14 April 2013: Right wing 60 and last

Hours today:	0.9	Hours wings:	218.9	Hours total:	317.8
Rivets today:	0	Rivets wings:	3852	Rivets total:	5931

I sanded the last filler from yesterday. It looks good, feels very smooth, I hope it paints nicely.

Final wingtip finish.

And then, just like that, it was finished. About 200 hours of work on the right wing has ended. Here it is, in all its glory. It is still on one jig, because the jig gives it handles for easy handling.

Finished!

It was time to load it up and take it into storage:

Wing on trailer

And here it is, hanging from the roof in a garage.

Hanging in storage

 

 

13 April 2013: Right wing 59 and left wing 20

Hours today:	2.2	Hours wings:	218.0	Hours total:	316.9
Rivets today:	0	Rivets wings:	3852	Rivets total:	5931

Sanded the final layer of filler. It feels better than it looks, because all those layers have slightly different colours. I hope this doesn’t end up being a disaster, but I’ll consult with the painter when the time comes.

Wingtip smoothed off

We then turned the wing over. I had in the meanwhile found the rivnuts for the hatches, so I installed them, complete with Locktite.

Rivnuts on inspection hatch under wing.

I filled all the rivet holes on the underside of the wing, for the outermost rib and the wingtip. I also added a little bit of filler to the front of the wingtip where it didn’t mate perfectly with the skin. I might be going overboard here.

Bottom of right hand wingtip.

I also had a go at figuring out how to assemble the landing lights. The instructions leave something to be desired, and the only photo I have of an assembled light also doesn’t provide any clues. At the moment, 1. I don’t see the point of the second plate, between the mounting plate and the back of the light, and 2. the pack comes with springs, but I can’t figure out where they go. I’ll have to give the factory a ring.

Test fitting one of the landing lights.

 

7&8 April 2013: Right wing 57 and 58

April 7

Hours today:	0.8	Hours wings:	215.8	Hours total:	314.7
Rivets today:	0	Rivets wings:	3852	Rivets total:	5931

Sanded the second layer of filler. Found (or made) a couple of holes right through the filler, and also decided that it could use more filler going further back from the already filled area, so added a third layer.

April 8

Hours today:	0.4	Hours wings:	216.2	Hours total:	314.9
Rivets today:	0	Rivets wings:	3852	Rivets total:	5931

Sanded down the third layer. Made more holes! I think the secret is coarse sandpaper, kept clean. If it clogs, it starts to roll the filler, rather than sanding it, and those little rolls leave horrible gashes in the fill. I mixed a tiny amount of filler to fix the worst holes, and will try to sandpaper them smooth carefully tomorrow.

The Parys air race

Went to the air race at Parys.There are more details here.

It was a great event: few enough people to easily get comfortable seats with a great view, and lots of planes to look it. It gave me some inspiration to get to finishing my Sling. It was also beautiful weather for taking photos. Here are some pics:

The Glassair that won the race

Zoom zoom

Slick

Mustang Sally on the ground

Mustang Sally in the air. Too fast for the small course!

The flying lions

1 April 2013: Right wing 56 and left wing 19

Hours today:	2.2	Hours wings:	215.0	Hours total:	313.9
Rivets today:	0	Rivets wings:	3852	Rivets total:	5931

I had planned to smooth off the wingtip filler, but it turned out to need a bit more.

Filler on wingtip before smoothing.

So I sandpapered, then added another layer of filler, which needs until tomorrow to dry to sanding hardness. I spent some time cleaning excess filler and other muck off the top of the wing.

I then started thinking about the light cover for the left wing. I have countersunk the wing around the light cover, (see here) but I still needed to figure out how to mount the cover for the light, which is only 1mm thick. I was messing around in the workshop, thinking about aluminium nuts glued to the light cover when I came across some perspex, and came up with a plan. I’m going to glue a 3-4mm thick piece of perspex over the places where the screws go through the cover. That’ll allow me to countersink, and still have enough material to thread. My perspex is scrap black, which I think will look a bit odd, so I’m going to go and get some clear stock soon.

The long weekend is over – back to fitting in building with work.

31 March 2013: Right wing 55

Hours today:	2.2	Hours wings:	212.8	Hours total:	311.7
Rivets today:	66	Rivets wings:	3852	Rivets total:	5931

Ezee Bond worked very well to hold the aluminium plate in place in the wingtip, so I assembled and riveted. I managed to remember the connection for the wingtip light:

Wiring to wingtip light secured to last rib

It came out quite well:

There is a very slight gap between the front of the wingtip and the wing skin, so I slathered on filler. I also put filler in all the rivet holes on the top of the wing, and around the rivets.

I also spent some time mounting anchors and pulleys in the spare garage where the wing is going to be stored real soon now.