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Windscreen lower fairing rivits?

Kato's 8

Well Known Member
Hey all!
Advice requested.. I have almost finished the sanding of the windscreen fairing and the plans say to drill the lower fairing and install pop rivits to secure the fairing to the top skin. Ive looked all over to see if anyone has done this. Cant seem to find anything other than nice layups and final sanding to smooth finish. What is the advice here? Install the pops or just leave alone after sanding complete?
Thanks!!
 
I did an aluminum windshield fairing on my 7, but I believe you want to install the blind rivets prior to final sanding. Countersink the fairing slightly below flush, install rivets and add filler over top and then final sanding.
 
Yes

I did install the rivets according to plans. They where installed after doing all the glass fabric lay up and before the glass filler used to smooth and blend.

Hope this helps

Bird
 
Thanks for response. Bird, I didnt see in your log where you rivited but glad to here you did. I havent seen anyone post anything about drilling and rivitting that area so I was thinking that folks just were not doing it possibly to limit extra holes in the top skin. Anyway, Guess I'll do it tomorrow. Thanks!
 
Bill is this what you re referring to? ...

FP04012013A000L3.jpg


Log entry here
 
Not really Bob. I've seen your post before actually and thought about it for myself but decided to follow plans. They show rivets thru the fairing as though to keep it secured to the metal where yours looks to be securing windscreen only. Did your fairing over the clips get riveted down as well? That's what I'm checking to see. If folks are bothering to rivet it or not.
 
Glass / Resin does not bond well to Aluminium... it appears to, but a decent blow / flexing of the metal will see the resin / metal adhesion just cleanly come apart... hence why in a few places, the glass / metal join is held in place with Rivets - the rivets to my amateur eye prevent the debonding process being able to start.

Due to a mishap after ~500hrs flying, I had cause to remove our windscreen from the fuselage. I drilled out the pop-rivets from under the coaming, and 1 or 2 decent taps from a soft hammer and the windscreen / fuselage separated cleanly into the 2 parts. A lesson was when you fit the windscreen, knock the mandrels out of the rivets - this makes any later drilling out much cleaner/easier. The windscreen went back on very easily and reused the rivet holes. As a result, I would suggest that finding a "stronger" / more permanent adhesive is not necessarily a great idea - not sure you could get it apart if you needed to? (Has also been quoted in the sikaflex v riveting canopy debate).
 
Hi Bill

No I did not rivet the mold in place fairing as the plans indicated this as an option rather than an instruction. In hindsight and with Andy's experience I would rivet for belts and braces.
 
Just and update. As Bob said, its an option. After looking at the drawing, It said this was optional too. I decided to go ahead with it thinking that the extra insurance to keep the fairing firmly in place would ease my mind some. It didn't take very much time either and Im happy that I did it. View my log if interested in a pic or two.
 
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