N147GC is officially an airplane!

Today, Monday 19th of December, our RV-14 was deemed airworthy!!  This journey began almost New Years Day of 2013 and the build has now come to an end.  My father started this build and I know he would be thrilled that we carried out his dream and finished the project. This build would not have happened without lots of help from some wonderful people.  We are very blessed to have the aviation community that allowed us make this dream a reality.  

Stay tuned to the blog for the first flight, slated for next week. 

DAR Bill Wood of Taccoa, GA did the honers.  He and his staff were a pleasure to work with and made the process a breeze.  I`ve been waiting for that piece of paper for a long time!!

The finishing touches were vinyl graphics made by an airpark neighbor.   

                                                   

The fowler flap of the -14 means it does not rub while it travels.  Placing the "no step" near the leading edge of the flap, it hides under the trailing edge of the wing when the flaps are up...slick!

The story behind the N number.  N147GC has a creative and clever meaning to my family.  "14" is self explanatory, RV-14.  "47G" Is shared between this airplane and the other airplane in our family, a Bücker Jungmann, N1947G.  "GC" Are my fathers initials this plane was his dream and it will carry always bear his initials.  

The Stein Air panel installed in the -14.  I have only been able to fool with the Skyview and Garmin a little bit, we did do the fuel system calibration yesterday as well.

This interior is comfortable to be in, and smells as good as it looks "real leather"!  The seats, stick boots, and arm rests were done by Bennett Akin of Cleveland, GA.  This airplane was a real team effort by folks around this special place.  Carpet will be added later on down the road to help with sound deadening.  I am looking forward to spending many hours in this cockpit exploring this fine country and learning about flying.

Thank you for following the journey, feel free to contact me if you have questions about the build.  I will continue to update this blog with tales of our adventures with N147GC!

Happy building and blue skys! 

It runs!

Another milestone in the RV build, the first engine start! It was very exciting to hear it fire up for the first time and come to life. We are starting to get close to flying this beautiful airplane. Next up is the airworthiness inspection and then it`s time to fly. I know Dad would be mighty proud of this machine and I am thrilled with how it has turned out.

I was also able to brush up on my RV skills with a hangar neighbor in his RV-6!

Panel install underway.. Interior is in!

We received the panel from Stein last week, the install is underway now.  Also our seats are delivered and installed.  Bennett Akin, our airport neighbor made these custom leather seats for us.  To follow are arm rest pads and stick boots.  

The panel... coming soon

Things are starting to fall into place.  This week Stein Air shipped us the panel, it should arrive this Friday (10/14/16).  This and the seats are the last two items we need to get this bird in the air.  

Some specs on the panel:

The goal was keeping it simple, but IFR legal as well:

Single 10' Dynon Skyview 

Garmin GTN 650

Dynon autopilot, radio, and intercom

Chart box on the right side

Aux input, USB charging etc..

I`m probably leaving some things off, but that is the basic layout.

All boxed up on the way to North Georgia!!

I must say Stein has been incredibly responsive and professional.  We went back and forth a lot over the build of the panel and their experience was really helpful in deciding what to use for our panel.  I am excited to see this thing in person and install it in the airplane.

I`m trying to keep my excitement in check...90% there, 90% to go... But it feels like were close to getting this thing in the air!

Stay tuned...

The RV has its wings!

It has been a few weeks since I have posted an update, but the work has continued.  

On July 26th we hung the wings on the RV.  One interesting observation is just how close the tolerance is on the spar and wing attach points.  We had a single layer of primer on the spar and just that thickness was enough to make the wing not fit.  After cleaning the primer off and some creative movements, we were able to get the wings in place.  Thanks go out to Allen and his family all of which were involved in this big day.  As well as airport neighbor and RV-6 owner/builder Mike Fitzpatrick for his help with hanging the wings.  

Since these photos, the wingtips and landing light lenses have been installed as well

We are now working on the interior, we had to figure out the dimensions of the foam for the seats.  I got to climb in and help fit the foam.  

Stein is working hard on the panel.  With any luck we will have our panel either late August or early September.  Another airport neighbor is working on our custom leather interior, which should be done by this time as well. 

I was able to do some transition training in Mike`s RV-6 this past week as well.  Until then, I had only flown in Allen`s -8 for half an hour or so.  We shot probably a dozen landings in the -6, both at our home grass strip and at a local county airport.  I love how the -6 handles, very responsive and predictable.  It just makes me even more excited about flying the -14.  I know its going to be a great airplane! 

The finish line is getting closer... Stay tuned!

RV 14 moves to its home base!!

This week the RV was transported from the shop to its home base in North Georgia.  We are excited to continue with final assembly.  The next step is getting the panel from Stein, we are in the planning stages with the layout right now.

Paint update

This update includes the accent paint for the fuselage and tail group.  We are using the Vans factory scheme and changing the colors to red and black.  The paint turned out awesome and the airplane is looking great.

\

Aircraft back in paint booth , prep and mask off for black paint

Un mask black and re mask for Flight Red

Un mask black and re mask for Flight Red

Reassemble the tail section to check alignment of stripe lines. All looks good . Tail group will be removed for transport to airport for final assembly.

Great looking paint makes a beautiful airplane!

Fiberglass fitting and paint

Finish bodywork on canopy, Apply acid etch primer, epoxy sanding primer, base coat white , top coat red

Finish bodywork on canopy, Apply acid etch primer, epoxy sanding primer, base coat white , top coat red

fabricate and assemble rear spinner plate

fabricate and assemble rear spinner plate

 Fitting and installation of horizontal and vertical stabilizer fairings 

 Fitting and installation of horizontal and vertical stabilizer fairings 

After trimming to the scribe lines and attaching in place I wasn't really happy with the fit where the fiberglass faring intersects with the horizontal stab. There was about 1/8 inch gap at the leading edge . I molded the faring to the stab with epoxy / cotton flox , this will be feathered before I paint and will give a nice glove fit.

Firewall forward continued

Work on the firewall forward kit continues.  Also we have ordered the panel from Stein Avionics.  It will be a Dynon Skyview system with a Garmin GTN 650.  The wait on this will be around 5-7 weeks for the panel to be wired and complete.  In the mean time, we will be painting the accent colors on the fuselage. This is getting exciting!

 Installation of intake snorkel 

 Installation of intake snorkel 

 Installation of control quadrant and cables

 Installation of control quadrant and cables

Installation of air filter and front ramp fittings

Installation of heat and exhaust systems

Installation of heat and exhaust systems

 Installation of heat and exhaust systems

 Installation of engine baffle system