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Dave's RV-7A Builder's Log
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Date:  7-2-2010
Number of Hours:  4.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Aft deck and side rails

To get back into the building groove I decided to simply pick up where I'd left off by finishing riveting the aft deck. All but about six of the AN-470 rivets were accessible with the hand squeezer, so I got those done first. After that I fired up the compressor and pulled out the rivet gun. I got the six 1/8" rivets set and then consulted the plans regarding the row of AN-432 rivets that start at the aft end of the longeron and go forward to the front of the aft deck.

Turns out that I probably should have set those prior to riveting the aft deck, but I'm guessing I assumed that that location (like most of the rivets forward) also shared a common joint with the top skins...nope. So, I started setting the rivets and most went in pretty easily. The two exceptions were the rivets at the forward edge of the F-711 bulkhead--these were pretty tough due to the very close proximity to the horizontal stab attach points. I had to drill one rivet out, but after a little persistence I got both set satisfactorily. I will not be submitting either of those to Rivet Digest magazine though...

The aft section done for now, I moved forward and trimmed the F-721B side rails per the plan and also cut the F-757 gussets to accept the sliding canopy. That done, everything was assembled and drilled to the longerons. These parts will need to be removed, deburred, cleaned and primed before final installation.

Then it was up to the front to attach the F-695 gussets. These gussets come pre-cut to the proper size, but drilling the holes (there are about 15 of them) is left to the builder. After laying out the hole pattern and drilling all of the holes, I clamped the gussets in place and started drilling to the longeron and firewall attach bracket. I had drilled two holes and realized that my old air drill is just not fast enough to really do this work, so I decided to stop and consider my options.
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The aft deck and fuselage after riveting completed

The aft deck and fuselage after riveting completed

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F-721B side rail trimmed and slotted

F-721B side rail trimmed and slotted

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Assembly with F-721B and F-757 in place and drilled final

Assembly with F-721B and F-757 in place and drilled final

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