Time: 4 Hours
I decided to start the interior 5 ribs if the left tank today. The process that I used was to butter up the flange of a rib and clecko it to the top of the skin in a few spots towards the leading edge. After I did that with all 5 ribs I then flipped the skin over and clecko’d the bottom skin to the rib.
Once I had all the cleckos in I grabbed my bucking bars and the rivet gun to set some rivets. I will tell you this is a messy job setting all these rivets in wet ProSeal with the bucking bar. Once I set all the rivets is mixed up a prefilled 6oz ProSeal tube to make the filets around all the ribs edges and cover the shop head of all the rivets. These prefilled tubes are very nice since you don’t have to measure, you just push the plunger in to introduce the black accelerator and then twist to mix everything up.
Getting to the leading edge rivets was a challenge by myself but I was able to do it with a little stretching. I was real happy with every rivet and they all set really nice. Using the gun to make the filets and cover the heads makes that process real easy. Don’t get me wrong it’s still a messy job but it’s easy! I’m glad that you don’t have to enter these ribs into a beauty contest cause I made a mess in there, but all you need to do seal them so they won’t leak.
Those last photos are after a lot of clean up as I had ProSeal all over the skin from the rivet gun and my hands. I will get the right tank done tomorrow and start the outboard/inboard ribs too. Another fun day in the Hangar, I’m keeping my fingers that I have no leaks!
