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GRRRRRR. can I fix this or new skin?

dimpling the skin and I missed the hole creating a double hole. Can this be salvaged or am I getting a whole new skin and assisting in my attempt at the longest 14 build record?

I am FUMING!

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Though I would see what Vans has to say, I did something similar in the middle of the Vertical stab for the 9 I was building. I was dimpling so quickly with the c-frame that I didn't have one of the holes lined up properly and wham.... Something like what you see there.

I 'fixed' it by putting two new rivets one each to the left and right of the original hole spaced evenly between the others. You can then fill the botched hole when painting and most likely it won't be noticed. Let's see what others have to say. A vertical stab skin though is not a huge amount of money in the grand scheme of things.
 
Andrew,

It won't make you feel any better but your not the only one that has done that. I've done it on my -7 kit. (once...maybe twice) Believe it or not, you CAN get even MORE mad! Do it twice... :mad:

Anyway, even if a repair is designed to fix this it won't look pretty. Just my 2 cents. I took it on the chin and replaced the skin. Now that is just me and to each his/her own.

By the way, I noticed you work for AA as a 767 Pilot. I'm legacy US Airways B767 and A330 Fleet Engineer. I work with the folks in DFW Engineering on the 767 now that we are slowly merging fleets. Small world.
 
Your the first to do that!!!! Just kidding, I did it and so have many others. Rivet spacing is not critical. So for structural integrity, you can put another half way between the mistake and the next rivet in the row. Then do whatever to fix the cosmetics of the mistake such as filling before paint or put a rivet in the original hole and fill the mmistake hole.
 
BTDT (Been there done that).

Rivet on. A decade from now somebody will compliment you on how awesome your airplane is, and you'll walk up to the now invisible spot, point and say, "See that?".

"See what?" your admirer will say.

"There's a booger there." you'll say, because you'll remember it, and your admirer will scratch his/her head and think you're nuts.

And you are, which is not a bad thing.

Ask me how I know this...
 
Yeah I figured as much. Waiting for Vans to respond to my email, and it's a choice is a new skin or ugly repair. If I final drill the new skin on the old internal pieces now I get to lie awake at night wondering just how big those holes underneath are now.... (I know, I know it shouldn't matter and skins are replaced all the time...)

It's what I get for rushing. More heart burn. There really was no reason for me to get the entire skin dimpled before dragging the kid off for hockey other than a having a single tidy entry in the log for that step of the build....

Did I mention.... GRRRRrR!

I had hoped to keep the aircraft in bare metal AA retrojet paint scheme for one year before painting it ( I'm not nearly a neat/clean freak enough to own a bare metal plane over the long term.....). I guess I can stop worrying about that now....
 
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Or

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The second one shows that fine attention to detail that gerAAld AArpey's management displayed on a regular basis. ( note the radome )

But as I look at it, I think the mistake might be covered even in the bare metal scheme which officially make me the luckiest SOB on the planet....
 
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BTDT (Been there done that).

Rivet on. A decade from now somebody will compliment you on how awesome your airplane is, and you'll walk up to the now invisible spot, point and say, "See that?".

"See what?" your admirer will say.

"There's a booger there." you'll say, because you'll remember it, and your admirer will scratch his/her head and think you're nuts.

And you are, which is not a bad thing.

Ask me how I know this...

Hilarious! But, only 'cause it is so true. And, its not limited to airplanes either!

The wife goes bonkers every time she say's, "its (whatever I'm working on at the time) looking good honey." And I respond by telling her about some imperfection that I'm upset about.
 
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I had hoped to keep the aircraft in bare metal AA retrojet paint scheme for one year before painting it ( I'm not nearly a neat/clean freak enough to own a bare metal plane over the long term.....). I guess I can stop worrying about that now....

An old time IA told me that everyone starts out thinking, "man this thing is going to look good polished" and ends up thinking "I wonder what color of paint would look good on this thing?".

Keep going :)
 
I have NEVER done that. Except the very first time I tried it! Luckily it was on the Vans practice tool box. I am so scared of messing up my skins that I have not been riveting outside the tool box. Somehow, I think I will mess up....I feel your pain man :) :)
 
Thanks for the love guys,

I can't wait to come back and tell you about the half dozen or so half moon dents that will happen when I try to keep going at some point in the future when tired and then the rivet gun slips off the head... The fact that I can predict it would make you THINK I could prevent it, but the envelope ain't spandex, and sooner or later I will probably over stretch it again <sigh>

Onward tomorrow. My cherry is broke, and my kit ain't perfect anymore....hopefully I'm the only one who will be able to tell...
 
BTDT

Though I would see what Vans has to say, I did something similar in the middle of the Vertical stab for the 9 I was building. I was dimpling so quickly with the c-frame that I didn't have one of the holes lined up properly and wham.... Something like what you see there.

I 'fixed' it by putting two new rivets one each to the left and right of the original hole spaced evenly between the others. You can then fill the botched hole when painting and most likely it won't be noticed. Let's see what others have to say. A vertical stab skin though is not a huge amount of money in the grand scheme of things.

+1
Been there.
This is a good fix. Make sure you follow the edge spacing rule. There should be plenty of space to put two more in and abandon the bad one.
 
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