Jul 10, 2023     22-09 - Trailing Edge and Final Assembly - (5.7 hours)       Category: 22 Ailerons

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
7/7/23 - 0.2h
7/10/23 - 0.2h
I left the trailing edge wedges just a little long with the intention of filing them to final length after finishing the trailing edge riveting. That approach worked well, resulting in a good match between the wedge and the skins at the trailing edge of the aileron.
[Small Flat Hobby File, Scotch Brite Pad]

Assemble
7/2/23 - 0.8h
7/4/23 - 0.6h
7/6/23 - 0.8h
7/7/23 - 1.5h
7/8/23 - 0.7h
7/10/23 - 0.9h
The trailing edge of the ailerons is finished the same way the flap trailing edges were in the previous section of the build. Review the recommendations in Section 5 to improve my odds for straight trailing edges on the ailerons. I again went to the recommended back-rivet technique described in Section 5 for the ailerons. Back-riveting kept the trailing edges tight against the flat back-rivet plate, which helps keep the trailing edges straight while riveting. I started with my medium diameter flush set to “lightly” set each of the rivets working from the center out, and setting every 10th rivet, then splitting the difference left and right until all of the rivets were initially set about halfway. I then went back to the center rivet and used roughly the same pattern with the flush set to finish the rivets. I used a relatively low gun pressure of 30 - 35 psi to set the trailing edge rivets. I also noted that you don't need to be too heavy handed with the rivet gun as long as the trailing edge is held firmly to the back-rivet plate. Finally, I used a strip of masking tape next to the trailing edge to keep notes on which rivets had been completed to help keep things moving along.
[Blind Rivet Puller, 3x Rivet Gun, Flush Rivet Set, Back-Rivet Plate, Spring Clamps, 3M VHB Tape]

  Jul 01, 2023     22-08 - Nose Rib and Spar Assembly - (11.2 hours)       Category: 22 Ailerons

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
6/20/23 - 1.0h
This is the last time to access the inside of the aileron counterbalance tube before it is permanently installed in the leading edge of the aileron. I took the opportunity to ensure the screws holding the counterbalance were tight. I could not get a torque wrench on the screws due to the limited access inside the flange of the nose ribs, but I feel good that they are tightened down adequately to not come loose. I also gave the holes in the counterbalance tube one more pass with the coarse grit sandpaper to remove drilling burrs and pushed a couple of clean paper towels through the tube to remove as much debris from drilling and deburring as possible.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools]

Assemble
6/21/23 - 2.1h
6/22/23 - 1.0h
6/23/23 - 0.7h
6/24/23 - 0.6h
6/25/23 - 2.4h
6/28/23 - 0.3h
6/29/23 - 0.8h
7/1/23 - 2.3h
Assembly starts with installing the nose ribs and counterbalance into aileron nose skin. The skin holds its final shape well where it is cleco'd to the ribs or where the workbench stands hold the top and bottom of the nose skin in shape. In other areas, the skin bows out significantly, so I used strips of tape to hold the nose skin in its roughly final shape. That makes aligning the ribs for rivets a little easier, but I found the ribs still need a fair bit of cajoling to get them into position where the rivets sit flush in the dimples.

I started riveting from the trailing edge of the nose skin forward beginning with the bottom rivets on the middle rib, then the top of the rib, then repeating the bottom / top riveting on the two end ribs. The hand squeezer has good access to all of the rivets, and I followed the note in the plans to use a 1/2” tall squeezer die on the interior shop head on the top rivets. I found access to the manufactured head on the bottom end rivets was limited by the aileron hinge brackets, so I swapped the squeezer set to put the 1/2" squeezer die on the manufactured head on the bottom end rivets. That provided the clearance needed from the hinge brackets to set the bottom end rivets squarely.

The two forward-most rivets on the top side of the aileron nose skin are pulled rivets due to the curvature of the nose skin. After setting all of the solid rivets for the nose ribs, I final drilled #34 the two forward-most rivets for the slightly larger pulled rivets, and then set the rivets with a hand rivet puller. The blind rivet process didn't present any special issues or surprises.

Pulled rivets are also used to attach the spar to the nose ribs. The holes are already final-sized, so no additional drilling is required. I set the center rivet on each rib first followed by the top and bottom rivets for a total of nine -- three rivets for each of the three ribs.

On to the top skins… This step is reminiscent of the flaps starting with inserting the top skin between the nose skin and the spar. Also like the flap, remember to keep the small tab on the inboard and outboard ribs inside the spar flange. The detail for how the rib, skin, and spar fit together is shown earlier in the plans (sheet 22-06). I didn't see a reminder or new detail drawing on the assembly sheet 22-08, so you have to remember how things go together on your own. The plans also specify clamping “a straight board to the Top Skin Assembly near the trailing edge (to hold the top skin straight while riveting).” I clamped the skin between some new paint stir sticks on the exterior side and my aluminum “U-Channel” on the inside of the skin. The U-Channel provides the straightness and some structure, and the paint sticks contribute to the straightness and provide a good place for the clamps. That setup is also relatively light, which is nice while the skin is sticking up out of the cradle. A lot of weight like a heavy board (which may or may not be straight) might also damage the skin with an unfortunate crease or bend.

Per the plans, I cleco'd every other hole in the skin to the spar. I riveted the open holes between the clecos with the gun and bucking bar from the center of the aileron out. The rivets went really well thanks to the experience from building the flaps. The trickiest area is at each end of the aileron where there is a close grouping of two (outboard) and three (inboard) holes. The nose skin does not attach to those holes, so you end up with an uneven area where the nose skin stops and the top skin continues. I came up with an experimental approach, which is an admittedly risky move but ended up working really well. The wing kit came with several small sheets of aluminum at various thicknesses. I clamped a sheet the same thickness as the nose skin over the closely spaced rivets in the top skin, and then set the rivets with the gun on the shim.

Riveting the main ribs to the spar turned out to be a whole lot harder than the top skin flush rivets. I tested a squeezer yoke to see if that would work, but clearance from the hinge brackets is not wide enough to accommodate the yoke. I went with a long, cupped set on the rivet gun, which had the best (not perfect) access to the rivet head. The longer rivets on the inboard doubler end were the easiest to get to, so I started there. I put the manufactured head on the exterior doubler side since that had the most clearance for the rivet gun. The inboard rivets went pretty will, but that was not the story on the outboard side. I repeated the manufactured head on the outboard side because there was no room for a bucking bar between the outboard aileron hinges and no room for a rivet gun next to the top skin. In addition to the very tight quarters for the rivet gun, the holes are biased slightly to one side, which prevented perfectly straight alignment of the rivet set between the hinges. Three of the rivets went reasonably well with some minor “smiles” that cannot be avoided. One of the rivets, however, was a total mess. I allowed the rivet set to come off the manufactured head, which effectively destroyed the rivet head and bent the area slightly. I decided to drill the rivet out, which ended up elongating the hole a bit. Fortunately, the interior of the hole wasn't damaged, and the new rivet fit reasonably well. The result wasn't pretty, and I've decided to build a new left aileron at some point. It's airworthy right now, but I'll have to keep an eye on it for cracks.

The last step on this sheet was installing the bottom aileron skins and riveting them to the spar. The process is nearly identical to the flaps, which helped move things along relatively quickly. The tabs on the end main ribs go inside the spar, which took a little maneuvering but wasn't difficult to get in place. The skin goes between the nose skin and the spar flange, which again isn't difficult.

Once the bottom skin was cleco'd in place, I cleco'd the main ribs together to check for twist. I was happy to see almost no twist in either aileron, and riveting the bottom skin in place didn't introduce any twist to the aileron. I removed the main rib clecos prior to riveting to help with the clearance between the skins for bucking the skin/spar rivets.

I started at the center of the aileron and worked my way inboard and outboard with every 10th rivet, and then splitting the difference from the middle out until all of the rivets were set. I used the RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar, which had excellent access to buck the rivets without me bending the skins to get my arm inside the aileron. The only area that this method didn't work was near the stiffeners. I saved those rivets for last and used a smaller tungsten bucking bar that I could lay on the spar below the stiffeners. I had to reach in to hold the bar, but it was only for 8 or 9 rivets as opposed to all of them down the line.

The final rivets I set were the inboard and outboard rivets that are beyond the bottom skin, but hold the ends of the nose skin in place. Like the top, I couldn't set these rivets with my standard rivet set without damaging the adjacent bottom skin, but unlike the top the area on the bottom is also constrained by the hinge brackets. That negated my top-side method of sandwiching the rivet. My technique for the bottom was to remove the spring guard from my back-rivet set, and just use the very small diameter portion to set the rivet. This takes a lot of care to ensure the rivet set is square to avoid damage, and I was actually surprised at how well it turned out. I won't hesitate to go to this method again for the next tight area with flush rivets.
[Hand Squeezer, Flat Squeezer Set, #34 Drill, Blind Rivet Puller, 3X Rivet Gun, Flush Rivet Set, 1/8” Cupped Set, Tungsten Bucking Bars, RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar, Back-Rivet Set (without spring guard)]

  Jun 19, 2023     22-07 - Trailing Edge Wedge Preparation - (7.7 hours)       Category: 22 Ailerons

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
6/5/23 - 1.8h
6/8/23 - 0.6h
This is the final parts-preparation step for the ailerons. The first task is to lay the aileron top-side-up on the flat work table with the nose hanging over the edge and the aileron weighted down on the table to keep is straight. With the aileron in place, you use a straight-edge held spanwise midway between the leading edge and spar to check and correct any bowing. I used a 40” aluminum ruler, which did not show any appreciable bowing in either the left or right aileron.

The next task is to cleco the trailing edge wedge into place and mark the inboard and outboard edges even with the top of the ailerons. The wedges will be trimmed to length later in this step. The other item to take care of while the trailing edge wedges are in place is to final drill the holes common to the wedge and top and bottom skins. When building the flaps, the plans specified final drilling at an 84-degree angle to the top skin in order to drill perpendicular to the centerline of the wedge. Rather than trying to drill accurate angles with the wedges in the ailerons, I used a trailing edge wedge countersink jig to hold the wedge straight while I drilled perpendicular to the centerline. I then put the wedge in the aileron and did some “light” drilling perpendicular to the wedge centerline to finish the wedge and skins.

The aileron's were disassembled at this point to debur the holes and to cut the trailing edge wedge length. I deburred all of the parts (holes and edges) earlier, so this round of deburring was simply cleaning up the holes in the trailing edge as needed. I decided to leave the trailing edge wedge just a little long for now, and I'll file off any excess length after the aileron is assembled.
[Straight-Edge, Trailing Edge Countersink Jig ,Hole Deburring Tools, #40 Drill]

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
6/9/23 - 2.7h
6/10/23 - 1.7h
The plans specify putting an edge break in the trailing edges of the top and bottom aileron skins as well as the trailing edges of the nose skins. I did that in the previous step, so I went directly to dimpling the remaining holes, which went pretty quickly. Most of the skins were already dimpled prior to riveting the stiffeners. The C-Frame did a good job dimpling the leading and trailing edges of the skins.

I turned to the Pneumatic squeezer to dimple the spar flanges and nose skins. I used a reduced diameter dimple die in the squeezer to avoid damaging the curved surface of the nose skins and the flange bends in the spar. The forward two holes in the nose skin required a 4” yoke to reach. While that ultimately worked for me, a better approach in hindsight may have been to use a reduced diameter rivet-puller dimple die. Also note, the leading edge holes drilled for the aileron counterweight do not get dimpled. The pulled rivets for those holes are not flush.

The trailing edge wedges are countersunk to accept the dimples in the trailing edges of the aileron skins. Countersinking generally goes well when the pilot hole is deeper than the countersink, and can keep the countersink cutter from wandering. In the case of the trailing edge wedges, you have to countersink both sides of the wedge, which enlarges the hole slightly to make a countersink deep enough for the dimples. I discovered a technique to countersink trailing edge wedges while keeping the hole circular (no wandering). I cleco'd a second wedge facing the opposite direction to the wedge I was countersinking. The second wedge provided the pilot hole depth I needed for a non-wandering countersink, and the opposite direction orientation gave me a level surface to drill. I was really happy with the final result using this method - I wish I'd thought of it earlier!
[Edge Forming Tool (Vise Grip Style), 22” C-Frame with #40 Standard Diameter Dimple Dies, Pneumatic Squeezer with #40 Reduced Diameter Dimple Die, #40 Countersink Cutter]

Prime
6/10/23 - 0.6h
There was a little final priming to do after disassembling and deburring the ailerons. The inside of the nose skins and the spars were the last unprimed pieces for this step of the build. Note - the trailing edge wedges and the stainless steel counterweight tubes do not get primed.
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Rust-Oleum Automotive Self Etching Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

Assemble
6/10/23 - 0.3h
Assembly for this step is pretty simple - rivet the doubler to the end of each spar. Each doubler uses two AN426AD3-5 flush-head rivets, which fit into the doubler holes that were countersunk earlier. I lightly clamped the spars to the work bench, elevated on wood paint-stirrer sticks to keep the flanges above the table to avoid damage to the spar. I left the doubler end of the spar hanging over the edge of the bench for access with the squeezer. After aligning the doubler and inserting both rivets, I used a clamp to hold the doubler tight to the spar while I set the first rivet. I then removed the clamp and set the second rivet.
[Hand Squeezer, Flat Squeezer Set]

  Jun 03, 2023     22-06 - Skin Fitting - (1.6 hours)       Category: 22 Ailerons

6/3/23 - 1.6h
Unlike the last step, there wasn't much to this one. Essentially the step was to cleco all the aileron parts and assemblies together in preparation for final drilling and trimming the trailing edge wedge in the next step. With the exception of the closely spaced inboard and outboard holes, none of the spar and associated skin holes have been dimpled yet. That also occurs in the next step. The ribs, skins, and spars took just a little coaxing to get everything in place, but eventually came together without any major issues. The only surprise for me was the gap between the nose rib and main rib hinge brackets. In my mind those were much closer together, but I held the aileron next to the hinge brackets on the wing and things appear to line up just fine.

  Jun 03, 2023     22-05 - Skin Stiffener Assembly - (37.3 hours)       Category: 22 Ailerons

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
5/10/23 - 2.1h
5/11/23 - 2.1h
5/12/23 - 2.0h
5/13/23 - 3.8h
5/15/23 - 1.5h
5/16/23 - 3.2h
5/17/23 - 1.2h
5/18/23 - 1.7h
5/20/23 - 4.1h
5/21/23 - 3.0h
5/24/23 - 2.3h
The time and number of work sessions spent on this step indicates a lot going on. The first item is securing the aileron counterbalance to the nose ribs, which requires match-drilling holes from the nose ribs into the stainless steel tube counterbalance. The counterbalance is sandwiched tightly between the ribs and the nose skin, which helps to hold everything in place for the first hole. The bottom hole is drilled through the bottom hole in the aft and forward rib flanges. That hole is then cleco'd and the nose skin is removed to mark the upper hole with an extended #40 drill bit. The mark is drilled #40, and both #40 holes in the counterbalance and nose ribs are final drilled with a #27 bit. Drilling stainless steel takes time and lubricant. It also takes extra drill bits - I broke 2 #40 jobber bits on this step! After the holes are drilled and deburred, the ribs are attached to the counterbalance with screws and nuts. The drawing on the first page of the plans for this section shows the nut inside the tube, so that it is the orientation I went with. I found a cleco clamp did a nice job holding the nut while I turned the screw with an offset ratchet screw driver.

The ribs and counterbalance assemblies are re-cleco'd to the spars and nose skins to match drill the holes in the leading edge to the counterbalance. I used a drill guide with a “Vee” shaped bottom to help ensure the holes were drilled square to the curved leading edge. Each hole gets cleco'd to hold the counterbalance tight to the skin as the drilling proceeds, and the clecos are removed after the drilling is complete. The drilling operation left some major burrs inside the counterbalance. I attached a piece of coarse sandpaper to the end of a long wooden dowel rod to debur the leading edge holes inside the tube as well as I could. I also used the dowel rod to shove a cleaning rag through the counterbalance pipe to remove excess lubricant and drill debris.

The next item to work on are the aileron stiffeners. The stiffeners come in 8 strips with 4 stiffeners per strip (total 32 stiffeners). The stiffeners have to be separated into individual parts, and then formed to final shape by removing bits of flanges and trimming the stiffeners to length. Separating the stiffeners went quickly with the band saw. I also used the band saw to make the shorter shaping cut in the forward part of the flange. The bandsaw did not do well with the longer cut on the aft part of the flange, though, The cut is very steep, which made it hard to push the piece accurately through the saw blade. The saw blade was also easy to get off course. The result was 2 destroyed aileron stiffeners and an order with Van's for a replacement strip of 4 aileron stiffeners ($9.25 + tax and shipping). I changed my technique to using a dremel and metal cutting disk to make the initial rough cut. Next, a bench grinder with a 6” Scotch Brite wheel fine-tuned the rough cut close to the cut-line. I then used a large flat file anchored to the workbench to file the cut straight and to the cut line. A small modelling file and fine sandpaper removed the tool marks from the flat file, and then the cut was deburred with an edge deburring tool and Scotch Brite pad. The process was time-consuming, but the results were very good. The aileron stiffeners were finished by trimming the forward edge and cutting the trailing edge to the appropriate length.

My last prep step was to put a slight edge break in the aft edges of the top and bottom skins and top and bottom edges of the nose skins. I was a bit early with this process, but wanted to ensure it got done before priming and dimpling. I've learned that the edge break should be very slight (nearly imperceptible) for good riveting results later. The goal is to “coax” the part into going the right direction. If the edge break is too severe, the result will be a puckered edge when it is riveted - exactly the opposite of what you're trying to accomplish with the break.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, #40 Drill, #40 Extended Length Drill, #30 Drill, #27 Drill, Cleco Clamp, Offset Screwdriver, Long Wooden Dowel Rod, Band Saw, Hacksaw, Dremel with Metal Cutting Disks, Files, Edge Forming Tool (Vise Grip Style)]

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
5/27/23 - 0.8h
5/29/23 - 1.0h
Dimpling the main ribs, stiffeners, and skins is straight-forward with the C-Frame (or DRDT-2) dimpler, but some thought needs to go into which holes to dimple at this stage of the aileron construction. The ribs and stiffeners are easy - dimple all of the holes where those parts will contact the skins.

The skins are a little tougher to figure out. First, you need to determine the orientation of each skin for each aileron. The best way for me to do that was to cleco the skins to each of the aileron spars. The inboard end of the spar has 3 closely spaced holes, and the outboard end has 2. That will help determine the top and bottom side of each aileron skin, which is what you need to know to dimple the skins correctly. The other thing to note is the leading and trailing edges of the skins do not get dimpled just yet. The next step cleco's all the parts together again, which is easier without dimples in the leading edge of the skins, nose skins, and spars. Following that, the trailing edge of the skins and trailing edge wedges are final drilled, which is done before the skins are dimpled and the wedges are countersunk. I did dimple the 3 leading edge inboard holes and 2 leading edge outboard holes in the skins. The most inboard and outboard holes need to be dimpled before riveting the main ribs in place, and the adjacent holes are very close and could be difficult to dimple later with the ribs riveted in place right next to them.
[22” C-Frame with #40 Standard Diameter Dimple Dies]

Prime
5/25/23 - 2.3h
5/29/23 - 1.9h
I primed the top and bottom skins and aileron stiffeners after they were dimpled. Priming 4 skins and 32 aileron stiffeners takes some time, but is manageable if things are organized and ready to go. One thing to remember is the area on the skins where the trailing edge wedge attaches should not be primed.
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Rust-Oleum Automotive Self Etching Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

Assemble
6/1/23 - 2.2h
6/2/23 - 1.3h
6/3/23 - 0.8h
Assembly at this stage consists of back-riveting the main ribs and stiffeners to the top and bottom aileron skins. Prior to back-riveting, I cleco'd the (uncut) trailing edge wedge to each skin to ensure the stiffeners didn't interfere with the wedge placement and the flanges were short enough to not interfere with the opposite skin. I ended up clecoing the trailing edge wedge, main ribs, stiffeners, and skins together to form a complete aileron, and then looked inside the cavity to check the clearance of the stiffeners at the trailing edge. I was able to insert a small piece of cardboard (a 12-pack soda box flap) between the stiffeners and the opposite skin, so I was confident that all the stiffeners were cut correctly. If not, there's still an opportunity to fine-tune the stiffeners before riveting them to the skins. Back-riveting went really well, and I was very happy with the results.
[3X Rivet Gun, Back-Rivet Set, Large Back-Rivet Plate]

  May 09, 2023     22-04 - Counterbalance Preparation - (3.5 hours)       Category: 22 Ailerons

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
5/6/23 - 1.2h
5/8/23 - 1.8h
5/9/23 - 0.5h
The aileron spars came out their vinyl coverings to start this step, and I decided to debur the spars now to ensure the aileron nose pieces go together smoothly for the remainder of this step. I am building both ailerons together, like I did with the flaps, and the first formal task for this step was clecoing the nose ribs and doubler to each spar.

The plans specify 879.5mm as the length of the stainless steel tube counterweights for each aileron. I measured each tube with some trepidation at attempting a straight cut accurate to 0.5mm, and was excited to see that Van's supplied the counterweights already cut to the proper length! The only thing I had to do was lightly debur the ends.

Preparing the counterbalances continues by clecoing the nose skins to the spar, which in turn holds the counterbalances in place. Once the nose skins and counterbalances are locked down, the holes at each end of the counterbalance are match-drilled to the nose skin. I used a drill guide to help me drill perpendicular to the hole in the curved nos skin, and then cleco'd the holes as I drilled them to ensure no movement while I worked on the opposite end holes. The spar is then removed from the assembly to complete this step.
[Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, #40 drill]

  May 07, 2023     22-03 - Hinge Bracket and Main Rib Preparation - (5.6 hours)       Category: 22 Ailerons

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
4/30/23 - 1.7h
5/1/23 - 0.4h
5/6/23 - 0.5h
This step is really a continuation of the previous one. It starts by separating the main ribs into top and bottom sections, and cleaning up the cut edges. There is also a part that is separated into two doublers for the aileron spar after the #40 holes in the doubler are countersunk. The rib parts and doublers are easy to debur and prepare for dimpling, countersinking, priming, and assembly.
[Band Saw, Hole and Edge Deburring Tools]

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
5/2/23 - 1.2h
Dimpling and countersinking requires some care in this step to ensure it is done correctly. A technique to make the countersinking easier is to cleco the hinge brackets together back-to-back, and then countersink both exposed faces. In addition to ensuring the correct side is countersunk, the extra thickness of the cleco'd parts makes a good pilot hole for the countersink cutter.

Dimpling took a little thought since the instructions in the plans don't completely agree with the drawings. The plans specify dimpling the .098 (#40) holes in the ribs, which are the flange holes. However, the drawings show the #30 holes in the rib web getting dimpled. The flanges don't get dimpled for a couple more steps, but I went ahead and did them now since they are not used later for match/final drilling. I also dimpled the rib webs as shown in the diagrams.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, #40 Reduced Diameter Dimple Dies, #30 Dimple Dies, Microstop Countersink Cage, #12 Drill, #30 Countersink Cutter, #40 Countersink Cutter, #12 Countersink Cutter]

Prime
5/1/23 - 0.5h
5/6/23 - 0.7h
I leaned forward a bit too much in the last step and primed the inboard and outboard hinge brackets before countersinking them in this step. A quick primer hit on the countersinks in this step, and all is good! I also employed my standard priming technique (cleaning/scuffing, degreasing, and priming) on the main ribs. The cleaning / scuffing happened before dimpling the ribs, then degreasing and priming after the parts were completely prepped.
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Rust-Oleum Automotive Self Etching Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

Assemble
5/7/23 - 0.6h
This step, like the previous one, finishes by attaching the hinge brackets to the corresponding ribs. The squeezer has good access to all of the rivets, especially since the ribs don't have a bottom flange. I started by riveting the small A-1007-1C doubler to the A-1007-1B inboard hinge bracket, and then I riveted the inboard and outboard hinge brackets to the ribs as shown in the plans diagrams. One thing to keep in mind is the bottom two holes of each hinge bracket is unriveted for now, since the bottom flange of the main ribs has to go there later in the build.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, Flush Squeezer Dies]

  Apr 30, 2023     22-02 - Hinge Bracket and Nose Rib Preparation - (7.8 hours)       Category: 22 Ailerons

Initial Prep (Debur, Trim, Drill, and Cut)
4/28/23 - 3.0h
4/29/23 - 1.2h
Preparation of the inboard and outboard hinge brackets started with separating the parts as shown in the plans. I then filed off the tabs at the attachment points and deburred all holes and edges. I checked the holes for proper sizing, and final drilled the holes as necessary.

The ailerons only use 3 nose ribs each (total six), so preparation went pretty quickly. I did not need to flute any of the ribs or adjust the angle of the flanges. I buffed the leading edge flanges of the inboard nose ribs as shown in the plans to reduce the faceted appearance when they are installed in the leading edge skin.
[Band Saw, Hole and Edge Deburring Tools, #12 Drill, #30 Drill, #40 Drill]

Final Prep (Dimple, Countersink, and Shape)
4/29/23 - 1.1h
The inboard and outboard hinge brackets (A-1006-1A and A-1007-1A) are countersunk for the head of AN426AD4 rivets, which attach the brackets to the nose ribs. Each inboard rib also gets a nut plate installed on the web inside the upper rear flange. The plans do not specify countersinking the corresponding nut plate holes in the hinge brackets, but the rivets used for the nut plates are AN426AD3, so countersinks for those rivets are clearly required in addition to the #30 rivets to attach the hinge brackets.

The top and bottom flanges of the ribs are dimpled for the leading edge skins. The reduced diameter dimple die in the pneumatic squeezer did a nice job on the dimples in both the inboard ribs and the much thicker/heavier nose ribs. The nose ribs have two forward flanges, in addition to the top and bottom flanges, where the counterbalance rod is screwed into place. I did not dimple the holes in the forward flanges since they will be upsized later to #27, and there is no need to dimple them to attach the counterbalance rod.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, #40 Reduced Diameter Dimple Dies, Microstop Countersink Cage, #30 Countersink Cutter, #40 Countersink Cutter]

Prime
4/29/23 - 1.1h
4/30/23 - 0.4h
Priming followed my now-standard method of cleaning/scuffing, degreasing, and priming. I did the cleaning before dimpling holes to ensure the holes were completely deburred and to make the cleaning/scuffing step easier. I waited to degrease and prime the parts until after the rib flanges were dimpled.
[Grey Scotchbrite Pads, Bon-Ami Cleanser, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Rust-Oleum Automotive Self Etching Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

Assemble
4/30/23 - 1.0h
Assembly of the inboard and outboard hinge brackets/nose ribs went relatively well. The pneumatic squeezer had good access to all the rivets including the AN426AD3-4 rivets for the nut plates on the inboard hinge bracket assembly. I riveted the brackets in place first, and then installed the nut plates as shown in the plans.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, Flush Squeezer Dies]

  Apr 27, 2023     22-01 - Ailerons (Plans) - (1.0 hour) Category: 22 Ailerons

4/27/23 - 1.0h
Once again, I started my plans review by looking for changes, bulletins, and updates on the Van's website. There was one change to the plans back in 2015, which was incorporated into the version I already have. I didn't spot any other relevant changes.

The first thing I noticed in the aileron plans is the structure is a little different than the wings, elevators, flaps, … The main difference is the counterbalance rod in the leading edge and very few leading edge ribs. The hinge brackets are also a different design than other control surfaces I've built so far.

Step 3 on the first page of instructions after the overview drawing appears to have some typos. Step 3 instructions abruptly end, followed by a repeat of the step with additional instructions labeled Step 7. Step 3 (7) is buffing the curved portion of the nose rib flanges to avoid a faceted appearance. I've done that in several previous assemblies, so it is easy enough to get the intent of the plans despite the typos. This page also does not instruct the builder to countersink the holes in the inboard hinge brackets where the nut plate inside the inboard nose rib attaches, but the figure specifies AN426 rivets for the nut plate, so the hinge bracket definitely needs to be counter-sunk.

It was interesting to note that the counterbalance rod is made of stainless steel, and the instructions say it need be primed. Similarly, the trailing edge wedge and trailing edges of the skins aren't primed since adhesive will be applied there for final assembly. It looks like some care is required in the initial steps to ensure countersinking, dimpling, and final/match drilling is done correctly. The final assembly appears to be very similar to the flaps, so hopefully there aren't any surprises there.