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Dave's RV-7A Builder's Log
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Date: 6-20-2017
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Number of Hours: 7.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Windshield fairing & wingtip work
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Today I headed out to the hangar for the first of two mid-week work days, with the goal of finishing up the windshield fairing and moving on to something that didn’t involve sanding. After spending the first few hours doing some fine detail sanding, I felt like I had done as much as I could with the canopy closed, and thus it was time to work on getting it open again. Although I had used packing tape to provide a non-stick surface on the canopy, one thing I failed to realize was that by using electrical tape to provide an aft guide edge I had somewhat negated the non-stick aspect. So, it was slightly stuck. I ended up using a flexible piece of plastic to slide between the electrical and packing tape, and after about 15 minutes of work, the canopy popped open…leaving me with a very jagged edge to trim. The Dremel tool made quick work of that task. Some very careful sanding down to the tape followed, and then I removed the tape all around the windshield to complete the majority of the fairing work. There is still a slight amount of filling on both lower aft corners, and then priming, but overall the fairing is essentially complete.
Turning next the wingtips, I first inserted the aileron push rods (since the only access is through the wingtips) and secured them with the appropriate hardware, to be adjusted later. I also installed the right aileron, so now all of the flight controls are in their respective places. With that, I started the process of installing the left wingtip. I first match drilled the tip to the wing, and then installed it with clecos to check the fit along the aft edge. There was interference with the aileron, so I trimmed about ¼” along the top and the bottom and reinstalled. I will still need to trim just a bit after installing the rib, but overall the fit looks pretty good. I finished the day by loading the cowling into the car and heading home to do some cleaning in prep for epoxy.
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At least I didn't glue the canopy shut...
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Sanding complete & aft edge trimmed
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Initial wingtip fitting
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