SkyDesigns Installation Hints

See also John's YouTube

NOTE: make sure you have the most recent plans from SkyDesigns. For example, pages 4 and 5 of their 16-2 plans were last modified on 03-28-24.

The ER Tanks are available for New Build and for Retro Fit, where you already have your wings and tanks built.

Additional parts needed for new build (not provided in Van's Wing Kit and ER kit)

• Two (2) W-822PP (order from Van's)
• Your wing kit from Van's came with 2x 6ft J-Channel and 2x 8ft J-Channel. The 6ft are for the tanks and the 8ft are for the outboard leading edge. As long as you have not cut these yet you can simply switch them and use the 8ft for the tanks and 6ft for the outboard leading edge. If you have already cut the 8ft pieces then you'll need to order two additional 8ft J-Channels.

Additional Parts that are not specified in the BOM, but that you will need for retrofit build

• Rivets. The number of AD41-H and AD42-H called out in the BOM are for one tank only. You need double that.
• T-1011 says 1 pack of seven. Note that the VAN's skew is for 1 each only, you need a total of 7. Make sure you get the right number.
• CAV-110 Fuel Tank Quick Drain (Need 2)
• VA-261 Fuel Strainer (Need 2)
• AN913-3D Fluid Fitting Plug (Need 2)
  • This is optional, but the BOM calls for 4 VA-141, so if you make that second hole for fuel return to install the electronic fuel injection down the road, you probably need this to plug the hole for now.
  • If you are NOT wanting to install a hole for the fuel return you only need 2 x VA-141. Save a little money.
• Fuel Sender
  • This is optional, but if you want two fuel senders per tank, you need to add 2 more senders to you Van's order. See notes on fuel sender and fill tab further down..

General Build Notes

• Double check the pricelist and make sure the $1,400 or so for the extra needed parts from Van's is included. SkyDesigns provides the BOM, it doesn't seem 100% clear to all that the total cost all up is closer to $3,000. Not that they try to hide it. It is just easily overlooked.
• The product is not packaged / crated as well as Van's products. Make sure to check for damage when you receive it. It is easy to get a kink in the longer baffles.
• Holes are not final sized, so yeah, you will start to really appreciate the final sized holes in the Van's parts. A lot of drilling and deburring.
• It is a bigger tank, and it may be worth considering 2 fuel senders per tank. Drawings are included to do so but it is optional. According to SkyDesigns the inboard Fuel Sender will start leave the top skin at around 30.6 Gallons. So you will burn 10.7 Gallons out of the tank before it shows. The design also includes a fill tab mounted to the baffle. Filling to the tab will get you 25 Gallons (Per tank). That seems like a nice little feature considering you may need to cut back on your fuel load if you want to carry 4 people.

Wing Modifications (modifying already-built wings) (16-1)

• The provided templates work well and are really accurate. Make sure to follow the directions on drilling out rivets, even though it seems odd some are left in place. Once you get to the point of drilling new holes in the spar, it all makes sense.
• Note that you will reuse the W-1008-R/L Splice Rib and the W-1019-R/L Splice Strip. So be very careful drilling out those rivets.
• Obviously be careful and patient cutting the outboard leading edge. With a little patience, it will work out really nice just following the directions. It's a little tricky to cut the part close to the spar. You do NOT want to accidently damage the spar. You could use a 1/4 inch thick or similar steel bar that you can jam in between the spar and the skin to protect the spar when cutting (After taping up the spar etc.). That seems to work really well. You also want to invest in a good set of tin snips if you haven't done so already, and maybe watch a YouTube video or two on how to use them correctly.
• The trickiest part is probably to get the Splice Rib and Splice Strip back in place. It just seemed like it would be impossible to squeeze that back in place. Re-reading the instructions again a few times and follow exactly what it says will help get it to snap into place. Again, be careful on the instructions here. There is a rivet you need to take care of before you snap the splice rib in place. Afterwards you will not be able to get to that top rivet.
• If you have the Stall Warning installed, you have to decide if you want to keep it or not. It is mounted to the splice rib anyway, so you can just move it out with the rib. But you will also have to cut the hole in the leading edge for the tap to stick through. You can measure that out from the existing piece that already had the hole. The most work is really to cut another hole for the access panel you need for the Stall Warning. It is possible to reuse the old doubler. It seems a lot of builders drop the Stall Warning all together in general, and just rely on the AOA GAP 26. Just personal preference it seems.

Plans Changes (building new wings) (16-2)

• Page 5: just a reminder to NOT rivet the three holes on the outboard segments of each spar doubler (you rivet the nutplate through the spar and doubler, just not the t three extra holes)
• Page 8, Step 2: Note that the round hole in the template goes on the top side of the leading edge. Also note that the template is used for both wings so you only drill the inboard most holes on each wing. If you don't pay attention you might end up with a few unnecessary holes in your leading edge skin!
• Page 8, Step 5: consider leaving the ribs installed and keeping the skin in the cradle to make step 8 easier. Consider leaving the template in place to help avoid over-trimming.
• Page 8, Step 8: tin snips may not be the best option. Consider using a rotary sander to get close to the trim line and then complete with the long straight file. Note that the template has "notched" corners at its end on the bottom of the template but you do not want to trim those notches. Your trim should be a straight line all the way down the skin.
• Page 8, Step 9: if you want to install Van's stall warning switch, consider doing all of the steps on 19-2 now. You can Cleco the cut off portion of the leading edge skin over the new W-1008 splice rib and match drill the two pilot holes for the stall sensor cutout.
• Page 9, Step 1: you may want to enlarge and deburr the tiedown hole before priming (see Van's 17-4 Step 1)
• Page 10, Step 2: don't forget the splice strip! It goes between the splice rib and the skin.
• Page 10, Step 7: Van's says to use AN470AD4-7 rivets for the W-1008 splice rib but those are too long since this rib is now further outboard: consider using AN470AD4-5 like you use on the outboard rib.
• Page 10, Step 8: You'll need longer rivets for the three holes in common with the doubler you previously installed and left holes open in -- consider AN426AD3-5 for those three holes.

Tank Build (16-3)

• The directions are leaning close to the RV-14 tank build directions from Vans, but some might find the original RV-10 directions working better. Especially if you have already built a set of RV-10 tanks. You can follow Van's directions for the 10, and then just keep the SkyDesigns directions on the side to make sure you don't miss anything. For example, they say to put the tank sealant on the J-Stiffener and then install it. But it is easy to end up with all the sealant sliding off the J-Stiffener. Van's directions tell you to put the sealant on the skin and then install the stiffener. That seems to work better for some. Either way it is a bit tricky to get it done right.
• The skins are not bent to final shape like the standard skins from Vans. They essentially come with a 90 degree bend, and you have to "wrap" it around the ribs yourself. Next to getting the splice rib back in, this is probably the biggest surprise to deal with. Not terribly difficult to work with, but definitely a little extra work to get the first couple of ribs in. For final assembly and riveting, starting from the inboard end, you can Cleko in the T-100C-x (nose rib) in as Rib no 1 using NO sealant, then also Cleko in ribs 4 and 5 without sealant. This will shape the tank skin pretty well to what you need and leave elbow room to seal and rivet in rib 2. Then remove rib 4, and then seal and rivet rib 3. After that you remove rib 5 and the skin is pretty much held in the correct shape and you can proceed per Van's directions without having to wrestle the skins too much. The cradle for the standard tanks also works fine for the ER tanks.
• Finally there may be a little bit of fine trimming / filing when attaching the tanks. The back edge of the tank skin can interfere with the top skin that is already attached to the wing. Not a big problem, just know you need to keep an eye out and maybe use the file a bit to get it to fit. It will be a little bit of a "tank on - tank off" exercise.