[WingsOnWheels]

I'm at the point of attaching the aileron hinges to the rear spar. The plans specify a 1/16" margin of error in vertical alignemnt and I'm not of sure the best way to go about getting this right.

I first used my airfoil templates to hold the aileron to the wing and make sure that the template put the aileron in the correct position. I removed the aileron for now so I could see what I am doing.

I'm not confident in the wood template being accurate to 1/16", so here is my plan of attack:

1) Remove inboard hinge bracket from the aileron (to get it out of the way) and hold the aileron to the wing using the templates.

2) Clamp a straightedge to the template following the line of the wing/aileron.

3) Scribe a line 5/16" down from the edge of the straightedge and place the hinge so the scribe line passes through the center of the bearing.

Here is a picture with the aileron removed and the straightedge in place.

I only get one shot and really don't want to get it wrong. How have other folks done this, any tips or tricks?

 

[L.Adamson]

I used the wood templates, then strapped some rather stiff but flexible sheet metal strips flat across the top & bottom wing surfaces. Some of those long aluminum rulers would work too. I then adjusted until everything was perfectly in line, top and bottom.

It must have worked real well, because except for an initial heavy right wing, in which the left aileron had a slightly thicker radius than the right........which I did the "flatten with hand seamers trick"; this RV is very fast, trims easily, and the ailerons, flaps, and wing tips perfectly line up.

As I remember, the tooling holes in the 6's parts, don't line up well, to use as a guide.

L.Adamson --- RV6A

 

[WingsOnWheels]

Ok, i guess I am on the right track then. I will also use your suggestion and add the long strip to keep everything in-line. Thanks

 

[WingsOnWheels]

Ok, it looks like I got it right. I checked the position of the aileron every way I can think of. I used the same airfoil template and straight edge to set the hinge point at both ends of the aileron. I also leveled the wing and checked the level of the aileron. The aileron to top wing-skin gap is within 1/100th from end to end. I am happy with the position. The outboard hinge is just clamped in place at the moment, I'll drill and cleco it tomorrow. I check the tooling holes with a laser just for fun, they also line up.

 

[WingsOnWheels]

One problem I ran into on the inboard hinge: The angle on either side of the pre-made hinge is not 90 degrees, so the hinge does not sit flat on the spar. I opted to drill out the rivets and make new angles. I don't have any 470-4 rivets long enough to go through 1/2" worth of material, so I need to order some long rivets. Lets see, those would be AD470-4-11 rivets.