Alex's Vans RV-10 Build Log

Prior to tail cone attachment I tackled a few miscellaneous tasks and decided to work on fabricating the push rods and torque tubes for aileron actuation.  I 3D printed several drill guides (thanks again to Allen Glen for his 3D model) for the different tube diameters and this made match drilling the rod ends extremely easy.  After cutting pushrod to length and deburring, drill guide fits snugly over rod end and lines up with the edge to correctly position the rivet holes Rivet holes drilled at both ends of torque tube to bellcrank pushrod Push rods and rod ends deburred and ready for priming Next, I cut the steel bellcrank to aileron pushrods to length using a hacksaw and also fabricated the aileron bellcrank spacers and torque tube collars. Slowly cutting through the steel tube to form two bellcrank to aileron pushrods Bellcrank to aileron push rods, aileron bellcrank spacers, aileron bellcrank bushings and torque tube collars all cut to exact lengths and deburred Using ano...

In between aileron and flap priming and assembly sessions, I took some time to start preparing parts of the aileron trim bracket. This involved deburring bracket edges and final drilling holes as well as separating spacers.  Aileron trim bracket pieces ready for priming After priming all the parts I put together the aileron trim assembly as described in the plans, and then used a power supply to verify that the trim arm operates as intended. Aileron trim assembly riveted together and bushing/connector inserted into openings Some minor scraping of the primer will be touched up once assembly is complete Upsizing the trim motor attachment holes using a #28 drill bit A cleco clamp came in handy to hold the nut while using a screwdriver from the other side to attach the trim motor to the bracket Trim motor attached to bracket and arm, with wires routed through the bushing Trim motor arm extended to test free movement of trim arm through its entire range. No binding occurred! Cotter pins...

With only a few steps left to complete the ailerons, I removed the trailing edge wedges and got both ailerons ready for applying sealant to the trailing edge. This involved scuffing and acetone wiping the mating surfaces on the skin and trailing edge wedges, and making sure both ailerons were positioned to lay flat on the workbench. Ailerons positioned for inserting the trailing edge wedges This was the last chance for me to check that there was no twist in the ailerons and that they lay completely flat Next I mixed up about 44g of proseal (40g sealant + 4g hardener) using a scale that measures down to 1/100g, and a 60ml syringe to apply the proseal to the trailing edge wedges. After installing both wedges and clecoing them to the alignment jigs, I double checked that both ailerons had zero twist, and left them to cure for several days. First time mixing proseal by hand using a cutoff popsicle stick and an acrylic plate on which to mix. Aileron trailing edges curing. All remaining hole...