Pulled 8, Squeezed 8....                                                                      

Primed the horizontal stab rear spar and the spar caps which get riveted to it.  As an experiment, I tried the PreKote on the spar itself, scuffing with red Scotch Brite as I washed on the PreKote.  Rinsed with tap water, repeated, then did a final rinse with distilled water.

 For the spar caps, I simply washed with mild soap (again scuffing with Scotch Brite), rinsed and dried. No PreKote. According to people who should know, this should be sufficient.

After drying, I primed all parts with the self-etching primer. As the pics show, squeezing the flush rivets scraped off a fair amount of primer. The pulled rivets weren't a problem since the rivet tool doesn't touch the aluminum. I'll spray primer on the whole aft side of the spar before painting since this surface will be visible on the completed airplane.

Also, the female threaded part of the nutplates doen't seem to line up exactly with the holes in the spar web and spar cap.  If this is a problem when I install the bearings, I'll open up the holes a bit with a Dremel.  Shouldn't be an issue.
                             

(page 6-04) Gettin' a little behind....                   
..in the project.  I had planned to be much farther along at this point.  Not sure what the problem is.  In order to finish in two years (my goal), I need to put in about an hour and fifteen minutes per day, assuming 900 hours to complete the project (the high end of Van's estimate).          

At the outset of the project, I wondered why I needed an air drill. Seemed like a good battery-operated drill would be just as good. Turns out the air drill is much faster and makes a better hole, and, being a lot smaller, will get into tighter spaces. With this number of holes, it'll make a big difference. I bought Isham's tool package, which is specific to the RV-12. It was a bit cheaper than Avery's, but so far, I'm happy with it. Haven't tried the pneumatic-hydraulic rivet puller yet. Soon.

(page 6-03) Drill, Baby, drill.........                                      

Sarah Palin would be proud.  The buildup of the vertical stab appears to be mostly match drilling holes, clecoing and deburring.  The riveting will be fun by comparison.

I've spent an absurd amount of time researching, thinking about, even dreaming about the priming issue.  I ordered a gallon of PreKote, a product used to prepare aluminum for priming.  Seems like the US Air Force thinks this stuff is good, so I'll try it.  I've decided that there's probably little difference in the self-etching primer available in rattle cans.

First mistake...figured I'd get it out of the way.

One of the rudder hinge bearings was binding slightly in the bracket I fabricated yesterday, owing, I suppose, to a speck of paint in the machined recess into which the bearing race fits.  I saw this on another build blog I'm following, as well.  So....I now know how to drill out solid rivets.  I was a bit unhappy with both brackets because of a larger-than-I'd-like gap at the top.  I believe this results from squeezing the bottom-most three rivets first, so I'll squeeze the ones closest to the bearing first this go round.

(page 6-02) Rudder hinge: an actual part....               

I'm still a bit unsure about the issue of priming. Opinions seem to vary from "prime everything in sight" to "prime only the mating surfaces that aren't Alclad... and maybe not that." I suppose it boils down to whether or not I want to build an "archival" airplane guaranteed to last 60 years. Everything considered, that probably doesn't make sense.

I'm using Rustoleum self-etching primer in a rattle can.  It seems to scrape off too easily with a fingernail, probably owing to my improper preperation of the aluminum.  Cessna and Piper seem to use minimal (if any) priming on the interior surfaces, and the tail cones I've looked in seem pristine, even on 50-year-old airplanes.

I'm way behind schedule on building. The semester is essentially over, with only the grading of final exams left. The Spousal Unit (my beautiful, understanding and supportive wife, Karen) is heading up to the frozen north to visit family for a few days. I have assured her that upon her return there will be a completed part in the garage which anyone would recognize as an airplane part. She allowed as to how she'd be much rather see progress made on the deck rail. We'll see.

A Trip of 1000 Miles Begins With a Single......

...rivet. Or in this case, 12,500 rivets. And I plan for the trip to be way in excess of 1000 miles. Should be multiple trips to Oshkosh, many to Marathon in the Florida Keys, and to Sacramento. These last two, in addition to my home town of New London, NC (beautiful Badin Lake, home of multiple Sasquatch sightings which attracted the attention of the crew from the TV show Finding Bigfoot), are the three places where I plan to spend the rest of my life.

An Odious Task...                                                       

...inventory. After about four hours, the inventory is complete. Had to build new shelves to accomodate the long parts. Now I simply need to make all the aluminum look like this.

Time to get to work.......                                                       

My luck stayed true to form. After the 18-wheeler left, I noticed that the only one of the six sides of the crate that I couldn't see as we were unloading had clearly been punctured by a fork lift blade.

It was hard to imagine that all the frigile aluminum within could survive unscathed, but survive it did.  Not a mark.

I'm starting to think that my garage is a bit too crowded. The four-wheeler and the dirt bike may have to take up residence elsewhere for the next couple of years.

The Decision to Build.......                                                         

I made my 23rd trip to Oshkosh this year.  As all who have gone know, viewing these homebuilt works of art is a sensory overload, at once humbling, awe inspiring and even a bit depressing.  Depressing because I know I don't have the time, money or talent to build most of the airplanes I see there.  A significant change happened at the big show this year, however: I made the decision to do it.  Discussion over.  Decision made.  No turning back.  It was a good feeling.  I always heard that after a certain age, a person starts becoming increasingly aware of his own mortality, and it's true.  What significant things can I fit into the good years I have left?  Well, aviation has been my ruling passion for as long as I can remember, having a profound impact on my life (I got my pilot's license in 1969), and strongly influencing the direction of my academic career.  Everything considered, how could I not build and fly my own airplane?

But, which airplane?

The finalists were Van's RV-12, the RANS S-19, and the Sonex.  After going to all the appropriate forums, talking to factory reps, and talking to as many current builders as I could find, the RV-12 was the easy choice.  The Sonex people wouldn't do a demo ride even if I came to their factory (I was told "find a builder and ask for a ride.").  I really like the S-19, and they offered a demo if I came to their factory, but Randy Schlitter himself (the designer and owner of the company) told me it would take an additional 400 hours over the RV-12 to build it.  The S-19 also has less useful load.  Van's readily gave me a demo flight, let me fly from just after takeoff to just before touchdown, and happily answered all my questions.  All the tests I've read for the RV were over-the-top positive, and the Van's Air Force Forums are an unbelievable resource.  There's a reason Van's Aircraft is the number one kit manufacturer in the world.  The RV-12 is also one of the few homebuilts I'm aware of that qualifies as E-LSA, a compelling reason to choose it.  The fact that the wings of the RV-12 are easily removable, allowing me to keep it at home if I so choose, is just icing on the cake.

So, with enough blood, sweat and money (and maybe a few tears if the money runs out), I intend to cause one of these to materialize in my garage.

The empennage kit (everything aft of the canopy) has been ordered.  I'm planning to get the fuselage kit in December.  Then, after approximately two years and 12,500 rivets, I hope to slip the surly bonds of earth in a machine I built.  (Thank you John Magee for the poem which has been an inspiration to me since the 6th grade).