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[December 12, 2005]


I had a couple of free moments tonight so all I could do was dimple both skins. The DRDT-2 really makes it easy. I blew through it. I had some question on how to calibrate the DRDT-2, so once again, the yahoo groups came through. 


I set up my DRDT-2 so that the neck just barely flexes while dimpling... So
far... everything is OK!! I don't remember if I have "circles" or not, but
construction has gone smooth!!!!
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Gents,

The rings (witness rings) are normal with the DRDT-2. Adjust the ram until you
see the witness rings with the minimal amount of force on the handle.
Increasing the setting just makes it more fatiguing over time.

Keep in mind, you can not over dimple with this tool.

Paul Merems (RV-7A fuselage)
ExperimentalAero (DRDT-2 inventor/manufacture) http://www.experimentalaero.com



One of my other concerns were the circles on the skins showing through on the finished product. This question answered itself: 

> For those of us planning a bare-metal plane, do those circles polish
> out ok?

Yeah, that's the easy part.

)_( Dan
RV-7 N714D (722 hours)
http://www.rvproject.com



I basicilly followed these rules and got very nice dimples. I first dimpled the inner holes thinking that I could use my pneumatic squeezer on the edge holes where the yokes will reach. I didn't do this for two reasons. First, I was scared that I would pull the trigger on the squeezer prematurely and make an unwanted hole in the skin. Secondly, it was too late to run the compressor for noise reasons. The DRDT-2 worked well for these holes, but it was a little awkward holding the skins in the tool. I have some 2x3's that I plan on making some sort of frame to help me here.

My buddy Kukoo emailed me a link to the Innodyn turbine engines. Pretty cool concept. 188 Lbs, 165 - 255 HP, burns Jet-A, diesel or kerosene and a TBO of around 5000 hours, and thats on the conservative side. Plus, turbines are simple as hell and don't lose power with altitude. Price is pretty competative too. Only downside to the turbines is they don't have the fuel efficiency of the piston engines. The engine is pretty new, so I will keep an eye on it when it comes time to buy the powerplant.
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Last Modified: October 5, 2024