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| Right leading edge done! |
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| The landing light bay. |
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| Builder self portrait. |
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| Decided to start on the Right Leading edge while awaiting rear spar parts. |
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| Time to fess up. My biggest mistake of the build so far. I was on such a roll, I forgot the drawings show only the Left wing components. Failing to pay enough attention to inverting the image in my mind to the mirror image, I did a beautiful job of riveting the critical doublers at the root backwards! Not willing to accept drilled out holes in this important component, I ordered a new rear spar, and both doublers from Vans! Dumb! |
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| Right wing coming along. |
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| Rear spar clecoed on for match drilling. |
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| This one really threw me. The aileron Jig seemed wrong. The top skin and the aileron did not line up straight! Research on Vans Air Force revealed that this IS correct. The Flaps and Ailerons are reflexed up on this aircraft for reduced drag. Reminds me of the Maule M7 I used to fly that had "Negative Flaps!" |
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| Prepping right wing ribs begins! Smooth out the rough edges of the lightening holes...when you will stick your arms through here to buck rivets, you'll be glad you did! |
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| The nutplates are on! |
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| Riveting on the nutplates to the spar flanges. These will hold on the fuel tank. |
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| Squeeze! Repeat! Sure recipe for a sore forearm! |
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| Aileron bell crank hinges are on. the lower one is designed to hold an autopilot servo. |
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| Countersinking the spar flange so the rivets lay nice and flush. |
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| Started the right wing. Here I am match drilling the J stiffeners. |
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| What to do with that old Vans spar crate? Make a stage out of it, so you can get above the work with the drill and countersink cage. Much easier than holding that heavy drill in front of you face for a couple of hundred holes! |
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| Left aileron bellcrank installed! |
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| Left aileron torque tubes going together. No, I did not scratch the powder coating. That's excess primer that ran out from the inside. It cleaned up well. |
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| My laser sight makes drilling the rivet holes for the aileron to bell crank pushrod easy. |
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| The Aileron is on! |
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| No more rivets to add!!! |
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| The builder is happy to have the bottom skins done on the Left wing. |
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| It's amazing how far you can reach to buck a rivet if you have to. |
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| I bucked and riveted every rivet in the lower skins myself! |
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| My arms look like I went a few rounds with a Pit Bull after bucking these rivets. |
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| Two flaps and an aileron....what to do? I know, another aileron! |
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| Ready to complete the left aileron. |
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| That piece of stainless steel pipe in the leading edge of the aileron is the counterbalance. |
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| Rob the riveter. |
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| Taught my big brother, Clarke how to back rivet. (stiffeners to the aileron skins) |
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| Rob and myself making aileron hinges. |
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| Marking the aileron stiffeners before cutting. |
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| Both flaps complete! |
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| Prime time for aileron parts. |
