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Static Ports Too Far Aft?

snoopyflys

Well Known Member
While reviewing my aft fuse section in prep for riviting the center and forward sections together, I realized that I installed my SafeAir Static Ports farther aft than Van's plans indicate for a -7a. Mine are installed just forward of the F-710 bulkhead rather than the F-708 bulkhead or about 26" aft of the plans spec. Since both ports will be under the leading edges of the horizontal stab, should I bite the bullet and move them to the spec location or leave them and see how it affects the IAS and other static sensative instruments? Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Yup - you can get away with a few inches here or there, but getting them close to a lifting surface is goign to make a mess of the airflow. You can leave them as decoys and put the Van's pop rivets in the correct locations.... ;)
 
Thanks.....

for the replies. When I saw Reiley's reply, I figured that was going to be the consensus. So I got them drilled out (I riveted AND pro sealed them in place) and moved to the correct position.

Paul, I didn't even consider leaving them as decoys and using Van's pop rivets but that would have been the easier thing to do in hindsight. Oh well, another lesson learned. :eek:

Now, what to do about the gapping .25 hole and rivet holes left behind. My thought is to either fill the rivet holes with rivets-to-nowhere and then put a fiberglass backed plug in the .25 hole OR fabricate a 1.25" backer plate and rivet it in place then use epoxy/flock to fill the center hole. Will either one or both of these work and be acceptable repair? Any suggestions? I'm off to refer to my AC43.13.
 
The last one sounds like my ELT antenna hole repair

Initially I mounted the ELT antenna on the fuselage skin aft of the sliding canopy travel. I actually made two discs, one like you describe and one wedding cake style center riveted on top of it to fill the hole then epoxy and microballoon to fill and blend. 7 or 8 years later I would have to crawl in the aft fuselage to tell you where it is.

Bob Axsom
 
Wedding Cake Center?

Hey Bob - Thanks for your suggestion. With your wedding cake center solution, how did you make the raised part that fits in the .25 hole? Do to my lack of imagination/vision at the moment, I'm not seeing how you would rivet the two parts together to form the wedding cake. :confused: Could you provide a little more detail?

My thought would be to use a Universal rivet to fill the hole then bond-o it it up with epoxy/flock/micro-ballons.

Thanks again.
 
All Fixed...

I used my backer plate and universal rivet solution. Looks ok. Just a little bump where the universal rivet head fills the hole.

Here is the outside view (right);
2lafo7l.jpg


Here is the inside view (right);
eivy1f.jpg


Repeated on the left side as well.

I'll fill and sand later down the road.

Build on.
 
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