Helped a good friend weigh his pride and joy almost-done RV-14A today. In the process, an error chain got clanking along. Rolled off the scales and an errant wing jack put a big dent in the left leading edge. All of us present are well aware of what we did wrong, why, and how we would prevent it from happening again, so please, no verbal finger wagging or scolding. The owner is going to call Van's for advice tomorrow, but meanwhile, I thought I'd solicit input from any sheet metal wizards present.
As the photos below show, the leading edge of the wing bounced off the top of the jack as it rolled backward. It roughly t-boned the W-1009-L1 rib, buckling it, and leaving a nasty ding in the skin. Much of the deformed area around the dent looks like it could pop out if the deformed rib were removed. But at a minimum, that rib will require replacement. The question is whether the skin can be saved, and how (make wood bucks, pound out dent, etc).
The ultra-conservative approach would be remove wing, remove tank and wintip, drill off lower outboard skin, remove entire forward skin/rib assembly and replace, then reassemble (safest approach). Would like to not do that, if possible.
The pic of the rib, taken through the stall tab access hole, doesn't look bad, but the lower forward edge is creased and buckled badly. It's a goner.
Looking for constructive input, thanks all!
As the photos below show, the leading edge of the wing bounced off the top of the jack as it rolled backward. It roughly t-boned the W-1009-L1 rib, buckling it, and leaving a nasty ding in the skin. Much of the deformed area around the dent looks like it could pop out if the deformed rib were removed. But at a minimum, that rib will require replacement. The question is whether the skin can be saved, and how (make wood bucks, pound out dent, etc).
The ultra-conservative approach would be remove wing, remove tank and wintip, drill off lower outboard skin, remove entire forward skin/rib assembly and replace, then reassemble (safest approach). Would like to not do that, if possible.
The pic of the rib, taken through the stall tab access hole, doesn't look bad, but the lower forward edge is creased and buckled badly. It's a goner.
Looking for constructive input, thanks all!