Today I needed to finish up the hole drilling on the right wing ribs. Once finished with those holes I set out to debur all of them in both the left and right wing ribs. I took a 1″ scotch-brite wheel and ground it down to a small point so that it would fit into the 3/8″ hole. This worked real well to debur these holes when I hit them on both sides if the web. I finished this task on all 28 ribs.
The 7/8″ hole that I drilled was just a hair to small for the 3/4″ conduit. So I used the tapered down scotch-brite wheel and enlarged it so that a piece of the conduit would fit.
So I started the process of edge finishing the ribs. I decided that I would complete 1 rib at a time taking care of all the edges, lightening holes, and surface. This way I don’t get burned out on just one task over 28 ribs. I will get each rib done and have it ready for assembly when done. As I finish them I will put them on the shelf for the next stage.
Flew back to Chicago today after finishing up my 6 month training. I’m happy to say I passed once again. This was my 18th time down in Tucson for my Flight Safety training. It’s always fun but challenging.
After taking care of some housework I got out to the hangar for a little bit. First order of business on all the ribs is create some holes for future wiring and piping. You have to do some planning for your future plans. Here are my goals for each wing:
Left Wing:
– LED Landing Light – Left Wing-Tip
– LED NAV Light – Left Wing-Tip
– LED Strobe – Left Wing-Tip
– Pitot Tubing – Left Lower Wing
– AOA Tubing – Left Lower Wing
– Pitot Heat Wiring – Left Lower Wing
Right Wing
– LED Landing Light – Right Wing-Tip
– LED NAV Light – Right Wing-Tip
– LED Strobe – Right Wing-Tip
– Auto-Pilot Servo Wiring – Right Lower Wing
In each wing I will place a 3/4″ CPVC pipe that will run from the outboard most rib to the inboard most rib. This will allow for wiring runs from inside the fuselage out to the wing tip for lighting. It will also have a cut out between a couple of ribs to allow for the pitot heat wiring and the auto-pilot servo wiring. In the leading portion of the aft ribs there are a few holes that are already drilled from the factory. One is a 7/16″ hole made for the pitot tubing. The others are holes left from the machining process. The plan is to drill the machining holes to 3/8″. This will give me two 3/8″ holes and one 7/16″ hole for all the ribs except the last 3 outboard ribs. In each hole I will put a snap bushing that will leave a 1/4″ ID hole. This will give me two places for the pitot tubing and AOA tubing. The third hole will be for extra or future runs, this is easy to do now. So I made a template out of sheet aluminum to mark all the ribs for the 3/4″ pipe. This hole will be 7/8″ OD when done.
With this template I drill a small hole that I could slip a sharpie through and mark the rib for drilling.
So I chucked up the UniBit in the drill press and hit all the left wing ribs.
Tomorrow I will get a good days work done in the hangar and drill the right wing ribs. Then the fun deburring work begins!
I got home from my week in Wichita and the Bombardier Safety Standdown today a little after 2pm. I took care of a few household items and went right out to the Hangar. First up was to organize all the rear spar parts so that I had the left and right sides all in their correct spots. After reading a couple if builders websites I took their advise and studied the plans real well. There are several spots on the rear spar that get riveted with other parts later in the build. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t rivet this spots now and have to drill them out later. Once I had a good grasp on what spots needed to be riveted now I grabbed the blue painters tape and covered up the holes that get to wait.
I then setup the squeezer and adjusted for the first rivet length. Once I had it set up the rivets went pretty fast. I worked between the left and right spars so that I didn’t have to change the squeezer setup twice.
A could of photos from this week in Wichita. The Safety Standdown is a week of classes and seminars from industry leaders and experts. The classes ranged from airport operations, aircraft safety procedures to new technology.
Next up all the ribs when I get back from my recurrent flight training in Tucson…..oh boy!!!
Today I’m headed down to Wichita for Bombardier’s Safety Standdown. I forgot to mention this weekend that Van’s and more importantly FedEx came through and paid for my new wing skins that got damaged during shipment. They arrived nice and safe, this time rolled up rather than flat in the original crate.
Not a whole lot of pictures today, as all I did was finish up the priming of the rear spar components. Once they were dry I moved the smaller parts onto the shelves to rest and the spars indoors with the main spars!
I then organized the ribs for the left and right wings minus the fuel tank ribs. It is daunting how much work I have ahead of me with just prepping the ribs!
I will get to riveting the rear spar this Friday and Saturday when I get home from my safety conference then it will be on to the ribs!
The 7/8″ hole that I drilled was just a hair to small for the 3/4″ conduit. So I used the tapered down scotch-brite wheel and enlarged it so that a piece of the conduit would fit. 
So I started the process of edge finishing the ribs. I decided that I would complete 1 rib at a time taking care of all the edges, lightening holes, and surface. This way I don’t get burned out on just one task over 28 ribs. I will get each rib done and have it ready for assembly when done. As I finish them I will put them on the shelf for the next stage. 
1 down….27 more to go….:-)
