Archive for category Wings
Wings Complete!!! (12/4/11)
Posted by Ethan Jacoby in Ailerons, Construction, Flaps, Main Structure, Wings on December 4, 2011
2.3 Hours -
The wings are now completely finished!!! That’s not even one of my usual ”finished except for…” lead-ins. They are now going to sit as they are until it’s time to mate them to the fuselage. Speaking of the fuse, I received a shipment notice/tracking number from Van’s, and the fuselage is scheduled to be delivered by ABF on 12/7/11. Great timing!
The fuselage is on its way! If all goes well, deliver should be in three days.
The work I did today to finish the wings was pretty easy. The first thing I did was to reinstall the left aileron on the wing. To make this a little easier, I decided to install the push-rod on the aileron while the aileron was sitting on a work bench. Once the push-rod was attached, I could insert it into the aft end of the wing before positioning the aileron on its brackets. Once the aileron was positioned, it took a little time to get all the washer/spacers into the correct positions, and I also had to remake one spacer (the original was too short and I didn’t catch it before), but I eventually got everything connected.
I forgot to mention a new tool previously, but I did spend $30 to get a set of washer wrenches from Avery Tools. They seemed a little expensive for what they are, but they really do make washer insertion much easier. In my opinion, they pretty much paid for themselves during aileron installation.
The Avery washer wrench set has a total of four wrenches like this one. Each wrench holds two different sizes of washers.
Next, I riveted the pitot mast to the left wing. The mast attaches with only 5 rivets, but I managed to screw up one of those. I had been doing great with my riveting, with almost no re-dos on the bottom skins, so I guess I was due. In addition, as I was working on the mast, I had my first broken cleco. The cleco wouldn’t stay in the wing. When I checked it, I found that one of the small “dogs” had broken off. Unfortunately, this is an unfixable issue. However, this little cleco had seen a lot of use…you can still see some of the tank sealant on it from when it was used on the fuel tanks.
This cleco gave its life for the cause.
Once the mast was riveted, I routed the pitot/AOA tubing through the wing. For now, I have it running under the bellcrank. It looks like it should be fine, but I may decide to anchor it to the spar sometime down the road.
For now, the pitot/AOA tubing is routed under the bellcrank. I may clamp it to the spar sometime in the future.
The pitot mast with the pitot/AOA tubing protruding.
With the tubing in the wing, I decided to go ahead and install the pitot/AOA tube as well. This was just a matter of pushing the two tubes into the fittings, and then using four #6 screws to attach the pitot tube to the mast. I had purchased a cheap pitot tube cover, but it is about an inch too short for the Dynon pitot/AOA. It will function OK for keeping the pitot tube clean in the garage, but I’ll have to buy or make something else once the plane is ready to fly.
The installed pitot/AOA tube...hopefully, there's no leaks!
My cheapo pitot cover is a bit small. I'll have to buy a different one or maybe make one. Of course, the old rubber chicken is always an option!
Next, I reinstalled the flaps on both wings. With the wings in the cradle, installation of the hinge pins is a bit tricky, so I don’t have them in all the way yet. I really hope they are easier to install once the wings are on the plane!
The last thing I did was to install the access cover plates on the left wing. With the covers in place, there was nothing left to do with the wings but try to find a good place for storing them in the garage while the fuselage is built.
Wings...DONE!!!
Right Wing Finished (12/3/11)
Posted by Ethan Jacoby in Construction, Main Structure, Wings on December 3, 2011
2.3 Hours -
Finally, it’s time to put the wings back together, finish up a few small tasks, and get them situated for storage during fuselage construction.
Today, I started by reinstalling the aileron on the right wing. Since I hadn’t yet tightened down the jam nuts, I was sure that I had altered the smaller pushrod’s length. So, once the aileron was installed, I used the bellcrank jig to lock the bellcrank into the neutral position, and then I checked the position of the aileron. As expected, it was slightly off. However, this was fixed with a couple twists of one of the rod end bearings. Once I was happy with the positioning of the aileron, I went ahead and tightened down the jam nuts.
After the aileron was re-installed, I finished riveting the outboard bottom skin. I only had a dozen or so rivets that I couldn’t reach when the wing was on the table, but these were pretty easy to get to with the wing back in the cradle.
Finally, with the riveting completed, I installed the remaining access hole covers. Even though I’ll probably have to take the covers off again, I figured it would be better to store them on the wing than under a bench.
I also left the flap off for now, but only because leaving it off allows me better access to the aileron hinges on the left wing. Once the left aileron is re-installed, I’ll put the flaps back on.
The right wing is completely done (except for reinstalling the flap, but that will only take a couple of minutes)!
Wings Done…Almost (12/2/11)
Posted by Ethan Jacoby in Construction, Main Structure, Wings on December 2, 2011
1.2 Hours -
No pictures again today, but I finished all but five rivets in the left wing. The 5 remaining rivets are for the pitot mast, and I think they’ll be a little easier to get to with the wing back in the cradle.
I still need to get a few rivets on right wing as well, but it is in a spot that doesn’t get much light once the sun goes down. So, they’ll have to wait until tomorrow.
More Left Bottom Skin Riveting (11/30/11)
Posted by Ethan Jacoby in Construction, Main Structure, Wings on November 30, 2011
1.7 Hours -
Same as the last couple of sessions…more bottom wing skin riveting. After tonight’s work, I only have 89 rivets remaining in the left wing!
Here you can see how I used a rope to "prop-up" the skin allowing room for me to reach in with the bucking bar.
Only two rows of rivets to go and then the wings are done!
Left Bottom Wing Skin Riveting Continued (11/29/11)
Posted by Ethan Jacoby in Construction, Main Structure, Wings on November 29, 2011
1.0 Hours -
Yesterday, Amber, once again, helped me rearrange the wings so that I could continue riveting the outboard bottom skins. The right wing went back into the cradle and the left to the table.
Tonight, I was able to get an hour of work in on the plane. In that hour, I managed to set 71 rivets in the left wing’s outboard bottom skin. My riveting was going really well, so I decided to quit while I was ahead (no new dings in the skin). With 71 rivets set today, I still have 212 to go before the wings are done.
Finished Riveting Right Wing! (11/27/11)
Posted by Ethan Jacoby in Construction, Main Structure, Wings on November 27, 2011
2.8 Hours -
With delivery of my fuselage kit only a week away, I finished riveting right bottom outboard skin. unfortunately, I still have the left wing to finish!
I was close to the halfway point on the right wing after my last session, and riveting was getting easier as I moved further outboard, so today’s riveting went fairly quick. I do still have to set the inboard most row of rivets on the right wing, but that will be easy once the wing is moved back into the cradle.
The right bottom outboard skin is riveted. The inboard most row will get finished once the wing is moved back to the cradle.
There are a few dings, but, overall, my riveting was OK.
Outboard Bottom Skin Riveting Started (11/25/11)
Posted by Ethan Jacoby in Construction, Main Structure, Wings on November 25, 2011
3.0 Hours -
No pictures today, but I finally started riveting the bottom outboard wing skins.
With the left wing in the cradle, I was able to complete the inboard most row of rivets. However, I couldn’t get the skin pulled away the way I wanted for riveting the rest of the skin, so I decided to move on to the right wing, which was laying on a table.
On the right wing, I couldn’t reach the majority of the inboard most row, but since there is an access hole for these, I just left them clecoed for now and started working on the rest of the wing. When the wing is back in the cradle, I’ll be able to finish the inboard row. Starting inboard and working out, I pulled the skin away as much as I could, and lowered it as I progressed outboard.
Since it took me a while to figure out how to reach some of the rivets, I spent almost three hours to get three rows of rivets done. I decided this was enough for one night.
Right Landing Light Installed (11/5/11)
Posted by Ethan Jacoby in Construction, Leading Edges, Wings on November 5, 2011
3.8 Hours -
With Amber’s help, I moved the left wing back to the cradle, and placed the right wing on the table with the bottom side facing up. My goal for today was to finish the right landing light installation.
Since I had already done a lot of the prep work on the pieces of the right landing light, all I had to do was to make the leading edge cutout and finish the lens. Installation of the right light was identical to the left, so I won’t go into much detail on this post. However, the details of the left light installation can be found in several posts starting with the one from 10/23/11.
The biggest difference with the right landing light was that it was easier. Just about everything, so far, has had to be done twice, and the second time has always been much simpler than the first. In this case, I had much less hesitation in making the big, leading edge cutout. I also learned a few tricks on the left lens that I was able to implement on the right.
The leading edge cutout isn't as intimidating the second time around.
After finishing the edges of the cutout, it looks good.
In the end, the installed light looks good. I didn’t test this one in the wing since I had previously tested the lamp when it was outside the wing. However, using my multimeter, I did test to make sure I had a good ground connection between the lamp and the wing structure.
A head-on view of the finished landing light in the right wing.
A side view of the finished landing light in the right wing.
Now, all that is left with the wings is to rivet the outboard bottom skins!
Left Landing Light Finished (11/3/11)
Posted by Ethan Jacoby in Construction, Leading Edges, Wings on November 3, 2011
2.0 Hours -
Finishing up the left landing light was a relatively simple task. I spent more time playing with (a.k.a. testing) the light than installing it.
To finish the light installation, all I had to do was install the reflector/bulb in the main retainer bracket, install the weather-stripping around the leading edge cutout, and then install the lens. Overall, the finish looks good with no noticeable gaps between the lens and the wing skin.
Once everything was assembled, I hooked the light up to my bench power supply and fired it up. The garage wasn’t very dark, so it’s hard to tell how bright the light is, but I think it will be ok. If I get into some serious night flying, I’ll probably upgrade the bulb to a 100W lamp (current is 55W). In order to ensure that this upgrade is an easy one, I’m going to run 14 gauge wire for my power and ground, and I’ll install a breaker/fuse appropriate for the bigger wire.
After installing the reflector, bulb, and lens, I had to fire it up!
Another picture with the garage lights off. Its brighter than the picture looks, but I may still upgrade to a 100W bulb before any serious night flying.
Just for fun, I took a picture of the light on the wall. Tough to judge anything from this since there is nothing to compare to.
After I finished playing with the light, the last task I had to do was to figure out how I want to ground the light. I decided to go with a nutplate installed in the outboard leading edge rib. I’ll attach the ground wire to this using a #6 screw and some washers. However, I’m not even sure if this is necessary. Using my multimeter, I tested continuity, and it seems that the light is self-grounded through the bracket to the wing. The ground wire is easy to install, so I’ll probably do it just to be sure, but it would be nice to find out if it is even necessary in this case.
I installed a nutplate on the outboard leading edge rib. This will accept a #6 screw and anchor the light's ground wire.
Finally, I started getting the right wing ready to be moved from the cradle to the table. I now have a stack of ailerons and flaps in the corner of the garage. A year ago, I probably would have been much more concerned about piling the control surfaces on the floor, but I now realize I’m building an airplane, not a work of art. However, I did place a layer of padding between the concrete floor and the first control surface in the stack.
Left Landing Light Continued (10/26/11)
Posted by Ethan Jacoby in Construction, Leading Edges, Wings on October 26, 2011
2.3 Hours -
At this point, the left landing light is essentially finished.
I cut the lens to size using my band saw and then finished the edges with a multitude of tools. Once the lens was finished, I had to match drill it to the wing skin. To do this, the instructions recommend placing some strapping tape on the lens to make a handle that can be used to pull the lens into place from outside the wing. Once the lens is positioned, the holes are drilled to #40, then #30 and then further enlarged after removing the lens from the wing.
A "handle" made from strapping tape is used to pull the lens into position for match-drilling to the wing.
After the lens is drilled, there were still a few minor things to do. The lens retainer brackets had to be final drilled, receive nutplates, and be positioned on the lenses with some double-sided tape. The main light brackets had to be riveted together and have a couple nutplates installed, and the screw holes in the wing skin needed to be enlarged and dimpled.
The lens retainer brackets are attached to the lens with some double-sided tape. Sorry for the bad picture, but I had already cleaned the lens and I wasn't going to take it back out of the bag for a picture.
The main brackets were riveted together. After cleaning them with some acetone, they looked good, so I'm going to leave them as bare aluminum.
All that is left is to complete the electrical work and test it. For now, all I’m going to do is to figure out what type of connectors I want to use and install those on the lamp side…the power wire will get run through the wing much later down the road.
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