Installed wing inspection plates, wings finished - 3 hours

Last step was to complete the wing inspection plates. I had filed all the edges on the inspection plates down to clean the shear marks off, and then chamfered the edges to ensure a good fit with the radius corners of the skin. I ran each through the 3M wheel to finish the edges. I final drilled each screw hole on the drill press. Most important, I polished each hole with the dremel and fine grit sandpaper (lesson learned from the wing tank screw hole to ensure no cracks in the thick material when dimpling). The wings are now ready for storage.

Finished installing the flaps - 3 hours

I had trimmed the outboard wing hinge, and all that was left to do was to deal with the hinge pins.

There are two options to install the hinge pins; 1 - keep the hinge its entire length and place a hole in the aileron hinge bracket, or 2 - Cut the hinge in two and access from the middle. Knowing how difficult it can be to install hinge pins....and it's not always fun. I opted for option #2. However I decided to deviate slightly from the plans following a poplar method of installing a nutplate and small hing piece to hold the pins. I figured out where the best location for the hinge pin to be secured was, and I then removed the required hinge loops.

Bending the hinge pins is really about trial and error. Since I had lots of extra hinge pins from buying extra hinge...I just played with a few different test pieces till I got it right. Next I checked the clearances inside between the flap and brace with the hinge closed. I now have a good idea where to locate the hinge hold piece.


After drilling, countersinking and primer touchup I installed the nutplate. Next, I installed the hinge pin hold pieces with a #6 screw.

Beginning to install the flaps - 5 hours (Actually countless hours)

One of the steps that I did not do was to mark and pre-drill the flap hinge earlier in the build process. I reasoned that if I waited till I had the ailerons and flaps completed that it would make for a better alignment. (Keep in mind that in Canada, we have to leave every piece open for inspection prior to closing). In hindsight, this proved to make the process very much more difficult to get the hinge aligned.

Build Tip for Canadians -The best time to drill the hinge for the flap/wing is to mount the completed and closed aileron to the wing with just the underside of the wing skin clecoed on. Make sure that you haven't dimpled the holes yet on the wing skin that attach the skin to the flap brace. Mounting the flap hinge should be much more easy and precise.

Build Tip - When setting the hinge on the flap, I had placed it according to the 1/4" dimension as noted on the plans. When installing the flap to the wing, there was not much hinge left to mount to the wing. I was just slightly better than the minimum edge distance indicated on the plans, but it could have been better. In retrospect, this 1/4" dimension I used when installing the hing on the flap should be modified so it places the holes closer to the outside edge of the hinge. If I ever build another plane. The dimension I would use is 7/32.


I had temporarily set the flap in place and used a 1/4" thick wood shim and placed it between the flap and aileron. This allowed me to mark the location and ensure the left/right placement of the hinge was correct. After reading the different blogs, I made certain that the flap and hinge was all the way outboard so it didn't interfere at the fuselage (the hinge has some left to right play in it, I made sure the maximum gap was 1/4"..and it's minimum gap was less.).

Once I established the first hole, clecoed it and checked alignment, I began to work my way inboard. Checking, re-clamping, drilling a hole, re-check. repeat process down the line.


I found that using the fan spacer helped immensely.



Admittedly this process actually took me a couple of weeks and I went through a number of hinges. I was not happy with some of my alignments and choose to try again, and again. I wanted it perfect, and frankly hinges were cheap to order from Aircraft Spruce... So why not get it perfect. And in the end I did.

Installing the ailerons - 9 hours

I purposely left the aileron bushing mounts long. The idea is that I want to “machine” them to the proper size and if you cut too much....you have to start over. So, I began to install the ailerons and then I measured the actual required length and compared that with the plans. The plans vs the actual were nearly bang on, slight adjustment were needed and only by a few thousandths.  
So I went to work with the drill press and fine sandpaper (400 grit, 600 grit and then 800 grit). 


Once I was happy with the fit. I started to install the ailerons. It's not the easiest process to get them installed as the small washers have to be installed in fairly tight locations. I found an easy way to install multiple washers was to wrap them in electrical tape and then using a popsicle stick to slip them into position, allowing the bolt to be slid in. 




I had given some though how to position and secure the aileron for alignment and storage. I decided to use aluminum flatbar as I felt this the best and most secure (as well as precise) method. I marked all the necessary holes to align as per the plans and drilled the holes on the press.
 
I installed them on the wing to check fit and to confirm the location of the ailerons. This would allow me to place the holding "pin" in the exact proper location.



I made holding "pins" using really long, small diameter bolts. These will sit inside the aileron on the trailing edge and help secure the aileron.


Once installed, it help the ailerons in perfect alignment and also allowed for me to install and adjust the aileron control rods. 
 
 
 

Cutting Aileron mount bushings - 1.5 hours

I need to cut the bushings for the Aileron mounts. I cut the pieces needed to a rough size on the bandsaw. Now to start the long tedious process of getting the tubing down to the correct size. The best way I know to do this is take the bushing down to size by chucking the bushing in the drill press and use rough grit sandpaper under the drill press. As I get closer to size, I use finer grade sandpaper. 
 

Installed the wing fuel tanks - 2 hours

Finally the day has come. I've waited a long time to finally get these tanks installed. I kept the wings in the wing stand for installation and it proved to work very well. Installation of the tanks is not exactly that easy. I slipped the tanks up onto the wings and once I was satisfied with the fit and everything was clear, I then used the jacks to help support tanks. I then began to install all of the bolts on the z-brackets. I installed all bolts initially and then began to tighten everything up little by little to ensure straightness. Once I had the bolts installed, I then installed the screws. and more screws and more screws. After that I torqued the z-brackets. Overall I am extremely happy with the fit...Very nice!

Priming the fuel tank back baffle - 1 hour

One of the last items on my to-do list before I install the wing tanks is to give the back baffle area some primer. My thinking is that this is an area where water, etc can ingress between the skin and spar so any primer will help mitigate corrosion.