David Paule
Well Known Member
Main Ribs To The Front Spar
Starting with the right wing and using some bushings, I pilot-drilled the main ribs to the front spar. The first pass was through the web of the spar. Once that was done, I removed the ribs, drilled them to #30, and clecoed them to the spar.
With all of them clecoed, I used more bushings to pilot-drill for the 3/16 inch holes through the caps. Then I disassembled the ribs and drilled them out to the final size.
The next step was to remove all the ribs for deburring.
The left wing, shown here, is now ready for the first pass of pilot holes.
If you look closely you'll see that the ribs have all been drilled for the plastic bushings for the lights and stall warner and pitot lines. It's pretty easy to do that when the ribs are off the spars, and harder when they're on. You don't need to know the specific brands and models of these things yet, just roughly how many wires and hoses to allow for. The wires, etc., will go in before skinning the wings.
The holes in the rear spar to the ribs are all drilled but haven't been dimpled yet. I learned that my pneumatic squeezer will indeed dimple the .040 rear spar. The blue parts in the background are the flap brace and aileron fairing. The aileron fairing is the W-724 substitute that Randy Lervold recommended. They're here so that I could see which holes needed dimpling. At this stage of the game, I'm not convinced that the W-724 is a significant time-changer for a standard-build kit. But on its outboard end, it's already trimmed correctly for the aileron hinge fittings, and that's a plus, especially since the plans don't mention that at all.
The drill bushings were straight from the local hardware store. These are simple brass tubes that nest in one another. The one on the left was used for the #30 web holes, and the set of longer ones was used for the 3/16 inch holes in the spar caps. The smallest tube takes a 3/12 inch bit, shown, but not a #40 bit.
These have done a good job of protecting the front spar while drilling all those holes.
I keep them in a small parts ziplock bag in my drill drawer so I don't lose them. I hate losing things like that and I'm very good at it.
Dave
Starting with the right wing and using some bushings, I pilot-drilled the main ribs to the front spar. The first pass was through the web of the spar. Once that was done, I removed the ribs, drilled them to #30, and clecoed them to the spar.
With all of them clecoed, I used more bushings to pilot-drill for the 3/16 inch holes through the caps. Then I disassembled the ribs and drilled them out to the final size.
The next step was to remove all the ribs for deburring.
The left wing, shown here, is now ready for the first pass of pilot holes.
If you look closely you'll see that the ribs have all been drilled for the plastic bushings for the lights and stall warner and pitot lines. It's pretty easy to do that when the ribs are off the spars, and harder when they're on. You don't need to know the specific brands and models of these things yet, just roughly how many wires and hoses to allow for. The wires, etc., will go in before skinning the wings.
The holes in the rear spar to the ribs are all drilled but haven't been dimpled yet. I learned that my pneumatic squeezer will indeed dimple the .040 rear spar. The blue parts in the background are the flap brace and aileron fairing. The aileron fairing is the W-724 substitute that Randy Lervold recommended. They're here so that I could see which holes needed dimpling. At this stage of the game, I'm not convinced that the W-724 is a significant time-changer for a standard-build kit. But on its outboard end, it's already trimmed correctly for the aileron hinge fittings, and that's a plus, especially since the plans don't mention that at all.
The drill bushings were straight from the local hardware store. These are simple brass tubes that nest in one another. The one on the left was used for the #30 web holes, and the set of longer ones was used for the 3/16 inch holes in the spar caps. The smallest tube takes a 3/12 inch bit, shown, but not a #40 bit.
These have done a good job of protecting the front spar while drilling all those holes.
I keep them in a small parts ziplock bag in my drill drawer so I don't lose them. I hate losing things like that and I'm very good at it.
Dave
Last edited: