Fuselage
Building
the new match drilled fuselage is a much easier, quicker process than
before. A lot of the hard parts to build, and difficult spots
in
the construction, have been fixed. I will talk specifics
about
the RV-8, but much of what is in here is applicable to other aircraft
too. I don’t want to repeat the instructions, one step at a
time. Instead, I will give you my little comments and
suggestions
on things as you go through the directions.
This
section
is organized in the same order as the plans. So stick to
them,
and reference these pages as you go. Remember that Vans wrote
the
directions for the general builder, but personalization is what
Experimental Aircraft are all about. If you are building some
other kitplane, a lot of the ideas or techniques may still help you out.
You
will build the substructures
first, then deal with the skins.
At this point everything is pretty sturdy, and you will do the
initial fitting of the landing
gear,
then move on to some interior
parts and finally attach the
empennage.
From here on, it really doesn’t matter in what order you accomplish the
rest of the tasks. But there are a few
considerations. Once you mount the main gear, it is a climb
into
the cockpit. I would recommend waiting on final installation
of
the turtle deck, F-825 Aft Upper Skin, until as late as you can
stand. It is a lot easier to reach over the side than to
crawl in
from the luggage compartment when running wires or installing the
battery box.
You still have to install:
And
you still have to hang
the wings!
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