GOOD NEWS! Connie and I achieved a semi-milestone today on the aeroplane project. The two of us with the help of a lifting sling and engine hoist attached the port wing on the RV-8 for the first time. Have to admit, I was more than a little apprehensive about this task. When I built the spar box in the fuselage I took great pains to make spar blanks (temporary wood spacers made from hard rock maple) that were the specified thickness to match the wing spars. Even so they were made from wood which can and does shrink and expand as moisture in the air varies. The day they were fabricated the measurements were as exact as I could make them. What happened in the following days as the various components were riveted around the spacers is anybody's guess.
Just before trying to attach the port wing today I took a measurement of the spar and the spar box and they appeared to be almost identical, if anything, the spar box was a hair narrower than the spar stub. My first thought was Uh Oh! Then I reasoned that given everything is match hole drilled, how could I be off enough to keep the wing from mating?
So, I beveled the edges of the wing spar slightly, polished the edges with a scotchbrite wheel, and coated the stub with Boelube (a lubricant). Then using the wing sling and hoist I lifted the wing from the cradle and with Connie's help maneuvered the spar stub into the fuselage box. It was tight but I found that by wiggling the wing at the tip fore and aft and up and down the spar slid in place, albeit with some trial and error work. Once in place it took a little while to get the drift pins inserted but eventually they were seated.
