Canopy Installation, Part 6

Forward with the alternate canopy fiberglass trim piece....almost per Van's instructions, but with a few of the EAB/I'd rather do it my way deviations.

One of the first tasks was to cut out the full size templates provided with the plans to create the components of the trim piece.  I elected (deviation) to mount the templates on poster board to give a firm foundation upon which to lay up the fiberglass.  One of the problems many builders experience is the sag in the whetted fiberglass over the non-uniform surface of the forward canopy frame where it mates to the forward fuselage.  The stiffened templates are an effort to minimize/eliminate the sag and the requisite filler required to make it "all purdy."  The first shot below shows the right side with the template taped into place.  There is electrical tape trimming the intersection of the template with the canopy bubble and clear shipping tape covering every square inch of the template.  Finally, there is some butcher paper masked onto the surround area to minimize the effects of any accidental spills of the epoxy resin.

And speaking of resin, I am continuing to use West Systems epoxy, the 105 resin and the 209 (extra slow) hardener.  It is very nice stuff and very simple to work with and I do not even perceive any fumes.

Up next was the cutting of the fiberglass cloth into the 5 layers as prescribed by Vans.  The use of a rotary cutter and straight edge simplifies and makes short work of a somewhat tedious task.

Five plys of fiberglass all trimmed to size and ready to go.

 Mix up the epoxy resin (3.7 parts resin to 1 part hardener, by weight) and we're off to the races.  In the heat of the battle, I did not take any photos.  The shot below is of the glassed 5 plys and a layer of peel ply or dacron fabric.  Use of the peel ply makes a huge difference in the quality of the finish.  I will still need to do some heavy resin/micro slurry build up of the low spots, but the surface is so nice to work with after the peel ply.

The next picture shows the peel ply coming up off the cured resin.

 
And the finished work prior to filling...

I forgot to mention the last of the prep work required before laying up the fiberglass.  That involves spreading some good quality car wax (I used Turtle Wax) over the areas to be glassed to facilitate easy removal when the part is cured.  I used 3 heavy coats prior to applying the glass and resin.  I will have to comment on the success of my procedure later as the fiberglass fairing is still resting in place.  I will perform the resin/micro filling of the fairing where it sits in place for an easier approach to the sanding.

 The second piece of the fairing, on the pilot side of the fuselage.

The last piece of the fairing is the long straight piece that connects to the sides.  Below, the area is taped and waxed prior to glassing.

Again, no pix from the glassing process, but the third of three pieces of the fairing is now drying with the peel ply on top.  The micro "cake frosting" process will happen next...when the microballoons arrive in the mail.

Landing Gear, Part 2

Next up is the wheel and brake installation upon the main gear legs.  The pictures below show only the axle and the spacer plate attached to the gear leg as I don't plan on installing the calipers until later.  I just want to get the forward fuselage on its gear to better facilitate the upcoming fiberglass fairing construction.  The entire fuselage is currently on a table and really is too high for the fiberglass work...to make matters worse, I cannot fully extend the canopy to its upright position without hitting the overhead garage (hangar) rafters!

The next process is a tricky one....namely, assessing the amount of correction for toe-in or toe-out.  The Van's prescribed method of using a thread and wooden block seems like a reasonable approach, but it has given me the "fits."  My best guess is that I have about 1+ degree of toe-out on the pilot side gear leg.  I believe that the passenger side wheel/leg assembly is about true.  After being tempted to shim the axle to the gear leg with washers, I gave in to the more precise and structurally (for the bolts) superior method of using a shim.  Those buggers are expensive at $25 each...especially when it really is almost impossible to measure the exact angle that the leg and axle make with the aircraft centerline.  I imagine that with some lasers you could nail it right on the money.  The poor quality pictures below document my best efforts at quantifying the toe-in/out.  More to come when the shim arrives, gets installed and I see the result.  I'm not too thrilled about this process.

Back to the brakes momentarily to document the installation of the blue AN fluid fittings with the requisite pipe thread sealant to secure the connection.

Next process will be to install the nose gear leg and fork and then the wheel.  The first task is to install a couple of anti-rotation plates to constrain the nosewheel axle.  The shot below shows the plates after priming and solid riveted to the fork with AN426 rivets

The front end of the fork has two holes that must be tapped with 5/16-24 threads so accommodate the cap screws that serve as the the stops for the swiveling nosewheel.  Do you see the error?  Yep, I threaded the holes in the bottom of the fork - not the top.  I fixed that pretty quick and reinstalled  the cap screws to their correct location.

Some more substantial fun awaits: affixing the nose gear leg and the lower Viking engine mount to the firewall.  The picture below actually shows the upper mount as well as the lower mount.  The Viking mounts are installed with 3/8 inch bolts with Nordlock washers on both sides of the firewall.  The fitment was excellent and required very little work to get everything lined up and installed.

Now, its time for the first landing from about 6 inches of altitude from where the little beast has lived for past several months.  One note prior to the next ground-based pictures:  putting the legs on the RV-12 does come with a cost.  The fuselage will no longer be able to be placed on its side for ease of installation of any sub-systems.  I hope I have done my homework and do not regret the timing of the landing gear installation.

This is also a pretty good shot of the Viking engine mounts.

And we have a smooth landing...

Landing Gear, Part 1

It seems as if every new sub-assembly begins with the priming...and the landing gear is no exception.  In this instance though, I am only priming the faying surfaces as shown below.

Here are the other cast of characters, mostly assembled (tubes installed and inflated) and in no particular order: main wheels (outside face, inside face showing the disk), nose wheel and in the foreground, the calipers, wheel bearings and finally, the axles with nuts and cotter pins.

The RV-12 wheel bearings are a different beast from conventional bearings and packing them with their preferred grease is done, according to Andy at Matco,  "old school."  That means a wad of grease in the palm of the hand and work it into the rollers until you're tired of doing it!  I chose to use the synthetic Mobil 28 grease.

Packing the bearings...

With that task accomplished, it was time to begin the gear leg assembly work.  First up is the installation of the outboard wear and doubler plates.  Below is a shot of the wear and doubler plates partially installed.

Applying grease to the faying surfaces of the fittings/gear leg prior to bolting them together.

Here is where the inboard and outboard fittings live - no gear leg yet installed.

And the next two shots show the right gear leg in position and captured by the outboard and inboard fittings.

The requisite groveling on the garage (hangar) floor getting everything into position and readying for final torquing.

Getting the slack out of the outboard fittings with my stubby wrench prior to final torque.

Now the fun: final torquing of the outboard fitting bolts.  Note the ingenious use of a stubby wrench, a socket extension, a 3/8 to 1/2 socket adapter and the torque wrench.  I wished I had thought of this, but credit goes to the original RV-12 Renaissance Man, none other than Mr. Joe Gores.  And you thought he was just an electrical wizard!

This setup of wrenches made the job of getting the desired torque a complete snap.  Kudos again to Joe Gores for his clever approach.

 

Here are a couple of shots of the final positioning of the center section attach points.
 

And finally, the pictures below illustrate the fruit of our labor - the installed main gear legs!

 

Canopy Installation, Part 5

After the foam had dried the shaping process began in earnest.  I found the handheld sureform planer worked fairly well, followed by some 150 grit sand paper.

I opted to not only put a top triangular fillet of resin and flox along the foam, but I mixed up another batch with less flox and used it as a top coat to the entire exposed surface of the foam.  Once cured, I roughed it up a bit to promote adhesion to the fiberglass fairing.

 Of note in the picture above and now below is the black, trim along the base of the forward bow of the canopy.  As I plan on bonding the fairing onto the canopy, I do not want to see the random pattern of the silicone product through my canopy.  As mentioned in the previous installment, I applied several coats of Rustoleum's Painter's Touch 2X paint + primer rattle can to the outside of the base of the canopy.  It turned out perfect, although I don't know how well it will wear over time.

Next shots are of the Viking Shield temporarily installed on the canopy and frame.  I spent several long sessions with a heat gun trying to get the shape of the fairing to lay "tight" against the frame and fuselage skin.  I am not completely satisfied and have begun purchasing supplies to do the manual Van's approach.  Worst case, I will have an extra fairing...best case: I will learn more about working with fiberglass.  Stay tuned for that result.