This session was a milestone in a new chapter of the wing skin riveting. By the end of this session the inboard top left main skin will not be coming off the wing again! But before getting to that, there are some steps that needed to happen before. The big item was to create a scarf joint where the inboard and outboard skins intersect with the fuel tank. Because of the overlap of the skins, it buldges out more than the tank.
To fix this, you have to take some of the material off the skins…progressively from the inside of the skin to the edges. Because I had already dimpled the skins (as per the instructions), it’s not possible to shave the skins down the way they recommend (top of bottom skin, and bottom of top skin). I decided instead to take material off of both top skins. If you’re reading this and haven’t done this step yet, make sure to create the scarf joints before dimpling!
Around this time Tod had arrived, and we were able to get the skins cleco’d on. From there, we got the setup for back riveting assembled. This included a long double offset back rivet set, and a large bucking bar. This allows for pretty easy bucking as you just make sure the bar is flush. Everything else happens from the back side of the skin.
The results were great! There were a few rivets that I would like to replace. I’ve marked those for drill out later. Not sure if I want to do all the drill outs at the same time or not. We’ll see how well the rest of the rivets turn out.
You remember how at the beginning I said “a new chapter of the wing skin riveting”? Well that’s because it’s going to be a long chapter. Tonight we got the first of the ribs riveted, but there are many more to go. Don’t expect many updates for a while, as it will be a repetitive task for both the left and right wings, and the inboard and outboard skins. Outside of some quick progress updates, the next big post should be when the top skins are on! Until then, Happy Building!!