Local builder meetup & Clecoed the left leading edge assembly - 1 hour

Another small night on the build. I clecoed the left leading edge assembly.
 




I met a few new local builders tonight. It's always great to get to know those in the game, and always a pleasure to learn from those more experienced than I. The group spent some time talking 'shop' and I was able to show some of my progress off. I was pleased to get some positive feedback and also some pointers.
 

Order stuff and Devinyl left leading edge skin - 1 hour

Progress has come to a grinding hault. I've simply run out of clecos so I have been waiting to get the bonus from work to put in the big order...which finally came. Also took time off from the build to go skiing in the mountains last weekend. So now was the time to get all the things that I need to continue;
From Vans - 500 clecos, 2 flop tubes and plates for aerobatic tanks, safety wire, keyed deluxe fuel caps, Conduit, Proseal, Polygone Gel and a fuel tank test kit.
From Cleveland Tools - Mini Tungsten bucking bar, Electrical Crimpers, Reamers, 6" cobalt drill bit, Edge Roller tool, fly cutter, vise grip dimpler.
Misc - Weight scale, small spatulas.
Put the orders in....Should take some time to get here.
I decided to jump back into it by working on the leading edges. I started to devinyl the left leading edge skin.

More match drilling right wing skins - 4 hours

Started to celco the bottom skins on the right wing. I put the plumb-bobs back on the front side of the wing to periodically check level and twist as I went...Excellent. No Movement.




I had marked out on the spar the location of the tie-down hole. It occurred to me that this would be a great place to use a template (I have been making/using them with great results so why stop now).
I folded a piece of paper in half and taped the edges to help stiffen the template. I then started marking directions on it and then clecoed it onto the wing using the spar edge/paper edge as a guide. It was very easy to transcribe the location of the tie down hole and I noted the dimension of the hole from the spar edge as an extra precaution.

As a side note...I find checking off holes as I match drill them to be a very quick and easy way to verify that I have already drilled a hole. Nothing more time consuming (or potentially elongating a hole) by drilling the same hole multiple times.


Time for a RV #Selfie

Match Drilling Right Wing Skins - 4 hours

In all my measuring and fit-ups I notice that the spar wants to bow slightly nearest the inboard side. When clecoing the skins eveything fits really nice with the exception of the last three outboard holes on the spar. So I decided to use another jack on that end. Once set up the alignment was much better.

I re-strung the lines. Looks good.

I then cleco'd the skins on to make sure the wing was aligned (ribs are at right angles) then I re strung the plumb bobs to ensure there was no twist.

I began clecoing on the skins and started to match drill. In my haste, I was not paying attention to the depth I was drilling and I did this on the rear spar rivets. Crap! I might have to replace some.


Update: I called Vans and they felt that this is not a cause for concern for this particular instance. Better to leave this one alone then mess with it. Vans support is so good. Very easy to run questions by the folks who know!

Cut and match drilled wing walk doublers - 3 hours

I measured the wing doublers according to the plans and narrative. 26" x 9 3/8". I looked at how it would sit in relation to the wing. From reading all the build logs, it was obvious that it wasn't going to sit "about an inch" over the rear spar. It was conceivable that it was going to sit around the 5/32" mark that everyone seems to mention. So I started to cut them on the band saw.
 
Once they were roughly cut. I went to work with the files and slowly worked them down to the finished dimension. Once I was satisfied with the edges/measurements. I set them on the wings skins and checked alignment. Ensuring the skins sat back the 9/16" from the top edge, I clamped the doubler. I then taped all edges, removed clamps.



Carefully flipped the assembly over and started to match drill.


I cleco'd them onto the skins and It appears that I do have overlap, not the 5/32" more like 3/32". I still have good edge distance so I will carry on.

Aligning wings, lessons learned - 2 hours

So happy with the alignment and level, I cleco'd on the top of the wing skins to the spar. Overall the alignment is good, just tough the get the holes closest to the inboard side of the spar to line up. I appears that there is still an amount of bow on that side. I will have to address that somehow.

Then, it became very clear that the wing skeleton was not square as it was skewed like a trapezoid and the rear spar holes were about 1/2" out. Haha...I spend quite a bit of time to remove the skew out out of the wings and clamp the rear spar t have to remove it and do it all again.

I also noticed that the level was just ever so different on the inboard end of the wing spar. According to my measurements....The thickness of the Main Spar doublers are different. I see on the build logs that everyone places a level on the top. However on my spars, the thickness of the spars are not the same, so the bottom if the spar (or aft face of the inboard end) is the best place to represent level. The forward face of the outboard end of the spar is the best place to check level though.

More adjustments where made. I reset level and decided to call it. I'm becoming irritated.

Aligning the wings...more - 1.5 hours

I decided that hydraulic bottle jacks are too unreliable to maintain the level needed for the wings. So I exchanged them for screw jacks which are mechanical and will not sag. So I set them back up and checked the lines for level. Much better. I then hung the plumb bobs looking to eliminate twists. This is not a quick process as it is a wait for the bobs to settle, they are easily disturbed with movement and adjustment.