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Jerrys Web Site
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Date: 10-31-2011
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Number of Hours: 5.50
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Rib Assembly
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Today was a difficult day. I planned to install the main/nose rib W-173, the rib that forms the outboard side of the fuel tank. First, I made gussets per the plans. Second, I drilled the main spar attach holes to final #11, removed, deburred, cleaned, and this time only primed the nose rib, except for the mounting flange. Once I got everything ready, I prosealed the shims and installed with a cleco, then the nose rib, and then the main rib. The top rivet was an RV-1631 because of the spar caps. I then installed two RV-1621s and pulled them. In both cases, the mandrel did not pull through completely. When I looked at the back side, the thickness of the proseal between all the laminates didn't allow the 1621 rivet to grip adequately in the back. So, I had to cut the mandrels off, then drill out with the mandrel still inside (steel vs. al) and then remove all the chips and re-rivet with RV-1631. This took quite some time. Only one of my holes became slightly enlarged, and then only in the front part of the shims. Once I had done that, I installed the gussets per the plans to cover the corner gaps. Next time, I would make paper/carboard templates as the angles are not necessarily 90 degrees, and the 1/4" radius of the wing spar is problematic.
All in all, a difficult day, but successful in the end. Too bad Murphy couldn't have built a different rib rather than require the builder to cover all the holes.
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Gussets to close gaps
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Proseal between shims/nose rib
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W-173 with Gussets installed
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