Tools Update – CP-214 Pneumatic Rivet Squeezer, New Compressor, EkoPrime

As awesome as my Cleveland Main Squeeze rivet squeezer is to make short and easy work out of squeeze setting rivets, I’ve done some soul searching about time value of money and come to the natural conclusion that investing in some tools that dramatically lessen build time is a sure bet.

Just so happens that I found an amazing deal on VAF classifieds for some used pneumatic squeezers and picked one up. Will report later when I next do some rivetting about how this performs. I hear wonderful things. Also have an adjustable ram on order from Aircraft Spruce so that I can adjust to desired rivet length and set depth without having to use shim washers underneath the rivet sets.

Also, having had it with Zinc Chromate rattlecan primer, I did some research and settled on Stewart Systems Ekoprime which is non-toxic and water based. I have a two year old running around now and it’s just not worth it when you read about the nasty carcinogenic ingredients in the Zinc Chromate. Since Ekoprime has to be sprayed, to go along with it I set up with a new 15 Gallon Dewalt 200psi compressor and Sprayit SP-33000 LVLP spray-gun.

Engine Arrival & Preservation for Long Term Storage

  • Hours –
  • TTOB –

After researching for some time on VAF as well as looking at Lycoming SL L180B, I planned for and carried out a detailed procedure to preserve the engine once it arrived. I believe this approach will serve to very effectively prevent any corrosion while my engine sits in wait for my build to catch up to the point where I’m ready to install it.

These were the leading options I considered for pickling:

  1. Lycoming Service Letter L180B w/ Tanis preconfigured kit – fill to normal oil capacity of 9 quarts with 1 part MIL preservative to 3 parts grade 1100 mineral oil, run engine until oil temp reaches 180F, remove top plugs & spray each cylinder while piston bottomed with MIL-P-46002, install desiccant plugs in top spark plug bores, add desiccant bags in other engine openings (intake, exhaust …)
  2. Van’s Airforce Bulletproof Procedure – plug all potential openings for oil, fill engine to brim with auto oil (expect up to 10 Gallons of oil required), install desiccant or old spark plugs
  3. Mattituck Practical – Purchase or mix 10 quarts of preservation type oil and purchase an inexpensive pump up garden sprayer. Plug up any holes exposed to engine internals and fill engine with 9 quarts of preservation oil mix. Remove top plugs and load garden sprayer with remaining quart of preservation oil mix.  Set sprayer to mist, pump up, and fog cylinders (each with piston bottomed and then one final time in final crank stowage position). Reinstall plugs or desiccant plugs. Do not rotate crank any more. Slowly rotate entire engine around crank axis counter-clockwise a couple of times to allow oil to coat all internals. Repeat once per year if in controlled environment.
  4. Active Dehydrator – Aquarium pump pulling air from crankcase breather tube, through tub full of desiccant and returning into oil filler tube. http://www.barkeraircraft.com/files/NDc_complete_revied_Nov_2013.pdf

I decided to follow a combination of options 3 & 4: Mattituck’s recommend method, using Camguard as the preserving additive and adding the active dehydrator. Mounting to an automotive stand with threaded rod extensions will allow the whole case to be rotated per the Mattituck procedure.

Below is the step by step of what I did:

  1. Construct active dehydrator unit using barker aircraft instructions. Eliminate circuitry and automatic regeneration heat lamp.
  2. Remove and yellow tag 24V starter (Lamar PM2401 – 24V only unit)
  3. Remove and yellow tag 28v alternator (Aero Electric ASG10001-11 – 28V only unit)
  4. Fabricate and install wood cover block with cut rubber sheet gasket to cover governor drive opening
  5. Fabricate and install aluminum cover plates and rubber gaskets to cover the six exposed exhaust ports on cylinders.
  6. Seal off hose from vapor return fitting on fuel servo by installing 1/8 NPT pipe plug  into unterminated hose end fitting
  7. Seal off hose from fuel pump inlet fitting on fuel servo by installing 3/8 NPT pipe plug  into unterminated hose end fitting
  8. Seal open fitting on accessory case where oil pressure switch was removed (near oil cooler return) with 1/8 NPT pipe plug
  9. Seal off hose from manifold pressure port (off of number 3 cylinder) by installing 1/8 NPT pipe plug into unterminated hose end fitting
  10. Verify that fuel pressure, oil pressure, & oil temperature transducers do not have any exposure to air ingress, nothing required if so
  11. Seal off crankshaft flange bore by inserting 2″ diameter dust cap, then wrapping in zip lock bag, duct taped and zip tied
  12. Seal off fuel servo air intake by wrapping in zip lock bag, tightened down with existing hose clamp
  13. Seal off tachometer drive port on accessory case with zip lock bag zip tied temporarily. Later order and install tachometer cap, aircraft spruce P/N 10-06754
  14. Measure angle of mounting ears and cut four 12 inch lengths of 3/4″ steel tube to matching beveled edge on one end
  15. Cut four lengths of 7/16 threaded rod leaving desired thread exposure on auto mount arms and engine mounting ears. Heat rod with torch and bend engine end of rod to conform to angle
  16. Attach hoist to engine lifting rings, take up weight, unbolt engine mount from pallet and raise engine with hoist with mount still attached.
  17. Remove engine mount and package for return to engine seller
  18. Remove and tag primary and backup vacuum pumps. Fabricate and install aluminum cover plates and rubber gaskets. Later order Lycoming cover plates and gaskets P/Ns 60430, 8313, 69106, 69551
  19. Set up auto stand and then use nuts and washers as required to secure engine with threaded rods through steel standoff tubes and engine mounting ears. Slowly let down hoist until auto stand is securely holding engine. Remove hoist.
  20. Fabricate seals for dehydrator to breather and oil filler tube junctions: Rtv dehydrator tubes to rubber caps at ends and secure with hose clamps and duct tape to breather and filler
  21. Mix camguard at a 10% ratio with 10 quarts of 2w50 Ashless dispersant oil to create preservative mix
  22. Fill engine with 9 quarts of preservative oil mix
  23. Fill garden sprayer with 1 quart of preservative oil mix, set to mist and pump up to prime sprayer
  24. Remove top spark plugs from all cylinders
  25. Rotate crank until cylinder number 1 is at bottom of travel and liberally mist cylinder through spark plug bore. Repeat for each cylinder in turn
  26. Rotate crankshaft to position where no cylinder is at top dead center and then re fog every cylinder in this final crank storage position
  27. Install desiccant plugs in top spark plug bores. Install old unserviceable plugs in bottom bores if available
  28. Slowly rotate entire engine 360 degrees counter-clockwise using auto stand rotation capability, pausing for several minutes each 45 degrees to allow oil to thoroughly coat all parts
  29. Transport engine to long term storage location in home garage
  30. Install and activate dehydrator
  31. Cover engine with poly to prevent dust collection and activate a room dehydrator in garage
  32. Repeat steps X through Y every 9 months if measured temperatures and humidity in garage are relatively stable. Every 6 months otherwise
  33. Insert Proposed Entry into Engine Log : Received Engine as removed from N52757. Removed and tagged: Lamar Starter P/N PM2401, Aero Electric Alternator P/N ASG10001-11, Airborne Vacuum Pump P/N 211CC, Airborne Vacuum Pump P/N 212CW and capped associated openings.  Capped exhaust ports, fuel servo air intake, governor mounting area, and all other open ports and hoses. Filled engine with 9 quarts of “preservative mix” 1 part Camguard to 9 parts Philips 66 X/C 2W50. Fogged cylinders with “preservative mix”. Installed 6 AN4062-1 desiccant plugs in top spark plug bores and 6 unserviceable sparkplugs in bottom spark plug bores. Installed engine on stand for long term storage using elastomeric mounts and rotated engine on stand for coating of preservative.

Engine Purchased!

Conquered a major milestone this summer. Van’s specifies an engine for the RV-10 in the Lycoming parallel valve six cylinder O-540 (carbureted) or IO-540 (injected) series developing between 235 and 260 hp.

The cowling and firewall forward kit are all designed around the power to weight ratio, dimensions, vertical induction style etc of this segment of the 540 powerplant line, which can go up to a whopping 380 hp with angle valves, different cranks, lots more weight, turbos and what not.

Vans also built a prototype RV-10 using the six cylinder 210hp Continental IO-360 but never productized the FWF/cowling due to poor customer feedback and presumably low demand. Nonetheless, the prototype powered by this engine, N220RV, demonstrated still excellent performance and is used to this day for demo flights and transition training.

For finding and procuring a suitable engine, today a builder like me has a small list of possible options/price points due to a narrowing of the supply chain for the suitable 540 series. Demand rose sharply in the last decade or so due in part to the RV-10 and numerous other homebuilt designs like the Bearhawk that call upon this class of 540s. Now the options I had were:

  1. Lycoming factory new experimental IO-540-D4A5 260hp through Van’s who now gets a preferred OEM price from Lycoming that they can partially pass through to the builder – $47,700 USD as of June 2017
  2. Engine shops that offer overhauls/new builds with a focus on the experimental category like Aerosport Power (in my home province BC!), Barret Precision Engines, Titan etc. – High 30’s to mid 40s to higher depending on core source / options
  3. Mid time used 540 via Wentworth, Barnstormers, Ebay etc – Huge savings to huge risk possible, requiring careful research.

I spent quite literally weeks determined to get this set up for my build once and for all. Having not ruled out the new buy via Van’s, I set out to look into options 2 and 3 and see what I could find.

I can’t say enough good things about Aerosport Power and in particular one of their master engine builders Darren Jones who invested considerable time advising me with no expectations of a purchase or pressure of any kind. Simply world class help. I quickly learned that some years back shops like Aerosport were able to build up factory new IO-540s using OEM parts from Lycoming and stay highly competitive vs the full package direct from the factory via Van’s. For whatever reason though, Lycoming raised the parts prices to these different channels to the point where they could no longer compete with Van’s OEM prices. What they are able to do effectively now is source a good core, meaning a serviceable used crankshaft and case, and build what is effectively a re-manufactured “new” engine with all new parts aside from case and crank. It seemed like I could get this through in the high 30s all in. So I parked that avenue as the leading candidate while I checked out option 3.

Option 3 was fraught with needing a high research and time investment from me and again I got tons of helpful advice from Darren at Aerosport. It took me quite a while to figure out which of the seemingly dozens of 540 variants could be compatible. I highly recommend downloading the Lycoming special service publication SSP-110-1 (https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/SSP-110-1%20Certificated%20Engines.pdf) which allows you to trace what the differences between the different models are. I supplemented this with their IO-540 Operator’s Manual, overhaul manual and illustrated parts catalogs to figure out what is what. This was a grueling amount of research but worth it in the long run and I now know my engine parts inside and out.

One by one, I then got pics and logs from several ads that showed up on ebay and barnstormers and from some of the salvage guys like Wentworth about opportunities available. A few got sold, a few I ruled out because of something I didn’t like in the logs (think carefully about prop strikes and other damage, as well as the number of overhauls which in each instance machine the crank and case to reduced but still serviceable dimensions that limit how many overhauls you may be able to achieve in the future). And so it went, until within a couple of weeks I found the winner!

I found an ad on barnstormers for a 1,055 TTSN, built new in 2002, first run (meaning not overhauled once yet), clean logs, clean pics, no damage history IO-540-AB1A5. It was being listed by a gentleman and pilot named Bill in Texas who had recently removed it from his Cessna 182T in order to replace with a higher power STC engine package available for his 182. Now the -AB1A5 is a bit of an odd duck recent variant from Lycoming. When Cessna restarted new production of the 182 in the late 90s, they switched over from Continental to Lycoming who by then was a sister company under their Textron corp ownership. They moved away from carbureted to fuel injected at the same time in order to once and for all do away with carb heat requirements in the 172s and 182s. The 182 for decades to that point had been powered by a Continental O-470 producing 230 hp. So to match this power output with the 540, seems as though Cessna and Lycoming tweaked the 540 series to reduce weight a little and limit peak RPM to 2,400 but still produce exactly 230 peak hp. It’s parallel valve, 8.5:1 compression, 382 lbs dry weight, vertical induction. Van’s IO-540-D4A5 they sell fro the RV-10 is parallel valve, 8.5:1 compression, 412 lbs dry weight, vertical induction.

Bingo! I concluded that this powerplant would be a great match for my RV-10 and deliver to me the added benefit of lower peak rpm for cabin noise and vibration. It’s only 5hp below the various 235hp models Van’s says is a-ok and still 25hp more than their 210hp prototype which performs well.

I’ve interpolated Van’s stated performance figures below to derive anticipated 230hp performance. Looks great!

Stay tuned to my next post for an outline of how I plan to preserve & corrosion protect the engine for a couple of years while I continue to work on the airframe build.

 

Building HS Cradles

  • Hours – 1.5
  • TTOB – 153.5
  • Manual Reference – 8-7 step 5

Manual directs you to build 4 cradles to hold the horizontal stab during construction out of plywood. I went with Jason Ellis’ technique instead where you use some 2x4s and strapping to allow more maneuverability. Not sure if the vinyl I used for strapping is going to be too flimsy but will swap with nylon later if they don’t hold up.

Radiusing Forward End of HS-905 Nose Ribs and Aft Flange Bend

  • Hours – 2.5
  • TTOB – 152.0
  • Manual Reference – 8-7 steps 3, 4

Now that I got fluting figured out on the inspar ribs before, straightening out these nose ribs went pretty quickly and turned out well.

Next, going back to something that I didn’t quite do aggressively enough on the vertical stabilizer, this time around the manual warns you to shape the front of the nose ribs well so that the skins don’t get faceted (bumped outward due to tips of underlying rib deforming the overlying skin near their flange radius).

First, I rechecked the edge distance parameters in section 5 of the manual to make sure I left enough metal between the front most hole in the flange and the edge of the flange after shaping and marked this limit. It’s basically minimum of 2 times the diameter of the rivet hole between the edge and the center of the hole. Then I went to town on the scotchbrite wheel and shaped these down nicely.

Next easy bit was to bend out the aft flanges of two of these nose ribs to 9 degrees using the hand seamer and my angle marking on my workbench.

And finally, I was pleasantly surprised to see that though the manual still asks you to cut out some oval holes in the two rib webs to allow passage of trim cables, that the latest generation ribs in the kit come with the holes already done for you!

Deburring HS-905 Nose Ribs

  • Hours – 4.0
  • TTOB – 149.5
  • Manual Reference – 8-7 step 3

More deburring monotony. I think my method of 1″ scothbrite wheel in drill + dremel sanding disc + emery cloth flossing for between flanges works well but is still very time consuming to get them perfect. I might be going too far and just need to get the sharp edges off rather than taking them butter smooth. Might also look into some dremel fine point rubber abrasive tips to see how they do.

Bends on Inboard HS Inspar Ribs

  • Hours – 2.0
  • TTOB – 145.5
  • Manual Reference – 8-7 step 2

A nice little break from deburring tonight. The two HS-1004 inspar ribs where you cut off four flanges before need some bends to conform to the profile of the horizontal stabilizer when nested in the skins later.

It was a little awkward using my course protractor held up in the air to measure the required 9 degree angles but then things got easier when I decided to just draw the angle on my workbench. From there, using the hand seamer to get the bends in the aft flange and pressing with the fingers for the forward web bend went very quickly. I think the aft flange already comes pretty close to the required angle straight from Van’s.

Was also able to start on deburring the HS nose ribs. Was pleased to see that Van’s changed the design so you don’t have to cut out the oval hole in the web of a couple of these for the trim cables to pass through. But was disappointed that they now have a bunch more flanges and relief cut notches then the versions depicted in the manual. Oh well, guess more tedious deburring is on the way.

Fluting HS In-Spar Ribs

  • Hours – 2.0
  • TTOB – 143.5
  • Manual Reference – 8-7 step 1

The final part of step 1 on page 8-7 is to flute, if necessary, the HS-1004 inspar ribs. It took me a fair amount of noodling to understand fluting and I even posted questions to VAF and directly to Van’s support also. (Link to my VAF post on this subject)

The confusing part was that my ribs seemed bowed in both directions with a general curve up and curves down at each flange area. Everything I had seen about fluting talked about correcting the downward curves. The following annotated pic in the helpful forum reply from VAF user 60av8tor really demonstrates the profile of the ribs and why it seemed to confuse me. In short fluting corrects for red.

I did a bit of bending of the mid flange web inverse to the blue profile to try to nudge that out, but ultimately I couldn’t completely remove it and didn’t want to get too aggressive with that maneuver.  Fluting did seem to work very effectively on the red profiles though and I feel like I hit the primary goal of keeping the flange holes in a straight line so that they aren’t forced to straight under pressure by clecos and then rivets when they are mounted inside the skins.

Deburring HS In-spar Ribs

  • Hours – 4.5
  • TTOB – 141.5
  • Manual Reference – 8-7 step 1

Phew. Monotony is the word for the day. Deburring these HS-1004 inspar ribs was a monster of a job thanks to the fact that they have several (tons) of relief notches for the flanges.

It was difficult for me to get a sense of how good is good enough when it comes to deburring these ribs. Do you need to round the sides of the flanges for example? What about the bottom of the notches? I did lots of research beforehand to figure out the fastest ways this could be done.

I even built up a few new little tools that I read on the VAF forums could be helpful: a scotchbrite disc for a dremel made by cutting a pad into a circle and mounting to a standard dremel mandrel; and dissecting one of my 1″ unitized 3m wheels to create a chunk I screwed onto a dremel mandrel and formed into a fine tipped cone by setting the running dremel against the running 6″ 3M wheel on the bench grinder.

After all of this, here’s the process I settled on that seemed to work most expeditiously for me… though it still took so so much time:

  1. Deburr the long edges of the flanges using the 1″ 3M wheel in a drill. After doing a few, a nice groove develops in the wheel which lets you do both sides of the edge at once!
  2. Deburr the lightening holes with the Shaviv style swivel deburr tool followed by scothbrite pad by hand
  3. Remove any of the large sharp burrs that noticeably stick up with a small flat file (there were a four of these on the forward relief cuts on each rib)
  4. Cut high quality (strong backing) 400 grit emery cloth tape into thin strips and deburr the circular relief notches and sides of flanges using a dental floss / shoe shine motion
  5. Finish the flange sides smooth with a dremel sanding disc
  6. Call it done when all edges are smooth to the touch and slightly rounded

In the end, I think I saved some time by coming up with a repeatable process and just banging through them one after the next. I was still annoyed & tired after spending nearly 5 hours on deburring these though! Thankfully, looking ahead at the rest of the plans, if I go quickbuild as I plan, this may be the worst rib deburring job I face for the whole project, and now it’s behind me and can be forgotten…

Above: The deburring aresenal- From left to right (1) Velcro backed abrasive discs with 1/4″ drill mandrel (2) 3M mini mandrel, can clamp scotchbrite pad (3) 3M 7A MED 2″ unitized wheel on drill mandrel (4) 3M 7A MED 1″ unitized wheel on drill mandrel (5) Lee Valley 400 grit Emery Tape cut into strips (6) DIY sanding disc stuck onto dremel mandrel, no screw (7) dremel sanding disc (8) DIY scothbrite pad disc mounted on dremel mandrel

 

Work on HS Front Spar Doubler, Brackets, HS In Spar Rib Cuts

  • Hours – 3.5
  • TTOB – 137.0
  • Manual Reference – 8-5 steps 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ; 8-6 steps 3, 4

Deburred and smoothed edges of HS-1007 front spar doubler and HS-1008 spar attachment brackets fabricated earlier. Used vixen file, scotchbrite wheel, swivel deburr tool, dremel sanding drum.

Clamped a section of flat steel to the bottom of the HS-1008 brackets to keep them square and clecoed in position to spar doubler and spar. Then match drilled #30 the nine holes common to each bracket, the doubler and the spar.

Final drilled #30 the 1/8 holes common to the spar and doubler, excluding the holes indicated in the manual.

Match drilled the four 3/16 holes common to the doubler, spar, and spar caps with a 3/16 bit, then final drilled these holes #12.

Machine countersunk the 8 holes on the spar doubler indicated in the manual figure for  1/8 flush head rivets.

Final drilled #40 the middle nine holes in each flange of the front spar shown in manual figure.  Then machine countersunk these for 3/32 flush head rivets.

Skipped step 8 to come back to later before priming and final riveting.

Located four of the HS-1004 inspar ribs from inventory and cut off flange portions as indicated in the build manual.