---------------------------------------------------------- RV9-List Digest Archive --- Total Messages Posted Tue 02/04/03: 2 ---------------------------------------------------------- Today's Message Index: ---------------------- 1. 06:38 PM - Quiet drills-revenge of the air drill (Merems) 2. 07:19 PM - Aileron lock nut (Curt Hoffman) ________________________________ Message 1 _____________________________________ Time: 06:38:33 PM PST US From: "Merems" Subject: RV9-List: Quiet drills-revenge of the air drill --> RV9-List message posted by: "Merems" Gents, My purpose for writing about air drill vs electric drills was to help others out who maybe deciding on which path to take. The responses to this email have been very interesting. As I mentioned in the email, all aerospace companies us air drills so that must be the best, right? Not always. Why do they use them. I have heard several possibilities. Many of them make sense. But lets put our thinking caps on and look back when they first started building metal airplanes. I don't know the exact date, but maybe 1915 or so. Back then most powered shop tools were driven by overhead belts and a central motor sources. The electric hand drill wasn't even invented back then. "In the early 1900's the electric drill weighed upwards of 50 pounds, required two people to operate it and a third to control the power source. But in 1917, on a kitchen table, S. Duncan Black and Alonzo B. Decker, Sr. conceived the first portable drill. " The only way to get a hand power tool in someone's hands on the assembly line was to use air. It was easy to plumb through the shop, and was safe. You could get a lot of power out of a very small and lightweight package, easy to maintain and you could easily control the speed. That's how it all started. And if you haven't figured it out, metal aircraft production hasn't changed very much over the last 80 or so years. This maybe why they still use them. Electric drills have come along way since the 1960's. I remember my father's Porter-Cable. All metal construction single speed, weighed 4 to 5 pounds. With in the use of plastics, lightweight alloys and variable speed control, electric drills can be just as good as their air powered counterparts. For those who are interested in keeping the noise levels down, not needing a "mega" compressor, look into electric (corded) drills. Makita makes several, but I chose the #6410 for the following reasons, 2.6# (lightest weight of all professional drills from all the brands), 2200 rpm, and variable speed. I haven't been disappointed yet. I burned up two 2500 rpm B&D (non-professional series) drills building my RV-4. Based on my experiences with other Makita products, I believe the Makita will make it through my RV-7. I hope this helps others. Paul ________________________________ Message 2 _____________________________________ Time: 07:19:16 PM PST US From: "Curt Hoffman" Subject: RV9-List: Aileron lock nut --> RV9-List message posted by: "Curt Hoffman" The inboard aileron bracket has a screw that secures the bracket to the control tube.The print calls for this screw to be secured with a MS21083-N3 lock nut. It appears on the print to be a thinner version of an AN365-1032. None of these 21083 nuts came in the kit. I checked all the inventory sheets and there is no mention of this nut. Am I the only one to not get these or did Vans substitute the thicker nuts and not change the print. I wrote to Vans but thought I'd check the list as well. As an aside, what did most people do to shorten this screw as called for. Just hack saw it off and clean up the end? Curt Hoffman RV-9A wings almost done- working on tail 1968 Mustang 302 convertible Piper Cherokee N5320W