Inspection plate platenut prep, rib deburring

Erin & I braved the cold last weekend to continue deburring wing main ribs and countersink the bottom flange of both wing spars to accept platenuts as attachment points for the W-822 inspection plates.

Short session, good progress - only 2 main ribs to go! Then on to tank & nose ribs. 

Wings: 2.5 hrs

Fuel tank attach platenuts countersunk, more ribs deburred!

No pics today, but Erin & I fired up the heater to bring the garage up from 37 degrees - brr!

I finished all the countersinks for the #8 screws in the main spar for the fuel tank attachments, while Erin deburred lightening holes in wing main ribs.

Wings: 4 hrs

Wing rib straightening

We brought the wing ribs that we'd managed to deburr back to Wisconsin to let the rest of our family share in the fun!

 My brother Adam tore through the stack while I supervised...facilitated by some icy Wisconsin ale to match the weather outside.

Calvin offered his input, and showed Uncle Adam up by squeezing a few flutes himself.

Audrey made sure Aunt Rochelle didn't miss out on the fun and coached her through a rib or two.

 The helpers signed their parts (Cal will have to wait until next time) and they were packed for shipping back to PA.

  But not before we got to show the pieces and tell some lies with Grandpa.

It was great to share the work with our family and we hope they can all come to help in the shop soon!

 

Wings: 3 hrs

Left elevator trim tab complete, wing ribs deburred

Happy New Year! We rang it in with riveting & deburring. First up: finishing the rivets in the trim tab control brackets. I found I could reach all of them after removing the trim tab spar by using both the regular and flange-nosed yokes on the hand squeezer and an assistant bending the trim tab open so I could mash the rivets.

 Next I clamped the trim tab to the workbench and clecoed the trim tab spar back into place. Nat expertly placed rivets while I worked the squeezer with the flange yoke. The results from this tool are fantastic.

 Trim tab spar bottom rivets complete!

 I used some specialized Aviation Adhesive to align the trim tab & hinge with the elevator trailing edge, and match-drilled the hinge.

 After deburring the holes, ensuring there is no twist in the trim tab, and match-drilling the 1/8" holes for the blind rivets in the bent tabs, I primed the hinge on the top side and riveted the trim tab together.

 It's not perfect, but there are no cracks, the rivets are set well, and the alignment with the elevator trailing edge is sharp. I'm happy with it, especially since most builders apparently build 2-3 of these to get a good one.

 I still have to install the trim tab cable which comes with the fuselage kit, and do the fiberglass work, and therefore I'm not riveting the top skin on the inboard side, but that's a complete elevator! I guess I have no more excuses not to work on the wings.

 Erin has been a trooper deburring wing ribs. She even bought herself a few Scotchbrite drums to mount in a die grinder or drill for Christmas! Ok, so she claims they were for me, but I have yet to use them...

 

Empennage: 4 hrs

 

Wings: 3 hrs