4 – Fuselage – Page 2 – Leonard's RV-7A Build

Empennage Installation

Installed elevators, rudder, pushrod, repaired primer rear fuselage interior.

Time: 4 hours.

Fuselage Turquoise Stripes

After preparation the turquoise paint stripes were applied to the fuselage.

Time: 6 hours.

Blue Paint

After preparation the dark blue paint was applied to the empennage, fuselage, wings, cowl and wheel pants.

Time: 8 hours.

I marked the border between white and blue paint by marking the vertical position every 10 inches on the fuselage, every 4 inches on the wings and empennage and every 2 inches on the wheel pants. These marks were connected using a stiff wire to create a smooth curve with an erasable marking pen. This line was then used to locate the 1/2” flexible vinyl masking tape.

Time: 6 hours.

Fuselage White Paint

Continued preparing, priming and painting white paint on the fuselage, cowling, wheel fairings and pants. Had to cut and polish most of the paint because of defects in the spraying setup. Also had to repaint several surfaces because cutting was too aggressive. Conservative estimate of total time used between September and December 2021.

Time: 80 hours.