| Hours today: | 0.6 | Hours wings: | 30.1 | Hours total: | 125.0 |
| Rivets today: | 239 | Rivets wings: | 859 | Rivets total: | 2938 |
Riveted skin onto ribs and flap is done!
Left flap complete
I had ambitions of drawing up the whole plane, then putting in the bits that are finished as I go, but that would have been hours at the computer, instead of hours in the garage. I’m pleased with the flaps, they came out better than the ailerons – less finicky and just came together right.
| Hours today: | 0.7 | Hours wings: | 29.5 | Hours total: | 124.4 |
| Rivets today: | 38 | Rivets wings: | 620 | Rivets total: | 2699 |
Riveted together the rib parts. Cleco’d the skin onto the ribs. Looks good to go.
Compound ribs cleco'd prior to riveting.
Compound ribs for flap after riveting with 4.8mm rivets.
Close up of a portion of the flap skin cleco'd to one of the compound ribs.
| Hours today: | 0.7 | Hours wings: | 28.8 | Hours total: | 123.7 |
| Rivets today: | 0 | Rivets wings: | 582 | Rivets total: | 2661 |
Applied second coat of primer to skin and to loose rib parts.
This time, I had dimpled before priming, and here’s the result:
A closeup of a section of the flap that was sprayed after dimpling.
Compared to painting then dimpling, I think it looks a little better. Not better enough to insist that it must be done this way, though.
| Hours today: | 2.8 | Hours wings: | 28.1 | Hours total: | 123.0 |
| Rivets today: | 0 | Rivets wings: | 582 | Rivets total: | 2661 |
Roughened the remaining rib pieces and the skin. Dimpled all the rib pieces and the skin. Degreased all parts and applied two coats of primer to one side the ribs, then one coat to the other side of the ribs and to the skin.
Also assembled the wing jigs. Discovered that I had two right root leading edge stands, instead of one left and one right. Will have to change that. I haven’t counted the rivets, as they aren’t in the plane.
Some of the parts making up the compound ribs during priming. Note that the portions that stick out of the flap are masked. They'll be primed when the flap is painted, and my primer might not be compatible with that primer.
| Hours today: | 1.2 | Hours wings: | 25.3 | Hours total: | 120.2 |
| Rivets today: | 0 | Rivets wings: | 582 | Rivets total: | 2661 |
Deburred all the rib pieces, and roughened about half of them.
| Hours today: | 0.5 | Hours wings: | 24.1 | Hours total: | 119.0 |
| Rivets today: | 0 | Rivets wings: | 582 | Rivets total: | 2661 |
In the plates that make up the hinges, the holes as supplied are not large enough for the rivets. Drilled them all out to 4.8mm. Unwrapped all the ribs, then deburred the holes in the thin ribs.
| Hours today: | 0.7 | Hours wings: | 23.6 | Hours total: | 118.5 |
| Rivets today: | 239 | Rivets wings: | 582 | Rivets total: | 2661 |
Riveted the right flap together. Here’s the result:
It isn’t apparent from the photo, but the quality is quite a bit up on the ailerons. Things together better, and there isn’t a tube in the flap. Also, all the holes lined up first time, so I didn’t crinkle any bits of skin while assembling.
| Hours today: | 1.4 | Hours wings: | 22.9 | Hours total: | 117.8 |
| Rivets today: | 0 | Rivets wings: | 343 | Rivets total: | 2422 |
Started roughening the second skin. On the first skin, I dimpled it, then test fitted ribs. cleco’d and drilled where necessary to get rivets to fit. On this skin, availability of help to dimple meant that I primed, then dimpled. The result looks like this:
There is a very small amount of damage visible to the primer right in the centre of the dimple. In my opinion, not enough to worry about, that’s the area that is getting riveted anyway. The other problem with dimpling after priming, not visible here, is that the process of dimpling marks the neat primed surfaces. The experiment did tell me that I can prime before dimpling if I need to, but I prefer to dimple then prime.
| Hours today: | 1.0 | Hours wings: | 21.5 | Hours total: | 116.4 |
| Rivets today: | 0 | Rivets wings: | 343 | Rivets total: | 2422 |
Put the second coat of primer on the first skin (the one for the right flap). Unwrapped the skin for the left flap and deburred it.
| Hours today: | 1.1 | Hours wings: | 20.5 | Hours total: | 115.4 |
| Rivets today: | 0 | Rivets wings: | 343 | Rivets total: | 2422 |
Progress has slowed as real life takes over. I can get far during a holiday, but work, weekends, family commitments are all slowing me down in real life.
Finished degreasing the skin and primed it.
sling056 