Tag Archives: deburring

Aileron ribs priming

Hours: 1
1 Reply

I prepared most parts of the Aileron a good while ago, but I was missing a replacement for one set of ribs that were damaged, so I had put the Ailerons aside and finished the Flaps and Elevator in the meantime.

Now with the Elevator done and the replacement ribs in hand, back to finishing up the Aileron. After a quick inspection and deburring of the new rib I laid out all the parts and got out my small painting booth to prime the ribs.
Aileron ribs laid out for the left and right side Paint booth setup to prime

Once the primer is set I can get onto assembling everything and riveting the Aileron.

One side of Aileron ribs primed Primed Aileron ribs

Elevator skin fitting

Hours: 3
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First order of business for the Elevator skin was inspecting all edges and holes and there were a few edges that needed some deburring action.
Elevator skin edges needed some filing to remove the burrs

After deburring everything that needed attention, we wrapped the skins around the rib structure. Since the Elevator is a pretty big part, it was very helpful to have a second pair of hands for this.

The last thing I had to do before I can start on closing up the skin is to install the backing plate for the Trim motor inspection plate. The plans call for 1/8 rivets, but the holes were actually 3/32, so I had to first up-drill them. There’s also another small error in the plan, in that it says to rivet all 8 holes, but actually only 7 should be riveted, since the top hole is for the screw that holds the inspection plate in place.
Backing plate goes under the skin Holes are 3/32, so I needed to up-drill them to fit the 1/8 rivets Holes up-drilled and backing plate clecoed in place Quick test fit of the inspection plate

Finishing the Flaps

Hours: 6
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With the ribs for the Flaps out of the way, I am ready to finish the flaps. First order of business is to ensure that I have the ribs all in the right order.
Completed ribs laid out along the right Flap

Once that was figured out, I first clecoed the ribs in place to the bottom of the skins and then closed up the skins and clecoed the top as well.
Ribs clecoed in place to the bottom of the Flaps skin Clecos in place to close up the right Flap

After checking that everything is aligning properly with the skins, I started riveting the skin. The top side is pretty straightforward. For the bottom side, there are a couple of tight spots next to the hinges, so the close quarter rivet wedge came in handy for a couple of the rivets.

Rivets in place Close quarter rivet wedge to rivet the tight space next to the hinge Bottom right side Flap ready to rivet Bottom right side flap almost done riveting

With the right side Flap finished and closed up, I then repeated it all for the left side Flap. There was also a couple of the edges where the hinges sit that needed a bit of deburring attention.
Some deburring was needed for the hole where the hinges go through Upside down view of the left side Flap ribs clecoed in place Almost done with the left side Flap riveting

After I finished the top skins, I did one quick alignment test fit on the wings and everything looked good, so then I finished up both sides by riveting the front rivet lane that closes the skin against the other side.
Front line ready to close up the skins of the Flaps for good Almost done riveting the Flaps Completed left Flap Both Flaps completed

Final alignment check

Once I finished all the riveting, I did one final test fit onto the wings. I used a bit of mason string and my laser level and everything is looking good. Now onto finishing the Elevator.
Final test fitting and alignment checks Final test fitting and alignment checks

Timelapse of building the Flaps

Flaps & Aileron inventory and parts inspection

Hours: 2
1 Reply

I’m currently still waiting for the correct Elevator ribs from the Factory before I can continue to complete the Empennage. So in the meantime I’ve moved on to get started on the Wings. First order of business is the Ailerons and Flaps, starting with doing the inventory and parts check.

First I had to find the sub assemblies for the Flaps and Ailerons in the Wings crate. After a bit of digging, I got all the bags that had to do with those two parts out and then starting laying them out to check them off the packing list.
Wing crate opened and time to dig out the parts for the Flaps and Ailerons Skins for Flaps and Ailerons present

Once I had all the bags laid out, I started to check them off the inventory checklist and got out my tools for deburring a couple of sharp edges and holes.
Bags of Flap assembly parts ready to be checked Bags of Aileron assembly ready to be checked

I confirmed that I got all the parts out of the crate and went back once to find the Aileron balance tubes. Then I started to get going on removing the protective plastic from the Flaps parts and inspecting the parts, marking each part along the way. There were a couple of sharp edges and holes, but by and large most parts were good to go.
Inspecting and labeling the Flaps ribs Done with inspecting and deburring all the parts of the Flaps