dnimigon

dnimigon

Active Member
Hi Guys
Not sure if I should be ordering another right skin for my elevator on my RV-9. I had a problem with riveting the upper part of the skin to the spar as they say in the construction steps. You have to hold the skin at such an angle. That wasn't really the problem. The problem was the spar was pulling away from the skin while I was trying to rivet and the rivets on the good side look bad. Some set good where others are sticking out on there edge because I couldn't get a good wack at them. What I did was use a back riveting plate on the flush side and used a back rivetere to set them from inside the skin. Maybe this is where I screwed up. You guys who have done this part will understand what I mean I hope. Is there another way I should be tackling this. How bad should I be concerned about. I tried to set them flatter by working one at a time using a small bucking bar on the inside but it all ended up making the skin look bad. It wouldn't be bad if this was the bottom side as no-one looks under there. I'm a little upset with myself for this.
Dave
 
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don't countersink control surface spars

Hi Dave - I'm pretty sure I had the same problems as you, but it was worse on the ailerons (I ended up scrapping them). Either way, my advice is to make a good fixture to hold it steady while riveting, and dimple, not countersink the spar.

If you countersink there isn't much meat left and the holes get large really easy. Then the clecos don't hold everything together while riveting, especially on the thinner control surfaces (ailerons).

Dimpling the 0.040 spar worked fine for me (using pneumatic squeezer and cleveland dies) on all control surfaces (as well as on the rear wing spar).

Good Luck, and don't feel bad about ordering new parts. On the plus side, they came in a really cool wood crate which I'm now using as my scrap bin!
 
Hold the skin open

IIRC the E-902 spars are dimpled, unlike the aileron and flap spars. I remember it was a bit of a chore to hold the elevator in position with the skin held open enough for access under the spar with a bucking bar and to be able to put pressure on the gun/manufactured head side.

200705210939_52_12_m.jpg

200705210939_52_13_m.jpg


With the bottom side of the skin clamped gently down to the table, I was able to open the elevator up and hold the top side vertical with a couple of 1x2's and some good old duct tape. The elevator was held firmly enough that I was able to use a mushroom set and bucking bar easily. Notice that I have a 1x2 under the elevator horn to hold it up higher. It also helped greatly to rivet the counterbalance assembly to the spar prior to riveting the skin to the spar. Not only was it much easier to rivet the assembly on without the skin in the way, it helped to steady the elevator when riveting the skin.
 
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Thanks Nate

Nice pics of how you did this on the skin. I was trying to hold it down on a flat table against the back riveting plate , then use the back rivet set to set them. didn't seem to work very good. I thought it would give a nice clean finish as when you rivet the stiffeners. I'm not happy with the way it looks now, especially as you'll see the errors from the top. I guess I'll be ordering another skin and use your method. You should add this setup into the "Newbee's" section for the next fool who is trying to figure this one out. I guess I should of asked first before going ahead but I thought the back riveting plate way would of worked.
 
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