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Buck's RV-8
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Date: 9-23-2007
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Number of Hours: 4.50
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Strobe and ELT mounts; static ports
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After about two hours of drilling, cussing and sweating profusely, I'm now just about done with the ELT and strobe pack mounts.
I completely assembled the ELT mounting plate and bracket. It's ready to go. On the ELT, the only thing left to do is blind-rivet the lower attach angle for the ELT to the airplane's longeron. This is going to be tough, because there's not enough room along the side of the fuselage for a pop rivet tool, or a squeezer, or a bucking bar. Tomorrow, I'll see if anyone around here has a smaller pop-rivet tool than mine. If not, I might have to drill four new holes in-between the platenuts. Not a big deal.
I drilled, clecoed, cleaned, primed and riveted the strobe pack attach angles to the longeron. Tomorrow, I'll rivet the platenuts and stiffeners to the strobe mounting plate (after the paint on the plate dries), and then it'll be ready to blind-rivet into the airplane when it's needed. This will be a bit later (after I paint the interior.)
Next, I drilled the 1/4" holes on the fuselage sides for the static ports. (I'm using aftermarket CreativeAir static ports, not the stock Vans port.) Then, I drilled four attach holes for the new ports, backdrilling through the ports into the skin. Tomorrow, I'll dimple the skin and countersink the port flanges. Heck, I might even rivet the ports on tomorrow.
I squirmed my way deep into the fuselage, cut off about 30" of static tube, and routed it over the top of the bulkhead adjacent to the static ports. This will connect the ports and also connect to a T-fitting. From there, a static line will eventually go forward along the left upper longeron to the instrument panel area. I'm a pretty big guy, and getting my shoulders past that third bulkhead is tight. Glad I'm not particularly claustrophobic.
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The ELT mount is ready to be screwed in place when the time comes.
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Back-drilling the static port into the fuselage skin.
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I zip-tied the static line in place, and I'll make some connections tomorrow.
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