After yesterday’s session, the last remaining step to complete the assembly of the Left Flap is to rivet the Trailing Edge. To set this up, here is how I “stacked” my work area for the rivet installation:
1. Put one of the 6’ backriveting plates on the workbench (for a flat surface and as the backriveting plate)
2. Placed the Left Flap on top of it
3. Put the other 6’ backriveting plate on top of the Flap (for its weight: also added additional weight to keep the Flap as straight as possible)
4. Clamped the top backriveting plate to the Flap with a spring clamp (to keep it from moving during the riveting process)
All 71 AN426AD3-3.5 will be double flush with the manufactured head on the Top Skin. The first picture below shows six of the rivets. The first three on the left have already been set are “double flush”. The three rivets on the right are waiting to be set. This is a cool perspective of the before and after.
This picture is just a larger view of the one above.
Because of the angle created at the trailing edge of the Flap, the rivets are not “square” to the Bottom Skin (you can see that in the first picture above). In order to set the double flush side “square” to the Bottom Skin.....you initially have to set the rivet with a few taps and then angle the rivet gun (to the Bottom Skin angle) to make the double flush side (shop head) square to the Bottom Skin. The video below shows how I did it. The plans say to squeeze these rivets, but I decided to set them as shown below. I felt pretty comfortable doing it this way and I’m pleased with the results. The trailing edge turned out to be pretty darn straight.
Once all 71 rivets on the trailing edge were set, the last step was to trim/file/sand the trailing edge “V-Channel” flush with the Top and Bottom Skins. The picture below shows the completed outboard edge.....
.....and this picture shows the completed inboard edge.
FINALLY, here is the completed Left Flap!
