So there was a small break in building to allow for some family time. The family and I visited one of our most favorite places, the Walt Disney World resort. After a nice week away and lots of great memories, it was time to return home.
After getting back, I immediately got back to finishing up the spar. I started riveting the rudder spar to the skin and realized that the 3" yoke on my squeezer wasn't going to cut it. I was happy with the results of the squeezed rivets so I returned to my trusty Cleaveland Tool for a new 4" yoke. It took a few days to come in, but I was ready to go. I finished up the spar rivets and everything turned out great.
After the spar was complete, it was time to tackle the counterweight ribs and skins. I set the pop rivets and set the first two skins and realized there was an issue. I noticed a gap in between the skin and rib that was ever so slight. I wasn't happy and realized something wasn't right. I took a look and phoned a friend, (Thanks Christine, AKA Plane Lady) for realizing my error. Sometimes when you are looking at something for long enough, you tend to just not notice the small nuances. I somehow missed the holes on the side of the counterbalance rib, and never dimpled them during the prep phase. Once we figured it out, I was honestly mad at myself for such a simple mistake. But it shows the humanity of a homebuilt and truly teaches a lesson. I had to drill out the few rivets I already set, and then drill out the two pull rivets holding the rib to the spar. I had not done this before, so a review of section 5 and a trip to the hardware store for a punch resulted in a perfect outcome.
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| Original Set, Notice The Small Gap.... |
I got everything dimpled and cleaned up after it was removed. This then allowed me to reset everything cleanly without any damage. The second time, the skin was nice and tight to the rib and looked much better. I know am ready to rivet the trailing edge.
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| All Fixed and Skin Tight. |
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