Wings

Today I continued work on the tank.

Here I'm countersinking all the holes in the tank for the skin-to-baffle plate rivets. For some reason, the plans call for these to be countersunk instead of dimpled. I'm not sure why, but I don't want to deviate from the plans. I also deburred the #19 holes for the #8 machine screws that hold the tank to the leading edge.

Next, I deburred and smoothed the edges of the tank skin. The shot above is the final step, polishing the edge with my fine scotchbrite wheel. Then I dismantled the tank, marking the ribs as I went to keep them in order.

Next I deburred the stiffeners so I could begin working on installing them inside the tank. The tank holds 21 gallons of fuel. If you think about it, that weighs a lot, so the bottom of the tank is stiffened and strengthened with these stiffener angles that will be riveted on.

Here they are, all clecoed in place and ready to drill to full size.

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