What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Routing wires thru QB wings

Glen P

Active Member
Hi All,

I want to settle the issue of wing wiring so I can move on to riveting my lower skins. I read Van's thoughts on the available options:

https://www.vansaircraft.com/faq-technical-builder-items/wing-wiring-routing-wires-in-the-wings/

They suggest three options. I'm using the two forward holes for pitot lines. Since the wings are QB, I don't believe I can drill 3/4" holes in all the ribs. Thus I'm left with the third option - drilling a #30 hole near the edge of each lightening hole and using cable ties to tie a ... conduit in place.

They say to make sure that there is no interference with the aileron bell crank or control rods. If I put a 3/4" OD conduit near where they indicate (bottom centre of the lightening hole), am I likely to interfere with the control rods?

Thanks a lot,
 
Hi All,

... Since the wings are QB, I don't believe I can drill 3/4" holes in all the ribs. ...

I did:

46600995675_ff57568ee2_b.jpg
 
I drilled the Van's approved holes in my QB wing ribs using what looks like the same method. I put the step drill in the end of a drill extension I sourced from a local hardware store.
 
Don't feel bad. I too was wondering how I was going to pull that off when I noticed the extensions hanging on the wall while in the store for a different project.
 
Tell me more about that bit, please.

I located and center-punched each hole location just using a Sharpie and a ruler on each rib that I could reach. I could not mark the 3 very closely spaced inboard ribs. So, I saved them for last.

I started with a 12" long #11 bit and drill a pilot hole in as many ribs as I could. Then, I switched to short threaded #11 bit on a 90 degree angle drill and got a few more.

I widened those hole with a unibit, just large enough to get a drill extension through. I used a long wooden dowel the same size as these holes to pass through to touch each of the remaining ribs and marked the hole location with the sharpie. Then just drilled a pilot hole first, using the #11 bit in the drill extension, then the unibit. Its not perfect. But, its pretty damned close.

Once I was satisfied with that, I opened all the holes up with a 3/4" max unibit, using exetensions as I went (only needed 2). It took me several more hours to deburr these holes. My hands and arms were pretty beat up by the time I was done.

Hope this helps!
 
Last edited:
conduit

i also used the conduit, but I wouldn't do it again - for some reason I had the feeling that I'd be putting the wire in and out a lot. I think Van's recommended method is simple, light, and functional.
 
I used a step drill from HF and welded it to a 6 foot threaded rod. I was able to drill the holes from either end of the wing. Worked great.
 
Back
Top