(9-7 step 5):
I got to looking back at the cover plates and, like many before
me, wondered why Van's calls out pop rivets for attaching the anchor
brackets to them since access is not an issue. Angela & I
discussed it and figured it was probably because of the lack of space
to place 4 rivets on that tiny peice of sheet. Getting 4 rivets
in there is one thing, dimpling them for countersunk rivets is
another. So, after making some checks we decided we could
countersink our new billet brackets, and dimple the plates to accept
countersunk rivets. This will make for a much nicer installation.
|
(9-10 step 1): Ok...
on to the 'fun' stuff... actually that should probably say 'necessary'
stuff... but I'll probably get some disagreement from some there too...
Anyway, since I hate sanding we're going to alodine everything but the
skins this time, mainly for surface prep purposes, but the warm fuzzy
we get from the corrosion resistance standpoint doesn't hurt
either! Everything will fit nicely in exactly 1/2 of the long
spar empennage box our kit came in so I rigged up a way to fill one
half of it with alumiprep, and the other half with alodine.
Getting the chemicals in it is easy, getting it out was the
issue. I basically scoop as much of it out as I can with a cup,
and then the last bit exits through a removable panel I installed in
the bottom of each end. The plastic liner is taped in position
over these panels, and when its time we simply remove the panel, pull
the tape off and drop the plastic down through the hole. The
liquid runs into a bucket waiting below.
|
After
all the parts were hung up to dry I went on to mask off the areas of
the skins that needed to be kept free from primer. Here you can
see the inside of the trim tabs where the foam ribs will be glued in.
|
And
here are a couple of the skins with the trailing edges masked off for
foam ribs and also where the AEX wedge will be sealed in (just like on
the rudder). Also, on the upper left of the skin in the
foreground you can see the spot I've masked off for the cracked
dimple. This is where we'll seal the skin to the front spar and
rib in that area.
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| Tomorrow, we'll see about getting on with the priming... |
