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Bent VS spar from new emp kit

C

Calvin25

Well Known Member
Hello, I was doing my EMP inventory this evening and came across a bent & twisted VS spar. Is this normal?

If it is normal, I will have to work it back to close. Though I don't think it will ever be 100%.

Everything else was perfect and complete.

While I have your ear, im going to assume the "trim bundle" is drop scrap to play with, not control "trim"? Also got a thick piece about 4"x6" with many holes in it??

Here are a couple photo's of the spar and me having fun.

Thanks!

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Calvin25 said:
Hello, I was doing my EMP inventory this evening and came across a bent & twisted VS spar. Is this normal?
Click to expand...

Yes, looks normal. Parts punched from thick sheet will often have some bow to them. I think it's because it originated as a big roll of sheet metal, and retains some of that curvature.

Calvin25 said:
If it is normal, I will have to work it back to close. Though I don't think it will ever be 100%.
Click to expand...

You should be able to straighten it some, but you don't need it to be perfectly straight prior to assembly. Just get it close. This part will get riveted as a doubler to the web of a C-channel (VS-803PP), and together they form the VS spar assembly (see DWG 6). The 90 deg flanges of the C-channel will keep everything straight. As long as your part can be flexed straight without too much force, it'll be fine in assembly.

Calvin25 said:
While I have your ear, im going to assume the "trim bundle" is drop scrap to play with, not control "trim"?
Click to expand...

Correct. There will be various parts along the way that you'll need to fabricate from scratch from various thicknesses of sheet Al. That's partly what this bundle is for. But there's quite a bit there. If you want to use some of it to practice metal working techniques, riveting, whatever, so that you make your mistakes on scrap and not on the real parts, that is a very good idea.

Calvin25 said:
Also got a thick piece about 4"x6" with many holes in it??
Click to expand...

That's a gauge for identifying the length of AN bolts. There should have been a piece of paper in there somewhere explaining it. Ask if you don't find it.

Calvin25 said:
Here are a couple photo's of the spar and me having fun.
Click to expand...

Ahh, the adventure begins. Have fun!
 
Not an issue

Hi Bill,

Welcome to this world.

This is the spar doubler, not the spar itself, and it will straighten itself when you'll cleco it to the spar. Mine had exactly the same shape when coming out of the box and is now perfectly straight after riveting.

I'm quite new to building RVs, so others may have different opinions but what I did was to force it flat by placing the convex side up and pushing it down to the spar using clecos.

Good luck.
 
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What Bob said: don't build stress in. It's easy to pre-straighten the part. Wait until you get some of the thin angle pieces with a long curve in them, but they're so flexible that it's really easy to make them lay straight.
 
Wow! Pre-drilled holes. Ain't that cool. Back in 2005 when I started my tail kit, you had to drill those big holes yourself. You can see an arch in my VS part in the pic below. Yours should lay down nicely as you cleco it in. I wouldn't try bending it at all. If you needed to bend it, the instructions would have said so.

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SmittysRV said:
Wow! Pre-drilled holes. Ain't that cool. Back in 2005 when I started my tail kit, you had to drill those big holes yourself. You can see an arch in my VS part in the pic below. Yours should lay down nicely as you cleco it in. I wouldn't try bending it at all. If you needed to bend it, the instructions would have said so.
Click to expand...

1) It's hard to tell from the angle but it doesn't look like you have nearly the arch that he does.

2) Lot's of things you need to do aren't in the instructions. Generally, you don't want parts pulling each other into position. Better to spend a little time and make sure the parts are right before assembling them. Small misalignments are one thing, but the bow in his doubler is worth addressing.
 
I'm going to work it a bit and see what I can do.

I bought a 200rpm drill press and a fly cutter befor seeing the prepunched lightning holes, I was kinda bummed out :)
 
Calvin25 said:
I'm going to work it a bit and see what I can do.

I bought a 200rpm drill press and a fly cutter befor seeing the prepunched lightning holes, I was kinda bummed out :)
Click to expand...

dont be bummed its not something you that i recall as fun.
 
The doublers for the HS and VS in my RV-9A tail kit were similarly bowed. I was able to work the bend out with some hand pressure. The edges of these parts are very rough and I ended up taking considerable time to file and sand these down smooth.

Anyone know why there is an extra hole in my VS-808? It is marked in this photo with a blue X, between the large and smaller lightening holes. It is not shown on the plans, so I guess I'll leave it open. Tooling hole? Drawing 27A shows the attachments to the fuselage and it does not address this extra hole.

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It's right there on your dwg. It shows an AN470ad4 rivet going there. It's marked with a little star. The thing that's throwing you off is that it's not proportioned to the lightening holes.

Never mind, I see now that those bottom 2 lightening holes are the last two. You could countersink it and place an AN426 there. Just make sure you countersink the side that gets the brkt. and then you will have to dimple the spar. Or call van's and ask what's up.
 
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I asked someone at vans about that hole and i forgot what it was. I think it was a reference hole (tooling), but i seem to remember i am leaving it open. wasn't a big deal
 
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