Steps Install, Fuselage Conduit, Sound Proofing/Insulation & Baggage Area

Steps Install

Section 30

A majority of this was completed by the quickbuilders so it's not really a time sink, really all that's left is pushing in the actual steps and bolting them in place.  However slight problem with my kit as I didn't get the two AN3-20A bolts used to final attachment. They are typically shipped holding a temporary bar in place... however that wasn't the case with mine and holding my temporary bar in place were crate wood screws instead, no big deal Vans just had to send me a few.

During nightly research reading session I learned that there have been cases of these steps becoming loose over time.  A few solutions builders like to do is to install inspection panels made up of the stall horn access plates so you can visually inspect the bolts and tighten if need be.  These panels don't allow you to take the screws out so I don't really see the point.  Also continually tightening the bolt will just space the pipe, so I went with a different solution.

I bought Step Bushing from TCW technologies which more or less fill in the space allowing a tighter more secure fit.  I literally was able to push the bushings down into each step using a hammer, piece of PVC and a string (In case you have to pull it back out).  Then it's a matter of torquing the bolts down to spec and moving on.  If there comes a point where I need to visually inspect this area I can retro fit an access panel, much like I did on the wing.

Fuselage Conduit

As with the wings I struggled a bit on how to route the conduit.  Then I found a Matronics post with some great pictures, even reached out to Carl Froehlich for some clarification.  In the end I did a total of 6 (3 each side) runs using the flex pipe from Vans.  Where I needed to drill 3/4" through the seat panels and ribs I made some doublers.  Probably didn't need them but gives it a cleaner look in the end.

Drilling these were not easy

Sound Proofing/Insulation

Some say you don't need it, some say you do... I decided I do despite flying with a fantastic ANR headset.  The product I went with was 1/2" Self adhesive foam from  Soundproofing.org. I suggest going through them because for whatever reason ACS really ups the pricing going from 1/4" to 1/2".  I ordered 20' worth, and it's too early to tell if that's enough or over kill but so far it looks like I should be able to do the cabin side of the firewall and the walls.  I can't take credit for the install though, that's being done by my wife who has found her niche in aircraft construction.

Another place I've added insulation is under the front floor boards.  Since I wasn't able to remove the floor panels due to the gear weldment I decided to just spray foam instead.  The aviation section of Home Depot has some fire resistant canned stuff that worked well.  Just place some paper or tape or something under the rear holes and get to spraying.  After shooting a can under each side let it cure for a day and cut out any excess that squeezed out.

It's the orange stuff

Baggage Area

Section 33

The baggage area was an on again, off again piece of work that I've been cracking away at for a bit. There's some decisions that you have to make such as conduit, soundproofing, step and other odds and ends posted above prior to riveting down the floor boards.
The plans also separate out QB vs Standard build actions however maybe the guys in the Philippines were working off a different set of plans because they missed a number of items.  Not a huge issue just need to double, triple check what was supposed to have been done was indeed complete. The rest of the actions required isn't anything challenging but does take some time.  There's a lot of drilling, a lot of nutplates, a good bit of riveting and such.

I did borrow a friends pneumatic cherry rivet gun to try on the floors.  Here's a picture of it...

It actually takes a bit to get used to. You need to make sure you have the correct end on it, I had an end that was for more of a LP rivet so when I ran some CS rivets it rounded the top requiring me to drill them out.  After about 10 mins you get the hang of it and you can whip through pulled rivets like nobody's business.  There are still areas though where the cramped spaces require you to use a traditional hand riveter.

Below are some pictures of the progress at random points...

Those bushings are to protect the panels from the seat belt cables

That's the baggage area completed

Fuel Tank Test, Wing Conduit and Bottom Skins

Fuel Tank Test

One fairly critical component of the QB inspection includes testing of the fuel tank for any leaks.  These tanks are notoriously challenging to build and get sealed up, luckily Vans does this for you on the quickbuild but highly suggests you test them yourself.  To accommodate this Vans sends you a testing kit with your shipment.  Since I removed the tanks from the wings to inspect it makes it fairly painless to run the suggested tests.  I did have to reach out to the VAF forum with a few questions about the process.  There are several methods you can use to test the tanks but I decided to go with the one the kit is for.  One issue that wasn't clear to me was the kit requires you to have the tank fuel filter installed to use one of the caps. Once that was figured out the rest went smoothly.

Tester Kit Parts

The picture above shows the parts of the testing kit; fill stem you screw on, cap for the fuel filter and a balloon cable tied to the tank vent line.  Now the purpose of the balloon is to ensure you don't over pressurize the tank, so if it pops then that's too much pressure... if it doesn't fill then you have a big leak somewhere.  I used an air compressor turned down to the lowest PSI setting to fill, would fill for about 5 seconds and wait and repeat until the balloon was inflated.  Then it's like testing a tire, you just spray soapy water all over the place and look for bubbles.   The only bubbles I had were around the balloon since the cable tie wasn't air tight. Happy to saw that both tanks passed their tests and are ready to be reinstalled onto the wings.

Wing Conduit

The subject of conduit for both the wings and the fuselage is something that I really struggled with.  Searching the internet you find that everyone does it a bit different and some don't do it at all.  For me this plane I plan on having for a very long time and would anticipate a number of avionic upgrades so conduit is a must.  Right sizing of the conduit is also a must, you don't want to end up with too little, and you really don't want to end up with a mess of conduit to have to work around.

What I ended up doing is running 1/2 CPVC down the wings in the factory drill holes, it's an extremely tight fit, it's light weight and large enough to accommodate all my wiring needs.  I went ahead and put a break in the conduit where the bell cranks go which allows me to run wires from that area down the conduit as well.

1/2" CPVP Conduit, SB-375-4 bushing for AoA and Pitot lines

Something else that needs to be resolved before closing up the wings is your Pitot situation.  I plan to use a heated Pitot/AOA combo meaning I need to install a mounting bracket for that.  I went with the Gretz Aero kit because it's compatible with multiple vendors so if I decided to stray away from Garmin I'll be able to use a Dynon or some other vendor.  The instructions seems a bit confusing but if you look at the pictures you get an idea of what you need to do and it only took about two hours to go through and get it all mounted.  That includes making the bracket, etching and priming.

The Pitot/AOA combo also requires running two separate air lines.  I decided to use the standard run already drilled on the kit and then make an additional hole to run the second line.  Now I would be lying if I said this was easy because the inboard holes on rib three and four which is covered with a skin was a tad challenging.  I ended up using an additional drill head and connected that within the cavity I was drilling... okay that probably doesn't make sense, a better method would be to get a foot long 3/8 inch drill bit.

The final step before I could close the skins was to mount the autopilot roll servo bracket and the Aileron trim. Will have to connect them all later but for the time being all done.

Bottom Skin

This section is all old hat to me.  Although very time intensive, it's not overly challenging from a process perspective but requires quite a bit of ninja skills if you're going to solo rivet.  The gap fairings went on well with the only hangup getting the last four rivets on the flap fairing.  I had help but it was to no avail with trying to get a bar at the very top... In the end I used pop rivets for the four rivets.  Standard builders would have no issues since the inboard bottom skin wouldn't have been attached yet.

Those are the four pop rivets

My cousin who flies C17's down in Altus was up and helped me get started on the actual skins and jstiffners.  We rocked through all the match drilling in about 3 hours.  I saved him from the agony of the deburring and dimpling, he would like to build a plane at some point and those two processes might have quickly changed his mind.

Here's the Gretz Pitot mast after match cutting a hole in the skin.

It was a tad confusing on the actual riveting process.  After reading the plans a good 10 times and looking for pictures online I figure out that you started in the middle, worked your way to the sides at the top and then down... ignoring the three outboard bays.  That's because to get to those you roll the skin back and hit those when you can.  I would suggest having help, but then again I was able to do it solo with only a few minor cuts and bruises.  I'm very happy with how my rivets turned out, only about two dings per side.

All buttoned up