December 30, 2005 - Rudder and Brake Pedals

 
Today was a company holiday and I took full advantage.  In addition, the weather was nice today -- for winter -- so I was able to prime the brake pedal components.  I primed the gussets while I was at it.  The usual self-etching Mar-Hyde. 
The new bandsaw in action.  It was the perfect tool for this application -- cutting a notch out of the center rudder pedal bracket.  Before I cut, I trial fit the bracket inside the forward fuselage with the firewall recess thing clecoed in place.  I marked with a Sharpie where the notch had to be for the bracket to fit around the firewall recess.  The Sharpie mark matched almost perfectly with the dimensions on the drawings and I had my warm and fuzzy.
The bandsaw couldn't do the crosscut so I used the trusty X-acto modeler saw.  It's all a matter of using the right tool for the right job. 
I trial-fit the bracket again and the notch was perfect.  I marked with a Sharpie where the five holes should be.  They aren't perfectly equidistance because I didn't want the hole near a rivet shop head on the firewall.  I drilled the five holes in the bracket. 
Then I clamped the bracket to the firewall angle and matchdrilled the firewall angle, using the bracket as a template.  I used my angle-drill for this job.  Worked great. 
The bracket clecoed to the firewall angle. 
Now I could matchdrill the bracket using the center bushing block as a template.
With the first pair of holes drilled, I could matchdrill the second and third pairs by simply moving the bushing block back one inch -- the spacing I had used on the stiffener angles. 
All done.  (I added a 7th hole to give me a fourth pair -- will have to add a hole to each stiffener).  I wonder which setting I'll end up using? 
Now for the fun part:  riveting the brake pedals together.  It's been awhile since I've done any riveting and this was some of the easiest riveting of the entire project.  Just put the pieces in the vise and squeeze the rivets with the Main Squeeze. 
I wish all riveting was this easy. 
Brake pedals complete!
Next on the agenda is to drill the holes in the brake pedals where they attach to the rudder pedals and the brake reservoirs.  I copied Dan Checkoway's temporary "jig". 
The arrows point to where the holes in the brake pedals are drilled. 
Again, I used Dan Checkoway's method:  clamping an aluminum bar across both brake pedals to align them to the vertical, then scratching a mark through the brake reservoir hole to the pedal.  All four holes were nicely centered and the brake pedals seemed to be centered.  Another hat tip to Dan.  That pretty much finishes up the rudder and brake pedals. 
The instructions never really say when you should drill the lower longeron to the side skin.  I'm pretty much done with the instructions as far as the forward fuselage goes, so I decided I might as well do it. 
The instructions also said little about drilling the bottom skin to the side skins, firewall and center skin so I decided it was time to do that also.  Dan Checkoway's page notes that the bottom skin tucks underneath the side skin.  If you look very closely, the drawings confirm this -- but it would be a very easy thing to miss.  The next time I'm around a lot of RVs, I'll have to see if any builders have the bottom skin overlapping the side skins.  I wouldn't be surprised if some do. 

Despite the increasingly vague instructions, no one thinks more highly of these Vans kits than I do.  The instructions were very detailed in the early days when I needed to be led by the hand.  And it never fails to amaze me how perfectly the parts go together when you cleco them together for the first time using the pre-drilled holes.  It would be harder and take longer to build this plane without having Dan Checkoway's site to refer to, but Dan's site does exist, the perfect complement to the instructions and drawings.  It's all good. 

Drilling the bottom skin to the firewall flange and reinforcing angle. 
 
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