[RVG8tor]

I am sure this is not big deal but I am curious if anyone else noticed this, or know why this occurs. I have an RV-8A QB wing set I purchase from Van's this past summer. I am just getting to the wings, I know I am slow

When I clecoed on the aileron gap seals I clecoed every other hole. On the left wing there is a little lifting of the skin where there are no clecoes, but on the right wing the gap seal lays nice and flat (see photos). For the life of me I can't figure out why they would be different. Could the hole spading be off a bit from one to the other? Anyone else see this with there wings.

An added note, the bottom skin will not cleco on all the way on the left side, I have not tried the right yet. On the left I first tried to cleco from the rear spar then go forward, most of the skin went on but the last half of the tip rib would just not go, it is off in the forward direction. I also had a sizeable gap at the main spar where it should line up with the front skin. I then tried to cleco from the main spar aft, but I can't even get the first few rib holes to line up at all, I see mostly metal, just a smidgen of a hole. I am thinking I need to put straps around the wing with some wood on the rear spar to protect the skins from the strap and try to compress the spars together, this does not bode well for riveting since the straps would get in the way. Also I am now worried about the straightness of the wings.

Pics

Left wing distorted gap seal:



Right wing OK:

 

[rvbuilder2002]

When I clecoed on the aileron gap seals I clecoed every other hole. On the left wing there is a little lifting of the skin where there are no clecoes, but on the right wing the gap seal lays nice and flat (see photos). For the life of me I can't figure out why they would be different.
Left wing distorted gap seal:

It is caused by the bend angle on the part being very slightly over bent causing it to try and pull away from the wing spar. It is not a problem but if you don't like it you could readjust the bend angle slightly until it lays flush on the spar web.

 

[Transporter]

Wings

Mike,
I'm building SB wings so my situation is different...but the likely cause for a skin not lining up would be the same:

The ribs must be perfectly straight...should be easy to check using a straight edge along the rivet holes and a square to check flanges (should be right angle to the web) to see if the builders did a good job. Any twist in a rib, curve due to poor fluting etc. will make a poor fit.

RV wings shouldn't have any twist as they're assembled. If they're twisted the skins won't line up well. I'm using adjustable stands (see Rudi Greyling's site) and it's simple to check the wings for twist using plumb bobs and make any adjustments required using the stands. Should be easy to check for twist if your bench is perfectly flat or if you put the wing in a stand.

Similarly, the wing skeleton has a surprising amount of sag in it until the skins are on...instructions call for use of a jack between the floor and the rear spar as it hangs in the stand. The skeleton is jacked up slightly to remove the sag and then the holes all line up. It's possible that not all of the sag was removed by the QB shop. Again, with the wing in a stand this is easy to check.

Good luck,
Mike