Aileron skin prep/ Attach Brackets

Today I made lots of progress but not much to show for it.  All 32 Aileron skin stiffeners are all drilled, deburred and dimpled for both ailerons.  Also the skins are drilled deburred and dimpled and prepped for priming. 

I also got the left wing top main skins ready for priming as well.  Next time the weather is nice I have tons of priming to do.  Hopefully this week things look good in seattle.

Since I was done with skins until priming, I figured I would start attaching the aileron brackets to the right wing.

Top Skin Finished - Right Wing

Look, No Clecos !  These pictures didn't turn out too well due to the flash, but the finish is great and the rivets sit very flush and look good.  I really can't get a good pic, so you will just have to trust me on this one.

Lots of things today, including Starting the Ailerons..

First off the right tank passed pressure testing with flying colors.  Here are some photos of the set up.  For those using the upgrade fuel caps, a balloon with the lip cut off over the cap is the only way to go.  Fully seals the cap for testing.

Here is my pressure testing set up..  I just tested this one on the wing, worked well.

Also, I was able to get a jump start on the Aileron Stiffeners tonight, all 32 of them..  wow, lots of deburring, but stuff I have seen before and in the scheme of things, really simple at this point.  I should be able to finish these by tomorrow or so.  All stiffeners cut, 5 deburred, only 27 to go. 

Last but not least, Bekah was able to donate about 1/2 hour to riveting the top skin on the right wing.  No pics yet as it is still a work in progress, but it is going well.  ;-)

Right Wing skin ready to Rivet !

The right top skin is in place and fully ready to rivet.  Bekah and I will be taking our time this week to rivet a bit each evening.   We are going to use the standard shoot and buck method.  Using the Avery Swivel flush set and a tungsten bucking bar to make those top skin rivets as smooth as possible.   I am using post-its to hold each rivet in place; this way I get all rivets into the holes flush before even starting to rivet.  I did this on the empennage and it worked very well.  Lots of post-its though, but I am able to reuse them so it makes it worth it for me.  Right now I have a cleco in every other hole and a rivet in every other hole.  We are ready to go.

The Right tank is being pressure tested now..  Hopefully it passes, or else it might impact our riveting this week..

Aileron Attach Brackets / Priming Main Wing Skin

Today was definitely warm in Seattle for early Feb.  Was over 60 degrees by 3:00pm..  So perfect day for priming.  I got the right top wing skins prepped and primed, as well primed and assembled the Aileron attach brackets.  In the pic, I show them on all sides..   Hopefully I got the countersinks correct..  ;-)

Here are the skins drying for tomorrow.  Basically tomorrow they get clecoed on tightly and then the riveting starts and they never come off again.  ;-)

Mounting Left Tank and working on Aileron Attach Brackets

While waiting for the weekend to prime the main skins I am preping up the aileron attach brackets and was able to mount the left tank permanently.  Like other builders I had some pillowing of the metal near the nose of the tank/leading edge joint between the screws.   Adding additional screws/nutplates resolved this issue and still looks good.  Overall I am pretty happy with the fit of the tank.  I have been really stressing about this over the last few months.

I am definitely excited to see these going on hopefully permanently.

Here is the underside of the tank

Here is the current state of the Aileron Attach brackets.   They will get primed and put together this weekend.  I was careful to mark them and countersink the right spots for the appropriate rivets.  The directions don't tell you about this but the plans clearly show the countersink.

Right Wing Leading Edge

While waiting for the Right Tank to dry, I am moving forward quickly on the right leading edge.   This wing is getting to the same build point as the lefr wing pretty quickly.  In fact, it is practically there.   Things will move fast now, riveting on the top skins is next, then onto the Ailerons and Flaps..

Notice there are no clecos on the outside of the leading edge either.   Looking good. 

Here is the inner most ribs in the right leading edge, turned out pretty good as well.