Since my workshop is not big enough to attach both wings in order to set the Angle of Incidence (and the sweep), I initially decided to defer these tasks to the moment of final assembly somewhere in a hangar. However with time passing more and more “little” things can only be done once the wings are attached.
I briefly thought I could finish these tasks by tugging the Fuselage outside, attaching the Wings an do all the work. But when I looked at the list, there is no way I could finish that in one day. Turns out it took me five days.
The Van’s manual states that you could do it “per Wing”, if your workshop is small. After careful consideration I decided, that it is probably better to go that route than postponing all the “little tasks”.
So we set some saw-horses that almost match the height of the RV wings (once leveled) and asked help of the family to diligently lay the Wing on the saw-horses. My faces shows I realize if we drop it, I’m going to cry like a little girl.
One of those tasks is the Fuel line sticking out of the Fuselage, preventing us from attaching the Wing. We need to measure how far the Wing goes in and consequently how much needs to be cut from the Fuel line. Again, every task requires focus, because failure will result in serious setbacks.
The Wing doesn’t slide in like that. It requires some force as the main bulkhead really clamps the main spar. With the Fuel line cut to the right size, we can now attache the wing all the way into the main bulkhead.
Besides the main bulkhead, the rear spar also needs to fit between to bars in the seat bulkhead and the forward tank attach angle needs to align and the bottom skins need to slip over the Wing skins. The last few inches is a delicate task.
another task is the cover strip that covers the gap between the wing and the Fuselage. It requires fitting, trimming, match drilling and dimpling. Again, this can only be done after attaching the Wing.
Tip of the day, wear glasses when drilling above your head. It sounds obvious, but I always forget an get reminded when pieces of Aluminum shoot into my eyes.
One major task is attaching the Flap push rod. The hole in the Fuselage needs to be enlarged and elongated to track the Flap push rod. Can only be done with the wing attached and this took the rest of the evening and part of the next day.
Time: 7 Hours, Rivets: 0/0 (2020-10-21)
Time: 6 Hours, Rivets: 0/0 (2020-10-25)
Time: 7 Hours, Rivets: 0/0 (2020-10-28)
Time: 6 Hours, Rivets: 0/1 (2020-10-31)
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