Installing forward wing skin on RV-7

[Jerry Fischer]

I dinged my lead edge on the right wing and removed the damaged skin and am in the process of installing the new skin this weekend. I am going to attempt without removing fuel tank and feel fairly confident with an additional access hole outboard 2 bays from where the auto pilot servo is located, it should be doable.
Any shared experience in this area would be appreciated.
Thanks for looking

[rzbill]

No experience other than construction of slow build.

I do not understand your reluctance to remove the tank.
It should take less time than custom fabrication of access panels.

Do you WANT the extra panels for something else??

[Jerry Fischer]

Hi Bill thanks for the reply,
Unfortunately the tank removal only accesses the inboard side and I am goint to work from inboard to outboard as I cleco and rivet. I already removed the tank once to seal the rear baffle which was seeping and it's a PITA. However, that said I may still opt to do just that we'll see.

[Jerry Fischer]

Well I bit the bullet & pulled the tank yesterday, and my partner & I riveted on the new right lead edge skin in approx 8 hours including reattaching the the tank. Good as new; Note: a person with really long, skinny arms would help in a project of this type.:-p