After fabricating the side panels under the doors, I noticed there was a small amount of oil canning in the area right above the wing strut. Since I made these panels because of concerns regarding possible damage to this area as people enter/exit the aircraft I realized that by installing an internal doubler I could eliminate this oil canning while adding additional strength to this area.
I did not want to install any rivets so I've opted to attach the internal doubler with a metal-to-metal bonding adhesive.
After determining the size and shape of the doublers I fabricated them from sheet of 2024-T3 0.032" aluminum.
The next step is to finish the doublers and the inner surfaces of the side panels, then bond them together.
Oil canning in side panel
Size and location of doubler
Doublers fabricated and ready to prime and topcoat
