Right Spar Complete

I finished riveting the right spar last night and tonight.  I also bolted the 4130 steel brackets to the spar.  I'm pretty excited to have a complete airplane part ready to bolt/rivet parts to.  Here are a couple of quick pics...





Next step is to rivet the left spar, then mount the spars to the center spar.  After that I get to build some wings!

Houston, we have rivets (a.k.a. Riveting the Spars)

Thanks to an understanding woman, I was able to get a lot done this weekend.  I decided to rivet the spars before I set the dihedral.

I started by clecoing the spar caps together without the web.  Then I used the benchtop sander to even up the edges and make the pieces look like they belong together.  Not a huge deal, but when I take the wings off, I want it to look like a proper piece.

I was happy with the results.  FYI, "RB" means right bottom spar.

Next I drilled the holes for the tie down nutplate.  Tony Bingelis says to do this by drilling the bolt hole first, then thread the bolt on, and us it to hold the nutplate steady while you drill the rivet holes.  Not many pictures of the process, but it worked like a charm.  An eye hook will be added under the wing using this nutplate so I can tie the airplane down when parking.

Next I drilled the 3/4" hole in the left spar web for the pitot static tubes (these tubes go to the instruments to measure airspeed, altitude, vertical speed, etc.  If you want to learn more about these instruments, try this link.).

Next, I finished all of the pieces I have made to date by sanding, deburring, and cleaning off any dust and dirt.  Then I set up some plastic and laid all of the parts out.  The cardboard piece was used to make a key of sorts to help me remember what each part was.  It worked really well.

I primed my parts with this primer (picture below).  A lot of the feedback on Amazon is from guys that are building airplanes.  I heard good reviews elsewhere too.  So I decided to use it.  Word of warning:  this stuff is supposedly nasty, so use respirators and gloves. You might want to have some kids first too (seriously, read the label on the back!).  

Painted parts ready to assemble.  I like the gray.  Makes me feel like I'm working on an F-16...okay, maybe not.

Then I started setting rivets.  I tried on a practice piece with not a lot of luck, but that was because I was using a rivet that was too long for the piece.  I mustered up the courage to set some actual rivets, and I am happy with the results.  Haven't had to drill one out yet!

Here is a really quick video of me setting one rivet in the center spar.  I used 7 hits here, but later found 4-5 to be fine with the right pressure.  You just have to get a feel for it, but hopefully this gives you an idea of how hard to hit it.

The resulting rivet.  Let me know in the comments if you want more detail on this.  

Here is a shot of the progress on the right spar with the completed center spar in the back.  It is not a difficult process.  It just takes time.  So put a TV or radio in your shop.

I stopped after completing the top and bottom portion of the spar that has two rows of rivets (first 30").  I'm tired, thirsty, and the pool likes awfully nice after a day in a Florida garage with no A/C!

SIDE NOTE:  Check out Brandon's method for riveting.  This would be a much more expensive way to go, but the rivets would all be set the same and it would be a lot faster!  

Left Spar Drilled

Left spar is drilled.  Next step is to drill the 1/2" holes that are used to attach the wing spars to the center spar.  Hopefully that will happen this weekend.



All drilled spars...

Upper Left Spar Cap Drilled...No Blood This Time!

I found some time to drill the upper left spar cap tonight.  Still need to debur all of the holes, but excited I got this in.  That means I should be able to set the dihedral this weekend and start riveting!



I'll go back and use the spar cap as a drill guide for the spar web.  I would be curious to hear thoughts on this approach.  I can see pluses and minuses based on my experience drilling all layers at once on part of the right spar.

Holy Left Spar Cap and Blood

Today I shaved the 4130 brackets to match the dihedral angles of the spar caps.  One of them had a knick in it from the grinder, and it bothered me.  So I made a new one.  Then I drilled the lower spar cap holes...about 115 of them.

I managed to cut my finger on the metal shavings that wrap around the drill bit while I was drilling the lower spar cap.  So if you get metal shavings wrapped around the drill bit, don't just pull on them with your finger.  Even if the drill is turned off (mine was off)!  I think it does make the work bench look tougher though.



Sanding the 2024 aluminum that spans the first 30" of the spar.


The drilled and deburred spar cap and 30" 2024 bar are below.  I'm going to use the cap as a guide to drill the spar web.  The wing spar is so thick, the clecos don't do a good job holding all of the pieces together, so I think this will be easier.




Next step will be to drill the upper left cap and debur, then drill the spar web.

Left Spar Caps Cut

Today I finished tapering the left spars and made the cuts at the root of the spar to allow for the dihedral and steel wing brackets.  I used the right spar caps and webs as a template.  I also used the holes in the right spar caps to mark the holes for the left spar caps.  This really sped things up compared to the right wing spar.

Tapered left caps



Making the cuts for the 4130 steel brackets at the root of the caps.  Jigsaw worked great with a metal blade.  You can also see the marks I made to transfer the hole pattern.



The left caps temporarily set on the left spar web.  Everything lined up nicely.


First glimpse the full wingspan.  There is another 4 or 5 ft added once the wing tips are attached.  The table is 14ft long to help add some perspective.


Next step is to drill all of the holes for the left spar.  At 64 total hours, I'm not as far as other builders with the same hours.  I think the pre-made bulkhead and tail kit I ordered will help get me in the air faster when I get to those.  I'm learning as I go, so I'm okay taking a little longer too.

Wing Rib Blanks

I'm back from a week in Hilton Head with Jess's family and the worst golf game on the nicest courses around.  I managed to cut a few wing rib blanks today to get back in the swing of things with the plane.  I also ordered the Westberry Bulkhead and Tail Kits to help speed things up a bit.  More to come on those when they arrive.  In the meantime, I plan to finish the left spar and wing ribs, but all signs at work this week pointed to a busy summer.  With the Florida heat, I decided to make wing ribs  inside while Jess made salad.  Now that's quality time!

First Wing Rib and Form Block

I've been busy lately with more traveling coming up, but I managed to create the forming blocks for the nose rib and made my first wing rib with it.  I still need to make the left spar, but wanted at least one rib made to make sure I have the sizes right.  Setting the rib by the spar, everything lined up as it should.  Pretty cool!


I started by gluing a copy (see how I made copies here) of the wing rib plan and made a 20 second rough cut with the jigsaw.


Then I used the bandsaw to cut really close (but outside of) the lines on the plan.



Then I used my sander to fine-tune the shape to match the plans.



Next, I drilled the tooling holes that are used to align the two blocks and the rib for forming (the size of the hole was based on some screws I had laying around).  I didn't get a picture of the hole cutting process, but I used the process defined by Dave in the build manual.  I used a fly cutter and cut halfway from both sides that left a taped plug for flanging the lightening holes.  I also used my sanding to get the blocks the same size.  I don't think you need them to be the same size (can just sandwich the rib blank on the opposite side from the side you want the flange on), but I did it anyway.



Rib sandwiched and ready for forming.  I also rounded the edges before forming the metal so I did not stress the metal on the edges of the blocks.  I did that with a sander.



Here is my first rib.  Since this picture, I went back and cleaned up the bends a bit.  Dave's process for flanging the lightening hole in the center  worked pretty well.  I think I'll keep using that process on the rest.



17 more to go, then the front center ribs, then the back center ribs, then the rear ribs, the wing tips ribs....One step at a time!