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Edge distance questions

RV-Ogler

Active Member
I buggered up a hole drilling out a rivet on my RV14 rudder and had to up size the No 4 rivet to a No 5. Waiting to hear what Vans says about it, part R-606PP. Is the distance measurement 2X diameter from the center of the hole?

A1671B22-6F7B-43CF-9DFB-63A3FB8EC1B6.jpeg
 
Yes, Edge Distance is measured from the center of a hole to the material edge.

That hole doesn't look bad to me but I'm not sure if that pre or post upsizing to #5 rivet hole.
 
Edge distance

Depends a little on material but typically 2D from center of hole to any edge. I do suggest practicing on drilling rivets. Ask if you need some best practice advise.
 
Rule of thumb is 2d from center of the hole, or 1.5 d from the edge of the hole, but if you look at the mil spec its actually a little bit less than that.

Vans has a link to the appropriate mil-spec on their web site under the builder support tech Q&A section.

https://www.vansaircraft.com/faq/mi...pec-rivets-buck-type-preparation-and-install/

The min mil-spec edge distance for a -5 non flush rivet is .281"

It's important to understand that a mil-spec is generic approved engineering data that can typically be defaulted to in the absence of other approval, but if manufacturing prints say something else, then that would take precedence.
 
Another Option

Instead of going from #4 to #5 another option is CherryMax oversized rivets for a slightly messed up hole (per the link typical oversize is .01"
So a #4 would be 0.125, the Cherrymax oversize would be 0.135,
while a #5 would be 0.156"
So it would certainly lessen edge distance concerns.

https://aircraft-tool.com/shop/detail.aspx?id=CR3243-4-5&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

Obviously you'd want Van's opinion on using the CherryMax instead of a solid rivet.
 
Showed the pic to mothership, was told to build on. I do have a Vans practice control surface kit in my shop I’m gonna work on that first.
 
When in doubt, ask the people at Vans. You should see the stuff I deal with on store bought planes. You would be appalled at what quality control lets go the door. Some of the worst riveting I’ve ever seen is on Cessnas.
 
Depends a little on material but typically 2D from center of hole to any edge. I do suggest practicing on drilling rivets. Ask if you need some best practice advise.

Would like to learn some best practice(s) on this subject. Thanks in advance.
 
Chapter 5 of the manual contains just that for RVs. You can read it here and if you look for it, there's a download button too. It's free.

Dave
 
You might consider using a NAS1241 or a NAS1242 repair rivet if the hole can be cleaned up using a #27 drill/reamer rather than jumping all the way up to a -5 rivet. These come in handy occasionally and hard to tell it apart from a -4 rivet. Good Luck
 
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