Building an RV-14A

Rudder – Priming

Started priming the rudder parts today. I have decided to use Upol Acid #8 in rattle cans for priming. I have a previous post where I compared a few, and this was by far the one I liked the most.

Nothing fancier than this old wine rack that my wife was about to throw out when I gave it this new lease on life! Protecting the slabs with cardboard in the garden, but I did buy a paint tent, so I will need to give that a try – but this kept things simple!

Before I started degreasing & priming, I took the time to take photos of the parts and ensure that I re-added the part numbers afterward – I didn’t want to end up with a load of parts I couldn’t identify!

When I was considering using the Stewart Systems primer, I purchased a kit and ended up with some leftover EkoClean. Therefore, I decided to utilize it to clean the parts using a Scotch-Brite pad. Afterward, I used water and dried everything with a combination of a microfiber cloth and non-linting wipes.

Then onto priming, is it weird that I really like the color of this primer? It’s obviously not going to matter as it’ll be internal – but still, nice grey color, may use this or similar for the cockpit!

Seem to have used most of the rattle can for these parts and that didn’t include the skins so that feels like a lot? Will keep an eye on things as I progress and maybe I’ll consider trying the spray gun again to see if it’s easier to use with Upol than it was with other variants.

Rudder – Prep

Whilst there are 2 missing ribs, I decided to crack on with getting everything else prepared for the rudder.

I started out with the stiffeners which need to be split and also material removed from the ends. I used a metal ruler and a sharpie to mark the angle.

I then used the bandsaw to split them into left and right stiffeners. On the first one I removed the excess material solely using a Scotch Brite wheel on the bench grinder, which worked but created a lot of dust!

After talking to some other builders it turns out the removing most of the excess with the band saw and then finalising it with the bench grinder works better.

I then moved on to preparing the other parts, splitting them and deburring – I am finding that the Scotch Brite wheel then 600 grit Emory cloth is working really well.

Next, I was able to test fit things together, and even put the skins on which give me the chance to take a photo with the rudder!

Empennage – Backordered parts

My empennage kit has arrived with a number of parts on backorder due to the laser cut parts issue. Every area, other than the Horizontal Stabilizer has missing parts which will impact being able to fully complete them.

I went through the main pages of the plans just to highlight what was missing (where I could find it listed) just so I had an idea of where I should start.

Hopefully those parts will start coming out soon, there’s only 2 things missing for the rudder for example, so it’d be nice to get them – but I’ll make a start elsewhere!

Empennage – Inventory

The empennage kit has arrived!! It’s quite impressive to think that it only took a few days to get from the Vans factory to my home in Scotland!

There was an intense moment when the delivery company had an issue with their truck, but luckily they managed to source another and deliver it just a couple of hours after the initially suggested.

With the help of a Neighbour and my son-in-law (and my grandson overseeing things) we offloaded the crate. It was actually lighter than we were all expecting, especially as the weight was noted as 115KG – 3 of us made light work of it, I suspect 2 would have been enough!

I wasted no time in opening the box, which introduced the first challenge of getting the steel straps off! In the end I used a Dremel to cut them as I just had nothing else that was strong enough.

The next 7 hours were spent on the inventory and sorting out the parts into sub-sections such as all the Elevator, Rudder, Horizontal Stabilizer etc so that I could easily find them when I needed them.

With that out the way, the plan is to identify which section I can begin with given there is backordered parts across lots of sections – guess I can probably focus on deburring and priming.

Vans Lightbox Kit

I’ve had the lightbox kit for a couple of months but hadn’t yet got around to building it, however my empennage kit is in the UK and due to be delivered in a couple of days, so it was time to get this project ticked off!

Fairly simple to but together, and it gave me the chance to try a few new tools that I had got with the Cleveland kit such as the pneumatic squeezer – as I didn’t have those tools when I built the toolbox project.

It didn’t take long for me to make a mess of the workspace – will need to keep this tidier when building the real kit!

My kit has shipped….

I’ve had the email to let me know that my empennage kit has shipped, super excited to start this project, but I’ll admit getting that email made me think “Am I ready? Can I do this? Is this crazy!?”…

My workshop is ready, I’ve got the tools, I’ve built the toolbox, so I think the answer is yes – but it’s a meaty project that requires determination to finish, and so I think those thoughts were healthy!

Due to the laser cut parts issue I have got a significant number of parts on back order, so it looks like I won’t be able to build unencumbered, but I’m sure there’s plenty still to do!

Here’s my backordered parts list:

Part Number	Description	Quantity
F-01486C-L	J-Stiffener, Aft Fuse	1
F-01486C-R	J-Stiffener, Aft Fuse	1
F-01410	Bulkhead	1
F-01411A	Bulkhead	1
F-01411B	Bulkhead	1
VS-705	Nose Rib	1
R-912	Rudder C.Balance Rib	1
VS-704	Root Rib	1
VS-706	Tip Rib	1
VS-707	Tip Rib	1
E-903	Elevator Tip Rib	2
E-905	Left Elevator Rib 9/10	1
R-903	Rudder Top Rib	1
E-1008	Elevator Rib	12
E-01402	Elevator Trim Cover	1
E-904	Elevator Tip Rib	2
F-01412A	Bulkhead	1
F-01412B	Bulkhead	1

If you’re a UK builder, then part of the process involved filling out forms with OIA Global which are the shipping company dealing with the import, the forms weren’t straightforward, but after asking some folks in the RV14 UK WhatsApp I soon got the answers.

Here’s a copy of the forms for anyone who needs it for the future, I’ve removed my details and on the clearance form remember to change the cargo details to match what you have, I’ve left my emp kit as an example:

EAA AirVenture – Oshkosh 2023

After some persuasion my wife agreed to let my son and I leave the family holiday in Orlando to head to Oshkosh for 2 days – I know it’s not enough, and I won’t see it all – but it’s something! I have made a list of vendors I want to see, and then anything else on top will be a bonus.

I’ll try and take some notes, and photos and share anything interesting that I see on the blog, which will help me remember things as the build progresses!

Here’s my working list of vendors that I will try and visit if they have a stand, I’ll do some checking against the exhibitor list soon and make a note of where I can find them so I can be efficient!

Vans Aircraft – Kits	Homebuilt Aircraft Display (604, 605, 618, 619)
Evoke – Design	Homebuilt Aircraft Display (615)
Flyleds – Lighting	Homebuilt Aircraft Display (644)
Flyboy Accessories	Homebuilt Aircraft Display (644)
Cleveland Aircraft Tool	Homebuilt Aircraft Display (617)
Garmin – Avionics	Main Aircraft Display (347)
Hartzell – Propeller	Main Aircraft Display (296, 297)
Beringer – Brakes	Main Aircraft Display (437)
Lycoming – Engine	Main Aircraft Display (277)
Vertical Power	Exhibit Hangar C (3167)
AeroLED – Lighting	Exhibit Hangar C (3032)
Stein Air – Avionics	Exhibit Hangar C (3033, 3034)
EarthX – Battery	Exhibit Hangar C (3159)
Trig – Radios	Exhibit Hangar C (3130)
Dynon – Avionics	Exhibit Hangar D (4034, 4035B, 4035, 4035A, 496)
Aircraft Specialty Flightlines – Fuel/Brake Lines	Ultralight/Rotorcraft Display (949, 948
Aerotronics – Avionics	Exhibit Hangar A (1074, 1075)
Tosten – Grip	Exhibit Hangar B (2141)

Not located these vendors yet, so they may not be attending

JD Air Parts (Canopy Latch, Fuel Tank Rings)
Classic Aero Interiors (Interior)
Midwest Panels (Avionics, Panel + Intellikey)
Lemke – Interior (EU)

If you think I’ve missed anyone, then do let me know!

Other interesting vendors:

Foreflight	Main Aircraft Display (747B)
Cirrus Aircraft	Main Aircraft Display (183)
ScaleWings Aircraft	Main Aircraft Display (117)
Flying Eyes
Kitfox	Homebuilt Aircraft Display (600,601)
Sling Aircraft	Homebuilt Aircraft Display (648,649,650)
ULPower	Homebuilt Aircraft Display (633)
Zenith Aircraft	Homebuilt Aircraft Display (610,611)

Tools for the RV-14A

Having done lots of research, there’s really only one place to buy quality tools that come with the recommendation of many builders, and that’s Cleveland Aircraft Tool – so I went ahead and placed my order, I excluded a couple of items I already had, but otherwise went with their full kit! Even grabbed myself a t-shirt also!

I placed my order, and then had a shipping notification 24 hrs later, and they arrived in the UK within days of that – really impressive, I’d expected to have to wait a while.

After paying what feels like an excessive amount of duty the boxes arrived and I did a quick inventory and all are accounted for!

I’d also ordered the recommended power tools, and those all arrived – so I set about setting them up, like others have done I plan on creating (or maybe buying) a small workbench to mount them to on wheels and have the ability to move them around the workshop as needed!

DRDT2 Shelf

Taking inspiration from Steve’s website, and specifically this page where he shows the DRDT2 mounted between his workbenches using a shelf – I decided to follow in his footsteps and do the same!

Overall building this probably only took an hour or so, mainly due to thinking it through as I went rather than going in with any particular plan – simple to do and I’m really happy with the end result.

I won’t know for sure if this is good enough until I get the kit, but if it worked for Steve I’m sure it’ll work for me.

Here’s a timelapse video of the work, with some narrative (I’ll fix the slight pulsing of the lights for the next one hopefully!):

Here’s some photos of the finished surface, which I’m super pleased with!

Workbenches

Every builder swears by the EAA workbenches, so I set about looking up the instructions, and what wood I’d need – that was a slight challenge as 2×4 in the UK isn’t the same as the US – which would mean I’d have to mess with the measurements – but not the end of the world.

Anyway, the more I looked and priced up the wood, the more I wondered if there was any pre-built solutions. I came across a company selling workbenches that were pretty much the spec I needed (Arbor Garden Solutions)- so I decided to just buy 2 of them with 2 shelves each with wheels.

They arrived today after around a 2 week wait, and they were super simple to put together, 10 minutes per bench at the most – really impressed by the quality, they are sturdy, straight and level, and ready to go!