If I were to do this again...

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If I were to do this again...

Postby racaldwell » Sat Sep 24, 2016 10:07 pm

Finally got one wing closed up. This is the lft wing which has the spar plates on the front so the rivet holes are right there. What a pain to debur. I ended up using a small flat diamond file that had the tip broke off so I could use the end edge to scrap around the hole perimeter along with the filing.

If I were to do this again, I would get the spar rivet holes about a 1/16" further forward by shortening the ribs at the rear flange that much. This would solve two problems I had. It would get the rivet holes away from the web so the drill bit wouldn't touch it & give slightly better access for deburring. It would also get the LE skin forward slightly so that it wasn't so tight on the nose rib corners. I had bumps on the skin there. So I filed reliefs at the corners so the rib flanges could bend down somewhat.

Another thing I would do is bend the LE skins so they would closer match the curvature of the nose ribs. I'd try the vacuum bag method. Just relying on the rivets to pull the skin into shape just makes every rib visible where it is pulled tight and in between ribs it is fatter.

Here are some pics.
Attachments
Lft Spar Debur File Sm.jpg
Deburring
Lft Spar Debur Sm.jpg
Spar holes at web
Left Wing Done Sm.jpg
Left Wing Riveted
racaldwell
 
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Re: If I were to do this again...

Postby mooneybum » Sun Sep 25, 2016 9:34 pm

Rick, I used the vacuum method to bent the leading edge skins on my sonex, still have a DVD some where, if you want to see it, let me know.
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Re: If I were to do this again...

Postby Gripdana » Mon Sep 26, 2016 8:16 am

FWIW. Here is a link to an instructional video I made on using a shop vac to bend the leading edge wing skins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_QWPoFEhWc
Dana Baker
Scratch Built
First Flight March 8, 2015
Sonex #1534 - N1534S "Aluminum Foil"
Aerovee-Dual Controls-Tail Dragger
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Re: If I were to do this again...

Postby racaldwell » Mon Sep 26, 2016 11:14 am

Thanks guys, but I am past that point now. My skins have been drilled to the wing already. Just saying I would bend them if I had to do over again. So for those not yet mounted the LE skins, it would be my recommendation.
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