Left Leading Edge

Last night I rolled and clecoed the left leading edge, and tonight I riveted it together. I also drilled a 1/16 inch hole for safety wiring.

Rolling the skins was generally easier than it was for the rudder. The experience from the rudder helped, and the process went faster. I used a 3/4 inch pipe and duct tape to get a good grip and a nice even bend. Using a couple of pipe wrenches helped, and I was pleased with how it turned out. It’s definitely a non-precision exercise though, and it seems like there should be an easier way.

I made up a couple of tools to assist with the riveting, by attaching some popsicle sticks to lengths of tube and aluminum channel. These were helpful is holding the bottom skin (the inside skin) against the top skin, which forms the outside of the join. Without any pressure from inside, it’s hard to keep the two skins close together when setting the rivets.

I’ll be interested to see how much adjustment will be needed once the elevators attach to the horizontal stab.