Momentous Occasion

Today was a great day!  We finally mounted the wings on the airplane.  We struggled a bit because the wing positioning needs to be pretty close to get the bolt holes to line up correctly, but we managed.  Here's a shot of the two proud owners under the right wing.  From the shot, you might assume it would be impossible to close the garage door, and you would be wrong.  We can pull a pin at the front spar and then rotate the wing back until it tucks in next to the fuselage.  Then the garage door can indeed be closed.

The left wing was attached next, but didn't get a photo of that so we will show it in later pictures.  This thing barely fits in the garage, but it does fit.  There is barely enough room, but we can have the left wing extended as long as the right one is folded back.  Our clearance between the wings and the walls is mere inches, but it fits!   Time spent: 3.5 hours  

Right wing attached

Varnish butt rib

Did a little more varnishing today, this time on two butt ribs that have not been installed yet.  We avoided putting varnish on the spots that will be epoxied later.  Also put a varnish coat on the right wing root rib by the gas tank.  We were supporting the wing at that location previously, so couldn't varnish it earlier.  Hours 1.0

Epoxy Varnish Right Wing, etc

We applied two coats of epoxy varnish this weekend to the right wing, and also applied a coat to a few areas on the flaps and ailerons that were previously missed.  The varnish has a very strong odor, so we wore masks when applying it.  Per the instructions, we varnished all the wood surfaces, and also coated the spars, and leading/trailing edge surfaces that will not be covered directly with fabric.  Hours: 4.0

Right wing varnished, and Michael adding some to a flap

More Varnish Prep Work

The wing was flipped over and more light sanding/buffing was done to the exposed aluminum.  Some additional filler work was done on the last rib where nutplate rivets were installed. Hours: 1

Varnish Prep

After allowing the epoxy to dry on the balsa wood fillers on the flap and aileron brackets a light sanding was done to finish them off.  We started lightly sanding all exposed aluminum in preparation for the epoxy varnish  that will coat all parts of the inner wing for corrosion protection.  Hours: 1

Right tank filler, and other misc work

Added and sanded 3 light coats of lightweight filler to smooth joints around the right wing's fiberglass tank.  We also added small pieces of balsa wood to fill in the gap between the metal plates that make up the aileron and flap hinges. 

Lastly, we removed the silicon plugs that were temporarily put in place to keep filler out of the holes int he right wingtip nutplates.  Hours: 4.0

Filler added at the edges of the fuel tank in the wing

Small piece of balsa added at hinges

Wingtip and Fabric Backing Plate

Hysol Epoxy was added around the nutplates on Rib #9 that will hold the wingtip onto the wing.  Silicone plugs were pulled through the nutplates to prevent epoxy from fouling the threads.

Some final sanding of filler on the strut attach bracket fabric backing plate was also done.

Hours: 1

Epoxy added to Rib.  Notice Orange Silicone plugs

Fabric Backing Plate Filler Work

Wingtip and Filler Work

After ordering and receiving some needed items (Nutplates and Rivets) from Aircraft Spruce, the final nutplates for mounting the fiberglass wingtips were installed.  We also did some more filler work and sanding.  Hours: 1.5

Filler Work

Added and sanded a 2nd application of filler to smooth out transitions, this time to the top side of the right wing at the trailing edge.  Hours: 1.0

Filler added at trailing edge fabric plate

More filler near one of the hinges

Filler added at false rib in back of gas tank

Filler and wingtip, cont.

Continued work on the wingtip and adding filler to smooth out transitions on the right wing.  Drilled holes in wingtip and installed some of the nutplates.  We didn't have enough rivets of the right length, so need to order some more.  3M lightweight filler was added to close in the slots for the hinges (clear tape was placed on the trailing edge surface to cover the slots prior to adding the filler which made the job a little cleaner).  Hours: 2.5

Filler and Wingtips

Filler and wingtip work continued today.  Filler work around the fabric plates and rib-trailing edge interface was finished up.  The 1/4" gap between the Aileron and fiberglass wingtip was cut and sanded smooth and flat.  Aligned with the aileron in its neutral position, the wingtip was clamped in place and the bottom holes drilled and cleco'd.  Hours: 2.5

Filler work around Aileron Pulley Fabric Plate

Right Wingtip Cleco'd on Bottom

More Tip and Filler Work

Got the right fiberglass wing-tip trimming "close enough".  Now the Aileron has to be re-installed for the finally fitting and trimming.  The wing-tip should be aligned with the Aileron in its neutral position.  We also continued working on adding filler along the trailing edge of the wing on the bottom surface.  Areas where filler will be applied were again sanded and cleaned. Hours: 1.0