Wing Tip and filler

Today we began rough fitting of the right fiberglass wing-tip.  Much more work still to go on this as it will take quite a bit of cutting, filing, and sanding to get the wing tip to fit nicely.  We also started prepping the trailing edge surfaces for filler to smooth any rough transitions.  Areas where filler will be applied were sanded and cleaned.  Hours: 1.0

Fabric plates installed on right wing

A few parts that we were waiting for (small nut plates) finally arrived, so we installed the rest of the fabric backing plates on the right wing.  We bent the fabric bracket for the front lift-strut bracket slightly so that it matched the profile of the ribs.  We noticed a little bit of interference with one leg of the bracket, so we filed the slot in the fabric plate slightly to eliminate the interference.

As usual, mating areas were abraded, cleaned, and then two part Hysol epoxy was applied.  Then the fabric backing plates were riveted firmly in place. Hours: 2.0

Fabric backing plate at aileron pulley location

Fabric plate at lift-strut bracket near the leading edge

Fabric plate at flap pulley location

Fabric plate for second lift-strut bracket location

Wing Fabric Rivet Holes Drilled

The holes for fabric rivets in the top and bottom wing rib caps were drilled with a 1/8" (#30 actually) drill.  The locations were duplicated from previous wing and are detailed  in the March 26, 2017 and April 2, 2017 Blog entries.  We also drilled 1/4" drain holes in the bottom inboard trailing edge of the wing.  Nine drain holes were drilled, each was located 1/2 inch from edge of rib cap, and 1/2 inch from front side of trailing-edge.  Hours: 3

Drain hole

Right Wing Gussets and Fabric Plates

This weekend we made some good progress on fabric backing plates and gussets for the right wing.  There is a fabric plate at each point where a cable exits the wing to control the flap or aileron, and additional plates are located at the lift-strut attach brackets.  The fabric backing plates were trimmed carefully around the cable exit points and deburred, then they were clamped in place temporarily while we drilled holes for the rivets.  We used a hole-locating tool (which we had previously made when working on the left wing) to match the hole in the fabric plate to the holes that were already drilled in the lift-strut brackets.  Additional holes were drilled for nut plates that will be used to fasten cover plates on the bottom side of the wing.  All holes were deburred and the ones that require flush-mount rivets were dimpled.  Unfortunately, we didn't have enough nut plates so couldn't finish up the two fabric plates that needed them.  We ordered some more from Aircraft Spruce and will finish those up when they arrive.  We will epoxy all fabric plates on the top-side of the wing once those are completed.

Three fabric backing plates

Fabric plate for lift-strut at leading edge

While we had the wing oriented upside right, we  installed the fabric plate for the upper aileron hinge point. Since no nut-plates are needed for that fabric plate, we went ahead and attached those permanently (Using Hysol epoxy and small alum. rivets). 

Fabric plate for Aileron

We installed small wood gussets for the right wing.  We turned the wing onto the leading edge and clamped it vertically so that the gussets would not move while the epoxy was curing.  Surfaces were cleaned, then these gussets simply epoxied in place.  After the epoxy had cured 30 minutes, the fillets were smoothed with a wet finger.  Hours: 5.0

Wing tipped up vertically and clamped in place

Two gussets epoxied in place

Aileron/Flap Pulley Install

With a little luck and a lot of fidgeting, we were able to get the three pulley brackets aligned and installed. Like on the left aileron, we joggled the top control horn for better alignment.  We used the same procedure as before and it worked wonderfully.

After the brackets were aligned correctly, the rivet holes were drilled, deburred and the brackets were riveted and epoxied in place. Hours: 4

Joggle in Aileron Control horn for Alignment

Aligning the top Aileron Pulley

Flap Pulley Bracket installation Complete

Top and Bottom Aileron Pulley Brackets Installed

Aileron, right wing

The aileron needed 30 deg down deflection from neutral position, but we were only getting 25 degrees.  We trimmed a little bit of fiberglass at the front edge of slots in the aileron leading edge that were hitting the hinge, and that helped get us to 29 degrees deflection.  At this point, we ran into another issue as the fiberglass no longer interfered, but one half of a new aileron hinge bracket that we made was now interfering.  We noticed that when we made this aluminum hinge bracket, it was slightly wider than the one we replaced, so we filed down the edge slightly which gave us more clearance.  Once we corrected this, we were able to get close to 32 degrees deflection down, which is sufficient. 

We also began planning for installation of the aileron pulleys on the right wing.  We clamped the lower pulley in place temporarily, and need to check alignment carefully before drilling any holes.  We ran into alignment issues on the left wing that required us to make a new bracket, and may run into similar issues with the right wing.   Hours 2.0