I finally get to start on the first wing parts. Chapter 13 is just some prep work for the main spar. Thankfully, Van's has seen fit to pre-assemble the main spars so there isn't a lot of work to do. The first thing is to use the spar flanges as a drill template for the J-stiffeners. They are used in the fuel tank and wing skin. After that it's a lot of countersinking and installing nutplates and some brackets that are part of the aileron controls.
I'm going to do everything on the left spar first, then repeat for the right spar. I fabricated two long J-stiffeners and two short ones. You need to cut them out of the proper raw stock or you might end up ordering more. The parts aren't expensive, but the shipping is because they're about 8 feet long. Anyway, I pulled two long stock pieces and two of the shorter ones. Cut them to the proper length with a disk cutter and finished them off on my sander and deburring wheel.
I had the bright idea to support the spars using cleco's in the spar web as a sort of set of "legs" to keep the spar straight. The plans say to support the spar so it doesn't sag. I believe the idea is to keep the fastener line straight as you drill the J's. Did a quick check with the laser level and the fastener line was straight.
I clamped the upper J's in place with cleco clamps, making sure to have the proper overhang on the spar flange. I stopped there before I drill because I want to talk to Van's tech support about the overlapping of the J's.
Setting up the J-stiffeners for match drilling
Marking the spars so I don't have to keep remembering which way is up/down/fwd/aft
