Section 14 – Rear Spar, Stub Spar, Hinge Brackets

More Stub Spar Countersinking

Another view of the Stub Spar Flange

View of Stub Spars

Stub Spar Assembly

Another view of the Stub Spar Assembly

Close up of the Assembly countersinks

Overall view of the Stub Spar Assemblies

8/23/08  Deburred and prepped the Stub Spar Doublers and the Stub Spar Channel.  Practiced countersinking on some scrap and went for the gusto.  Countersunk all of the flange holes on the Stub Spar Channel, as well as the 100′ countersink on both sides of each Stub Spar Assembly.  No riveting done yet, as I will prep and countersink all of the Section 14 parts and then prime everything all at once.  Time: 2hrs

8/24/08  Deburred and prepped the Hinge Bracket Assembly, Hinge Assembly, and Tip Attach Angle Separation parts from page 14-02.  Scotch-Brited out a couple of deeper scratches that occured during shipping.  Did not get to the counter-sinking on the Hinge Assembly, as it was getting late.  I’d hate to have the neighbors calling the police on me during my first week…

8/26/08  Deburred and prepped 1207B spar doublers.  Total time: 15 happy minutes.

8/27/08  Countersunk the hinge brackets.  Pulled out the rear spars and began prep.  30mins.

8/28/08  Took the night off to watch the acceptance speech from the next President of the United States of America.  Go Barak!

8/30/08  Deburred, cleaned, etched, and alodined all of the Section 14 parts but for the rear spars.  You read that right…alodined.  I figured that I was already etching, so alodining would add little time, no weight, and significant anti-corrosion insurance.  Working with the stuff is annoying, and disposing of it is worse.  I’m sure it’s worth the extra hassle.  I inspected each piece and sanded out a few scratches with 400 wet and then 600 wet sandpaper.  Everything seems nice and smooth. 2hrs

8/31/08  Primed everything but the Stub Spars and the Rear Spars.  Primer came out brilliantly.  I laid down a nice thin layer which covers the part but still lets the Sharpie marks show through.  I will re-do the Stub Spars and do the Rear Spars tomorrow.  My alodine procedure for the Stub Spar didn’t take nearly as well as for the rest of the parts (the color ranged from very light gold to bare aluminum).  I got some input from other builders and I think that I got a handle on it. 1hr

9/8/08  Riveted the Hinge Bracket Assemblies and Hinge Assemblies together.  All of the rivets set quite well, but for the double counter-sunk rivets on the two Hinge Assemblies.  The shop heads all stick out a small amount, which seems to be a common problem.  I’m going to wait and see what sorts of clearances are needed and shave them down later, if necessary.  I noticed that the outside tip of the Hinge Assembly spread slightly when the counter-sunk rivets were squeezed into place.  I will call Van’s tomorrow and verify that everything is okey-dokey.  This seems to be a known issue, and one that doesn’t raise any serious concerns.  The primer held up very well to the riveting, just needing a quick clean with soapy water.  I will shoot just a tad more primer on the edges now that everything is joined up.  I also assembled a half-assed alodine “pool” with some scrap wood.  The pool is plenty big enough to handle the largest ribs, and will even take the stub spars.  I’ll do a test run with the stub spars tomorrow night before moving onto the rib bonanza in Section 15.  The rear spars will be getting a light coat of primer, but will not be alodined.  I just can’t bring myself to alodine something quite that big.  I simply don’t have the setup to handle it, and I envision a huge, ugly Superfund site as the inevitable outcome.

9/9/08  Stub spars were successfully prepped, alodined, and primed.  New prep procedure is to rub  the piece with a Scotchbrite pad (maroon) soaked in thinner to remove the oils, etc, then wash with Dawn-water, rinse, acid-etch for one minute, rinse, then alodine while still wet.  Worked like a charm.  The rear spars were prepped and left to dry before priming tomorrow.  Should finish Section 14 this week.

9/10/08  Checked the primer on the stub spars.  All looks good.  Primed the rear spars.  I’m trying to balance between a thin coat and an inadequate coat.  I ended up shooting a fog coat and a top coat (of primer, that is).  I’ll check tomorrow for coverage and add one more thin layer if necessary.  Thus far, I’ve used well under half of a quart of primer, including practice and overspray.  Sent off an email and phots regarding the Hinge Assembly to Van’s.  Started on Section 15.

9/13/08  Shot one more thin primer layer on the rear spars and they look great.  Per Van’s, the Hinge Assembly is A-OK.  Will finish the Section 14 riveting within the next few days.

9/23/08  Finished this section today!  All riveting has been done per the plans, and all rivets appear to be within spec.  More pix soon.

New Format

In the interest of clarity, reference, and utility, posts will now be done by plans section rather than date.  That is, each section in the plans gets a post, which will be edited as I go. Let the party begin.

Note that the Plans’ sections are a little odd.  Sections 1-5 are purely instructional and/or informational.  The wing kit was the first kit available, but starts with Section 13: Spar Assembly and ends with Section 18: Flaperon.  I’m guessing that Sections 6-12 are the empennage instructions.