Bad Day in The Shop-Damaged Wing

[mfleming]

Today was supposed to be a good day in the shop but it was horrible. After initial fitting of my wings and completing a slew of chores, I was ready to remove the wings.

Well target fixation shot me down in flames

The right wing temp bolts were removed and the right wingtip was sitting on a saw horse.

The left wing was being a little stubborn and while wiggling the left wing the right wing fell off the sawhorse

Bent the flap, aileron and bottom skin. How could I be so stupid

The aileron and skins can be repaired I think. But the flap may require new skin.

Aileron:


Aileron:


Flap:


Flap:


Bottom Skin:


Bottom:

[PaulvS]

Ouch. But yes, that was probably a two person job.
Good luck with the repairs and take it slowly.

[Discus2b]

I don?t know....that injury looks workable. A low fatigue area.
Oak dowl , metal working hammer.
Base on what I see. Some of your photos I cannot see.
R

[Capt]

Originally Posted by Discus2b

I don?t know....that injury looks workable. A low fatigue area.
Oak dowl , metal working hammer.
Base on what I see. Some of your photos I cannot see.
R

Ouch that's gotta hurt, visually, structurally from the pix it's ugly only in looks. I agree with above, fixable BUT you have to live with it!

[cderk]

Michael -

Don?t worry about it. You can fix it no problem. Just take it slow and be patient. At the end, it will not look perfect, but hopefully your painter can take care of that. I did something similar. Here is my screwup. This is a lot worse than yours... this is my fuel tank - wing slipped while moving the plane to the airport.

My issue is that it compromised the tank and leaked like crazy. I was able to fix this in about 3 hours.

[Mark Dickens]

Don't feel too bad. I had to rebuild an aileron when it fell onto the hangar floor while I was about to mount it. It already had a ding in it and after bending the corner up with the fall, I decided just to replace the whole thing. I got it all done in one weekend after I got the parts. It happens.

[plehrke]

Originally Posted by cderk

Michael -

Don’t worry about it. You can fix it no problem. Just take it slow and be patient. At the end, it will not look perfect, but hopefully your painter can take care of that. I did something similar. Here is my screwup. This is a lot worse than yours... this is my fuel tank - wing slipped while moving the plane to the airport.

My issue is that it compromised the tank and leaked like crazy. I was able to fix this in about 3 hours.

Mine looked like that as well. I luckily had no leak. Moved on with build and fixed later with a bit of metal massage, body filler, and a bit wider fuselage intersection fairing to cover.

[lr172]

I feel for you. I left an aileron on it's painting jig out in the sun for a couple hours to bake the clear coat. Unexpected wind gusts showed up and jig tipped over. Damage to corner of trailing edge, similar to yours. I repaired the best I could with paint on it and currently living with it. Plane makes better than book speeds with no heavy wing. Someday I will rebuild the aileron.

Things happen. Don't let it get you down.

Larry

[JonJay]

Look at my tag line!
Accidents happen. I agree with others. Hopefully the "sick to your stomach" feeling is gone and you are seeing a brighter light today.
I wish I was closer as I would come and help you when you need a second hand. Still an option if the weather is decent.
You're only about an hour flight for me and I love the Joseph area. One of the prettiest in the State.

[Marc Bourget]

That looks workable with a rubber mallet and a "custom" bucking-backing bar for the trailing edge. Use a "fresh" rubber mallet. One that's sat on the bench in the sunlight for awhile will act like a metal hammer as far as the aluminum is concerned.


The toughest task is the "fold line" along the rib in Pictures #5&6.

Not sure what to say about what appears to be a depression in the skin (Picture #2) just forward of the trailing edge - would need more pictures.

In pictures 3 & 4, return the "dip" to normal profile first. Leave it in and it will work against your further efforts. Use a "custom ground" bucking bar ground to the radius.

In picture #4, once the dip is restored, I'd start with an offset bucking bar on the shop head of the rivet and attempt a "push" with the heel of your hand to get a feel. Or judicious use of the rubber mallet. Keep the force low, almost like your trying NOT to move the metal. Make haste slowly and you may stay in front of creating more complications for yourself. Fixing this will take less time, overall, than it will take to rebuild the part.

finally, is the black line on the trailing edge of the rib, just that or a crack?

Go patiently and you'll have better luck.

If you have more questions PM me with your phone #

FWIW