1.3 Hours -
I thought the outboard rib would go in faster than the interior ribs did, but it actually took about the same amount of time. The rivets in this rib could all be squeezed, which made the actual riveting go a bit faster, but I also had to attach and seal the reinforcement plate, and I used much more sealant than usual around the rib once it was riveted. If the tank is going to leak, it will probably be at one of the exterior ribs or at the baffle.
Before riveting this rib to the tank, I first riveted on the T-410 reinforcing plate. Then, as usual, I smeared sealant all around the rib flange and clecoed the rib to the skin. Being able to use the squeezer, the actual riveting process went much faster. Once all the rivets were set, I proceeded to make my filet around the rib and encapsulate the rivet shop heads. I may have went a bit overboard on the sealant here, but I’d rather have too much sealant on the tank than have a leaky tank!
Finally, once all the sealant was in place, I peeled off the electrical tape I had applied earlier over the holes for the joint plate screws. With the tape removed, I was left with a clean and straight line of sealant. Hopefully it is far enough away from the screw holes so that it doesn’t interfere with the joint plate itself.
An end view of the right tank's outboard rib (sorry for the bad picture). I used much more sealant on this rib, but at least all the rivets could be squeezed.
I used electrical tape along the edge where the joint plate screws go. Once removed, it left a nice sealant line. I hope the sealant is far enough away from the holes that it won't interfere with the joint plate.
Lots of extra sealant in the nose area on this rib!
You can barely see it, but the reinforcement plate is there. You can also see my mistake with the vent line clip...there's two of them because I attached the first one on the wrong side...
Tomorrow, I’ll insert the vent line and install the inboard rib. I also need to finish making the tank access cover plate by installing the fuel pick-up and the fuel level sender.
