Day 17 - January 21, 2012

It was very gusty and cold at KHIO today, but the TeenFlight hanger was warm and alive with activity.  We did not get quite far enough in the construction proccess to mate the fuselage pieces and the tailcone together, but we got closer.  One of our donors and TeenFlight founder, Mr. Ted Millar, flew in to check on our progress.   

The team that I was on last week, finished the forward lower fuselage right after lunch.

A couple of the guys began work on the roll-bar that supports the canopy.  It will eventually be riveted across the fuselage.

The main bulkhead and fuselage section (below) is coming along slightly slower than the other pieces, but there is so much material packed into this area that it is expected to take a little longer.  The most important thing is to build and manufacture each and every piece as close to perfect as it can be, and although it may seem to take longer it always is better to take time doing it right than waste time doing it wrong. 

The "cockpit entrance step" mount was built and fitted to the main fuselage section.

Longerons! The long pieces of metal that provide the lateral structural support and rigidity to both sides of the fuselage.  The team that I am on began construction on these after finishing the forward lower fuselage.

Day 16 - January 14, 2012

There is still a lot of work to be done on the build, but we continue to progressively work on our group projects.  The right wing was finished (last week) and passed Q.C (this week).

It was then hung on the wing rack which is serving as our rack of finished control surfaces. 



The team that I was on had the privilege of beginning the forward lower fuselage and lower firewall section.

The center fuselage bulkhead section and seat ribs are coming together very well and are almost ready for the bottom skin.

 



We were introduced to (and I got to use) the helpful yet smelly substance of fuel tank and firewall sealant (known to some as Proseal).

  Another team worked on the servo mounting bracket for the anti-servo tab’s servo, and tail cone attach points.

We will hopefully be able to mate most of the lower fuselage to the tail cone next week.  Stay tuned for next week's update as we continue on our way towards our goal of flying by June.

TeenFlight 2

Although not much has been posted on the blog lately, the TeenFlight program has been steadily progressing through building its second RV-12 kit.  15 teens and at least a dozen mentors(adults and students who participated in the first TeenFlight build or have built their own aircraft) were gathered and a location was secured at the ASK building at the Hillsboro Airport.

  TeenFlight 2 began with an orientation and introduction by the project leads in mid September.  After the first few weeks of assembling toolboxes, name tags, and practice projects, we jumped into the empennage kit.  Early November saw the finish of the vertical stabilizer

 and the rudder.

 The tailcone and stabilator(and anti servo tab) followed in December.

 To keep all of us busy(and focused), the wing kit was delivered early December and we dove in.

 A few weeks ago we got the fuselage kit and have progressed on the center bulkheads and seat assembly(pictures on that next week).  The theory is that once we get farther along on the fuselage, the work becomes more suited for three or four people instead of  eight or nine, so the mentors have left the left wing, flaperons, and empennage assembly for that time.   

We recently had an article about us published in the Oregonian:  

Our goal is to have this plane flying by Airventure 2012 and last Saturday was build day #15.  You can expect more updates as the build progresses.  We build every Saturday from 9a.m. to 3p.m. Visitors are always welcome.  

     

The Long Awaited TeenFlight Video has been Released!!

Check out this video on the team and their project!

See it on YouTube at:
http://youtu.be/haqgyE25YbI

New Paint Job, Flight Lessons, and Headed to Oshkosh!!

Here is our newly painted RV-12 ready for its trip to Airventure Oshkosh.  

We received donated interior side panels and a carpet kit from Flight Line Interiors which has also been installed.

Most of the guys have now had an opportunity for at least one flight lesson in the airplane thanks to Mentor Jerry VanGrunsven.  Here's cockpit photos of some of the gang (and the RV Grin x 12!!):

If you attend Airventure, stop by to say hello, and take a look at our RV-12. 

We will be located just north of the control tower, near the Young Eagles Headquarters.

Update on Open House and What's to Come....

Our project open house was a great success and a fun way to wrap up our project, and to recognize all of the participants, mentors, and financial supporters.

We had a great turnout and great weather.  A few of the team members got their first chance to fly in the RV-12 that they helped build.  They all thought it was great.

Thanks to everyone that has encouraged us along the way, and for all of the great comments and enthusiasm we have received.

We hope you will continue to follow TeenFlight in the future, since we hope this is just the beginning of something even bigger.

Keep watching our blog for future updates about our trip to Airventure Oshkosh!

The Teen Flight End of Project Open House

What:

An event to provide an opportunity to see the RV-12 fly, give some rides, and honor the Financial Supporters and Mentors, for their contributions that made this program possible, and of course recognize the Team Members for their efforts to complete the airplane.

Who:

Anyone that has been interested in the Teen Flight program, but particularly the Participants, Mentors, and Supporters, and their families and friends.

When:

June 4th, 2011 at 10:30 A.M.

A LOT HAS BEEN HAPPENING LATELY...

The flight testing of the RV-12 is just about completed. The airplane has about 7.0 hours of flight time now and everything has been working well.

The only adjustments up to this point, have been to slightly reduce the propeller pitch, add a trim tab to the rudder, and make a small adjustment to the stall warning indicator.

A plan is now in place to get some of our Team and the RV-12 they built, to the Air Venture Fly-in, in Oshkosh Wisconsin at the end of July.

They will be traveling via the RV-12, a couple of different RV-10's, and a Cessna Citation (That's Right, a Citation Jet).

We will have the airplane on display (we don't know where exactly yet), and plan to spread the word about the benefits of a youth airplane build project via a scheduled forum and numerous other opportunities.

If you plan to be there, look us up, we would love to show you the RV-12 we built..

Day 59 - May 5, 2011

RV-12 N112TF lifted off this evening at a little past 7 PM!

The flight was perfect with absolutely no problems.  Only a small handful of the team members and mentors were available for this first flight but there will be other opportunities in the near future for all to enjoy! 

In the words of Mr. McDaniels (Head Mentor and Test Pilot):  "You guys built a great flying airplane...I hope you feel as proud as I and all of the mentors (and I am sure your parents), are of you."

 

Day 58 - April 30, 2011

It has been a frustrating wait, but multiple good things happened for us this week.

On Friday April 29th, our registration certificate arrived in the mail, and this opened the door for having our certification inspection the following day (Saturday, April 30th).

Mr. Frank Sneed, our DAR, walked through the whole process with the 7 Team Members that were in attendance, while they followed along using copies of his check list.  Everything was found to be as it should be with the airplane, so when they were finished, we had in our hands a freshly filled out airworthiness certificate.

N112TF (first RV-12 built by Teen Flight) is now (in the FAA's eyes anyway) officially an airplane.  Next step is to prove it's flight capabilities, as soon as we have insurance coverage.  This is being generously donated by a broker/agent in Arizona, and it should be in place very soon.

Keep watching for the announcement of our first flight... it wont be long now.

Day 57 - March 13, 2011

At this moment the airplane sits fully assembled and for the most part ready to fly.

We are currently waiting to receive the registration from the FAA in Oklahoma City. After we have that in our possession, the registration numbers can be installed on the airplane (against the Federal Aviation Regulations to do so before) and we can then submit the paperwork for the airworthiness inspection.

We used this weeks work session to finish up a couple of items on our squawk list and finish a few final details such as install seatbelts, and a few more placards. We ended the day by getting the airplane up on the scales to obtain the needed weight data for computing the aircraft center of gravity and filling out the weight and balance documentation. Our finished RV-12 weighed exactly what our fearless leader guessed that it would... 722 lbs.

Stay tuned for news of our first flight... hopefully coming very soon.

Day 56 - March 5, 2011

As often happens, after inspecting the airplane carefully, quite a few little things were found that needed to be resolved before we could stand back and say, "That is as good as we can do".

So, we spent the early part of our work session working through those issues. Consequently, we didn't get the Production Acceptance Procedures inspection completed. We did get a few more items in the check list marked off, and we did another engine run and completed the carburetor synch procedure.

We will be having one more regular work session next week to complete the P.A.P. and weigh the airplane. Then all we need is to receive our registration certificate back from the FAA, and get our final airworthiness inspection, and then we are ready to fly!