Brief Description: Installed wing root fairing then removed.
With the wing still installed, I started attaching the wing root fairing. There are prepunced holes on the fairing and just a few on the aft, top side of the wing. I clecoed the fairing to those aft, top holes and tried to bend the fairing around the leading edge. It would spring back, so I went to Home Depot and got three sizes of 2' lengths of pvc pipes. I clamped the 2 1/2" size to the workbench and bent the fairing around it, and then went to the next smaller size. I finally got about a 120 degree bend around the leading edge. Charlotte came out to hold the l.e. bend while I clecoed the last hole on the fairing which matched up to a hole on the fuselage bottom skin.
I had premeasured lines drawn from the fuel tank skin edge so that I could line up the fairing around the tank. The fairing's prepunched holes could now be used to match drill to the tank skin edge. This eliminated the worry that I might drill too close to the proseal tank sealant on the inboard rib of the tank and create a leak.
I match drilled all the holes to the wing skin except the points that shared screw holes already on the tank. With the clecos still in the fairing, I put a tack into a plastic block 3/16" from its edge, and then ran block along the fuselage to scribe a trim line on the fairing. I removed the fairing and trimmed it using straight offset shears and then ground to the line with the fiber wheel on the grinder. To finish the job of installing the nutplates inside wing skin flange, I had to remove the wing. I removed the wing and then went into the house for Happy Hour.
Fairing clecoed to aft, top side of wing.
Fairing clecoed to bottom of wing skin flange on fuel tank.
