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What to do between kits?

huse0054

Well Known Member
OK so I found out today that the slow build fuse I ordered the end of December will not be arriving till July. I receive the Tail kit the end of Dec and have completed everything but the Tailcone. I hope to have that done by the end of Feb.

So my question is what can I do airplane related to fill the time gap? Maybe Fiberglass work on the fairings will take longer than expected. Just trying to get ideas.
 
Electrical / Avionics

You could start planning out all your electrics and avionics. There's a lot of research to be done in these areas to get exactly what you're after. Otherwise, read through the preview plans and assembly manuals for the rest of the kit to help get your head around it.
 
I’m likely to be in the same situation except I also have the wings nearly done. For the tailcone you can do: everything in the instructions including the glass work, wire for lighting, install pitch autopilot brackets and pre-wire, static ports and plumbing, adahrs mount, elt mount. If you’ve done all that you could make the lower rudder fairing removable should you need to replace the light and/or wire.

If you’ve done all that and are still waiting, about all you can do is research and plan and order stuff to go with the fuse kit. Not a whole lot extra goes in the tailcone. And I can’t think of anything you could build without either the wing or fuse kits.
 
You could start planning out all your electrics and avionics. There's a lot of research to be done in these areas to get exactly what you're after. Otherwise, read through the preview plans and assembly manuals for the rest of the kit to help get your head around it.

I was going to suggest this very thing. I spent so many weeks planning out my electrical system that I'd never admit how long it took on a public forum. :)

You need to figure out everything that you'll put in your plane that will consume energy, how much energy each item consumes in various phases of flight, how much energy you need to make, how you'll deliver it, how that delivery will be protected, and what backups you'll need to provide in the event of electrical causalities. Lots and lots of research, lots of different ways to do all of this, and many decisions to be made!
 
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I was going to suggest this very thing. I spent so many weeks planning out my electrical system that I'd never admit how long it took on a public forum. :)

You need to figure out everything that you'll put in your plane that will consume energy, how much energy each item consumes in various phases of flight, how much energy you need to make, how you'll deliver it, how that delivery will be protected, and what backups you'll need to provide in the event of electrical causalities. Lots and lots of research, lots of different ways to do all of this, and many decisions to be made!

The challenge there is whatever he plans today. Well, I bet it won't be what he installs in a few years.

But there is no doubt he can spend a couple of months planning the big picture on the electrical side and developing a paint scheme.
 
Resources

What is a good resource to try to figure out how to plan the electrical system? I don’t even know where to start.
 
The challenge there is whatever he plans today. Well, I bet it won't be what he installs in a few years.

But there is no doubt he can spend a couple of months planning the big picture on the electrical side and developing a paint scheme.

But he can still read into it and decide if he wants a basic single battery, single alternator or more redundancy... Then learn what the pro and cons are and play a bit with failure modes.. Which EFIS is connected or if it has even more bells and whistles as today does not really matter.
Also he can think about circuit protection.. Fuses, CBs or a VPX... What are the pro and cons? All those things you can research without paying anything..
Also he could already start to make nice brackets for cable routing and then rivet them in as soon as he has the fuselage.. I made many small angled brackets for routing my wires.
 

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Those brackets are great. I wish I thought of that idea earlier. I drilled a bunch of holes in the wing ribs for wiring and pitot/AoA lines. Was a bad case of "do first and think later" type situations. Fortunately Van's Support said they were safe, but could have been a case of replacing every wing rib. Brackets, like those, obviously would have been a smart thing to do. (Alternatively, Van's has a FAQ document on where to drill holes in the wing ribs for this)
 
I love those brackets!!! I made a dozen+ to route my pitot-static lines and attached them under the longeron rail, among other places. I did not consider them for wiring, but clearly they are excellent and low weight.

Too bad there is not a manufacturer that is willing make them cheaply in several different sizes.

I used .025, cut in strips on the bandsaw rip fence, then bent into 90 deg angle with HF brake, marked and drilled holes. then cut sections off with the bandsaw.

I bet Vans could punch these and sell in strips (like 3/4" angle) for builders to do the cutting for pennies (a relative thing). Greg, you listening? Is that economical to be punched?
 
They got'em

I love those brackets!!! I made a dozen+ to route my pitot-static lines and attached them under the longeron rail, among other places. I did not consider them for wiring, but clearly they are excellent and low weight.

Too bad there is not a manufacturer that is willing make them cheaply in several different sizes.

I used .025, cut in strips on the bandsaw rip fence, then bent into 90 deg angle with HF brake, marked and drilled holes. then cut sections off with the bandsaw.

I bet Vans could punch these and sell in strips (like 3/4" angle) for builders to do the cutting for pennies (a relative thing). Greg, you listening? Is that economical to be punched?

Bill,

Van's already manufactures something similar for the RV-12iS. Part number F-12102 comes as a strip of multiple brackets needing to be seperated. Each bracket has a double pass through (though could be cut into a single pass through), and has a notch in it for passing wires through the side of the bracket. This means harness's can be removed or installed without taking off connectors/backshells.

Just use a razor blade to slice the snap bushing, clasp it over the wire bundle, turn the snap bushing so it's slot is 180 degrees away from the slot in the bracket, and press the bushing in.
 

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PN F-1016H from Van's

I always applaud the DIY attitude - good job YvesCH!

For folks that just want to buy one's similar to those, these brackets are part of the RV-10 wiring kit and referenced in OP-37, page 6. I bought a bunch of them and think they were about $4 for a set of two (one part that you separate).

showmy.php


Another very fine mounting bracket from Van's is also from the RV-12 kit, PN ES-0301, shown on drawing 12-42N (sorry, don't have that one online anywhere and posting photos on VAF is, well, heinous). They're not on the website, but something like 50¢ each if you order from Van's. These are perfect for routing wires along edges, such as rib lightening holes.

I do agree that planning is the perfect down-time effort. I recommend making a wiring schedule to go along with your electrical diagram, which will help you make a shopping list (and plan costs, if you're in to that).
 
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The challenge there is whatever he plans today. Well, I bet it won't be what he installs in a few years.

But there is no doubt he can spend a couple of months planning the big picture on the electrical side and developing a paint scheme.

This is a good point, but there's still value in starting the process. Even if the list says something like "taxi light" for now, you've already decided that you need it, and during what phases of flight. Same for EFIS and every other consumer of electricity. You'll end up with a shopping list of equipment you need. In the meantime, you can make assumptions on power usage, so you can begin to frame your power requirements.

Once you decide on a specific item to purchase, like which brand taxi light, you can update your chart with the specific power and wiring demands of that items, and move on to the next.
 
Even if IFR is not currently planned it's such an attractive option for RV10s that decisions made now will make it much easier to upgrade in the future.
 
Knock out some of the honey-do list? Treat the spouse to a date/trip? Buying yourself some goodwill doesn't make visible progress but might be quite helpful later...;)
 
Why not use plastic/nylon adell clamps? 6 to 20 cents each.

https://www.allensfasteners.com/detail.asp?Product_ID=52005

That's a very good question. Adel clamps are a fine option and I have used many of them on all of my aircraft, with the difference being you either need access to both sides of the material the clamp is being mounted to, or the foresight to have put a nut plate there in advance - doable. If you're comparing costs, then you also then need the matching hardware (screw, washer and nut or nutplate) to go with the clamp.

If you're routing wires along the outer side skin, a flush rivet holding a small bracket is a more permanent and aesthetically appealing solution than a screw head from the outside, IMO.

Also, the brackets shown here allow for setting up the route and then running wires or tubes at a later time, whereas adel's are pretty much a clamp-as-you-go affair. Definitely lots of ways to get it done.
 
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Or you could just read the endless debate as how to run your electric wires, this is what I am doing. I received my emp in Dec and have already completed it including fiberglass tips and waiting for the next batch of metal. Hope they show in time.
 
What to do between kits?


Go FLY. You are bound to be out of currency.


I got my instrument ticket during the build period. It was a way to stay current without wasting $$ boring holes in the sky or getting dizzy going around the pattern.
 
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