Waiex tail leading edge rib to clip holes

[Deano]

What am I missing? Has anyone else had this problem where the 4 holes to attach the SNX-T04-06 tail leading edge rib to the WIX-T11-6 clip don't line up? The holes in the clip seem to be in a perfect rectangle whereas the holes in the rib follow the contour toward the leading edge.
I was going to upload a photo but I have to figure out how to resize it.
Thanks!

[Area 51%]

How old is your kit? We picked ours up in Oct. 2015 and had the exact same issue (first of many). Tech said it was OK to line up the parts per the plans, then drill 4 new holes. That was more than 2 years ago. Couldn't see myself flying around with 16 extra crack propagators, so I ordered two full-sized ribs and cut them down per the plans. After that, you can use the holes in the clip as a template.

If you have a B kit, I would have thought that mismatch to be corrected by now. If you have a Legacy..........hold onto your hat.

[Deano]

We picked up our kit in March of this year. We're hoping for a smooth build process with the refinements of the B model. I have an inquiry sent to tech waiting for a reply.
Thanks.

[Area 51%]

While you're waiting for a reply, measure the width of the rear spars. We had one (I think the right) about .060 thicker than the other. That made the skin not flow smoothly from the ribs (which should be the same dimension as the rear spars) to the spar.

One of the ribs will also need to be modified (number 5 rings a bell) to get it to fit if you got the same tail kit as us.

Good luck.

[Deano]

Tech replied and said that this was a known issue and to drill 4 new holes inboard of the original ones. I'm concerned about how many more "known" issues there are why something as simple as this hasn't been fixed. I'll have to measure the spar and the rib to verify those parts.

Thanks

[Area 51%]

I wish I had kept a list of "known" issues. Most are still fresh in my mind. Two years ago at Sun-N-Fun, when the Bs were introduced, I was deep enough into the tail section build to identify several discrepancies. I brought this up as I was talking to an employee that was involved with putting together the Quick-Build airframes. He said they had a list posted of "gotchas" to watch out for while building.

A copy of that list would have been a great help during my build, and saved Kerry and myself a great deal of computer time. An acknowledgement (or copy) of that list is probably not in anybody's future.

Stagnant and unmotivated here @Area 51%

[dtibbo]

Same issue with my kit, delivered November 2018. I split the difference in the holes (they were pretty close) then added another two rivets for good measure to make an "H" pattern.

*Edit: I actually had maintained the hole in the thicker clip, and drilled through the spar making four slightly larger holes on the spar. I rounded those four and then added another two in the middle.

[wingnut99]

They are not going to line up. They are not in the right location. Sonex told me to just drill through the clip and make new one's. I don't think it's much of a structural issue. About all you're doing is filling the opening in the end of the nose and there likely wouldn't be any movement as compact as the area is anyway. I redrilled mine and moved on. At the very least they should just have the vendor stop drilling misplaced holes and let the builder drill them using the clip as the guide.

[mbond]

I was just about to email support, and came across this thread.

The holes seem to be "close~ish" ... so close, in fact, that it looks like if I drill another set of holes they will end up enlarging the existing holes.

which holes did you redrill? Seems like if we are enlarging holes it would be better to do it in the leading edge rib instead of the clip.Though, enlarging the holes just seems like a bad idea.

[Area 51%]

To eliminate any chance of sloppy holes, do yourself a favor and buy a couple of T04-05 full length ribs and cut them down. They will have no holes that way, and you can use the holes in the clip as a drill guide. It will only set your build back by a week or two. That is "IF" they have any stock. I waited nearly 6 months for Aerovee ignition triggers and 10 weeks for a dial-a-trim (which I never got).Someone else came to my rescue regarding the trim. Thanks Berny!

It's the holes in the clip (machined angle component), by the way, that are incorrect, but it is much easier to make a rib than a clip.


That rib-clip combo is "Exhibit A" on my Sonex display board of shame. Don't know how many of those faulty clips they have made at any one time, but you'd think they would be running out of them pretty soon. The CNC programmer could probably fix the problem in about 2 minutes. I hear they have sold more than 10,000 RV kits. Hmmmmmmmm


Still venting more than the Apollo 13 command module here @Area 51%