Date

Hours

Sect.

Notes and Photos

11/27 to 2/8/11

50 hrs

42

Windshield
As with most things in the kit so far, I managed to make the windshield install a one man job. First, the bottom clips were made a temporary mix of clips and 90 degree tabs to stop the windshield from sliding down. After final positioning and trim of the windshield, I just tilted it up against the bottom tabs and held it in place with wood. The interior was previously masked to protect against dripping glue. Then I mixed the Weld-on in a ziplock bag, cut the corner and applied a bead all around cabin top lip. Then I just removed the wood and let the windshield drop into the glue. The only clamps I used were the tie down straps going across the windshield. No crazing and only a couple of voids in the windshield bead.

I deviated from the plans in the way I cut the strips of fiberglass for fabricating the fairing. The plans called for 36 inch strips laid in a staggered butt joint fashion. Instead of cutting the fiberglass in the yard direction, I bought two yard of fabric and cut it in the long 72 inch direction. I then laid in continuous strips from one side to the other without any joints at all.

After applying 6 layers, I checked the lay up with a 7" radius gauge made of wood. It indicated that I had some low spots in the contour so I started to add flox (mix of epoxy, cotton fiber and dog hair) in between the layers like a lasanga.

Once I had the contour pretty well shaped, I switched to super-fill to feather it to the fuselage and windshield and to form the coutour along the sides. The left and right sides at the lower corners of the windshield have a bit of a bulge and need first an outside curve and then an inside curve to meet the fuselage. After the fairing was complete, I worked on the upper windshield edge so it was a smooth transition up to the door. I must say I did a pretty good job with the door fit, almost a water tight seal, and had to open it up a bit to allow for paint. I worked a sheet of sandpaper in between the door and jamb and made a 10 thousands inch gap between the two.

Next I primed the entire top. This took quite a bit of masking, priming, sanding and repeating of the process. Final result came out pretty good and the uniform color of the primer helps to highlight any flaws as I hoped it would. Now I just have to touch up some areas and I am done!

12/27 to 1/3/11

6 hrs

N/A

Carpet
I purchased my carpet from Airtex Interiors. They do not make a carpet kit for the RV-10 so I bought 3 yards of stock which is 39" wide. The carpet is foam backed and is tested to FAA burn standards. If you are interested in dimensions, the front foot wells are 29.5" x 20" at the widest. There are no 90 degree angles in the front and the carpet is cut to fit. The rear foot wells are 18.75 x 20 inches and are square. The cargo deck is 40.5" x 29.25" plus a little on the side to extend into the doorway if you want.

I bought carpet edging to apply to the exposed edges. Unfortunately my sewing machine did not have enough power to sew it on and I had to hand stitch it. The only areas it is really needed is in the cargo area doorway and the outside edges of the front foot wells.

1/4 to 1/12/11

7 hrs

N/A

Seats
I bought my seat covers from Flight line Interiors. The kit fit perfectly and was easy to install. The hardest part was picking colors. Without a woman's opinion available, I simply copied the color scheme from my Chevy Silverado. That way I know my colors were designed by a professional.

The Front Seat kit is sized to go over the provided foam. The fist step is to cut the foam to fit the seat back. I thought this was amusing since the foam and seat backs both come from Oregon Aero then why didn't they fit each other? But anyway, a little bandsaw action and the foam is cut and glued to the seat frames. Then the Flight Line Interiors kit slips over the seat back and you have an instant professional looking seat. The bottoms were just as easy once you figure out which direction is front, then the fabric is glued and velcro'd to the foam.

For whatever reason, the kit does not come with foam for the Rear Seats. This is included in the kit from Flight Line Interiors. The seat backs go over the outside of the seat back frame but you first have to do some sheet metal work to eliminate sharp corners that can pierce the fabric. This didn't take too long and the seats were together in a short time.

I thought it was time to install the control sticks, close up the under front seat area and install the seat rails. Installation of the control sticks was a breeze as I had already installed the wiring and everything already had terminals installed. The most difficult part was installation of nearly 100 Phillips head screws to hold the seat rails and covers in place. The first installation of a screw into a plate nut is always dicey and I destroyed a handful of screws during this installation.

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It's time to move to the airport!