Fuselage

25 Jul 2004 Static ports

The Van's static air kit is pretty simple, but rather elegant. The external ports are pop rivets that you just push out the mandrel, and glue into the fuselage with RTV. Van's says to drill...

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22 Jul 2004 Fuel Vent lines

Got the fuel vent lines installed. This was my first experience bending aluminum tubing, and it was pretty easy. I used one of those spring type sleeves that slide over the outside of the tube...

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22 Jun 2004 Removing Canopy Scratches

Q: Greetings all, Installed the painted canopy and removed all the protective coatings today. Despite taking precautions I've got some pretty noticable scratches. Some are light , like chaff marks and others are scratches you can...

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21 Jun 2004 Finish Kit Arrival

My finish kit arrived from Van's, along with Paolo's tail kit, Emmett's battery and tires, and my two Odyssey PC680 batteries. All unpacked, inventoried, and shelved, for now. There are many very nice parts in there....

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17 Jun 2004 Roll Bar

Bolting on the roll bar, I find that one side has a bit of a gap, about 1/8 inch, as you can see from the photos below. I wonder if I can just continue to drill...

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03 May 2004 Rear Seat

Getting the rear seat/baggage area door done was not too difficult. I got sent two left sides instead of a left and right, and after that got straightened out, it was just a matter of...

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07 Apr 2004 Firewall penetration

It's been recommended to use special "eyeballs" like these when penetrating the firewall. This is a page from the Avery Tools catalog. Click on the image for a larger version. Update: 20210918 - strongly recommend using...

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04 Apr 2004 Grove Landing Gear

I ordered the landing gear for my RV8 from Grove Aircraft because they are lighter, they are aerodynamic, eliminating the need for fairings, and they include the brake "line" inside the gear. They cost a bit...

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29 Feb 2004 Drilling pushrods

The pushrod ends need drilling to attach the necessary hardware. Here are a couple of pictures that show the drilling of the big fat elevator pushrod that goes in the rear. Can't recall F-number right...

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28 Feb 2004 Dimpling floors

Not much to this article, just one of those photos that prove that I was actually involved in the construction of the airplane! :-) The C-frame for dimpling is a pretty useful tool, but for people...

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17 Feb 2004 Side consoles

Preparing the side consoles was pretty fun. Lots of holes to drill, and a couple of parts to make. I finished the right side, but not the left. The right was a bit tricky, since...

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15 Feb 2004 Strange part F-885

Subject: Re: RV8-List: Extra part, HELP --> RV8-List message posted by: Jim Daniels > I am building an RV-8, installing engine and canopy, finish stuff. > In a box I found the fuselage gusset bag with...

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11 Feb 2004 Rudder Cables

I'm not finished with the wings, but I've done as much as I can until I can get some stuff primed. I've decided to start on the fuselage, and if I understand the rather cryptic...

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09 Nov 2003 invisible hinge oil door

From Dan Checkoway, some part numbers for an invisible hinge oil door. Really slick, and I wanted to make sure I could remember the trick, and the part numbers from http://www.mcmaster.com/. Dan has nice photos...

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01 Jan 2003 Seats

What do we do about the seats? I have not yet heard a lot of complaints about the RV8 seats, but I do know that at least one company makes replacement seats, and several companies...

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