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These holes are countersunk to accept a dimpled skin, not a rivet...right? |
Replace, pls...
Some day in the future this RV will be sold. If you do a repair counter to Van's advice you might sell it, but for a reduced price far exceeding the cost of a new spar. That is assuming the repair is properly documented. Replace the spar, it's the right thing to do, and you will sleep much better.
BTW, I would not rely on Phlogiston over Van's. Van designed the spar not them. Be safe, Jerry |
countersink is for dimple
Your photo of rivet in the countersink looks terrible, but the countersink accepts the dimple of a skin. I'm with RV7aFlyer that you might want to further clarify and make sure you didn't communicate with Vans. How does a dimple and a rivet fit into this countersink?
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Larry |
Exactly right
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Hard to tell from the picture though. Are your countersinks painted, is that why the look so bad in the picture? |
There are plenty of instances where folks have had problems, called Van's, and been told "You're building an airplane, not a swiss watch - continue and build on."
This is not one of those times. Do the right thing - replace the spar. |
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He has stated that with a rivet inserted in the hole (as shown in his attached photo), the measurement to the top of a rivet head, below the surface of the spar web is .015". This means that the countersink is about .009" too deep (2.5 times what it should be). The wing could be built as is, and would probably not have a catastrophic failure because of it. But what would happen over time (many load cycles) is the rivets that attach the wing skins to the spar would start working/smoking. This would happen because the skin dimples wouldn't fit tightly within the countersinks. There would be clearance that would allow lateral movement of the dimple within the countersink. Because of this minute movement of the skin on the spar, the holes and the rivets would slowly be effected dimensionally. It may even take quite a few years, but the wing would eventually become un-airworthy. |
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Thanks, |
Thanks for the responses. Yes the dimpled leading and main skins are riveted to the spar flange. The countersinks are primed with a qtip that's why the look so bad but are indeed uniform and smooth. I inserted a rivet to show depth.
Yes I have a dimpled test piece which nests nicely into the countersink with no play. I am going to call tech support just to confirm the understanding of the issue since communication has been completely via email. New spar is $1625. Its not the money just can't believe what I did. I have built a lot of things in my life and never destroyed anything in the process. Like they say if your gonna be dumb you gotta be tough! |
I'll be honest, I was thinking a new spar would be way more than $1,625. I would have that sucker ordered tomorrow and forget about the whole thing.
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