More Wing Tip Lens Progress

Today I worked on the left wing tip lens so now both tips are "mostly" complete.  This one turned out pretty good also, but I did get a small scratch on the bottom of the lens, nobody will ever notice unless they read my blog and  then comment.  ;-)  For securing the tip lenses, I have decided to Tap the Nutplates that hold the lens (so that the screws only have slight friction), then I will use flox and epoxy to mount the nutplate, vs. the rivets that Van's recommends.   I can't seem to get a squeezer onto the rivets and don't want to use a rivet gun on the fiberglass.  Something I am saving for a later date is the mounting of the LED Nav/Strobes and final finishing inside the lens.

I also primed both bottom outboard skins. Once my tech inspection is complete (tomorrow) I am ready to finish riveting those skins and be materially complete with the wings.
 
 

Wing Tip Lens

Since I am waiting for a tech council visit, and the fuseloge has been delayed, I am now turning my focus to the wing tip lens.  Some people spend hours on these and I am finding that it has taken me a few myself.  First you cut the single provided piece of plexi into two halves, one for each wing.  Then trace the outline of the cut out on the plexi, and cut with die grinder tool.  Then you start sanding and keep sanding, trying not to scratch it or mess it up in any way.   I am zeroing in on the right tip per the pics, but not completely finished.

Wing Tip Landing Lights

While waiting to set up a Tech Counselor visit in early May, I started messing around with the frames for the wing tip lights.  As I said in an earlier post, I bought the Van's kit, but then realized that I had to rebuild most of it myself because I am only going to have one light in the fixture.  The Van's kit for the 7 allows for two Halogen lights in each tip.  With the 50 watt HID lights, one will be plenty bright enough.

Just a quick note..  There are some builders who haven't had much success with the tip landing lights.  I think there are three points that will help provide me with better results, also, I do think they are the coolest looking light option, so I hope they work well.

1. I am using 50 watt HID lights, vs the halogen lights provided in the kit.  Tons more light !
2. I have the newer wing tips that have a larger cut out and allow the light to be pointed closer to centerline.
3. I have been able to enlarge the hole in the aluminum face dramatically since I am only using one light vs. two, so there should be less interference to the beam.

  

So I started measuring and cutting the fiberglass tip.  For not doing any research on this topic, I think overall it turned out pertty good.  Still need to do a bit of sanding on the inside cut, but the frame fits and looks pretty great so far.

Wings - Miscellanous

The weather in Seattle has been horrible this Easter weekend, which means I couldn't prime and work on the last flap which is really the final part of the wings that I need to do, besides the bottom skin.  We did have lots of family over today though so not being able to work on the plane wasn't that big of a deal.

Actually earlier in the weekend, I was able to start working on some misc stuff just to keep busy...  Also, I don't want to get down to the final stretch and have that huge list of misc items, so I am getting the work in while I can.

I picked up a labeler that prints on heat shrink tubing and started labeling the wires in my wings and installing the terminals.  A fellow RV builder down in Arizona tipped me off on the labeler.  It's great and hopefully will save lots of time down the road.  Also, you can see that I am mounting my HID Landing Light Ballast on the tip and generally finding places for the terminal blocks etc.   Nothing is permanent yet, I am using tooling holes where possible to anchor the parts.

Here are the tip and root terminal blocks.  I will be using Fast-On connectors on the root so that access is quick and easy when necessary.

I also started working on my Tip Light fixtures.   I won't get into the fiberglass work just yet, but wanted to test out building the fixture from scratch.  Well, not completely, I had some parts from the Vans kit, but I built most of it myself because I wanted a single light in the tip, and the Van's kits come with two.

Rudder/VS Tips Primed

After about 3-4 applications of microlight filler and sanding I decided to go ahead and prime the tip of the Rudder/VS. I think it turned out good enough for now, although there may have to be additional work at the time of final paint. Maybe even some additional work as I am wrapping up the project, but for now I am done and ready to reorganize the garage for the wings. This weekend will be the inventory and hopefully enough time to get started on the countersinking of the spars..

The pics show the final sanding job, and then the finished priming. I put two coats of primer on and hope I didn't get it too thick. The line between the primer and the aluminum is noticeable, hopefully it can be sanded down before final prime and paint.

Rudder/VS Final Sanding

I put 4 hours in this weekend on the VS/Rudder final sanding. It takes about as long as everyone complains about on their sites.. ;-) I started with some light weight fiberglass along the seem between the metal and the fairing (which also covered up the pop rivets nicely)to hopefully add strength and reduce any possibility of cracks in the final paint along the seam. Then mixed the West Marine System epoxy with microlight filler to start building up the low spots. Sanded, then build up the low spots again.. The pic is the filler in place after the second time I added filler. I think in this case 3rd time will be a charm. After this gets sanded down I should be just about wrapped up. I will wait on the Elevators and HS until I hit a slow spot on the wing project.

Wings Delayed - Continued fiberglass

I sent a message to Van's asking about my wings and they indicated they were delayed. I would have hoped they would tell me proactively, but they only told me in reply to my query. It seems they ran out of some skins so I should be expecting the call from FedEx this Friday or more likely next week. The two week delay is OK though because it gave me time to finish all the tips on the Emp, other than the task of filling and sanding the joints.

At this point I have all tips riveted on and the ends closed out. I may try to fill the joints at least on the Rudder and Vertical Stabilizer before the wings come. This task will take lots of time and repetition. After cleaning and scuffing all surfaces, I mix epoxy with some microlight filler which turns into a peanut butter consistency. Then like Bondo on cars, I fill any holes, joints, or gaps.. Once dry I sand, then do it again and again until I have a completely smooth contour between the Rudder tip and the Vertical Stab. Look for pics over the next few days, but as soon as the wings get here, this all stops until a later date..

More Fiberglass..

Worked on all the tips last night. The Rudder tip is the first one to be permanently riveted as you can see in the pic. All that is left for this one is filler and sanding then more filler and more sanding. The HS and Elevator tips are all cut and ready to be mounted but they need to be closed out first. This piece might not happen in the short term since the wings should be here next week.

Continued Empennage Tips

Tonight I continued working on the empennage tips. More cutting, drilling, and sanding. The rudder tip is almost complete, just final drill and then pop rivet. You can see how I am putting sheet metal in for the rivets to grab onto. Also, Finished drilling and adding the metal strip to the right elevator. Tomorrow will work on the left one.

Fiberglass Tips

Today I started making progress on the fiberglass tips for the Elevators and Horizontal Stabilizer. I won't get them totally complete by the time the wings come, but will at least get them drilled and in place. Here is the general process for the tips...

1) Ensure the fiberglass flange isn't too long, as it can't be resting internally on any substructure.

2) Cut to General Shape.. best tool for this is a pneumatic die grinder with a cutoff wheel.

3) Pilot Drill into the proper location

4) Epoxy the interior with aluminum strips over pilot holes to give the pop rivets something to grab.

5) Final Drill, Countersink Tips, Dimple skins

6) Close off open areas of the VS and HS Tips with Epoxy/Balsa.. More info on that will be coming.

7) Fill surface cracks and sand, Fill and Sand, Fill and Sand, etc... until smooth..