Yesterday I received a package from Aircraft Spruce with two pieces of .025 6016-T6 - the same material that covers the wings. Following a tip I learned from a fellow builder, I fabricated a piece of the skin that covers the inboard 4 ribs (rear ribs #1 - #4) and extends 30mm into the wing locker I'm assembling. The purpose of this reinforcement is to increase the thickness of the skin in the walkway area of the wings. This section of the wing is where one stands in order to enter the cockpit. The original plans do a good job of beefing up the wing root through the use of 4 closely-spaced ribs, each rib having verticle supports riveted into it. However, some builders have reported that over time the top wing skin becomes slighly indented between those ribs from all the walking on it. This simple mod should help resist the indentations better at the structural weight cost of ~1 pound per wing.
The wing root reinforcement after cutting - resting on top of the wing section it will reinforce.
The wing root, taken from the back side of the wing, with the under-skin reinforcement in place.
From the front - the reinforcement also serves as the wing locker door 30mm fastener flange.
