Aug 30, 2022     17-08 - Attach Outboard Leading Edges - (6.9 hours)       Category: 17 Outer LE

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]

  Aug 23, 2022     17-09 - Landing Light Lenses - (7.7 hours)       Category: 17 Outer LE

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
8/20/22 – 2.0h
8/21/22 – 2.7h
8/23/22 – 0.7h
I decided to prepare the landing light lenses before attaching the leading edges to the wing. The leading edges are much easier to maneuver on the bench by themselves, and the lenses would be difficult to fit with the wing in the cradle. The plans include very detailed instructions to shape the landing light lenses. The first thing I did was completely cover the lenses, inside and out, with painters tape to keep the lenses from scratching while I worked on them. The tape also gave me a good surface to draw on as I measured and drew the various cut lines. The plastic cutting wheel on the Dremel worked really well to cut the lenses (I think they are acrylic). The wheel melts the material a bit when cutting, and it kicks up a lot of small and sharp particles; so gloves and eye protection are required. It probably wouldn't hurt to wear a mask, either…but I elected not to do that.

After cutting the lenses with the Dremel, I fine-tuned the cut lines with 150 grit sandpaper followed by a pass with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the edges of the lenses. I also used the sand paper and a plastic blade on my edge deburring tool to remove the sharp edges and round them slightly.
[Dremel with Plastic Cutting Wheel and 220 Grit Sanding Disk, 150 Grit Sandpaper, 220 Grit Sandpaper, Painters Tape, Hole and Edge Deburring Tools]

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
8/22/22 – 2.3h
The final-shaped lens is re-installed into the landing light cut-out to match-drill the lens to the pre-drilled #30 holes in the skin around the cut-out. The lens is then removed to final drill #27 the holes in the skin and the holes in the lens. After deburring all of the holes, the skin is dimpled with a #6 Dimple Die, and the lens is prepared with a #27 countersink to fit the dimple. It turns out the lens material is pretty easy to drill and countersink with the correct bits and with the part held firmly in place.

There is one change to the plans, which say to match-drill #27 the holes in the landing light lens. Given that the holes in the skin have already been countersunk in the previous step, there is no way to match drill the lens. Instead, I final-drilled the lens.
[#30 Plexi-Bit, #27 Drill, #27 Countersink and Countersink Cage, Palm Drill, Pneumatic Squeezer with #6 Screw Dimple Die]

Assemble
The final assembly steps, attaching the lenses to the wings for the last time, will come after I've installed the landing lights and I'm ready to close up the landing light bay. Until then, there is too much potential to damage the lenses and they are safer on the shelf. I tried to get all of the hardware together for the final assembly steps, and I noticed the wing kit does not come with the AN507C632R6 screws called out in the plans. I reviewed the wing inventory sheets several times, and could not find the screws listed. The kit comes with AN507-6R6 screws, which are used for the wing tips and nav light lenses, but are not the correct screw for the landing light lenses. I will have to order some and pack them away with the landing light lenses.
[Screwdriver, Double-Sided Tape]

  Aug 20, 2022     17-07 - Stall Warning System Assembly - (3.0 hours)       Category: 17 Outer LE

The stall warning sensor is a fun little project embedded within the leading edge build. The sensor attaches to the inboard left nose rib, and the stall warning vane protrudes through the slot that was cut earlier in this section of the build. The two main parts are the small mounting and keeper plates, which are easy to final drill and debur according to the plans. The inboard face of the mounting plate is also countersunk for the two primary assembly screws (#30) and the warning vane pivot screw (#19). The assembly uses three different types of washers, which is a good test of the parts inventory and storage process.

Final drilling, deburring, countersinking, cleaning, and priming goes quickly to prepare the parts for assembly. A common question is what torque to use on a MS24693S10 machine screw, which is a 4-40 cadmium plated steel machine screw? The thread diameter of the screw is 0.112 inches, or just under 2/16”. I couldn't find torque specs for an “AN2” bolt, which would be the equivalent of the #4 screw, but I did find minimum tensile strengths for the MS24693S10 machine screw (60,000 psi) and the AN3 bolt (125,000 psi) on the Military Fasteners web site (military-fasteners.com). I made the assumption that if the MS24693S10 screw has roughly half of the AN3 bolt tensile strength, then the torque for the screw should also be roughly half of the bolt. That works out to 10-12 inch-pounds, or 14 in-lbs with a self-locking MS21042 nut. The stall warning assembly uses MS21044N04 self-locking nuts, so I decided to stay with the 10-12 in-lb max value plus drag. Drag on this small screw and nut was negligible. I torqued the nuts to about 8 in-lbs, which is where I got nervous and decided to stop, That left about 3 threads showing and the nuts seem plenty tight.

I made a small change to the pivot for the stall warning vane. There are supposed to be 2 washers on each side of the vane, but that was way too tight for the vane to move freely. I removed one of the outboard washers and tightened the nut to the point where the vane moved freely without binding. There was no need to look up torque values for the MS2469C14 screw since max torque would bind the vane in place and the stall warning sensor would never work. The plans say “Do not over-torque the nut on the screw about which the VA-196 Stall Warning Vane pivots. Insure that the stall warning vane rotates freely.”

The final step was to install the stall warning system to the left splice rib. The 832 x 1/2 screws are driven by a 1/4" hex wrench. Depending on how tight the nut plates are, it may be possible to start the screws by hand, but the hex wrench is definitely required to finish the job. I found it easiest to start the pivot screw first, and leave it loose while installing the upper screw and adjusting the sensor. I ended up rotating the mounting plate all the way to the stop to allow the vane to extend through the slot in the leading edge with just a very minimal travel to depress the button on the sensor. The fit to drive the screws is very tight. I tried reaching through the access panel to see how that might work after the leading edge is mounted to the wing, and I don't have access that way. I think it's fair to say the sensor is a permanent fixture as is, unless I find someone with the correct sized arms to work on it later if needed.

I also noticed a difference between the plans and the parts I received with the kit. The W400, which is essentially a ground wire, that is supplied in the same bag as the WH-00012 wire harness is a black wire and not white as stated in the plans. I looked through the various wire harness bags to ensure I had the right part for the ground wire, and didn't find any appropriate white wires.

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
7/30/22 – 0.8h
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, #30 Drill, #19 Drill, Small Round and Flat Files]

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
7/30/22 – 0.5h
[#30 Countersink Cutter, #19 Countersink Cutter]

Prime
7/31/22 – 0.3h
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self Etching Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

Assemble
8/1/22 – 0.9h
8/20/22 – 0.5h
Description
[Phillips Head Screw Driver, Torque Wrench (In-Lbs), 1/4” Hex Wrench]

  Aug 19, 2022     17-06 - Outboard Leading-Edge Assembly - (22.6 hours)       Category: 17 Outer LE

Assemble
8/10/22 – 1.9h
8/11/22 – 1.4h
8/12/22 – 2.5h
8/13/22 – 2.0h
8/14/22 – 4.3h
8/15/22 – 2.1h
8/17/22 – 1.9h
8/18/22 – 1.3h
8/19/22 – 5.2h
This is purely an assembly step starting with the attachment of two nut plates to the web of the left leading edge splice rib. The nut plates will be used to mount the stall warning sensor. I back-riveted the nut plates to the splice rib without any drama despite the fact that it has been a long time since I have done any back-riveting.

There is an inconsistency in the plans for the next steps which say to insert the left leading edge skin into the cradle, cleco the access hatch doubler into place, and then back-rivet the access hatch doubler. Back-riveting isn't an option if the skin is already in the cradle, so I did the back-riveting before putting the skin in the cradle. Back-riveting on the bench works very well for the access hatch doubler. I also took this opportunity to check the fit of the access hatch cover. It was a little tight on the forward and aft edges, so I used a Scotch Brite pad and sandpaper to get it to fit better.

CAUTION: Put a towel or some sort of padding below the area you are riveting. If you drop the bucking bar, you'll be glad the pad is there to protect the skin. If not, be prepared to spend a lot of time working out an inadvertent ding. I fumbled my bucking bar once, which resulted in a medium-sized “outie” where the upper leading edge starts to curve. This was a very difficult location to work, and I spent a long time with a spoon and some elbow grease to work out the dent. There is still a small blemish on the leading edge, but I got it to the point that prep for paint should smooth it out. That was definitely not the way I wanted to spend that work session!

The main riveting starts with the aft 2 holes (top and bottom) on each rib. I used the pneumatic squeezer to set those rivets, and I was very happy with the results. I used the pneumatic squeezer to set the next rivets working toward the front of the piece, also with good results. The furthest aft hole at the splice rib only hits the skin and the splice strip (not the rib), and it uses the same AN426AD3-3.5 rivet as the aft holes for the other ribs. The rest of the holes at the splice rib go through the skin, splice strip, and rib; so the longer AN426AD3-4 rivets are used for those. After I finished the last 3-3.5 rivet I could reach on the other ribs, I reset the squeezer for the 3-4 rivets on the splice rib. I went ahead with all the rivets on the splice rib since I didn't want to continuously switch between the squeezer for the splice rib and rivet gun for the other ribs.

The three forward-most rivets were the most difficult to set. Those holes are on individual tabs due to the leading edge curvature, so the fluting done earlier really doesn't help align these holes. I had to work each of the holes into place with a pick before I could insert a rivet. The other challenge with the forward-most holes is the awkward riveting position. You need long arms if you're riveting by yourself, and the holes essentially point up when the leading edge is in the cradle. I mitigated the second issue by rotating the cradle back toward the bottom a bit, and using scotch tape to hold the rivets in place. There isn't much you can do about the long-arm problem if you don't have a rivet partner handy, and I have the bruises on my bucking bar arm to prove it! The forward rivets ultimately went in successfully even though it took some extra time and effort to get them in place.

The final riveting task is inserting the landing light mount bracket and the top J-Channel. Both parts have good access with the rivet gun, and went in without any problems. The mount bracket has a definite top and bottom, although that isn't explicitly called out in the plans. The hole for the light is clearly offset, and you can see the offset in the plan drawings if you look closely. When the bracket is in place, the hole should be offset toward the bottom of the leading edge to align with the landing light cutouts.
[3x Rivet Gun, Back Rivet Set, Back Rivet Plate, Swivel Mushroom Set, Tungsten Bucking Bar, Pneumatic Squeezer with 3” Yoke and Flat Squeezer Set]

  Aug 09, 2022     17-05 - Landing Light Brackets and Nut Plates - (20.8 hours)       Category: 17 Outer LE

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
7/17/22 – 0.9h
7/18/22 – 0.5h
There are just a handful of parts left in the bin for this step in the build including two landing light brackets and four landing light lens backing plates. The backing plates are arch-shaped, and the rounded ends required some additional filing to remove the machining marks from making the curves. The landing light mounting brackets do not have any tight corners or difficult access for deburring. Deburring the brackets and backing plates didn't present any new challenges.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, 6” Cut and Polish Wheel, Small Rounded File]

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
7/18/22 – 0.9h
The 3/32” holes (#40) in the backing plates and landing light mount bracket have to be dimpled for the installation nut plates a few steps later. Each of the 4 backing plates gets 4 nut plates (total 16), and each of the 2 landing light mount brackets gets 2 nut plates (total 4).

The plans also state that one full shipset of nut plates should be dimpled according to Section 5.16 of the plans. Section 5.16 simply says to use a reduced diameter female dimple die to avoid damage to the nut plate screw hole. One shipset includes the nut plates for the backing plates, landing light mount brackets, access hatch, and splice strips. The total nut plate requirement is:
4x K1000-3
16x K1000-06
20x K1100-06
34x K1100-08D
4x MS21053-L08

The MS21053-L08 nut plates were a little tricky to dimple. The dimpling process bent the nut plates slightly, and I had to try to straighten them back out by hand. They came out mostly straight, but they aren't real pretty. Perhaps dimpling with a full-size male and reduced diameter female dimple die would work better. Something to think about for next time…
[Pneumatic Squeezer with #40 Reduced Diameter Dimple Die]

Prime
7/19/22 – 2.8h
7/20/22 – 1.9h
7/21/22 – 1.2h
7/22/22 – 3.1h
7/24/22 – 1.2h
7/25/22 – 1.7h
7/27/22 – 0.6h
7/28/22 – 1.2h
7/30/22 – 0.5h
8/1/22 – 0.5h
8/3/22 – 0.7h
Most of the time on this page was devoted to priming, and finish painting for the first time. I did not prime any of the parts from the previous pages in this section, so things kinda stacked up on this page. After getting all of the parts and nut plates dimpled, there is a step in the plans that says, “For those builders preferring a finish such as matte black or gloss white inside the landing light coves, now is the recommended time to apply finish paint to the” landing light brackets, mounting plates, and ribs and skin areas that make up the landing light coves. I decided to go with a Matte Black finish, and went with the Rust-Oleum paint since that is the primer I'm using.

After applying the first primer coat, I let it dry and scuffed it up with a worn maroon Scotch Brite pad. The scuffing process makes the primer coat more even, and allows a second touch-up coat to take hold. I degreased all of the primed parts, and completed the minor touch up areas without any trouble.

I decided to follow the same process for the final color (black) coat. First scuff the primed parts, degrease the parts, and spray on the black paint. The paint went on one side at a time, as opposed to my all-over approach with the primer. I didn't want to take any chances of marring the wet paint by flipping the parts over for the other side.
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Rust-Oleum Automotive Self Etching Primer (Green – Rattle Can), Rust-Oleum Automotive Matte Black Paint (Rattle Can)]

Assemble
8/8/22 – 1.3h
8/9/22 – 1.8h
The final step on this sheet is installing the nutplates on the landing light lens backing plates and mounting brackets, access hatch doubler, and splice strips. I started with the landing light lens backing plates because they are small and easy to handle with the pneumatic squeezer. That is ideal to ensure the squeezer is set up correctly. I used a cleco clamp over the screw hole to hold the nut plate in place and protect the hole from squeezer damage. I moved on to the access hatch doubler next, since the doubler and backing plates are made from the same thickness of aluminum. The squeezer didn't need any adjustment, and I used the same technique with the cleco clamp to hold the nutplates in place.

The squeezer setup for the splice plates was the same as the other parts, and I used the same approach to holding the nut plates in place with the cleco clamp. The nut plates at each end of the splice strips were a little different, with the screw hole at the end and two rivets next to each other. I found that setting the inside rivet first worked well to ensure no interference with the outside rivet. I attached the final nut plates on this step to the landing light mount brackets. The brackets are made from thicker aluminum than the other parts in this step, so I had to adjust the squeezer to set the rivets properly. The same technique using the cleco clamp over the screw hole to hold the nut plate in place worked well on the mount brackets, too.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, Flat Squeezer Set, Cleco Clamp]

  Jul 17, 2022     17-04 - Leading Edge Skin Preparation - (21.8 hours)       Category: 17 Outer LE

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
7/4/22 – 1.1h
7/5/22 – 2.2h
7/6/22 – 2.6h
7/7/22 – 1.7h
7/9/22 – 2.3h
7/10/22 – 0.8h
7/14/22 – 2.9h
7/15/22 – 1.9h
The initial mock-up is always a fun step in the build process since you quickly go from a pile of parts on the bench to a recognizable aircraft structure. I started by inserting the left leading edge skin into the cradles attached to saw-horses, and then cleco'd the leading edge ribs to the skin. It is clear at this point that setting the forward-most rivets will be very awkward, but the rest of the holes appear to have good access for riveting. It is also worth noting that aligning the ribs with the correct holes is tricky. I had to start clecoing from the forward-most hole aft to ensure I had the rib in the correct position.

I recognized a minor error with the J-Channel I cut in the previous step. It turns out I drilled the starter hole at the wrong end of the J-Channel. Fortunately, I was careful to make a mirror image of the J-Channel for the right leading edge, so correcting the mistake was simply crossing out the “R” in the part label and renaming it “L”. The correctly labeled J-Channel fits perfectly, so crisis averted!

Most of the deburring is similar to previous steps in the build. Of note, the landing light cutouts are very rough around the corners. That means there is some additional filing required to smooth those corners before getting to the final deburring to finish preparing the part.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, #40 Drill, #10 Drill, Small Files, Standard Files]

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
7/9/22 – 1.1h
7/11/22 – 1.1h
7/12/22 – 0.6h
7/13/22 – 1.3h
7/15/22 – 0.8h
7/17/22 – 1.4h
The J-Channel for the leading edge is prepared the same way the wing J-Channels were prepared. I cleco'd the J-Channel in place at the starter hole, and clamped the other end of the J-Channel in place using the centerline to align the J-Channel to the leading edge skin. I then matched-drilled the J-Channel to the skin, clecoing every hole as I went. While the drill was out, I also match drilled the aft-most holes in the skin to the ribs.

The final step for the left skin was to cut out the stall warning slot using the two pre-drilled holes in the leading edge, final drilled to #10 size, as end guides for the slot. I drilled four #40 holes between the end holes to remove as much material as I could, and then cleaned up the slot with a small hobby file.

Prior to dimpling, I put a very slight break on the top and bottom edges of the leading edge skin to help it rivet tightly to the wing spar. That was not specified in the plans, but seemed like a reasonable thing to do since that is how the top skins were prepared.

Before dimpling, it is important to note there are a few holes in the leading edge skin that do not get dimpled at this time. Specifically, do not dimple the most outboard row of holes used to attach the wing tip, the hole for the tie-down, and the crew holes for the landing light lenses. Those all get taken care of in later steps.

I did as much dimpling as I could with the pneumatic squeezer before switching to the C-Frame to finish dimpling the leading edge skins. I used the reduced diameter 3/32 dimple die on the new far-aft holes in the rib flanges and for the nut plate dimples on the access panel doubler. The #6 screw hole dimples in the doubler are on the very inside edge of the part, which was a little surprising to me. I finished dimpling with the standard size 3/32 dimple die.
[Edge Forming Tool (Vise Grip Style), Pneumatic Squeezer with 3/32 Reduced Diameter and Standard Dimple Dies, 22” C-Frame with 3/32 Standard Dimple Die, Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, Small Files]

  Jul 03, 2022     17-03 - Splice Rib and J-Channel Preparation - (11.8 hours)       Category: 17 Outer LE

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
6/27/22 – 0.7h
6/30/22 – 2.0h
7/1/22 – 1.6h
7/2/22 – 3.4h
7/3/22 – 2.6h
Deburring the ribs takes time, but isn't complicated. I've refined my deburring process to help me get good results. I start with the large hole deburring tool to remove the sharp edges on the lightening holes in the center of the ribs, and follow that up with several passes inside the holes with a Scotch Brite flap wheel on an electric drill. The next step is to debur the rivet (and other) smaller holes with a deburring bit on an electric screw driver or by hand.

Deburring the flange edges starts with a pencil (hobby) flat file to remove the small tabs and marks from the machining process. The “dove tail” deburring tool comes next to remove the sharp edges from the flanges. I use aluminum oxide sandpaper to smooth the flange edges followed by a pass with a maroon Scotch Brite pad to finish smoothing the edges of the flanges. My last step is to run a Scotch Brite flap wheel on an electric drill over the outside and inside of the flanges. The flap wheel takes care of any final burrs in the holes and edges on the flanges, and leaves a very smooth surface that is free of burrs.

Each outboard leading edge has a J-Stiffener that needs to be cut to size from the stock parts in the wing kit. I cut the main wing J-Stiffeners from the 96” stock, leaving 4 pieces of 72” J-Channel for the outboard leading edges and tanks. The Dremel with a metal cutting disk worked well for the rough cut, followed by some fine-tuning with the large flat file. After trimming the J-Channel to the proper length, the inboard #40 “starter” hole is drilled according to the dimensions in the plans.

The Dremel, metal cutting disk, and file also worked well to remove the splice strips from the tank skins. I used my deburring process on the splice strips to ensure the #19 holes were properly deburred prior to dimpling to prevent cracks. The splice strips are ready for primer after a final cleaning.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, Dremel with Metal Cutting Disk, Large Flat File, #40 Drill, #19 Drill]

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
7/3/22 – 1.5h
The pneumatic squeezer made quick work of dimpling the #40 holes in the nose rib flanges. The #40 rivet holes for the nutplates on the inboard rib for the left leading edge (W-1008-R) get dimpled as well. The nutplates will used later to mount the stall warning switch. I also dimpled the Splice Strips starting with a #8 Screw Dimple Die in the #19 holes. The plans warn that these holes are prone to cracking if they aren't deburred properly, and I took extra care on these holes during the deburring process. I used the #40 reduced diameter dimple die for the nutplate holes to avoid damaging the #8 screw dimples I just finished. A standard size #40 dimple die would have flattened part of the larger dimple next to it.
[Bench Vise, Pneumatic Squeezer with #40 Reduced Diameter Dimple Die, #8 Screw Dimple Die]

  Jun 29, 2022     17-02 - Leading Edge Cradles and Ribs Preparation - (4.4 hours)       Category: 17 Outer LE

06/27/22 – 0.6h
06/28/22 – 2.7h
06/29/22 – 1.1h
I was fortunate to borrow a leading edge cradle assembly from another RV-14 builder, so I didn't have to cut up my wing kit crate lid to make new cradles. I replaced the duct tape on his cradles, and they are ready for use on my leading edges. I was also fortunate that most of the flange angles on the leading edge ribs didn't need significant adjustment. The ribs did require some fluting to straighten them out, and I may revisit fluting later depending on how well the ribs line up with the holes in the skins. The forward-most portions of the ribs might not be quite right, yet.

UPDATE: I took another look at the rib alignment after I finished deburring the holes and edges. The rivet lines on the skins are straight from the tail to the nose, so the ribs should be straight as well. I wasn't 100% sure since the tips of the ribs were all at an angle. Apparently adding the T-shaped stiffener bend to the nose of the ribs bends the flanges a bit. I put the ribs on the marble slab (my flat surface) and ended up fluting the forward section of almost all of them. They are much straighter now, which should make riveting easier later on.

After final-drilling the #30 and #40 holes in the ribs, I notched the rear flanges of the two inboard W-1009-L and W-1009-R ribs to clear the spar bars and rivets on the main spar. The first inboard rib gets a notch at the top and bottom of the rear flange, and the second inboard rib just gets a single notch at the top. I planned to use my bandsaw for the cuts, but the Dremel was a better choice for me. I used a flat file and small pencil file to clean up the cuts and get them to the specified measurements. After I finished the notches, I cleco'd the ribs to the main spar to check the clearance, which looked good.
[Fluting Pliers, Hand-Seamer, Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, #30 Drill, #40 Drill, Dremel with Metal Cutting Disc, Flat File, Pencil (Hobby) File]

  Jun 27, 2022     17-01 - Outboard Leading Edge (Plans) - (1.5 hours) Category: 17 Outer LE

The center section of the wings are safely secured on the rack, and the focus is now the outboard leading edges. There isn't any fuel tank work, yet (thankfully), but there are a number of things happening with the outboard leading edges including the stall warning assembly, a splice rib and strip, and landing light lenses. There are also several ribs to debur and a new set of J-Channels to prepare.

I reviewed the Van's Service Information and Revisions page for the RV-14
(https://www.vansaircraft.com/service-information-and-revisions/?aircraft=rv-14&doctype=all&sort=undefined),
and noticed there is one revision for this section of the plans from early 2017. One of the changes is to use a shorter screw on the landing light lenses, and that change is captured in my printed plans. I'll read over that change notice again to make sure there isn't anything else of note, but it appears my plans and parts are up to date.

The plans for this section have a few new items/tasks to consider. First, the plans spend about a page on building leading edge cradles using the plywood cover from the wing kit delivery crate. I have access to some cradles from another RV-14 builder, so I'll only need to refurbish those with some new duct tape rather than create a new set. The next thing I noticed is the 2 inboard ribs in the assembly need some modifications to the aft flanges to fit over the doublers on the forward side of the main spar. A new structure introduce in this section is the Splice Rib and Splice Strip The splice strip is attached to the Wing Tank Skins, so I'll have to trim the splice strips off and then store the tank skins for the next section of the build.

The landing light areas have some new finishing instructions, “For those builders preferring a finish such as matte black or gloss white inside the landing light coves, now is the recommended time to apply finish paint” as well as instructions to trim the acrylic landing light lenses to the final shape and size. The lens trimming looks like it needs some detailed measurements, and I've ordered some plastic cutting discs for the Dremel for this step.

Another unique item to this step is building and installing the stall warning system. That doesn't look very difficult, but the fine-tuning at the end could get tricky. Finally, there is a note at the end of this section to leave a rivet out of the left skin for the pitot tube assembly. I plan to use an aftermarket pitot tube that will be located aft of the main spar, so I'll fill the rivet hole in the leading edge rather than leaving it open.

Time to get busy on the leading edges!