Assemble 01/13/2022 – 1.1 hours 01/18/2022 – 1.7 hours 01/22/2022 – 1.5 hours 01/30/2022 – 2.8 hours 02/01/2022 – 2.1 hours 02/02/2022 – 0.7 hours 02/04/2022 – 1.3 hours 02/06/2022 – 2.5 hours 02/07/2022 – 1.6 hours 02/08/2022 – 2.4 hours The time to mate the ribs to the forward spar has arrived! I sorted and ordered the ribs early in the wing build, and was careful to keep the ribs in order while preparing them for assembly. Working on the ribs in order helped to ensure I clecod the ribs in the correct locations on the wing spar. Four of the outboard ribs (R/L 10-13) are attached at spots where there are 2 rows of holes in the spar. The outboard holes mark the correct location for the ribs, and the inboard holes will be used later for the nose ribs. There are also two sets of holes at rib R9/L9, but that location also includes bolt holes for the main rib, which helps locate the rib in the correct spot. The wing kit is shipped with a bag of various AN3 bolts, self-locking nuts, and washers to attach the wing ribs to the forward spar. I sorted the hardware by rib according to the plans, and then inserted the bolts according to the specified orientation. AN3 bolts with the self-locking nuts get torqued to 28 in-lbs plus a drag factor. Drag is typically 1/3 to 1/2 of the final torque, which I confirmed with a torsion-bar style torque wrench. My process to find the drag and final torque is to get the nut completely on the bolt, use the torsion-bar wrench to measure the drag value, add the drag to the final torque, set the final torque in the click-style torque wrench, and torque the nut to the final value. The ribs are riveted to the forward spar as well as bolted. My best approach to set the rivets was with the rivet gun and bucking bar. I started with a double-offset rivet set to get clearance for the gun from the ribs. I suspended the spar forward side down (ribs sticking up) with support in the middle to keep the spar from bowing, and then set the rivets with the manufactured head on the rib and the shop head (by holding the bucking bar underneath the downward-facing spar) on the forward face of the spar. I had reasonable success with the double-offset rivet set, but I read another builder's log where they changed to a very long straight rivet set. The double-offset rivet set takes a lot of gun pressure to overcome the offset, and it spins around if you try to buck the rivet yourself with just one hand on the gun. I bought a 7 1/2" straight cupped set, and immediately saw improvements in the riveting. The long rivet set is easy to hold square to the rivet (no smiles or cuts in the material), uses less pressure at the gun (easier to control), and takes fewer hits to completely set the rivet (fewer chances for things to go wrong). It also let me go much faster with a superior quality rivet job. The four inboard ribs were attached individually working toward the final inboard rib to provide good access to both the rivets and the bolts. I attached these ribs by setting the rivets on the spar web first, followed by the two (top and bottom) flush rivets on the spar flange, and then inserting and torquing the bolts. It is important to note that most of the bolts on these inboard ribs are inserted opposite to the other bolts. There is a note in the plans to wait until the rivets are set before final-torquing the bolts on the 4 inboard ribs because the bolt would have to be pushed out of the way to set the rivets. It turns out the bolts that are inserted with the nuts on the rib flanges (inserted through the front of the spar) are long-enough to get in the way of the rivet squeezer used to set the flush rivets at the top and bottom of the spar. The bolts can be installed last to ensure no access issues for the squeezer. My approach to the left wing was a little different than the right. I started by clecoing the outboard-most rib with inboard-facing flanges (L-13), and then set those rivets. The nice thing about this method is there are no other ribs behind the gun, which provides ideal access to the rivets. I then cleco'd and riveted the next outboard-most rib with inboard-facing flanges and continued to work inboard until they were all in place. That left only a couple of spaces for outboard-facing ribs, which went in without issues. This method worked well for me, but you have to make sure you know exactly where each fib goes or you could end up putting a rib in the wrong spot! The final thing to note is the orientation of the rivets. If Van's doesn't specify an orientation, then it is builder's choice. Generally, the best practice from what I've read is that the manufactured head of the rivet should go on the thinnest part. In this case the ribs are much thinner than the spar, so I put the manufactured head on the rib with the shop head on the forward face of the spar. That works well until you get to the most inboard rib with the aileron torque tube support bracket assembly. The plans specify attaching the bracket to the rib before the rib is riveted to the spar. That is what I did, and it makes sense to attach the bracket while there is complete access to the rib. The “problem” is there is no way to get a rivet gun between the bracket and the spar to put the manufactured head on the rivet. Some builders delay attaching the bracket to the rib to avoid the issue. Others, myself included, simply flip the spar over and set the manufactured head on the spar for this rib. There is plenty of room for the bucking bar between the rib and the bracket, and the “reversed” rivets on the inboard rib turned out very well. [Click-style Torque Wrench, Torsion-style Torque Wrench, 3x Rivet Gun, Double-offset 1/8” Cupped Rivet Set, 7 1/2" Straight 1/8” Cupped Rivet Set, Tungsten Bucking Bar, Pneumatic Squeezer with Flush Rivet Set]