J Channels, Again

I did not know that I had to get all the way to the fuel tanks to figure out I screwed up cutting the J channels. I guess that is what I get for not reading ahead. Unless I missed something on the very first page of the wing build.

It turns out that I was supposed to cut two of the 8' J channels in 1/2 to get the J-channel short and not use the 6' J channel to make the J-channel short.

Apparently all the 6' J Channels are for the leading edge of the wing and all the long ones are for the aft section of the wings.

Anybody les make this mistake or am I the only idiot who did this.

Maybe this should go in the "Gotcha list", unless I am the only one to do this.

So far this is the second thing I screwed up on page 1. At 13.50 each plus shipping, it is only another $35.

Well on the bright side, I just finished the left wing up to the fuel tank section. I hung that one up and put the right spar on the work bench today.

Ken

Many RV-10 builders have made the same mistake before you.

Be thankful

At least you are in the USA...... imagine trying to post these to Australia....

If you stuff up here it really hurts...

>>>It turns out that I was supposed to cut two of the 8' J channels in 1/2 to get the J-channel short and not use the 6' J channel to make the J-channel short.

Hmm.. I have also used the 8' section for the long and the 6' section for the short. Currently working on the right wing, I stopped the left wing at the fuel tanks so both can be done together.

I have yet to notice that I made a mistake. I do not believe the instructions say anywhere that only the 8' section is to be used so I don't think it is you.

I still have my scrap, I wonder if two pieces can overlap each other like they do in the wings.

The first RV14 wing kits had an incorrect number/length of J-channel, and Vans sent out some extra. I don't think piecing together J-channel with overlap would be recommended. The overlap that is per plans happens where the inboard/outboard skins overlap, if I'm not mistaken.

Scott Hersha said:

The first RV14 wing kits had an incorrect number/length of J-channel, and Vans sent out some extra. I don't think piecing together J-channel with overlap would be recommended. The overlap that is per plans happens where the inboard/outboard skins overlap, if I'm not mistaken.

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Do you have a copy of the extra you can scan? I would be curious to see it, maybe we can get vans to send out what is needed without charge.

I sold my completed wings and all paperwork in August, so I have nothing to scan. My build number was 16. I can't tell you when they figured it out, but I figured out early that I wouldn't have enough material, so they sent out an appropriate amount of extra J-channel to several early builders as far as I know. If you have an early kit, maybe you were in the 'shorted' group, but they should have already sent you the extra pieces you would need. Otherwise, I would just order extra of what you need. Consider ordering this extra along with your next sub kit. That way - no extra shipping cost, and you have the next kit ready when you are.

I think this is a different situation Scott. It isn't that there isn't enough J Channel, it's that the plans do not tell you how to cut it. I did the same as the OP, had to order additional 6' pieces for the fuel tanks, and had to pay for them. It would be nice if the plans would be more clear about how to make your cuts.

Maybe Vans does this on purpose. I am doing the same as Tom and built one wing (up to fuel tanks), then the other. The only difference is that I started prepping the fuel tank and was going to cut and clean up the J-Channel. That is when I noticed that I was missing 2 J-Channels. I went around the while shop looking for them. I even counted the cut pieces to make sure that I had the amount I was supposed to versus the inventory sheet. That is when I did the math and determined that you need to cut the 8' pieces in half for the short J-Channel.

I do have an email into Van's about using short sections for the tanks. The issue is that I think that the use of proseal will make it a huge mess. I am just going to order more.

I think Vans does this for one of two reasons:
1. to make extra cash on people screwing up,
2. It is a test to see if people read the entire set of plans and see how many people actually figure out that there is a correlation between the total number of J-channels (uncut) and the total you need. I assume that there are other tests which I have either not encountered or I failed to figure it out and may never figure it out. It is amazing how many things I can screw up on page one.



cheers

Ken

I seriously doubt that Vans put this in the plans as a way to make extra cash, there just can't be that much profit margin on a few pieces of j channel.

As far as "screwing up", I wouldn't sweat it too much, it's supposed to be an educational experience.

I was just joking about van's doing it to make money. It is just irritating screw up two things on Step 1 of the first thing that I do on building a plane.

I would have paid $50 more for the kit and have Vans to throw in a few extra J channels.

I butted two pieces and made a doubler as wide as a rib bay. I think it was 4 rivets on each side of the joint. Tanks are done with no leaks.

KHeidorn said:

I butted two pieces and made a doubler as wide as a rib bay. I think it was 4 rivets on each side of the joint. Tanks are done with no leaks.

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When I get to that part, I'm going to consider doing the same but will call vans first for their take on it. They really should make a revision.

If they have not made a correction for the -10, then I highly doubt they will do it for the -14. At least I assume that they did not make a revision for the -10.

I plan to just cough up the $40 and get new ones.

ken

I ordered new J channels today and the Van's rep on the phone admitted that there was an issue with J channels and the plans were not clear.

I told him to put a post it note in the plans to prevent people from making the same mistake.

What was the cost? I wonder if it would be cheaper if they cut it in half to save on shipping?

I think that it was about $33 for 2. I bought 8' pieces, just in case I screw something up again. I don't know about the shipping cost. I did not ask.

SInce I was on the phone I ordered pro seal for the tanks.

That's a good idea.