Alex's Vans RV-10 Build Log

The remaining cables to be routed under the rear seats before the floors are permanently installed are the COM Antenna cables.  I had previously riveted doublers to the bottom skin in the area of the second most outboard bay under the rear seats on each side of the cabin, so now it was a matter of running a coax cable from there to the cabin side and forward towards the panel area. I purchased about 75ft of RG400 coax cable which I estimate should be enough for all the coax cable runs needed for my setup, and cut two 10ft lengths for the COM Antenna runs. Prior to running the coax cables, I crimped female BNC connectors onto one end of each cable. This was relatively straightforward using a suitable crimper and taking care to keep the shield and conductor separated. Female BNC connectors crimped onto one end of each RG400 cable Each COM Antenna cable passes through a hole punched in the second most outboard rear seat rib, and then up through the rear seat floor where it then contin...

I'm planning to attach my tail cone to the fuselage after the holidays, so for now I am skipping around a few section performing tasks that don't require the tail cone to be attached.  Under the rear seats, I will need to install access panels so that I can gain access to the COM antennas. There's not a lot of space in between the ribs so the access will be somewhat constrained. I wanted to make sure the panels sat flush with the rear seat floors, so I designed 3D drill templates for a doubler and a cover that will maximize the opening while still allowing the cover to sit perfectly flush with the rear seat floor when attached. 3D design for an access panel doubler. Nutplate holes (missing from the drill template) would be drilled after drilling the screw holes. Doubler fits precisely between the rear seat ribs, and opening is maximized while respecting appropriate edge distances 3D printed antenna access panel doubler and cover drill templates I started by tracing the dou...

To alodine the COM antenna doublers and spacers, I have been using Bonderite Alumiprep 33 for surface cleaning and Alodine 1201 for alodining. These are fairly easy to work with, however due to their toxicity I did take additional precautions by working outside, and to ensure that I didn't accidentally splash any chemicals on myself I wore goggles, gloves, long sleeves, and a respirator. Parts were dipped in a 5:1 solution of Alumiprep for about 5 minutes, then rinsed and dipped into a 3:1 solution of Alodine for another 5 minutes Doubler turning a golden hue while sitting in Alodine solution. I did find that the conversion was more effective if I moved the doubler within the alodine solution rather than letting it just site there After a final rinsing and drying, both sets of doublers and spacers were a similar color to my RV-10 wing spars After clecoing the spacers and doublers back into their respective rib bays, all that was left now to complete this section was to rivet the ...

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.  All rivets squeezed except those that will attach the F-1015A and F-1018 ribs Factory heads were placed on the thinner material where possible 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 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, Setting rear seat rib rivets using the single offset rivet set At the very top of the rear seat ribs, the flange angle is too great to use...