Riveting the mid fuse together, I was able to use the squeezer to set the rivets holding the bulkhead side channels to the rear spar bulkhead.
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| All rivets squeezed except those that will attach the F-1015A and F-1018 ribs |
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| Factory heads were placed on the thinner material where possible |
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| With the F-1015A and F-1018 ribs in place, I was able to use the single offset rivet set to buck the rivets from the F-1018 rib side |
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| Space was tight, but I was able to hold a bucking bar in between the two outboard seat ribs to set all the rivets to spec |
Next, working from outboard to inboard, I riveted each rear seat rib in turn. Once again the single offset rivet set worked really well here to fit over the flange of the rib. I also placed all factory heads on the thinner rib flange where possible to eliminate the possibility of the flange warping while riveting,
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| Setting rear seat rib rivets using the single offset rivet set |
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| At the very top of the rear seat ribs, the flange angle is too great to use the offset rivet set, so here I reversed the direction of the rivet, and the angled bucking bar fit perfectly to form the shop head |
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| Rear seat rib riveted in place. There was very slight warping of the rib flange at the top due to the reversed direction of the top most rivet, but it was barely noticeable |
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| Rear seat rib shop heads look good. |
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| All rear seat ribs riveted in place except the two inboard most ribs. Those also attach to the inboard seat ribs, and I had to figure out an easier way to set those due to the limited space with the other ribs in the way |
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| Right side rear seat ribs |
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| Left side rear seat ribs |
To rivet the remaining inboard most rear seat ribs, I figured it would be easier to place the mid fuselage assembly vertically. With my trusty helper, we lifted the assembly and I continued riveting.
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| Inboard most rear seat ribs riveted through the rear spar bulkhead into the inboard seat ribs |
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| Mid fuselage assembly is getting bigger! |
After placing the mid fuse assembly back down onto the workbench, I clecoed the F-1034 fuselage bulkhead to the rear seat ribs and continued riveting
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| Most of the F-1034 to rear seat rib rivets were squeezed with the longeron yoke. There were only a few locations where rivets had to be bucked (mostly at the outboard ribs and where the seat belt lugs were attached) due to lack of space to fit the squeezer yoke over the rivet. |
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| F-1034 bulkhead riveted in place |
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| I had to ream some of the holes in the seat belt attach ribs to fit the rivet through the flange, but all rear seat rib rivets went in without reaming |
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| Due to limited space at the outboard ribs, along with the F-1034C side channels, some of the rivets required bucking rather than squeezing |
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| Making good progress on the mid fuselage! |
Prior to riveting the baggage ribs in place, I moved the mid fuse assembly to the floor stands I had previously constructed. With some clamps and weights for added stability, I was now able to easily rivet these final ribs on place.
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| Mid fuse assemble placed vertically low to the floor |
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| Inboard baggage rib rivets were all squeezed |
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| Mid baggage rib rivets were bucked due to interference from the rear seat ribs against the squeezer yoke |
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| Be careful to orient the baggage ribs correctly. It is easy to place them incorrectly and have them angled in the wrong direction. |
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| Outboard baggage ribs were riveted with a couple of "keeper" rivets. These were easily squeezed. |
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| Left outboard baggage rib held in place with keeper rivets |
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| The remaining rivets will be set when the side skin is attached |
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| Right outboard baggage rib keeper rivets set nicely with the squeezer |
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| Factory heads are flush to the surface |
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| Mid fuselage ready for bottom skins! |
Next I clecoed the bottom skins, stiffeners and COM antenna doublers in place
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| Aft bottom skin is clecoed first |
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| Alodined COM antenna doubler locations in the second rear seat rib bay |
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| Forward bottom skin clecoed in place |
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| Though the plans specify no dimpling of the two aft most rows of holes in the aft bottom skin, I decided to dimple the six holes that lie over the tabs in the baggage ribs, as dimpling those is easier without the rib tab in the way |
Prior to riveting the skins to the ribs, I took care of match drilling the COM antenna mount holes through the doublers into the skins.
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| The bolt holes were easy enough to match drill using a #13 bit followed by a 3/16" reamer |
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| For the coax connector hole, I had previously drilled a #30 hole into the skin as close to the center of the required 9/16" hole location as I could get. I then used a step drill to enlarge it... |
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| ... however, even with a pilot holes close to center, the slight offset became more obvious as I enlarged the hole with the step drill |
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| This pilot hole was slightly more off center, and for both holes I drilled one to two steps smaller than required |
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| I removed the excess material and final sized the holes, first with a round file, and then with a small drum sanding bit on the Dremel |
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| With both conector holes final sized to 9/16" and matching the holes cut in the doublers, the Delta Pop COM antennas fit perfectly against the skins |
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| Left COM antenna attachment holes final sized |
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| Right COM antenna attachment holes final sized |
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| From the inside, the holes in the doublers and skins line up perfectly |
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| All that is left now is to deburr the hole edges, and alodine the doublers before riveting those in |
Time Taken: 6.7 hours
Dates: February 19 2025 - February 23 2025
Mid Fuse Ribs & Bottom Skins Total Time: 48.2 hours
RV-10 Build Total Time: 950.9 hours
Priming Total Time: 126.0 hours (not included in build time totals)
