cln1owner
Well Known Member
I did a search and came up with this thread,
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=23674, which did affect me. I ended up having two 4-5 bags that were indeed soft rivets. I got replacements and have since thrown the soft ones out...
The reason for this post is that I've run across some more soft rivets, I think. These are a little different. The following picture is from the Vans' Service Letter concerning the 4-5 soft rivets.
You'll notice that the bad ones are indeed labeled 01DC and have NO dimple.
The following is a photo of the rivets I've run across.
Notice that these are also labeled 01DC, however there is a small dimple on these rivets.
It's not as large as the dimple on an obvious AN rivets (next photo).
So, now, my question is, are the rivets labeled 01DC with the small (very small) dimple structural? I'm assuming that the 01DC is to identify the manufacturer. Still, my instinct tells me NO, and I'm treating them as such.
The rivets I've found are 4-6 and 4-9 rivets. The 4-6 shipped with either the wing or the tail kit, I haven't dug that deep yet, but I know it wasn't the fuselage kit. The 4-9 rivets were in a bag that shipped with the fuse.
If someone who has been through this, has a definitive answer, and they turn out to be structural... great. If not, then no big deal. I will be going over the wings and tail looking at every countersunk AD4 rivet. There isn't many.
I'm just curious at this point, and will probably end up calling Vans on Monday. I'll post the answer if nobody gets to it first.
Moral of the story: If you're a new builder, like me, make it a habit to quickly double check.
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=23674, which did affect me. I ended up having two 4-5 bags that were indeed soft rivets. I got replacements and have since thrown the soft ones out...
The reason for this post is that I've run across some more soft rivets, I think. These are a little different. The following picture is from the Vans' Service Letter concerning the 4-5 soft rivets.
You'll notice that the bad ones are indeed labeled 01DC and have NO dimple.
The following is a photo of the rivets I've run across.
Notice that these are also labeled 01DC, however there is a small dimple on these rivets.
It's not as large as the dimple on an obvious AN rivets (next photo).
So, now, my question is, are the rivets labeled 01DC with the small (very small) dimple structural? I'm assuming that the 01DC is to identify the manufacturer. Still, my instinct tells me NO, and I'm treating them as such.
The rivets I've found are 4-6 and 4-9 rivets. The 4-6 shipped with either the wing or the tail kit, I haven't dug that deep yet, but I know it wasn't the fuselage kit. The 4-9 rivets were in a bag that shipped with the fuse.
If someone who has been through this, has a definitive answer, and they turn out to be structural... great. If not, then no big deal. I will be going over the wings and tail looking at every countersunk AD4 rivet. There isn't many.
I'm just curious at this point, and will probably end up calling Vans on Monday. I'll post the answer if nobody gets to it first.
Moral of the story: If you're a new builder, like me, make it a habit to quickly double check.
Last edited:
.
