Wings

Big day today... another mini-milestone has been accomplished. I finished all the riveting on the ailerons. They're not quite done, of course. There are those brackets that need to be attached so they can be mounted, but the big part of the job is done.

After riveting the top skin rivets and dismantling the little jig I used, it's time to wrap it all up. The manual has you make sure the aileron is weighed down on a flat surface so you don't warp the part. Then you pop-rivet the counterweight pipe to the skin, as seen above. Finally, the row of clecoes is removed one at a time as you pop-rivet the bottom surface together. You're almost done.

The last riveting is on the end ribs. I used my squeezer to finish the rivets that hold the skin to the ribs. The ailerons are ALL DONE!

Well, wouldn't you know it. After the excitement of finishing up the riveting, I run into a problem here. This bracket is supposed to be bolted to the aileron, but as you can see, it looks like the bolt and washer won't fit. The part is too curved, too narrow, or something. I was tempted to take my file to this part and make the inside flat. But that would ruin the powder coating, and it might weaken the part. I better get some advice on this before proceeding.

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