Jun 03, 2021     Rib 2 - (9 hours)       Category: Wings

Thought after I had the fuel tanks installed in the wings I would start to make some real progress. Well there's progress but it's slow. Has to do with all the fitting required to install Rib 2 using shims, the fuel cap fairing, the stringers, and both the upper and lower false ribs. Installation of the upper part of rib 2 is pretty simple. Only needed a couple shims to get the capstrips even with the other ribs. The lower capstrip of rib 2 is harder in that you shim it directly to the tank. I used pieces of angle aluminum across ribs 1 and 3 to use as references for shimming in the rib 2 capstrip. Thank God for an accurate table saw and belt sander to make this job easier. Once you get the shims dialed in, you Hysol them on to the tank and the capstrip. But then you have to wait for it to set up before you can move on so you do one wing, Hysol and then move to the next. The good news is that you stay busy. The bad news is that it doesn't seem like you're moving along. Then you Hysol in the fuel cap fairing (yes I used a tool box to weight the fairing down after Hysol) and stringer but again you have to wait for that to set up before you can start fitting the both the upper and lower false ribs. The pic with silver tube coming off the back of the fairing is the overflow tube that you install in the fairing, seal, and route the other end down to the bottom of the wing. None of the false rib, upper or lower, are a direct install either. Each rib has to be modified to be installed on the tank. The picture below shows the upper false ribs where they belong but they aren't Hysol'd on yet. That will come tomorrow and while those set up, I'll do the fitting of the lower false ribs on the other wing. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have the rib 2 and other parts all installed over and under the wing tanks.