Weight and Balance Complete

After getting the interior done I continued moving forward getting the plane ready to be weighed. This included attaching 5 access panels under the wings and 2 on the aft fuselage. Final inspections in each of those cavities yielded a couple tweaks to wire bundles to avoid chafing. I also got the cowling on the plane for the first time in a while. Draining all usable fuel was next and making sure the engine oil was serviced to a full 7 quarts. In short, the plane needed to be exactly as it would be for flight without fuel. EAA has a series of 7 videos on their Hints for Homebuilders site that do a great job explaining how to weigh a plane and do the weight and balance computations. The FAA also has a handy publication explaining it all. Before weighing I needed to get arm measurements for the landing gear. All arm measurements are from the datum, which in the RV-14 is located 72 inches ahead of the wing leading edge. Van's provides arm measurements for fuel, pilots and baggage. After leveling the plane, I used a drywall square against the wing leading edge to mark the floor. Then I dropped a mark to the floor at the center of each main gear axle and measured the difference using the known reference of the leading edge. As expected, my gear measurements were very close to the Vans factory RV-14. Using the same technique of plumb bobs and floor marking I measured the tailwheel arm. With those critical measurements complete it was time to weigh. As a member of EAA Chapter 983 I had access to a great set of accurate electronic scales used by car enthusiasts. The scales came with a handy set of ramps. I had to boost the tail up 38 inches onto a mobile tool chest and then shim to get the fuselage perfectly level at the canopy rail. I also leveled the fuselage laterally using a long level and deflating the left main tire as needed. The weight of extra boards used as shims on the tail wheel scale (known as tare) was subtracted from that scales weight. I ended up with a 1222 lb empty weight which I was happy with. This weight did not include the main gear fairings, wheel pants or paint. As a reference the Vans factory RV-14 had an empty weight of 1234 pounds with fairings, simple paint, minimalist interior, Dynon avionics, and a slightly different engine, exhaust and cowling. I temporarily positioned the unfinished fairings and wheel pants in their correct locations, and the plane weighted 9 lb more at 1231 pounds. Paint will probably add another 15-20 lbs. I'd guess when reweighed after paint and fairings are added I'll have an empty weight in the 1250-1260 lb range. Equally important my empty weight CG was well forward at 80.09 which I think is desirable. Using an Excel spreadsheet that my buddy Craig created I played around with different realistic load and fuel combos and couldn't find any combination where my CG was out of limits.