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Dave's RV-7A Builder's Log
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Date: 1-28-2017
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Number of Hours: 5.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Instrument panel prep
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I only had one day this weekend to work on the aircraft, so I spent the time on the panel. My goal was to remove the panel and have all of the cutouts done so that I could move forward with priming, painting, decals and clear coat in the next couple of weeks. There were two major tasks associated with getting everything ready—and both of them involved cutting major holes in a perfectly good panel…always a little nerve wracking.
The first task was removing the panel, a process complicated by the number of screws, nuts, washers and wires that have some interaction with the assembly. When the panel was out of the fuselage, I took careful measurements of the ELT cutout and transferred those to the right side. Once I was sure of the dimensions, I drilled the fitting to the panel and then carefully cut the opening, filing the last couple of millimeters to ensure I hadn’t gone too far. Once that was done, I clecoed the fitting in place and checked everything for fit…after all, this will be a permanent cut in the panel and has to look good. With that done, I fitted the flap anti-rotation plate, something I purchased to make the panel a little more functional, and then removed and re-riveted the GDU 465 brackets and throttle sub panel nut plates.
The next step was to use the hole saw and cut a 3 1/8” hole in the left side for the G5 ADI I hope to procure in the next couple of months. I attached the panel to a piece of plywood to ensure that it didn’t move around during cutting, and when I was sure everything was secure, I took a deep breath and turned the drill press on. Like most cuts on this project, the preparation paid off by making the final process almost a non event. In the end I had the panel shown in the third picture…ready to finish!
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Behind the curtain...
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Moving ELT panel to right side
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Finished panel cutouts with 3 1/8" on the left for eventual G5 ADI
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