Several things!
1) You will probably can skip 50-70% of all STEPs, because all holes are final sized. You can skip all preassembling (what I did. It saves much time)
2) Download all plans in PDFs. Then, Open a file. Search Cntr <F> for words "dimple, countersink, rivet". Find them and highlight them in your paper book. This will help you do not miss anything.
3) Just debur only one side of the hole (where they punched out)
4) Don't debur hard!!! otherwise you will do countersinking. One turn is enough. You only need to make a surface flat! don't go deeper. Use a 1" scotch brite wheel to smooth sheet edges along the edges, not across! The edge makes grooves on the wheel and it helps to control it
5) Then dimple all holes, countersink all holes
6) Prime!! Akzo 2K epoxy. Use Prekote before akzo to prep a surface. Buy 3M sprayer. You will need a big air compressor, Like 15cfm Ingersoll Rand. Buy a centrifugal fan to cool the compressor head. All manufactures lie about the compressors have 100% duty cycle.! You will burn a compressor head in 2 weeks. Better buy a two head compressor.
7) before riveting do this. You will have primer's bumps around the holes, and this creates a gap between to surface at the contact. You need to make them flat! Buy 400 grid Yellow ONLY (black corrode the aluminum) sandpaper with adhesive back, cut a piece 1x1", attach to the tip of your finger and lightly sand the primer's waves around the holes of such parts, like back plates, doublers.
8) if you primed your parts, you will need to use longer rivets. Use 4.0 instead of 3.5. Don't follow the plans!! they tell you to use the length of the rivets but don't count the thickness of the primer. Especially when you have several primed parts riveted together
9) you will probably need to clean all holes after primer with a reamer! Try to use reamers only to enlarge holes. don't use drill bits. The only place where you don't need to clean holes - are dimples holes in the skin. Holes a getting bigger after dimpling
10) Use pull rivets on the nose internal rib of the rudder and horizontal stabilizer. MK-319.! Or order another set of the skin now
2) Riveting! Don't push on the rivet gun! Hold it with ZERO pressure on the skin and use second hand to hold a mushroom set to avoid dancing to the side (if you have someone to help you riveting). Never use a swivel mushroom. It will dent the skin even worse.
Start with the slowest speed of the gun. you need to set a rivet in 5 times (1.5 sec each) from the beginning. It will help you to control a gun and understand how to set up a speed/power. Then increase the speed to set a rivet in 3 times. Remember - the thicker material, thicker rivet - more powerful setting of the gun. If you set a rivet in 2 times - it's too much power. Yes. you can, but a chance to get a dent on the skin is much higher. Use only tungsten backing bar. Others are too light. Don't push on the gun! More push - bigger dent (especially on thin skin)
Hi,
I am a first-time builder in Charleston, SC starting on an RV-10.
My empennage kit came a little earlier than expected but I have it all inventoried and I will be continuing to work on practice kits until I get some time with my tech advisor over the next week or two.
Feeling very overwhelmed but extremely excited! So many decisions and planning coming up that haven't really sunk in yet.
One thing that I have been trying to research a bit lately and is not quite clicking yet, is how the traditional build workflow is going to be altered, given the fact that this is a new kit that comes with final-sized holes. Does this mean I get to skip the initial assembly and match drilling of those parts? If anyone could point me in the right direction here I would greatly appreciate it!