Matt's RV-8 Project



Matt Dralle's RV-8 Project
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Date:  12-29-2013
Number of Hours:  2.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Adding Platenuts to Left Tank - Part 01

Well, I've gotten a lot of other stuff done on the 'ol RV-8 rebuild since the last update, and I'll get to those updates eventually, but here's some progress from today that feels like an extra bit of accomplishment.

Since the left fuel tank was damaged in the Mishap, I had to get a replacement, which means a whole myriad of other things have to be redone as well. This included a replacement wing-to-fuselage fairing and, of course, I had to drill new holes and add platenuts to the fuel tank. And, of course, when I drilled them, I went a little too far in and so the holes where so close to the rib, that I had to custom make a shim to go between the platenuts and the bottom of the tank skin. I had to cut the original Proseal bead away along the seam which made me a little nervous, so I decided to just use Proseal between the new shim and the tank skin, just to make sure that everything would remain sealed up.

Of course, anything involving Proseal is a giant mess and the stuff is soooo sticky and gooey; yuck. But, I'm happy to say, that I got though it and it came out really nice. I can hardly wait to get the tank back on the airplane and the wing back on the fuselage to try it out. But, alas, that the second part of that will have to wait now until nearly the retest flight. Last week, all of the various things that needed doing with the wings mounted on the fuselage are finally done, and so the wings came back off last Friday (thanks Mike!). Mounting the engine is getting close I can almost taste the aviation oil!
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Left Fuel Tank

Left Fuel Tank

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Left Fuel Tank

Left Fuel Tank

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Left Fuel Tank

Left Fuel Tank

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