At the end of a wonderful journey, the ultimate destination ...

Yesterday, Sunday October 20, 2013, a hundred and ten years after Wilbur and Orville first flight, I did the flight to Kitty Hawk with my friend Dan Kangas (also an RV-12 builder) to pay my respect to these two heroes of Experimental Aviation.

Destination KFFA also known as "First Flight Airport"

Just arrived at Kitty Hawk, circling the Wright Memorial with KFFA in the background:

After Landing: For the plane builder and pilot, it does not get any better!

My friend Dan, a great pilot who helped me get there:

And now my first flight in my RV-12

Know how it feels?

Like that:

Best Day in the life of an RV-12 builder

Thanks to my fellow EAA 1114 members Dan Kagan and Peter Van Schalkwyck we have a series of Videos they took on this memorable day

Arrrival of Peter Van Schalkwyck, the Waiex chase plane pilot:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9NFBtZVdJU1FBMk0/edit?usp=sharing

Pre-flight briefings between chase plane and test pilot:

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9RUZGTFlzUGNkWkU/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9ZVJPWUk2cEdnVDg/edit?usp=sharing

Let's go flying this bird:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9RUtzOHNiWWFpNnc/edit?usp=sharing

Taxiing to runway 23 at "North Executive Triangle Airport" (LHZ for the pilots)
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9UG95dUo1ekZzakE/edit?usp=sharing

Down the taxiway to RWY 23
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9eks0aUFYLVVQdXc/edit?usp=sharing

And off they go!
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9Wk1DTTd4V2xJTTQ/edit?usp=sharing

Watching from the sideline:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9OUpTRk9MUGoydFE/edit?usp=sharing

They are coming back!
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9aUV0S3JHSzhyQnc/edit?usp=sharing

... and landing:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9X1QxX1lqb0ZsYlk/edit?usp=sharing

Debriefing time:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9QjctVTdGVGVIeEU/edit?usp=sharing

... and it takes doughnuts to get the test pilot out of my plane!
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9Smd4R2pvSFhjVlk/edit?usp=sharing

Peter is leaving, got to go back to work after a job well done:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9Smd4R2pvSFhjVlk/edit?usp=sharing

9/11/2013 : N124BX is Flying!

We had a great day and a great crew for the maiden flight of N124BX, RV-12 serial number 395.
We had a cute chase plane: Peter Van Schalckwyk flying his home built Waiex, member EAA 1114
We had a motivated test pilot : Stephen Merrit, member EAA 1114
My wife, Michele, Dan Kagan RV-12 builder, member EAA 1114, Rick Penke the airport A&P shop owner/manager with his crew and myself were among the bystanders enjoying the show.
It was a perfect flight and the plane lived up to its reputation, easy to fly and solid as a rock.
... and the good news: nothing to rework, the plane is flying straight and level, no wedge on the rudder, no pinching of the flapperons, what more could I ask for? Yes flying N124BX myself which will happen next week after Steve is done with the fly-off period of 5 hours.

Preparing to leave:

At runway 23 Threshold

We have lift-off!

Way to go , Steve!

Landing after a 30 minutes flight

"Solid as a rock" is the diagnostic of Steve Merritt, the test pilot

Here is a more detailed debriefing that Steve gave us on the spot:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BzXL9s0_bVi9WXVrZUQ3bVZZTEk/edit?usp=sharing
Great job Steve! (but I thought he would never get off my plane!)

And now, we can fly!

Yes, today I got the Airworthiness Certificate for N124BX, the conclusion of 3 years of a labor of love. Here is the patient waiting for the visit of the DAR:

And here is the result of the visit of the darned DAR:

To his credit, the DAR found a few things that needed fixing. Fixing them will take less time that it took me to remove the about 50 nutplate screws that dot the floor panel under the seats but I was lucky, he did not ask to take the lower cowl off, a major annoyance in the RV-12.
$340 for 50 screws amounts to about 7 cents per screw... and I get airworthiness as a bonus!

The hilarious part was when the DAR started moving the sticks which produced an horrible "cling" I had never heard before . We soon located the noise to be an interference of the flapperon skin (both flapperons) with a rivet head on the fuselage! What happened is that the temperature was in the mid 90s for the first time since I installed the wings and the flapperons grew a tad longer, enough to hit the rivets... I mentioned the precision of my workmanship as both flapperons were affected the same way. You guys in the north better watch your flapperons when you come south!

First Engine Run in Pictures

Today I had my first engine run with the help of Donald Berry a certified Rotax A & P. The following pictures taken by my daughter Anne who assisted in the preparation of the run tell it all:

Anne in the hangar, making airplane noise for the last time before the run:

The setup, plane tied to my car, just in case...

Preparing to crank under the eye of the expert, Donald Berry:

Engine started, I lost my hat:

Here we go, 2000 rpm, no hands!

2500 rpm, lost my hat again!

3000 rpm, I miss my canopy!

4000 rpm, that's it, I can take no more, no more, no more!

Victory lap back in the hangar

Pointing the tail out for the first time

I am finished attaching the tail feathers and here is the result:

This would not have been possible without these home made tools:

These are "washer chasers" indispensable to push the washers into place on rudder and stabilator. I used scrap Al from the build and a dremel tool, takes 5 minutes to make... Priceless! You just attach the washer with Scotch tape at the bottom, avoiding to obstruct the hole.

The guy who helped me conquer the stabilator

This is Dan Kangas, a fellow RV-12 builder who is very good at chasing washers!

The issue we had is one of the most frustrating among all the RV-12 challenges. We are supposed to glue the four washers against which the two stabilator pivots will be pressed once bolted. This is a nightmare when one pivot end hits the washer before being fully engaged as the washer will just fall which is what happened to us. Dan had the smarts of making a tool (with aluminum scrap) that helped push back the loose washer in place. As there is practically no visibility to check the washer alignment, he sacrificed an AN4-12 bolt (I did not mind as it's coming from his kit!) by grinding the end into a conical shape which helped complete the alignment.
A good day at the hangar!

Out and In and Out = Trip to the Airport Hangar

We don't need long explanations, the pictures speak by themselves:

The name of the new place: KLHZ or Triangle North Executive Airport

Last trip to my workshop...

This is the end of my building phase, time to think about flying now.

Last Trip to my Workshop

A Wonderful View of the Sky...

... on my Skyview!

And note above the screen my official name: N124BX which means RV12 for Bernoux!
The correct announcement on radio is:
"Experimental RV12 one two four Bravo Xray""

Great day at the workshop!

I am finished with building! I just installed the last components of the engine: Throttle and Choke controls. I am glad that the engine work is over because it was becoming tighter and tighter. I spent one day rerouting the heater control cable, a mistake I discovered when I tried to route the last two cables. As I had some time left, I decided to make the big step and to fire the Skyview and check if I needed to send it back to Dynon because of a service bulletin related to bad circuit boards. The problem to find out is that I first had to update the firmware to the last version which is the one that can provide the information to deternine if the componant has to be replaced. I followed the instructions provided by Dynon to update the firmware and got the needed data which is is a MAC address. I then went to Dynon web site and here is what they answered:

Technical Service Bulletin - SkyView Display Circuit Board Replacement - Revision B - MAC address verification form

You entered the MAC address: 00:D0:C9:C7:C7:97
Your SkyView display does not contain one of the circuit boards affected by this service bulletin. It should not be returned to Dynon, and no other corrective action is required. Go fly!

Alleluia!

I now have a cockpit that is complete:

... minus a few things that are making the Skyview unhappy!
Well, it's just software, fixing it will not challenge my flexibility as much as the engine work did.

After all, it was not a bad day.

Next step: to the airport!

Installation and routing of the Oil Hoses

The instructions although quite correct are pretty terse and the figures although helping somewhat cannot reflect the complex environment through which the routing of the hoses has to be made. All the way during my struggle I thought it would be usefull to have more pictures so I was motivated, once done, to make the pictures I missed. Here they are:

SB 13-04-05

I received my SB kit from VANs yesterday, at the same time as a Tight Fit Drill Kit that I had ordered at Aicraft Spruce, anticipating that I would need it. As I had not yet installed the oil tank I was able to skip the first 5 steps of the SB. I had no problem drilling and match drilling F-1201E-R but accessing F-1201E-L to do the same operation did not seem possible with the engine in place, particularly drawing the pattern shown in Figure 4 to position the holes. I then realized that the rib was sitting on the battery support and was quite stable once the holes drilled on the right side were clecoed. I decided then to reverse the sequence for the left side. I first drilled the holes in the rib, positioning them as they were match drilled on the right side. I then match drilled these holes into the F-1201E-L. This last operation can only be performed with the Tight Fit Drill or some very compact drill head as you have to operate from inside the battery cavity. Just in case I am going to put the rivets in a position that allow to drill them out the same way... you never know

Here is how the new rib looks once the SB is done and the battery reinstalled. Note that I took care to put the manufactured rivet heads facing outboard to make the drilling out easier if needed.

I discovered once the job was done that the new rib is the symetrical copy of the rib at the top. Almost looks like VANs just forgot to provide it with the initial kit?

Beware the Pitot Tube

As you saw in the previous post, the pitot tube looks more like a gun than an instrument. Here is what happen if you are not careful walking around an RV-12:

This despite two layers of fabric over my skin!

We are now propelled!

Propeller work over, it was another delicate task requiring lots of attention and concentration on instructions. I had to navigate between VANs and Sensenich instructions and parts. No major screw-up although I was concerned about the pitot tube tracking requirement to be less than 1/16th of an inch.

Here the Trade Mark of the RV-12: the pitot tube coming out of the spinner covering the propeller's hub:

Normally the pitot tube is located under the wing but as the wings of the RV-12 are removable, this solution was necessary.
At this point of my project, I still have the following tasks to complete:
- Exhaust system
- Cooling system
- Control cables (Power, Choke and Heating)
- Putting all placards mandated by the FAA
... we will then head to the airport where my wings are waiting for us.