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Wing tip lens instructions

mikehoover

mikehoover

Well Known Member
Does Vans provide wing tip lens instructions anywhere in the manual or plans? I can't find any info for cutting, fitting and fastening them. It doesn't look all that difficult to figure out, but some guidance is always welcome.

Mike
SC
9A...fuse...ready to fit and drill wings
 
wing tip lens instructions

Mine came with instructions. If you don't get any better offers by about this time tomorrow, let me know and I can try to track mine down in the workshop. It's really not much more than cutting the lens in half, and then trimming to fit the cutout. I found a large file worked very well for shaping the lens. Be sure the lens is warm when you cut it in half, just like with the canopy. Attachment is with a nutplate and screw in each corner. I've seen a lot of builders use multiple screws to hold it down properly.
 
mikehoover said:
Does Vans provide wing tip lens instructions anywhere in the manual or plans? I can't find any info for cutting, fitting and fastening them. It doesn't look all that difficult to figure out, but some guidance is always welcome.

Mike
SC
9A...fuse...ready to fit and drill wings
Click to expand...

I simply cut mine in half along the mold line with the bandsaw. Then took it to the belt sander to shape them up to the lines I wanted, then used a ground down hack saw blade with a slight burr on one side to scrape the edges. That gives a nice smooth clean edge.

1 screw countersunk screw and nutplate on the top and 1 on the bottom in the rear corner has held mine fine for 400 hours.
 
Mike,

Check out the entries starting at 11/23/05 on my wing page. I just detailed the fitting of the lens covers on there for another builder.

Let me know if you have any questions.
 
A day of multiple mental laspses, or is that "laspsi"

Thanks a bunch for the replies and info. I did find my instruction sheet folded up with hardware in one of the little trays in my workshop. I remember putting the wing tip stuff there about 1.5 years ago so I wouldn't lose it. :) So I got the left wing tip lens cut to size and fitted. Any suggestion on how to buck those nutplate rivets without cracking the wing tip? One try with the flush set made me stop and find a solution.
 
use pops....

I just used pop rivets to hold the lens retention nutplates - didn't want to let a rivet gun anywhere near that fiberglass! (Not in MY hands at least....)

Paul
 
Pop rivets for wing tip lens nutplates

Paul,

Did you use the MK-319-BS pop rivets? I think I'll need to enlarge the rivet holes in the nutplates to about a #35 or something. I drilled out one to a 7/64 but the pop rivet will not go in.

Thanks!
 
Hand squeezer on the wing tip lens nutplates

Derrell,
Hadn't delved to far into what size holes I will cut in the wing tip for the strop/nav lights, but I am thinking that I will not be cutting a big enough hole to allow a squeezer to get to those nutplate rivets - 1" dia. max. for the strobe is my guess. Anyway, how did you squeeze those rivets unless you cut a big enough hole? Thanks!
 
Little bitty pop rivets...

Mike,

I'm on the road again this week, and can never trust my memory for part numbers....I had a bag of little 3/32 countersunk pop rivets left over from some job on my Grumman years ago. I know you can get the same size from Spruce if you don't have something that fits - but drilling the holes in the nutplates a little bigger probably won't hurt either!

Paul
 
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