Title: 17-08 - Attach Outboard Leading Edges
Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut) 8/23/22 – 0.6h The hole for the tie down rings has to be upsized to 3/8” from the #40 hole pre-drilled in the leading edge skins. I haven't mastered the step drill, yet, so I was a little nervous when I started working on this hole. My method is to gradually upsize the hole to 1/4", which is the smallest step on the step drill bit, and then use the step drill bit from there. I also used a drill guide to help ensure the drill bits were perpendicular to the skin for a round, even hole. I used a slow-to-medium RPM for the step drill, and stopped drilling at each step to confirm the drill was aligned properly using the reflection in the skin. I was very happy that the 3/8” hole came out perfectly round in each leading edge skin! I finished be deburring the holes. I was also excited to see how well the holes lined up with the tie-down bracket riveted to the wing spars when I tacked the leading edges into place on the spars. [Hole Deburring Tool, #30 Drill, #21 Drill, #10 Drill, 1/4" Drill, Step Drill, Drill Guide] Assemble 8/27/22 – 1.3h 8/28/22 – 3.5h 8/30/22 - 1.5h Assembly started with blind-riveting the outboard wing rib to the wing spar and the outboard leading edge rib. The clearance on the wing rib flange for the rivet puller is very tight, so I had to use my rivet puller wedge to provide a little offset. Access was a little better as I worked my way inboard, and I didn't need the wedge by the time I got to the longer blind rivets. The most inboard leading edge rib uses AN470 rivets instead of blind rivets. I put the manufactured head of the rivets on the wing spar, with the shop head on the leading edge rib flanges. Access with the rivet gun was very good as was access for the bucking bar. The rivets went in very quickly with no issues. Riveting the leading edge skins to the bottom wing spar flange was a job tailor-made for the pneumatic squeezer. Access to all of the rivets was very good, and the squeezer did a nice job pulling the skin tight against the flange. I started in the middle of each leading edge, and worked my way toward each end. Unfortunately, the squeezer won't work on the top spar flange, and solo-riveting isn't an option here either. Riveting the leading edge skins to the top wing spar flange is definitely a 2-person job with the rivet gun and bucking bar. Like the bottom rivets, I started at the center of the leading edge and worked toward each end. I was very impressed with the tight tolerances between the upper wing skins and the leading edge skins. There is virtually no gap between them, which is pretty impressive from an engineering and parts manufacturing perspective. It looks really good, too! [Rivet Puller, Rivet Puller Wedge, 3x Rivet Gun, Tungsten Bucking Bar, 1/8” Universal Head Rivet Set, Pneumatic Squeezer, Flat Squeezer Set]


NOTE: This information is strictly used for the EAA Builders Log project within the EAA organization.     -     Policy     -     © Copyright 2024 Brevard Web Pro, Inc.