For those of you well beyond the point of being able to replace the F-1005 bulkhead in the RV-10 fuselage and not wanting to remove the Flap torque tubes (whose bolts are a real PITA to install) or drill a gaping hole in the outer skin of your aircraft, I was able to complete the repair without doing those two things. Details below.
So rather than cut the large hole in the side of the skins at the flap tube, I decided to use my 90 degree drill attachment with a 4” extension to get the correct angle on the rivet that had to be replaced.
This did entail removing the flap torque tube from the flap motor in order to rotate the torque tube ever so slightly more and gain additional clearance for the extension underneath the torque tube in the outer fuselage channel.
While my holes weren’t dead center, by the time they were upsized to #12, the old hole and rivet were drilled through and the new hole was straight.
I then began the challenge of trying to put a bolt and nut into the new hole. I decided the best way to get the necessary access was to drill a 1-1/2" hole in the seat pan behind the vertical rib which provided enough access to get the bolt in from the back side towards the front (opposite vans instructions).
This then allowed a little more room to put the washer and locknut on the front side of the rib and tighten the nut 1 click at a time on my ratcheting wrench.
Unfortunately, a standard socket wouldn't work because my socket wrench didn’t have enough room to click with each turn. Really tight space. I also had no ability to determine proper torque since the wrench wont fit, so the nut is good and tight. Took about 4 hours of wrestling with various parts, but I think it turned out similar if not the same and didn’t require removal of the flap torque tube or a hole cut in the outer skin. Of note, the hole I cut in the seat pan will ultimately be covered by the sidewall interior cover. As you can see from the condition of the nuts on my flap torque tube, I did not want to wrestle with those again as getting the bolts in caused me to tear the fibro mida cartilage something in my wrist and ultimately now need surgery to repair the damage. Hopefully this helps those of you that are further along in the build.
So rather than cut the large hole in the side of the skins at the flap tube, I decided to use my 90 degree drill attachment with a 4” extension to get the correct angle on the rivet that had to be replaced.
This did entail removing the flap torque tube from the flap motor in order to rotate the torque tube ever so slightly more and gain additional clearance for the extension underneath the torque tube in the outer fuselage channel.
While my holes weren’t dead center, by the time they were upsized to #12, the old hole and rivet were drilled through and the new hole was straight.
I then began the challenge of trying to put a bolt and nut into the new hole. I decided the best way to get the necessary access was to drill a 1-1/2" hole in the seat pan behind the vertical rib which provided enough access to get the bolt in from the back side towards the front (opposite vans instructions).
This then allowed a little more room to put the washer and locknut on the front side of the rib and tighten the nut 1 click at a time on my ratcheting wrench.
Unfortunately, a standard socket wouldn't work because my socket wrench didn’t have enough room to click with each turn. Really tight space. I also had no ability to determine proper torque since the wrench wont fit, so the nut is good and tight. Took about 4 hours of wrestling with various parts, but I think it turned out similar if not the same and didn’t require removal of the flap torque tube or a hole cut in the outer skin. Of note, the hole I cut in the seat pan will ultimately be covered by the sidewall interior cover. As you can see from the condition of the nuts on my flap torque tube, I did not want to wrestle with those again as getting the bolts in caused me to tear the fibro mida cartilage something in my wrist and ultimately now need surgery to repair the damage. Hopefully this helps those of you that are further along in the build.
