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This was a first...

asw20c

Well Known Member
Today I was on page 26-11, the step where two small doubler plates are to be riveted to the left and right forward corners of the fuselage bottom skin. I had previously dimpled for AN426AD4-4.5 rivets per the plans and was ready to do the back-riveting so I went looking through my hardware but couldn't find them. Not too unusual, sometimes I have to refer back to the inventory sheets to find which bag they are in and then I can find them. No dice. The AN426AD4-4.5 rivets were not to be found anywhere in the inventory. I was thinking, how can this be? It clearly states on this page of the plans that these are the rivets to be used for the doublers, and one of the reasons Vans' kits are so popular is because they come with all the hardware you need. I called Vans to ask about this and the person I spoke with after checking the inventory himself said that this must have been an oversight and that they would get some of them in the mail to me right away. I then got a call about 6 hours later from Vans saying that the reason they aren't in the kit is because they don't carry them. Bottom line is that engineering-wise the 4-4.5 rivets are the proper length and size, but in this case you are expected to use 4-5 rivets instead. The plans are silent on that part though.
So heads up. When you get to any step requireing AN426AD4-4.5 rivets, you won't find them and you will have to use the next longer rivets and cut them to length (or just live with a slightly too long rivet in that application). I was a bit surprised to say the least.
 
Today I was on page 26-11, the step where two small doubler plates are to be riveted to the left and right forward corners of the fuselage bottom skin. I had previously dimpled for AN426AD4-4.5 rivets per the plans and was ready to do the back-riveting so I went looking through my hardware but couldn't find them. Not too unusual, sometimes I have to refer back to the inventory sheets to find which bag they are in and then I can find them. No dice. The AN426AD4-4.5 rivets were not to be found anywhere in the inventory. I was thinking, how can this be? It clearly states on this page of the plans that these are the rivets to be used for the doublers, and one of the reasons Vans' kits are so popular is because they come with all the hardware you need. I called Vans to ask about this and the person I spoke with after checking the inventory himself said that this must have been an oversight and that they would get some of them in the mail to me right away. I then got a call about 6 hours later from Vans saying that the reason they aren't in the kit is because they don't carry them. Bottom line is that engineering-wise the 4-4.5 rivets are the proper length and size, but in this case you are expected to use 4-5 rivets instead. The plans are silent on that part though.
So heads up. When you get to any step requireing AN426AD4-4.5 rivets, you won't find them and you will have to use the next longer rivets and cut them to length (or just live with a slightly too long rivet in that application). I was a bit surprised to say the least.

Or, use the correct size from your own inventory!
 
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