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Building
an RV -
Standard Kits
RV kits include all the
parts needed to build a complete airframe. The builder must provide the
engine, propeller, instruments, avionics and upholstery. All RV kits
have been reviewed by the FAA and have been found eligible for licensing
in the Experimental Amateur Built category. This means that the
fabrication work we do on the kit parts is less than 50% of the total
required to complete the aircraft, and that at least 51% of the work
remains for the kit builder.
Two kinds of kits are available: the Standard and the QuickBuild.
All RVs, whether built from a Standard or a
QuickBuild Kit, are built from the same parts. The
difference is the degree to which these parts have been
pre-assembled when the builder receives them. The
Standard Kit is perfect for the builder who enjoys the
process and is working on a limited budget. Using some
combination of the several time saving options
available, he or she can balance the time/money equation
to suit their circumstance. If the builder has a little
more to spend, and wants to fly even sooner, then the
QuickBuild Kit is an excellent value. Please visit the
QuickBuild page for more information on the QuickBuild kits.
The Standard kit is far more than just a
"materials package." When the kit is shipped,
any work requiring mechanical equipment not readily
available to the homebuilder is already done. If a part
needs to be sheared, bent, rolled, pressed,
hydro-formed, heat treated or welded to be ready to use,
it has been done at the factory. The builder’s job is
to assemble the parts, not make them. Click on the photo to
view a larger version. 
We do not do the small trimming and adjusting jobs
which the average homebuilder in the average shop can do
as well as we can. This helps keep our labor to a
minimum and the cost of the kits at a reasonable level.
Because of the volume of material we buy and the
efficient way we run our shop, the price of the kits is
not substantially higher than an individual would pay
for the raw material. The builder is spared not only the
necessity of buying expensive tools and making form
blocks that would be used only once, but also the
tedious and often frustrating job of shopping piecemeal
for materials and parts and the waste of having to
purchase larger quantities than actually required.
Although RV kits are very complete and very
successful, this does not mean that we are not
continually improving them. For example, over the years
pre-drilled spars for the RV-4 and RV-6/6A have become
standard (and completely assembled spars an option),
bellcranks, empennage hinges and many other small parts
that the builder originally fabricated are now supplied
ready to install. Wing and floor ribs come with all the
lightening holes complete. Many of the steel components
are now powder-coated at the factory, sparing the
builder the tedious task of preparing, priming and
painting them.
But the biggest improvement – some might call it
revolutionary-- in Standard Kits is the introduction of
"matched-hole" components. Made possible by
advances in tools and techniques, components are now
supplied with all the fastener holes punched …and
punched so accurately that the need for assembly jigs is
eliminated. When the holes line up, the component must
be straight!
RV-7/7A and RV-9/9A Standard Kits are completely
matched-hole. RV-8/8A kits include matched-hole
empennages and wings, along with pre-punched skins on
the fuselage. Since it is not possible to
"back-in" the matched hole concept to kits
that were designed before the tools were acquired and
the techniques learned, the RV-3, RV-4, and RV-6/6A must
be content with pre-punched skins, which are used as
templates to drill the underlying ribs and spars.
RV aircraft are marketed in four sub-kits: Empennage,
Wing, Fuselage, and Finishing. There is no price penalty
for buying incrementally; and sub-kits may be ordered in
any combination. Almost all the kits sold in the USA and
Canada are ordered incrementally (foreign buyers may
find it advantageous to order the whole kit at once to
save on shipping and importing costs). The advantages of
spending money in smaller chunks and not having to find
storage space usually outweigh the disadvantages of
having to plan ahead.
The sub-kits are intended to be built in the order
listed. The sequence may be varied slightly, but,
because of the way the parts interface, the wings must
be built before the fuselage. All individual parts of
each kit are also available separately. On the following
page is a brief description of what each standard kit
contains.
- All skins pre-cut, bent and rolled.
RV-7/7A, RV-8/8A, and RV-9A skins are pre-punched for all rivet
holes.
- All spars formed, essentially ready to
install. In RV-7/7A, RV-8/8A, and RV-9/9A kits they are all the
rivet holes for the skins and ribs are punched...you can cleco
entire assemblies together without picking up a drill!
- All ribs press-formed. RV-7/7A,
RV-8/8A, and RV-9/9A are matched punched to the skins and spars.
- Spar re-enforcement strips
milled to correct size and taper. RV-7/7A, RV-8/8A, and RV-9/9A
strips are pre-punched to match the spars.
- Hinge brackets, control horns and
other steel parts are supplied ready to install.
- Premolded fiberglass tips for all
surfaces are included.
- All necessary nuts, bolts, rivets,
washers, bearings, etc., are included.
- Complete, gold anodized main spars are
standard on the RV-3, RV-7/7A, RV-8/8A and RV-9A. A gold anodized
fuselage center section bulkhead, precision matched to the main
spars, is standard on those kits as well. RV-4 and RV-6/6A spars are
a pre-drilled kit and require assembly, but complete anodized spars
are available as an option.
- All the wing and control surface ribs
are hydroformed to shape and include lightening holes (except the
RV-3). On RV-7/7A, RV-8/8A and RV-9A kits the
ribs are pre-punched to match holes in the skins and spars.
- Wing skins sheared to size. Leading
edge and fuel tank skins pre-bent. Except for the RV-3, all kits
include pre-punched wing skins.
- Aluminum tube, steel tube and aircraft
hardware provided for control pushrods, pitot tube, and fuel lines.
- The aileron bellcranks, fuel tank
access covers and other similar parts are stamped to shape and ready
to install with only minor clean-up (except RV-3).
- Aileron mounting brackets of aluminum
and steel, pre-formed and riveted; ready to install.
- All nuts, platenuts, washers, bolts,
screws, rivets, pop-rivets & tube fittings.
- Molded fiberglass wingtips.
- All skins accurately sheared and
formed. In the RV-7/7A, RV-8/8A and RV-9/9A, fuselage skins are
pre-punched.
- All fuselage bulkheads and ribs press-formed.
- Extruded angle for longerons and stiffeners. Formed aluminum
angle for skin stiffeners.
- All the pre-cut and bent aluminum
panels and channels used in the cockpit and baggage area.
- Ready-to-install rudder cables with stainless steel
fittings.
- All steel parts such as longeron
brackets, control sticks, rudder pedals, flap controls, tail wheel
fork, are welded and in most cases, powder-coated as well.
- Main gear legs on the RV-6A, RV-7A,
RV-8, RV-8A, and RV-9A.
- Brake master cylinders, lines, and fittings.
- All nuts, platenuts, washer, bolts,
screws, rivets, pop-rivets, tube fittings needed.
- Plexi-glass canopy, light gray tint is standard; clear
available on special order.
- Welded canopy frame.
- Fiberglass cowl and mounting materials.
- Engine mount.
- Main gear legs (RV-3, RV-4, RV-6,
RV-7). Includes axles, wheel nuts, spacers and installation
hardware.
- Fiberglass spinner with aluminum mounting plates.
- Fiberglass landing gear and wheel
fairings.
- New Cleveland 5:00 x 5 wheels and
brakes with hardware.
- All brake lines and hardware.
- New 5:00 x 5 tires and tubes.
- Wing root and empennage/fuselage
fairings.
- Nosegear leg, fork, and wheel assembly
on RV-6A, RV-7A, RV-8A, RV-9A.
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Weight
and Dimensions of Crated Items
weights.pdf |
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