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RivKit Story

RivKits provide a simple kit to teach about building aluminum aircraft, similar to the popular Vans Aircraft series.  The two RivKits available are based on the RV-7a and the RV-8 aircraft. The kit is a flat piece of aluminum approximately 5″ x 5″. It takes about 20 minutes to assemble. Painting takes longer. It only took a few minutes to spray paint this yellow plane after assembly.

3D Rendering Exploded
ScreenHunter_08 Feb. 14

The motivation to design and provide the first RivKit was initiated by the ASK (Airway Science for Kids) program in Portland, Oregon.  ASK needed a hands-on project to quickly teach kids some basics about how aircraft are constructed, with the intent of motivating them to want to learn more about aviation. The ASK Program for high schoolers is the TeenFlight Program, where Teen build a flyable airplane.

Building a RivKit is easy:

  1. Buy a RivKit.
    The kit comes with pre-cut flat aluminum parts and rivets.
  2. Follow the Assembly Instructions.
  3. Learn about the parts of an airplane.
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RivKit Assembly Tips

Here are a few assembly tips to help the process go more smoothly.

  • As they say, SAFETY FIRST.
    Please wear eye protection and be careful with small parts around children.

  • Use a flush cutter, typically used for electrical work. It does a nice job of cutting the parts off the tree.
    Be careful which direction the snips are made because small parts can fly away.
  • Remember to bend the wings and elevators opposite of one another to make left and right parts.
  • You can use pliers to make bends.
  • Bend the spinner in half over another part to maintain a gap, the same thickness of the parts.
  • A single cleco helps hold the three parts together while riveting.
  • If you don’t have riveting tools, you can use screws.
  • Learn more at  https://rivkit.com/category/instruct/
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Fasteners

RivKits were originally designed to be assembled similar to how the RV-12 kit is primarily assembled by Teen Flight groups, with blind rivets, sometimes generically called pop rivets. However, many fastener types could work. You may want to choose your fastener based on the tools available to you.

Blind Rivets require a tool to pull the rivet stem. There are hand, electric, and pneumatic tools for pulling rivets.

Solid rivets are set by squeezing with various tools, including a bucking bar and rivet gun, a hammer, or various types of squeezers.

Allen Screw Kit

RivKits can also be assembled with a screw and nut, which require minimal tools. RivKit’s Allen Screw Kit comes with a hex key for tightening.

The original RivKits have 1/8″ holes requiring a larger fastener than the newer RivKit V2 which has a 3/32″ hole. The change was made because the 3/32″ blind rivets are easier for children to pull.

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Metal Fatigue

The nature of metal fatigue can be discovered when building your RivKit. Metal fatigue can show up as a crack and parts broken apart when you bend the aluminum parts too many times. You can use metal fatigue to your advantage to break apart the individual parts from the RivKit tree. However, you can unwittingly break the parts when you bend them during assembly.

The aluminum alloy used to make the Rivkits is 5052. 5052 alloy accepts bending better than other alloys of aluminum. A single bend or an adjustment to a bend will not typically crack the part. If the part is bent multiple times in the same place, the part will crack.

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New improved RivKit V2

The newly improved RivKit V2 kits, based on Vans Aircraft RV-8 and RV-7a kits, are laser cut and include bendable control surfaces and smaller 3/32″ rivets. The bendable control surfaces provide more realistic details depicting how aircraft are controlled in flight. The smaller 3/32″ rivets are easier to set. Check out the Parts of an Airplane PDF to help teach about control surfaces. Be aware, aluminum will break if bent too many times.

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Airway Science for Kids

Airway Science for Kids, Inc. exposes youth, especially those who are socially and economically challenged, to activities that inspire their interest and growth toward higher learning and careers in aerospace, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The ASK program recently purchased 500 RivKits to help teach Portland School District students about aircraft construction. I visited the class and enjoyed the enthusiasm the students had towards the hands on experience of building the RivKits.

See more about Airway Science for Kids at airwayscience.org

  • Teacher Colin McStravick goes over today’s agenda.
  • Students busy preparing parts.
  • Flush cutting the parts off the parts tree.
  • Filing parts edges smooth.
  • Bending the wings.
  • Riveting parts together.
  • Collaborating.
  • Final assembly.
  • Contemplating designing his own.
  • Test flying.
  • Custom paint scheme designs.
  • Go Ducks!
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Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum

Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum use the Rivkits to offer students and adults an opportunity to learn some of the basics of riveting, a skill they may not have tried before. Rivkits are also used as an introduction to riveting for their Wings Aerospace Academy .  The hope is that the introductory riveting workshop will inspire students to get involved in aviation by learning a new skill. During our workshops, we go over some of the basics of flight (four forces, parts of an airplane), as well as a brief history of flight and when riveting began to appear in aviation. We highlight the role of “Rosie the Riveter,” and go over basic tool safety before participants build their airplanes.

Here is a photo of some of the girls at an October 2017 riveting camp.