Securing wing ribs to spars
I found that doing this job per Vans instructions to be pure idiocy! It's impossible for anyone (I'm 6'4" with long arms) to be able to accurately buck the rivets for the ribs in the center. I decided to use a different method. I back riveted these rivets in. I fabricated a special, heavy bucking bar for this. (Charlie Kuss on RV List)

Moving the RV to a hangar
Jeff Seaborn, the president of EAA Chapter 1410, writes about his recent move of his RV to a hangar. There's not a heck of a lot of coy there, but it did come with this fabulous picture. (More)
Related link:
Thread: I has a hangar (Rivetbangers)

CNC and you
If you have toured the Van's facilities in Aurora, Oregon, one of the pieces of equipment they will show you is the CNC Mill used to cut the sheet metal for the aircraft skins of the RV kits. Just because CNC is used in multimillion-dollar factories doesn’t mean that the technology is beyond your reach.(JR Warmkessel in EAA 119)

RV airshow dazzles the jet set
On Wednesday, Team RV, a group of 11 civilian pilots flying single-seat prop planes they’d built themselves, impressed the crowd at the Wings Over Anderson airshow in South Carolina. The article includes a video. (Anderson Independent Mail)
Related links:
Audio slideshow: Don Neuberg's photographs
Video: West Coast Ravens
PapaGolf Chronicles: Trip to Cleveland

Van's issues quickbuild delivery status update
The first container with RV-10 QBs is loaded and at the port in the Philippines. It should sail within the next couple days! We’ll be contacting those customers
whose orders will be filled when this container arrives to inform them of an expected delivery date. Additional RV-10s are being built up now and we expect additional shipments in the coming weeks.(See letter issued on Thursday)

The care and feeding of magnetos
EAA 105, aka "the home wing," held a presentation with Bill Davidge about rebuilding aircraft magnetos. Mags receive an inspection at 500 operation hours and a rebuild at engine overhaul time. The bushings require being impregnated with an oil-bake step and if that's done correctly, the bushings will last forever. Otherwise, those bushings are $100 each and won't last long. At overhaul, Slick mags require changing out everything but the magnet, making purchase of new mags attractive, but not all mags are created equal. (Details in EAA 105's May newsletter)

How to make a good ground contact
If you want a local grounding joint that outlasts the rest of the airplane use 10-32 hardware to bring terminal and airplane together. Brighten up the terminal surface that touches the airplane. Brighten up the airplane that touches the terminal. SMOOTH! and SHINY! don't scuff it up with coarse abrasives. Make up the joint with the a washer between screw head (or nut) and the opposite side of the terminal. Use metal locknut (MS21042-L3) on the screw. "Icing on the cake" is to coat one of the mating electrical conduction surfaces with thin layer of silicone grease before mating. Torque to 20 in-lbs. THAT joint will not spin on the screw . In fact, you should tear the wire grip off the terminal before the rest of it moves. If you pop-riveted a nav light ground, it would probably be okay but the higher you go in current through the joint the more important it is to get it gas tight. Short of soldering/welding the joint, what I've described is the best we know how to do. (Bob Nuckolls on Aeroelectric list)

Aircraft spark plug maintenance
Aircraft spark plugs normally hide under the cowling and are given little attention, that is, until they start to malfunction.
Those malfunctions can be a rough engine at best, and loss of power at worse. This is why we should
make that extra effort to properly care for our spark plugs.(Matt Lazar, EAA 976)

Editors's Note: It's been a year since I restarted distribution of RV Builder's Hotline. When you close your e-mail client today, please answer "yes" when it asks if you want to send a receipt. This way I can figure out how many people are reading vs. number who are subscribing.

PICTURE OF THE WEEK "Bob: This to me what the building journey was all about. Trip to the Baja -- runway 29 framed by Harmon Rocket wing. Great place! Fantastic getaway!" - Chris Fordham Harmon Rocket CFHRK. Interested in flying to Mexico, see Dan Checkoway's "things you should know" page. (Note: Pre-TSA nonsense)