This post catalogs the journey of the Wings being delivered in Spring of 2019, and then the first three sections of assembly that began in July and continued through end-November 2019. It also acts as a diversion as we find ourselves huddled as a society in our homes during a tough time for all. Freight delivery arrives via a very…
It has been awhile since an update, but steady and slow progress continues. The empennage, or tail, of the plane has quite a few parts and some complexity in assembly. This coupled with other commitments has extended the build time. For the first time I found myself unable to rivet certain assemblies solo. However, I’m getting great riveting assistance from…
Well it took a little longer than expected (about 4 months and 95 hours), but I am pretty happy with the results. The elevators were a jump up in the number of parts, assembly complexity, and a number of firsts. For example, I had to work with Pro-Seal Tank Sealant to install foam ribs in the trailing edges. The Pro-seal…
Well, it’s been a steady, but slow few months since finishing the horizontal stabilizer in early September. Lot’s going on (all good!) and so I’ve been eking out hours to work through a component that is certainly more complex than those previous. A common theme of the build so far. I’ve begun working on the Elevator, which will attach to…
It took about 7 weeks and 70 hours to finish the Horizontal Stabilizer. Van’s (the kit manufacturer) is quiet clever in ensuring the builder develops the skills needed to tackle more complex sub assemblies as the work progresses. But as the complexity and parts count goes up, so does the time needed to finish each part. This is the third…
After finishing up the Rudder, I earnestly began the next section of the empennage, the horizontal stabilizer. It’s pretty tricky as you have to rivet all the spars to the skins without a lot of room to maneuver. What I think will be the hardest tasks of this assembly, the two…
After about 48 hours of labor spanning 7 weeks, the Rudder is now completed! Well, not entirely. The fiberglass tips are missing, but they get installed later in the build. It was a really challenging sub-assembly requiring some unique techniques. Though I was able to practice those techniques, it’s still takes a ton of nerve when doing it for “real”. …
Well, I may be more than half-way done with the rudder. Won’t know until it’s all finished. But the grunt work of separating, deburring, assembling, drilling, dimpling, and riveting the core pieces are all complete. It has been about 29 hours so far and it’s been a fulfilling process interrupted by moments of extreme frustration. I’m reaching out to an…
After about 8 days and 21 hours of labor, the Vertical Stabilizer is complete. It’s unlikely that I’ll sustain this pace, just happened to be able to get a lot done over two weekends. It came out pretty good, but definitely some room for improvement. I didn’t like the primer so will switch brands going forward, When riveting some of…
Started the process of building the future N14KR (tailsign). The empennage begins by building the Vertical Stabilizer The internal structure (Spar and Rib assembly) has been deburred and primed. Up next: Deburring the skin, dimpling where instructed, and riveting all the parts together.