fuel tanks
The Fuel tanks are typically the most dreaded part of the build because of the need to mix fuel sealant and properly apply and rivet the mating parts to ensure no leaks. For me, it was the longest section of the build so far at 130 total hours that spanned from April – December 2020. These are my “Quarantine Tanks”…
Leading the Edge
After completing the wing top skins in early February 2020, it was time to move onto Section 17 – the outboard leading edges. Also known as “the front of the wing”. The pieces will only end up being half of the forward wings, as the other half will look nearly the same, but will be the fuel tanks. Those will…
Skin on!
Posting this on the strangest of Easters in memory – Quarantine 2020. I hope anyone reading this is staying safe and doing well. All this seems silly in light of what our society is facing. I write this to uncouple a bit from what is happening around us and keep the girls engaged on the build to help with their…