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August 6, 2005:
(3.0 hrs.) Today I prepped and primed all the parts for the
ailerons. I tried my best to even prime the inside of the
counterbalance weights by pouring primer down the pipe and rolling it
around and blowing air down the pipe. |
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Since the counterbalance pipe is made out
of galvanized steel, I went ahead and also primed the inside of the
leading edge skin (aluminum) that it attaches to. It always a good
idea to prime dissimilar metals since they will tend to corrode when in
contact with each other. |
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After the primer dried I started riveting
things together. The first thing you do is blind rivet the leading
edge end ribs to the counterbalance weight. |
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The reinforcement plates and nut-plates
were riveted to the spars. |
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Next, the trailing edge and leading edge
top skins are cleco'd to the spar. The trailing edge bottom skin
is left open to provide access for the bucking bar. Here I have
clamped the assembly to the table to hold it still while I riveted.
Needless to say, with things in this position, it is difficult to rivet
this thing by yourself. It is very awkward holding the rivet gun
on the underside while reaching around and blind bucking from the top. |
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August 9, 2005:
(3.0 hrs.) I decided that I needed to position the aileron
differently for riveting if I was going to do things solo. I
decided that a vertical position would be better because I could see
both sides and get good leverage. Here I have screwed a wood block
to one end of the aileron by using the existing hinge bracket holes. |
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The wood block is then clamped to the work
bench. Now I can apply pressure with the rivet gun from one side while I
buck from the opposite side. I could do about half the rivets and
then I had to flip the aileron over (using a block on the opposite end)
to get the rest of the rivets. |
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Once all the top skin rivets are complete,
the assembly can be flipped over and the bottom skin rivets applied.
Here blind rivets are used. To ensure you have a straight aileron,
make sure you clamp the assembly down nice and flat before you rivet the
bottom. In this picture the aileron is not longer clamped in place
since a majority of rivets had been set. |
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The leading edge skin to counterweight
balance also get riveted with blind rivets. |
