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RV-10 800hrs Spar Crack

TroyBranch

Well Known Member
Friend
So this is what my spar crack looks like. The rivet just below the pushrod hole is the location. The spar has some scuff marks which looks like happened prior to the corrosion protection. I really should have buffed them out and then primed before riveting. The crack is almost turning in on itself. Not sure where I should be stop drilling this. I have the question into Vans to get their opinion.

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Vans say to leave and monitor. It is not where they would expect the crack to be from the SB. I am going to see if I can get a better confirmation of what it is. My concern with drilling out that rivet would be breaking that part of the spar material right off. I will monitor monthly and see.
 
I viewed your photo with Gus and I am not convinced it is a crack.

A dye pen inspection would better show if it really is, but short of doing that we agreed that monitoring it was a good plan.
 
Yeah - The resolution is a little low, but it looks like a bucking bar oopsie. Definitely dye (like you needed my opinion after Scott responded).
 
Next time at the hanger I will get as many different angles as I can. Since the scuff marks stop you would think that it is a crack. But why such a perfect curve. There is no way I would have riveted with the gun on the forward side, got a smiley then changed my plan. Gun on the forward side is so impractical. It is just weird.
 
Almost looks like you have caught a shard or burr in with the rivet and it's sitting proud. Then what appears to be a crack is, in fact, a shadow.
 
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This mark looks just like what can happen when a rivet clinches over badly during installation.
If the rivet then gets removed for replacement, it leaves a very similar mark in the material surface.
Troy, did you possibly remove and replace that rivet during construction?
 
If you expand the photo and look closely, it appears to be a piece of metal sitting on top. Still think it is a piece of swarf caught in the rivet.....
 
I wish my memory was so good to remember this rivet from 2007/2008 and what I did:D LOL I must say I am quite proud at how well these rivets look:)

I will be down to the hanger tomorrow and reach to see/feel, I will also wipe it with thinner to see if it comes off. The next step will be the dye test. Sure would be nice to find out it is nothing.
 
Hi Troy -
I might suggest making it part of your annual inspection and move on. Even if it is a crack, it isn't in the area of concern of the SB if I understand it correctly. It isn't going to cause a sudden and catastrophic failure of the spar.
As already mentioned, the odds of making things worse with a repair might not warrant a fix.

I have one area on my RV6 Horizontal Stab subject to a different SB that appears to be a mark from a drill bit wandering. I photo archived all of the locations subject to the SB. I have found no change in the appearance of that anomaly since the SB was issued. I log it as "complied".

If it ever changes in the future, then I will start to be concerned. For now, I firmly believe it was there from day one.

I think you have worried about this one enough. Just my two cents.
 
q & d check

(quick & dirty though not so much dirty)
I've used acetone or alcohol to help verify cracks....it gets wicked into the crack and the surface stuff dissipates quickly while the fluid in the crack stays wet and obvious for a while. Find a piece of scrap that's cracked and try it out.
Btw... not a typical shape for a crack.
 
Yesterday I cleaned the area with a scotch brite pad and took this shot. I need to do the dye test to put this to bed. It is to perfect of a curve to be a crack in IMO. But it sure looks like a crack. It goes from hole edge to hole edge. I think a dumped rivet that was removed may have done this but generally the second rivet would not be able to be set perfect. This one is, maybe I just got lucky. It is to long ago for me to know what I did. A dye test will be the only confirmation I think. Not sure what the dye will look like if this is only a gouge. Not sure if it will show the same as if t was a crack.


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That looks sooo much like a gouge. The only thing I can think of was when you initially drilled the spar you drilled from that side, without a stop, and the jaws of the chuck touched there.
 
That looks sooo much like a gouge. The only thing I can think of was when you initially drilled the spar you drilled from that side, without a stop, and the jaws of the chuck touched there.

It does look like a gouge. With it being a Quick build wing, you would think I would only drill from the aft side. I am not one to not use a drill stop but maybe. If that was the case, you would think the scratch would be around the perimeter of the hole.
 
It looks like a possible mis-strike by the CNC hole punch, if that is even possible. Anyway - I am glad to know there are others like me who like to get to the bottom of things. :D
 
The only reason this is even a discussion is due to the SB and the "accidental" observance of a anomaly not related to the SB. (This rivet location is not what the SB calls out to inspect, correct?). What if this was in the next bay over?

Please don't get me wrong. I admire the thought process of not being satisfied until you are sure. However, I don't think a definitive answer will be discovered. Die penetrant may not be conclusive gouge vs crack. Many have viewed the photos and none of us familiar with seeing cracks feel this exhibits the typical tell tail signs.

Far better to err on the side that a problem exists, but I see nothing wrong with satisfying the SB with observance at the next interval, be it the annual CI or more frequent inspections if you feel they are necessary. I inspected my HS several times the first year that SB went into effect, but after a year and nothing changed, it became a CI inspection once a year.
 
watch or replace

Troy,
I have a picture (can't put my finger on it though) of some spar rivets on my -4's wing that I thought had cracks in them (during construction not flying yet, I built the spar as per the old days). I took pictures and tried to get a good idea of what it was but finally just drilled them out (it was only ones of a certain length, can't remember what that was) and replaced with new ones for the peace of mind.
I was working in a facility at the time which had a scanning electron microscope soooo I had the tech run some pictures of one of the shop heads. It turned out that it was the anodizing which was cracking/flaking off (really cool pictures which I will post of I can find them). I am not sure if this would have been an issue or not but glad I replaced them.
I would put a "watch" on this particular rivet and see if it gets any worse....if not don't worry about it....or replace it if it is accessible and that will be that?
Marc
 
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