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.