Tonight I pop riveted on the rod ends for the longer two aileron pushrods, and cut and drilled pilot holes for the shorter two. I also primed the threads of the rod ends for the longer pushrods. I didn’t get started until 10:30pm, as I’m quite busy at work this week.
Pop riveting the ends was straightforward. I needed to sand down the primer inside the tubes for two of the 4 ends, but they eventually all fit nicely.
With that done, I cut the two shorter pushrods from the supplied powder-coated steel rods. Then I marked and drilled the holes for the rod ends on these shorter two rods. I was getting quite tired, so I decided to finish by priming the threads on the rod ends.
Pop riveted rod endsMarking and then cutting the shorter two pushrods
After a week away, I came back to the garage tonight. I drilled the first set of aileron pushrods, and deburred the ends. None of the rod ends needed sanding, they all fit easily into the ends of the tubes.
To my surprise, I found that the template Vans supplied for drilling the holes was not to scale. I made my own out of some graph paper. I also used an off it to practice drilling using my pipe clamp on the drill press. It all worked ok, so I moved onto the real parts.
My own templatePracticing with the clamp and drill pressFinished drilling and deburring the tubes. Next step will be match drilling into the threaded rod ends, then priming inside and outside of the whole assembly
Tonight I added the flap hinge bearings, hung the right wing aileron, and marked the long aileron torque tubes for cutting. It was getting to late to attempt a cut tonight. I’m tired, and it will be quite noisy.
The plans have you squeeze the flap bearings in using a c-clamp, with a small socket set. The socket set allows you to squeeze the bearing through and have it protrude evenly on either side of the mount.
Squeezing the flap bearings
Hanging the aileron was not too difficult, just annoying trying to get all the washers and bearings on at the right place and time. A little patience and it was done. The aileron has a counterweight in the leading edge, so it rests against the stop in a full upwards deflection.
Quick-built aileronRight wing aileron installed
The torque tubes that run through from the wing root to the aileron bell-crank are 64.25 inches long. I marked the cuts I need on the two 6 foot lengths of tube.
Left aileron with the two tubes ready to be cut to length
Another riveting session tonight. I am almost done with this step, which is the top half of the skin. I decided to stop where I am, so I can have my tech councilor come over and review my wiring runs and everything else on the wing before I close it up completely. It was easier than I expected to get these rivets in, and they all set well with no need to replace any of them.
Red highlights indicate the rivets I have set so far
I think the bottom half of the skin may prove tougher to rivet, as I’ll have less ability to flex the skin as I get further towards the bottom.
Given I’m going to wait for my tech visit, I’m going to move on to the next section which is flap installation, then aileron install and actuation.
Tonight I spent time riveting the left bottom skin. I spent 2 hours on it, and set about 50 rivets. I was worried that I’d struggle to get this done working by myself, but so far it hasn’t been too bad. Riveting across the rear spar flange, and down the ribs, I have something to brace the bucking bar against. This makes a big difference because it keeps the bar square in one dimension, and helps to steady the bar. I can’t actually see the bar, and am doing it by feel, but all of my rivets came out nice. It was actually enjoyable just listening to music and banging away. It’s slow going because I have to feel my way on the inside of the skin.
It feels really good to be finally riveting these skins on! I’ve been making slow progress for months, and this feels like the home stretch.
The red highlights indicate the rivets I was able to set tonight
Today I torqued up the fuel tank bolts on the right wing, then spent time cleaning out the inside of the wing, removing filings and dust. I added some spiral wrap to protect the wiring where it passes near bolts in the spar, and some addition zip ties to stiffen the wiring runs up some more.
With that done, I filed the edges of the outboard bottom skins where they form a lap joint with the inboard skin. Since the inboard skin is already installed, I just shaped the outboard skin by rounding the edges of the skin. I’m not too worried about it, since it’s on the bottom and will be out of sight.
Once I had the skins done, I clecoed them to the wings and started riveting the left wing first. It’s definitely a stretch to reach up to the rear spar, but so far it has been doable. I anticipate many more riveting sessions in the coming weeks while I finish off both wings.
Torque seal after torquing the tank attach bolts. After the picture was taken, and after the paint had dried, I added spiral wrap in areas like this where the wiring runs came near bolts.I rounded the top sides of the skin where it forms a lap joint with the inboard skinI stuffed rags along the spar to absorb any impact from a falling bucking barI found this tape was a helpful way of securing the bucking bar to my hand. This helps to minimize the chances of it accidentally falling onto the spar, but also helps with positioningOk, here we go…
Tonight I deburred the left wing j-channel, dimpled it, then primed both j-channels. I also torqued up the left wing fuel tank attach bolts and applied torque seal.
I’m curious to know if the j-channel will fit neatly in the gaps in the ribs, of if there will be interference. It’s difficult to tell, but will become obvious as I start riveting the bottom skin on. I was careful to position the channel just right on the most outboard rib, but even a slight movement or bend in the channel could cause a problem.
I deburred the left wing j-channel, then dimpled all of the holes.
Dimpling the left wing lower long j-channel
Then it was time to torque the fuel tank attach bolts. Vans stress that these bolts must be checked, as they are not necessarily torqued at the factory. I found that all the bolts were inserted, and most were torqued correctly. A couple needed some extra turns, including the one I removed when installing an adel clamp for the pitot and AOA tubing. I also checked the other bolts on the spar and then applied torque seal to each bolt.
Torque seal on fuel tank attach bolts. Note the adel clamp holding the pitot and AOA lines, this will keep the lines out of the way of the aileron pushtubeTorque seal on the fuel tank attach bolts
With the left wing done, I moved in on to priming the j-channels. These were easy, but the preparation is always so time consuming.
We were away for the weekend, so I didn’t make any progress over the last few days. Last week I had a call from Rian at Vans asking if I had observed any corrosion in my QB kit. I told him about some I had seen on the wing rib flanges and webs, and that I was planning to sand and repair. This wasn’t symptomatic of the problem Rian was tracking down, but he recommended scotchbrite and prime the affected areas. Tonight I fixed the issue; scotchbrite on all affected areas, then spray-can self-etching primer to seal it up. I papered over all the wiring, bolts, and electronics, then carefully painted the impacted areas. There were several ribs on both wings that needed treating. I also inspected the other areas inside the wings to check for signs of corrosion but couldn’t find anything.
Surface corrosion on the bottom flange of a wing ribSurface corrosion on a rib webTaped up and ready for paint
