Author: "bud9971" <ben@...> Time: Tue Dec 18, 2001 6:08 pm PST Link
I have drilled the 1 1/2" holes in the lower side skin for the
passenger side step as per Van's instructions. Now, when I position
the step plate against the side skin, there is a large gap between
the lower aft edge of the step plate and the lower, curved skin.
Even if I trim the aft portion of the step plate as Van's suggests,
there is going to be an unavoidable gap. Is there any way of making
this gap look good without using body filler?
Ben -6A, finish
Author: grenwis@... Time: Tue Dec 18, 2001 8:08 pm PST Link
Ben,
I just finished my steps so maybe I can help. Make sure that the tube is
sitting on the flat plate inside. I had to remove all the flanges so that
the tube could hit the web. There was also a rivet from the bottom of the
fuselage in the way and I ended up shaving a little off its shop head.
I found that the most important adjustment for mating the plate to the skin
was the ability to freely move the end of the tube that is inside. With the
plastic support still completely off the end of the tube, press the plate in
hard on the outside and see if it fits to the skin. Mine did except for the
very aft bottom corner which didn't turn sharply enough to match the contour
of the skin. I used a hacksaw and cut the aft bottom corner completely off
the plate. By doing that, I could get the remaining part of the plate to
match up well. I bent it slightly to help it contour to the curve of the
skin on the aft bottom as well.
I learned after stepping on the completed step that the skin is not
deflecting at all. The real support seems to come from the tube sitting on
the web of the internal floor and the attachment of the end of the tube to
the rib. My tube was too short to reach the internal rib so I ended up
adding a .125 square of aluminum between the end of the tube and the rib.
This spaced the plastic off the rib enough so that the horizontal bolt
through the plastic went through the meat of the tube. Without the plate,
the bolt just clipped the end of the tube.
Hope this helps. I have pics on my website.
Rick
http://rickgrenwis.tripod.com/rv6a/
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Author: "rick6a" <rick07x@...> Time: Wed Dec 26, 2001 12:29 pm PST Link
--- In RV-6and6A@y..., "bud9971" <ben@h...> wrote:
> I have drilled the 1 1/2" holes in the lower side skin for the
> passenger side step as per Van's instructions. Now, when I position
> the step plate against the side skin, there is a large gap between
> the lower aft edge of the step plate and the lower, curved skin.
> Even if I trim the aft portion of the step plate as Van's suggests,
> there is going to be an unavoidable gap. Is there any way of making
> this gap look good without using body filler?
> Ben -6A,
finish
Ben, I too, did not like the very apparent gap you mention. As it
happened, I was working on my footsteps during Oshkosh week. I
examined several RV'6A's at AirVenture to see what builders were
doing about it. But RV's are like snowflakes. No two are alike.
Some guys just ignored the gap, others had no gap. Usually, the no
gap footsteps were radically radiused and/or located higher up on the
fuselage than I would prefer. What I did was to fair in the area,
not with body filler, but with pro-seal. You will never have to worry
about pro-seal cracking or flaking off a properly prepared surface.
Once cured, pro-seal sands easily and takes paint very well. By the
way,(and after checking with Van's), I used AN 426 rivets instead of
the AN 470 rivet callout for a cleaner, more aerodynamic
look.
Author: "enewton57" <enewton57@...> Time: Fri Dec 28, 2001 6:46 pm PST Link
I did mine a little different (unconventional you might say). I
didn't like the looks of all of that metal hanging outside of my nice
smooth skins. And I didn't like the round headed protruding rivets
dragging in the wind. So I mounted mine inside the fuselage skins.
I just posted 3 pictures to the photos section under Eric Newton.
Best Regards,
Eric Newton - Long Beach, MS
RV-6A - N57ME (Flying)
www.ericsrv6a.com
--- In RV-6and6A@y..., "rick6a" <rick07x@e...> wrote:
> --- In RV-6and6A@y..., "bud9971" <ben@h...> wrote:
> > I have drilled the 1 1/2" holes in the lower side skin for the
> > passenger side step as per Van's instructions. Now, when I
position
> > the step plate against the side skin, there is a large gap
between
> > the lower aft edge of the step plate and the lower, curved skin.
> > Even if I trim the aft portion of the step plate as Van's
suggests,
> > there is going to be an unavoidable gap. Is there any way of
making
> > this gap look good without using body filler?
> > Ben -6A,
>
finish
> Ben, I too, did not like the very apparent gap you mention. As it
> happened, I was working on my footsteps during Oshkosh week. I
> examined several RV'6A's at AirVenture to see what builders were
> doing about it. But RV's are like snowflakes. No two are alike.
> Some guys just ignored the gap, others had no gap. Usually, the no
> gap footsteps were radically radiused and/or located higher up on
the
> fuselage than I would prefer. What I did was to fair in the area,
> not with body filler, but with pro-seal. You will never have to
worry
> about pro-seal cracking or flaking off a properly prepared surface.
> Once cured, pro-seal sands easily and takes paint very well. By
the
> way,(and after checking with Van's), I used AN 426 rivets instead
of
> the AN 470 rivet callout for a cleaner, more aerodynamic
> look.