Author Archives: Michael

Time: 4 Hours

Today I tackled the right wing with the same game plan as the left wing yesterday. The process went pretty fast and I had very few questions during the process. I’m happy that I listened to all the advise to build both wings at the same time. This allows you to apply the learning curve from one wing right to the second wing saving a lot if time. I definitely agree based on this weekend. One thing I did before starting on the right wing was to visit Lowes and get the supplies for the center wing supports. With the wing in the stands and no skins on them the spars sag in the middle due to the long span between the wing stands. So Van’s has you support the middle of the rear spar with anything you want to use. I decided to use two pieces of 1″x 4″ oak that I had laying around along with some threaded rod. I cut the wood to 5″ long and made four pieces. I also bought some steel pipe that had the I.D. that was perfect for the 3/8″ threaded rod. The threaded rod got drilled into one wood block and the pipe in the other. A few nuts and washers to secure them and I had the two ends needed. I then put two nuts and a washer on the threaded rod and spun them almost to the wood. Slide the rod into the pipe and now I could adjust the length by moving the nut. This allows for a micro adjustment up it down.

The rest of the day was just like yesterday with only one rivet needing drilling out. I installed the right wing stands in the Hangar floor and moved the wing into position.

When I decided to build both wings at the same time I took about 3 days figuring out where to install the stands. I had several requirements with two main ones being: room to work on the wings and parking for my truck. I took many measurements and made some mock ups to test and came up with the current set up. I have lots of room on both sides and in between them. I also have JUST enough room for my Toyota truck.

Another good weekend in the Hangar. My back has been bothering me so I decided to call it a day and watch a little football on the couch. This week has a pretty light flight schedule so I will get plenty of work done.

Time: 5 Hours

Today started out with me spending several hours trying to get my Sioux 4X rivet gun working. I would only hammer in a super “lite” mode is all I can describe it as. Nothing I did would get it to hammer with any force that would be needed to rivet. So I took it apart and cleaned all the parts. Everything looked ok and nothing looked broken. So I oiled the parts and reinstalled them. Unfortunately nothing worked and it still wouldn’t work. So I had to use my 3X gun for the 470 rivets. Once I had admitted defeat on the gun I got working on the left wing. I grabbed all the ribs from my office and laid them out in the order I wanted to install them. All the ribs have plenty of room to rivet between them except the three inboard ones. They are much closer to give support for the wing walk area. This reduced space would be tough to get the rivet gun in between if you started from the inboard. So based on other builders I started with the third most inboard rib first then the second followed by the first.

Once I finished riveting those three ribs to the main spar I just went down the line riveting the ribs to the main spar. I also read the the best plan was to rivet the ribs to the main spar first as this allows you to gently bend the ribs to allow for the rivet gun. This isn’t necessary on the rear spar since you could use the squeezer.

I only had to drill out two rivets in the main spar. Next up was to set up the rear spar, you have to read the plans carefully as there are several, actually 11, of the rivets on the ribs that don’t get riveted at this time. They will get done with several other parts associated with the flaps and ailerons. I put a piece if painters tape on 11 cleckos so that I would rivet them.

There are also several different size rivet call outs for the rear spar. I just set of my pneumatic squeezer and went to town. There are also 4 flush rivets on the end where the aileron brace sits on top.

The rear spar was pretty easy and went fairly fast.

In order for me to start the right wing I need to move the left wing to the wing stand. So I grabbed the left wing side and bolted them down to the floor where I had set them up this summer.

These stands are really strong and don’t move at all. Hopefully they make a straight and true wing! I them carried the wing skeleton over and installed it on the stands.

The outboard end has the angle bracket I made and I just aligned and drilled them to secure the skeleton to the stand.

The inboard end will get two “C” clamps and small wood pieces to secure that end. I have to make a run to Home Depot tomorrow for those as well as some threaded rod. That rod will be used to raise the sag in the middle of the wing and make it level from inboard to outboard. All in all a good day in the Hangar despite the gun problems.

Time: 4 Hours

I got home from my trip this morning and had to run several errands. When I got home I set up the Hangar for more priming. Today I just had to start and finish the left wing ribs. Not much to show but I did snap a photo of their final resting spot, not enough room in the Hangar to let all of them cure so the office it is!

Time: 8 Hours

I have to tell you I was pretty excited to get out into the Hangar this morning. I was thinking about assembly all night. I figured I would start with the right wing. So I grabbed the main spar and the rear spar from the house and laid them out on the workbench and began to clecko the ribs. You really need to keep an eye on the correct ribs as they face several different directions in relation to inboard and outboard.

It’s pretty cool to see a wing, ok a minimal sub-structure of a wing, in the Hangar!

Before I started match drilling I have seen several builder take the next photo so I did too!

For match drilling I bought a couple of reamers, a #30 and #40 just for the wings. From what I have read they will leave less of a burr on the metal over a drill bit. The process is still the same just with a different tool. On the 4 inboard ribs there are 8 holes that don’t match up. Not sure why Van’s does that but I have read that these ribs are from another aircraft model in the Van’s lineup. So you have to drill these, matching the rear spar and creating a set of new holes in the rib flange. You just abandon the others according to the plans.

Here you can see the 7/8″ hole that will carry the CPVC pipe from the root to tip for the lighting wiring.

Once the top was done I flipped the wing on its end and drilled the bottom.

As excited as I was to assemble I was just as sad to take it all apart! That is the fun part of this build is you work, assemble, disassemble, work and the re-assemble. Lots of fun! Once I had it all torn down I started working on deburring all the holes that I just matched drilled. I started with the rear spar so that I could put it back inside the house for safe keeping with the main spar. Then I grabbed the 14 ribs. They were pretty easy and I figured while I was there I would hit all the holes on the flanges. These holes will be for the skin to attach and will be dimpled in a future step. What I noticed was that the machining process had left a pretty big and wide burr or lip in many if these holes. Too big for my deburring bit to attack with out drilling into the metal. So I grabbed my die grinder and put a soft 3M 1″ wheel in and “buffed” all of these down. They will still get a deburring treatment after match drilling to the skin but that will be light. Here are a before and after photo of that process, the first shows a large lip on the third hole from the left (by the way these are those double holes that Van’s has you drill).

The left wing went just the same and was assembled fairly quickly. I’m glad I took the advise to build both wings at the same time. The learning curve on the second wing is a lot quicker than the first. I’m sure this will help out in the future.

Here is a good view of the 4 inboard ribs, they are doubled up to create a beefier area as this is where you stand when getting in the aircraft.

One thing that I did on both wings was to fabricate the angle aluminum that will be the attach point to the wing stands. Van’s has you use a 5″ piece and drill two 3/16″ holes in the last outboard rib. You use these two holes to bolt the angle piece to the rib, the holes will be abandoned after the build and cause no harm. I figured that this would be an easy enough time to build these.

So as with the right wing I disassembled the left and started deburring the rear spar. It was hitting just over 8 hours in the Hangar so I decided that was a good time to call it a day. I moved the left spars back inside and stacked the left ribs. The Hangar got a good seeping and all the tools found their way back to the drawers. Tomorrow I will finish up the deburring on the ribs and work on the final scuffing and cleaning for their eventual priming, hopefully tomorrow and Monday after my morning flight to Omaha. The rest of my week is pretty busy so I will get to riveting next weekend. That will give the primer a little set up time.