Scott & Tanya Card RV9A build log (N4822C)

I have been slowly making progress on the fuselage center section. I spent most of last week just tinkering and thinking about all the stuff that is going to need attention in the cabin and baggage area.

I ordered and received both the ELT and strobe power supply so I could setup a mount for them under the baggage floor. The planning and fabrication of these mounts took a tremendous amount of time but I happy I did it now instead of later. I pretty much just borrowed the idea from Mike Schipper (thanks Mike). I also made holes for a bunch of adel clamps in the seat and baggage ribs. In locations where I won’t have access to the other side of the rib, I prepared for nutplates on the other side for the adel clamp bolt.
Another thing that I completed was making some baggage tie-downs. I’m using four AN3 eye bolts in each corner of the baggage floor screwed into nutplates that are reinforced with a piece of angle attached to the rib. I think this will work out well. We’ll see.

So, the center section preparation is complete. Match drilling is done, fabrication of little stuff is done, all parts are disassembled and ready for hole deburring, dimpling and priming.

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

With the aft fuselage complete, I spent a few days preparing the center section ribs for pre assembly (edge deburring, parts fabrication, etc). Yep, one thing leads to another, and the first class cabin and baggage sections begin to take shape! Not that you should care, but I’m having a ball.

I made the little attachment straps for the corner rib on the baggage floor from some .032 sheet. This was the first opportunity to really use my new pneumatic sheet metal shears. I was amazed at how cleanly and easily I could cut a perfectly straight 3/4″ strip from a sheet. From this I made the four attach straps. I also prepared the seat rib cutouts for the control column clearance. I clecoed everything together and did some little fitting adjustments and match drilled.

Next up was aligning and drilling corner rib to the bottom skin. The angle of the rib didn’t match exactly. After much study and thinking about it, I determined that the critical edge is the forward one. The side skin actually attaches to the forward part of the angle, but not the aft portion. So, I made the forward edge of the rib match the lower skin.

There is going to be a lot of wiring and stuff in this area of the fuselage eventually, so I’m going to slow down a bit at this stage and try to consider future needs very carefully. I’m probably going to install some wire conduit and a bunch of additional snap bushings for wiring needs. It is clearly easiest to do this stuff while it is all open. I am also thinking about getting and preparing mounting of the ELT and strobe power supply before I get too much further.