Building a Downdraft Painting Table

The project has reached a point where there are two sub-assemblies' worth of parts that need to have primer applied before the sub-assemblies can be assembled. It's time to get my shop set up for priming. I think this is the last major shop setup task I need to do. I plan to use a … Continue reading Building a Downdraft Painting Table →

Starting on the Vertical Stabilizer

I've set the horizontal stabilizer aside while I work on my priming table. I'll provide more detail about how I'm doing that in a later post. In order to keep making progress, I've begun work on the vertical stabilizer. Having done the work on the horizontal stabilizer, the learning curve on the vertical stabilizer is … Continue reading Starting on the Vertical Stabilizer →

Horizontal Stabilizer – Dimpling

The next task on the horizontal stabilizer is dimpling the rivet holes that are used to attach the skin to the substructure. A dimpled hole is bent inward with a precision die that causes the hole to exactly match a flush rivet head. When riveted, the surface of the skin is smooth with no rivet … Continue reading Horizontal Stabilizer – Dimpling →

Horizontal Stabilizer – Front Spar and Skins

The rear spar components have all been drilled. It's now time to assemble the front spar. This job is a bit more involved than the rear spar because the center section has a lot of stuff going on. There was a service bulletin back in 2014 (SB 14-01-31) for cracks that were forming in the … Continue reading Horizontal Stabilizer – Front Spar and Skins →

Horizontal Stabilizer – Rear Spar

The first major tail assembly is the horizontal stabilizer, and the first task in building the horizontal stabilizer is to assemble the rear spar. The rear spar is the strong internal structural component at the rear of the stabilizer that spans its entire width. It is built from two aluminum spar channels and reinforced with … Continue reading Horizontal Stabilizer – Rear Spar →

Getting Started

My RV-7 Empennage Kit arrived and I have begun the process of building the five major sub-assemblies that make up the empennage (tail). They are:The horizontal stabilizer;The left elevator, which includes the trim tab;The right elevator;The vertical stabilizer; andThe rudder.The kit arrived in two very tightly packed boxes. The larger of the two contained all … Continue reading Getting Started →