Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 11)

I started today’s session by making sure the four W-1025A Flap Hinge Brackets were straight and flat.  They come in a package of four and all four needed slight adjustments.  Section 5.13.1 of the plans discusses how to straighten thick aluminum parts.....I followed the WHANG method!

Here is one of the Flap Hinge Brackets.

The W-1025B-R / W-1025B-L Flap Hinge Ribs and W-1025A Flap Hinge Brackets were clecoed to the W-1011-L / W-1011-R Inboard Wing Ribs.  Now, the 14 common #30 holes are match-drilled and the two alignment holes are final-drilled #30.  (The two below are for the Left Wing and the process will be repeated for the Right Wing).  

The aft Flange (but not the radius of the Flange) had to be removed from one of the W-1012-R Outboard Wing Ribs as shown in the excerpt below.

I used my Dremel tool to cut off the Flange just below the holes and used a fine file and 220 grit sandpaper to make the final a shape.  Here is the result.

Next is to remove all the bolts, nuts, and washers from the Left Main Spar Assembly and set them aside for later use.  There were 11 bolts on the Upper Flange (top row) and 11 bolts in the Lower Flange (bottom row).

After removing all the bolts, the W-1010-R Inboard Wing Rib, W-1011-L & -R Inboard Wing Ribs, and W-1012-L & -R Outboard Wing Ribs were clecoed to the Left Main Spar Assembly.  The picture below shows all 14 Ribs clecoed to the Left Main Spar.  According to the plans, a whole lot of drilling is about to happen.  

#12:  Upper and Lower holes of the Rib Flanges that will use bolts/nuts to attach to the Main Spar Assembly

#30:  All remaining common attach holes in the Forward Flange of the Ribs and Web of the Main Spar Assembly

#40:  All common attach holes in the Upper and Lower Rib Tabs and Flanges of the Main Spar Assembly

****Then, of course, everything will be disassembled and you have to debur all the freshly drilled holes****

Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 10)

Now that all the Wing Ribs have been prepared, I moved on to the next step in the plans.  

The Torque Tube Support Brackets, W-1029C-L Angle, W-1029D-L Spacer, and the VA-146 Flange Bearing were all clecoed together (as shown in the pictures below) and all the common #30 holes were final-drilled.

Left Wing Torque Tube Assembly.

Right Wing Torque Tube Assembly.

The next step is to file (I used 220 grit sandpaper) a radius on the upper and lower edges of both Torque Tube Support Brackets.  Because the bracket edges are “square” and the bend in the Wing Rib from the Web to the Flange is “curved”, the pieces don’t exactly fit.  For a better fit, the “square” portion needs to be “rounded” or radiused.

This is the “square” edge of the Bracket as if came from Van’s.

This is the “rounded” or radiused edge of the Bracket after sanding.  I sanded a little bit, checked the fit, sanded a little more, checked the fit, etc until I liked the nesting of the parts.  The parts fit together much better.

Here is the Torque Tube Assembly attached to the W-1010 Inboard Wing Rib (looking aft).

The holes with the copper #30 clecos had to be final-drilled from the W-1029C-L Angle to the Inboard Wing Rib.

I used the same process and completed the same steps for the Right Wing Torque Tube Assembly.

Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 9)

After watching the few college football games today, I found myself sitting at home bored.  So, what do you do?  You go work on the airplane (Ribs) again!

I finished the last two W-1012 Ribs and now all 28 Wing Ribs have had the edges cleaned, upper and lower flanges final-drilled to #40, and the lower flange #40 holes were dimpled.  (Again, I am using the Substructure Dimple Dies from Cleavland Aircraft Tool for all substructure parts).

It took roughly 20 hours to complete all 28 Wing Ribs.  I know this is probably longer than some builders, but because I personally chose to hand sand the Ribs, it took additional time.....and I’m okay with that.

The picture shows:

(2) W-1010 - Inboard Ribs, one on each Wing

(20) W-1011 - Inboard Ribs, 10 on each Wing

(6) W-1012 - Outboard Ribs, three on each Wing

They are designated left and right Ribs and they are arranged appropriately below in each group.....left on the left and right on the right. 

As shown in Part 1, these Ribs will be only be installed on the aft side of the Main Spar Assembly.  Additional Ribs will be used on the front to include the Fuel Tanks.

Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 8)

I completed five more Wing Ribs during this session (the one remaining W-1011 Inboard Wing Ribs and four W-1012 Outboard Wing Ribs).  

Only two more W-1012 Wing Ribs to go.....

Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 7)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I had plans to fly my buddy’s RV-7 to see some family for the holiday, but Mother Nature was an unwilling particiapte!!  So, I was forced into an audible and decided to work on the plane......and when I say plane, I really mean Wing Ribs!!

Seven more W-1011 Inboard Wing Ribs completed today.....

.....21 down, only 7 to go!!

Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 6)

Three more W-1011 Inboard Wing Ribs completed.....

....14 down, 14 to go!!

HALFWAY

Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 5)

Two more W-1011 Inboard Wing Ribs completed.....

.....11 down, 17 to go!!

Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 4)

I completed four more W-1011 Inboard Wings Ribs today.  Below is the “stacks” comparison.....nine down, 19 to go!

I don’t believe I’ve mentioned it before, but here are the tools I’m using to prepare all the Ribs.  The square is used to make sure the flanges of the Ribs are square to the web (if not, the Hand Seamer is used to adjust the Flanges), the Fluting Pliers are used to remove any bow in the Ribs (makes them flat), the Pneumatic Drill uses the #40 bit or reamer to final-drill the #40 holes in the Flanges, and the Deburring Tool is used to remove any burrs created during final-drilling.  The only other “tool” not pictured below, is the 220 grit sandpaper.  I use the sandpaper to clean up the edges of the Ribs.  I’ve tried many other methods for completing edge work, but found I like to hand sand the parts....guess I’m just weird!  Sure, it will take me a little longer to complete, but I’m okay with that.

Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 3)

Well, back to it.....preparing all the Wing Ribs.  I have MANY, MANY more hours of prep work on the Ribs to go, so the next several posts will not be all that exciting and will probably look very similar.  Anyway, I guess it’s a necessary evil.

During the last session, I completed the two W-1010 Inboard Wing Ribs and today I was able to finish three of the W-1011 Inboard Wing Ribs.....Five Total Wing Ribs Completed.

For comparison purposes........5 down and 23 to go!!!!  Yeah!

Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 2)

Since there are so many Wing Ribs to prepare, I decided to skip work on them today.  I know I will eventually have to face the stack of Ribs, but didn’t want to do it today. 

Anyway, I started today’s session by separating and preparing the W-1029 Angles and W-1029D Spacers into Left and Right pieces.  The picture below is prior to completing the edge work.

The parts shown in the two pictures below are Torque Tube Support Brackets.  The W-1029A-L and W-1029B-L are used on one assembly and the W-1029A-R and W-1029B-R make up the other.  The single bottom hole in each of the four pieces were final-drilled to #40 and dimpled.  I also completed the edge work on each piece. 

The Angles, Spacers, Torque Tube Brackets, and VA-146 Flange Bearing go together to make the Torque Tube Support Subassembly.  The picture below shows all the pieces and the Subassembly clecoed together.

Finally, I completed the prep work on the two W-1010 L & R Inboard Wing Ribs and the W-1025 Flap Hinge Ribs in the two pictures below.  Except for the two holes in the forward upper and forward lower tabs that fit under the Spar Flange, all the remaining holes in the upper and lower flanges were final-drilled to #40 and deburred.  

Except for the same holes identified above, all the #40 holes in the lower flanges of the Wing Ribs and Flap Hinge Ribs were dimpled.   

Wings, Wing Ribs (Part 1)

Well, my stepdad left today.  With his help, we were able to complete the inventory of the Wing Kit and the Left and Right Main Spar’s.  His help was very much appreciated.  Until his next trip.....

The first step in Section 14 is to separate the W-1025B Flap Hinge Ribs (x2) into a Left and Right Rib.  Pictured below is one of the two Flap Hinge Ribs after getting separated.  I also did the edge work on the four pieces.

There are a total of 28 Ribs (14 in each Wing) on the RV-14.  The next step is to adjust the angles of the Flanges of the W-1010 Inboard Wing Ribs (one in each wing), W-1011 Inboard Wing Ribs (10 in each wing), and W-1012 Outboard Wing Ribs (three in each wing) 90 degrees to the web.   

The prep work on the two W-1010 Inboard Ribs are complete.

Wings, Main Spar (Part 9)

LONG, LONG day of finishing up all the countersinking on the Left and Right Main Spar.  Anyway, we are finally done....thank God.  I am so sick of countersinking.  I’m sure there will be many, many more opportunities to countersink in the future, but I’m good with it for now.

After finishing the countersinking for the Fuel Tank Attach screw holes, the last “group” of holes to be countersunk were for the Wing Access Plates (12 nutplates in each Wing).  As indicated in the excerpt below, the maximum outside diameter is .308 (7.8 mm) and maximum inside diameter is .158 (4.0 mm).  We countersunk the holes to an outside diameter of .290.  

Finally, both Spars are done.  The next time I mix up some Akzo primer, I’ll spray the holes that were countersunk on the Spars.  Until then, I put them back in the crate they came in from Van’s.

Section Complete

Wings, Main Spar (Part 8)

We completed the installation of all the nutplates on the Right Main Spar.....

....and installed the two Aileron Bellcrank Brackets.  Just like on the Left Main Spar, the bolts that hold the brackets were already installed in the Spar Assembly from Van’s.  

 Now, both Spars are almost complete.  We need to countersink the nutplate screw attach holes and torque the eight bolts holding on the four Aileron Bellcrank Brackets.

We will start this process by countersinking the larger Fuel Tank Attach screw holes.  In Part 6, I added two excerpts from the plans defining the maximum inside and outside diameters of the coutnersink.  The maximum outside diameter of the countersink is .370 (9.4 mm) and maximum inside diameter of the countersink is .220 (5.6 mm).

Here is the excerpt:

With these maximum diameters in mind, I found the middle distance of .295 (7.5 mm).  I made the initial countersink (using a #30 countersink cutter in the cage as directed in the plans) to the middle figure and it looked very shallow.  The Fuel Tank Skins are .032 thick, so I found a scrap piece of aluminum of the same thickness, drilled it, dimpled it with a #8 screw dimple die, and checked the fit.....it was shallow.  

 I was interested what other builder’s were doing, so I started looking at other builder’s websites.   Shawn’s site provides some details on how he accomplished his countersinking, as he countersunk his larger holes to a diameter of .355.  Keeping the maximum of .370 in mind, I started to enlarge the diameter of the hole a little bit at a time.  After each “layer” of aluminum was removed, I checked it against my scrap template and the guage below. Eventually, I settled at a hole diameter of .350.  That fit pretty good with the scrap template I dimpled.  Now, we started on the rest of the holes.....continuously checking the diameter. 

Here is the first completed Main Spar Flange with the nutplate screw holes countersunk to a diameter of .350.

Just for information:  I did find my cordless drill made a “better hole” than my air drill.  I have a variable speed Sioux air drill, but for some reason (probably operator error) it tended to chatter a lot and not leave a round countersink.  The cordless drill cut much smoother and made a pretty round hole.  If I had to, I used my deburring tool to make a few turns at the very end to make sure the hole was round.  I think it worked out pretty well in the end.

Due to the depth of the coutnersink versus the thickness of the Flange, as Shawn mentioned, there is a knife edge created.  Because I chose to install the nutplates BEFORE the countersinking, I’m not able to “clean up” the knife edge from the opposite side of the Flange.  It’s not really all that bad, but some of the inner circles are not completely round.

Anywho, we hope to finish the countersinking in the Spars tomorrow and they will be complete.  Once we are finished, I will use a small airbrush to Akzo prime the holes we countersunk in the Flanges.

Wings, Main Spar (Part 7)

We let the Akzo primer dry overnight, so now it’s time to install some nutplates.....lots of nutplates.  The Left and Right Main Spars will receive 154 nutplates (77 in each Spar) via a combination of the these four nutplates:

K1000-06, 24 (12 on each Spar)

MS21-53-L08, 20 (10 on each Spar)

K1000-3, 14 (7 on each Spar)

K1100-08, 96 (48 on each Spar)

Here is what they look like.....

The plans call for AN426AD3-3.5 rivets to be used to attach all the nutplates to the Flanges of the Main Spars.  Here you can see the nutplates attached to the Upper Flange of the Left Main Spar.  We used the hand squeezer for all of the rivets on these nutplates. 

These are the nutplates on the Lower Flange of the Left Main Spar.  We also used the hand squeezer for all of the rivets on these nutplates. 

Here is a close up of the one of the Flanges.  The row of nutplates on the top will be used to attach the fuel tank.  The ones on the bottom will be for the Wing Access Plate.

These are the three nutplates in the Left Main Spar web on the inboard side.  We used the rivet gun and small tungsten bucking bar for these rivets because the pneumatic squeezer yoke didn’t have enough reach.  However, we were able to use the pneumatic squeezer for all five of the AN470AD4-6 universal rivets on the right.

These are the four nutplates in the Left Main Spar web on the outboard side.  We were able to use the hand squeezer on the two closest to the tip (on the left) and backriveted the two near the SB500-6 Snap Bushing.  

Lastly, the two Aileron Bellcrank Brackets were bolted to the Spar.  The bolts used were already installed in the Spar when it was shipped from Van’s, so they had to be removed and re-installed with the Brackets.

 Here are a few pictures of the Left Main Spar with all nutplates attached.

The only thing left do on the Left Main Spar is the countersinking of the nutplate screw attach holes.   I plan to finish the Right Main Spar (to this point) and complete the final countersinking step on both of them at the same time. 

We started work on the Right Main Spar and were able to get all the nutplates on the Upper Flange installed.  We will resume here tomorrow.

Wings, Main Spar (Part 6)

Like I previously posted, I THOUGHT we were finished countersinking!  Like I previously posted, we WERE NOT!

After completing all of the countersinking (almost all of it, see below) in the Right Main Spar yesterday, we went back to complete the Left Main Spar today.   Regardless, both Spars are now ready to be primed. 

Now, for some clarity (mostly for myself), but here is what we have done and plan on doing to complete the countersinking of the Spars:

1.  Left Main Spar:  There are 586 TOTAL holes to countersink in the Flanges and Web.  We have countersunk 516 up to this point and have 70 nutplate screw holes remaining to be countersunk.

2.  Right Main Spar:  There are 586 TOTAL holes to countersink in the Flanges and Web.  We have countersunk 516 up to this point and have 70 nutplate screw holes remaining to be countersunk. 

3.  Fuel Tank Attach Nutplates:  The remaining 140 holes (70 in each Main Spar Flange), will be countersunk AFTER I prime the Spars.  I plan on doing this because I want to follow the directions in the plans.  The plans have you install the Fuel Tank Skin Attach Nutplates and THEN countersink the center hole.  You are supposed to use a #30 countersink cutter for the screw holes using the nutplate as a guide.  “The #30 pilot will center in the nutplate well enough to keep the countersink round and concentric”.  The plans then provide the following guidance for minimum and maximum diameter for the countersinks.....

4.  Wing Access Plate Attach Nutplates:  Are completed by the same process, but since the nutplates are smaller, a #40 countersink cutter is used.  However, the same technique is used for the nutplate screw holes.  Here are the tolerances in the plans for these holes.....

My primer will be delivered shortly, so moving on.  Next, is to final-drill #30 the Spar Doubler to the Spar Web rivet holes in the Left and Right Main Spars.  The plans now have you install AN470AD4-6 rivets, so I’ll wait until after priming.

The next step is to prepare the three W-823-1 Aileron Bellcrank Brackets and W-823-AP Aileron Bellcrank Bracket.  The two bottom holes on the three Bellcrank Brackets and the four smaller holes on the AP Bracket were final drilled to #12.  The lager hole in each of the three Aileron Bellcrank Brackets were final-drilled to 1/4”.  We then deburred the holes, did the edge work, dipped in them in Alumiprep, dipped them in Alodine, and hung them up to dry.  They will get primed along with the Left and Right Main Spar. 

UPS brought the Akzo on time, so here’s the Left and Right Main Spar after priming.  Tomorrow we will start installing all the nutplates.