md9680

md9680

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I was back-riveting merrily along on the rudder stiffeners when I noticed one a few back which need another short blast. You guessed it -- I forgot that it wasn't over the back-rivet plate and it made this ding:

STA70044.jpg


and, from another angle:

STA70043.jpg


This must be a common problem for newbies and I want to believe it's not a big deal, but I'm wondering if I should try to somehow bend the underlying stiffener back in just slightly since it appears to have been forced outward somewhat from the gun pressure. That concerns me more than the more visible ding. Build on, or should I get a new skin and stiffeners?
 
Hi Mike,

You will get lots of opinions (mostly valid) from this forum. It's always best to contact Van's with your pictures and let them say from a qualified engineering perspective. That way you will know and not have that voice in your head wondering about it later.

If it were me, I would replace the skin and carefully drill out the stiffeners and re-use them, assuming they did not take damage.

Good luck!
 
Rudder back rivet oppsss

I did the same thing... tired to "fix" it.... mission impossible.... so bought a new skin and did it over. Drilled out the stiffeners and reused them.
 
I'd try

replacing the stiffener. It is common to add stiffeners to oil canning panels in production aircraft. This should work O.K. provided it's a smooth dent, and not a crease. If it is creased, you might be able to gently massage it into a dent. Once .016 is stretched, there isn't much that can be done to un-stretch it.
Good Luck
 
I did the same thing

I did the same thing about a month ago, I replaced the skinn and the stiffeners. Total cost was $115 ($45 in shipping changes)
 
I guess there are a lot of us who have done this. I did it, too, and replaced a rudder skin. In the grand scheme of things, it's a very small part of the cost of your airplane.
 
Ditto replacing the skin. I've got picture somewhere of all my rudder skin mishaps.

Before you order the new skin, though, drill out your stiffeners. That way if you flub some up you can order them at the same time. By the time I got finished with my rudder I was the rivet drill out champ.
 
There will always be builders who will say "bog it up and move on" whatever the skin damage. :eek:

However this is the start of your project and if you set a very low standard here then you set a low standard for the entire aircraft.

Keep the bar high. Replace the skin (it's no biggie).

In the end you will sink a lot of time and money into this project (much more of both than you currently think) and it will cost the same whether you build the aircraft well or build a piece of flying junk. It's therefore best to build well to protect your investment. Of course there's also the part about a job well done and personal satisfaction....but that's another story. ;)
 
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Thanks so much for all your replies! I probably wouldn't have even started this project if VAF weren't available.

I kinda knew what was up when I posted and it was bugging me for reasons reflected in your various answers: replacement being a very small part of the ultimate cost of the airplane and personal satisfaction from a job well done.

So, I actually ordered the new skin and stiffeners this morning.

It has been encouraging to know there's hardly anything I can do to mess this thing up that someone else hasn't already done. :) I, too, have become quite proficient at rivet removal.
 
Looks minor

and not of structural significance to me. I would move on and take care of the cosmetics at painting time.
 
Av8torTom said:
and not of structural significance to me. I would move on and take care of the cosmetics at painting time.
Click to expand...
How deep was the dent? (Hard to tell from the picture). If it is not deep, or is not a really sharp crease, I would tend to support the above assessment and question the need to automatically replace the skin. There are a million RV's out there who have small dents here or there. As Wally Anderson from Synergy Air once told me, "Do your best, and putty the rest." Like all sayings, a bit of an exaggeration to be sure, but there is also some truth. I'm not suggesting you be sloppy or allow yourself to develop bad habits, but there's a difference between being a conscientious builder and an a-retentive one. (This is coming from someone who scrapped half of his horizontal stabilizer b/c he had a slight dent on one of his leading edge ribs. I just laugh about that $250+/- mistake now!) You need to develop the knowledge/skill for knowing when to replace and when to build on. That's part of the "education" part of this hobby, the steep learning curve that all builders must go through early in their building lives.

Again, the need to replace really depends on the depth and sharpness of the crease or dent and I'm not sure from your description or the pictures shown how any of us know the full extent of the damage. So, don't take my advice on this any more than anyone else's. Call Van's. Maybe you do need to replace it or maybe not. However, I'd bet 10:1 that, if it is a shallow dent, Van's would tell you just to move on, and for good reason. Sure, it may only be a $125, but the difference between a 60K plane and a 80K plane is a lot of little decisions like this. Spend the money when necessary, but save it when not so that you have it when it is.

Good luck.
 
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