Scarf Joint photos

[SgtZim]

I was looking for guidance on doing the scarf joint on the wing skins. Found lots of comments and text, but no pictures remaining - old photo links are mostly dead. So, I have lots of photos of the job on my facebook page if you want to see them. https://www.facebook.com/BZsRVproject/

As always, if you more experienced builders, mechanics, and engineers have comments or guidance for me, it is always welcome.

One of the big issues I had with Van's plans was not having a callout or spec on how thin you can or should file/sand down the skins. I decided .01 inches was the thinnest I would comfortably cut to on either skin.

Another comment I have is that several builders said they just cut the skin or notched it like at the trailing edge. Again I could find no pictures of this but I assume this means they made a sort of butt joint at the spar flange and a split or notch in one of the skins. I would be very uncomfortable with anything like that - creating what I guess is a stress riser in a structural element (skin)!

I ended up with a pretty labor intensive job - using mainly a small sanding block and various grits of paper, but I like the result.

Thanks for all your support guys!

[ChrisG]

Thanks for posting this! Seven years after the fact, and still very helpful... It took a bit of scrolling, but I eventually found your scarf joint pics and also a couple of other useful pointers during the search.