R

ron sterba

Well Known Member
Ok wings are done and wired but not fitted to fuselage. If any of these are out of order let me know.
Wing upside down on table.
Jig W930 on bellcrank
Aileron laid level with wing
trimmed fiberglass edge of tip to fit wing skin into indent in wing tip.

Would you put in the two ribs now in the aft fiberglass tip? Proseal with rivets or epoxy with rivets? Add a foam/epoxy rib midway in tip.
I would like to put in nutplates for removalable tips.

IN What order? Backing strip aluminum, proseal, top of wing tip clecoed in first or bottom? Align tip aft edge with aileron, Drill #40 ,match drill wing skin holes into fiberglass tip or with allumium strip prosealed on backside? Dimple fiberglass for rivets with a 100 degree stone mandrel.

My thinking is that I should turn wing over to topside up to fasten tip on first or put in wing cradle (leading edge down). read manual Pg 7-15 and 16 Dwgs 9,10,11 &15. would like your take on the installation if you have any tips, much appreciated if you would please. Thanks Guys. Ron
 
My Take

I just finished the wing tips in the last week or so. My take on it is that I wouldn't put the ribs in till the wings are on for the last time. IF i had it to do over again, I wouldn't have drilled the holes in the wing tips till the wings were on and the ailerons and flaps set for the "final" time. As it is, I had to split the trailing edge of my tips, like so many do, to get them to line up perfectly with the ailerons in their neutral position.

It's my belief that if I had waited until the ailerons were set to drill the holes, that I could have "rotated" the tips enough to keep from having to split them.

All that said, it wasn't a huge chore to do but would have been impossible without removing the ribs in the tip had I already put them in.

My .02 worth.
 
Ditto on what PaulR says

I had to do the same and would wait until I could get tip line up with the aileron trailing edge before drilling in tips. Also don't use anything larger than -4 screws on the very thin flange area of the wing to tip attachment . the 4 nut plates are more expensive but size is correct.
 
Dennis and Paul thanks for the heads up. I'll take the screws and nut plates back and order #4's. I'll hold up on the tips for now. Did you use aluminum backing strips for all the nut plates? I read between the words of your guys reply. It helps.

Thanks guys
 
I fitted my wing tips while they were in the cradle, leading edges down. This made it very easy to get the trailing edges lined up.
Use the alignment tool on the outer wing rib to set the neutral aileron position correctly, then use the metal bellcrank jig to set the length of the control tube to the aileron, then you can determine where the trailing edge of the tips should align.

Dialog and photos on my web site.
 
bruceh said:
I fitted my wing tips while they were in the cradle, leading edges down. This made it very easy to get the trailing edges lined up.
Use the alignment tool on the outer wing rib to set the neutral aileron position correctly, then use the metal bellcrank jig to set the length of the control tube to the aileron, then you can determine where the trailing edge of the tips should align.

Dialog and photos on my web site.
Click to expand...

Good tip.
That is what the tip rib template is for.
 
Bruce is right with his method. I did the same thing but it will be a lot easier if you have some help doing it that way. I didn't have that available when I did mine and just didn't have enough hands!!:)

As far as the screws go, I used #6 which I think is what the plans show in the alternate method and I did NOT use the aluminum strips. Not flying yet, but they appear to be very solid. I even had to drill a couple out for the installation of a VOR antenna and the FG wasn't a problem.
 
Thanks Bruce. I liked your pictures and I will put the wing back in the cradle to mount the tips. I found that with the wing on the table I was getting down on my hands and knees to check under the tip. What a pain. Liked the comments in your progress to the finished piece.and Thanks Paul. I noticed in looking at the VANS Plans that the nutplates are done as you did them. I have always been a tank builder so I 'll go with a strip if I have it handy. Thanks Guys
Ron in Oregon
 
Thanks Jim. Just got the screws and nutplates . Decided to go flying today in the Hawk with my new Adventurepilot GPS IFLY720. Beautiful unit.WiFi Dnw loadable WX. Now a extra bright screen from before. 8000 OVC and 70 degreees. Put the Hawk away and there still laid the tips on the table.Maybe tomorrow.
Ron in Oregon 9A
 
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If I were doing wingtips again ...

...I would hold off on the two tip ribs until the wings were on the airplane. Positioning the rib that's parallel to the wings (can't recall the part #) is kind of guesswork, but becomes much more obvious when the wings are mounted. My R tip rib is too far aft by about 3/4", tho' it looked fine on the wingstand. Now it causes a slight bulge in the tip at that point. Because that rib is epoxied in place per Vans, there's no moving it now. All the other tip work (strobes, platenuts, fiberglass trimming, antennas, etc) can be done anytime, but I'd wait on the tip ribs. FWIW.
 
Thanks Jim. I'm feeling real good now about keeping the flap,aileron tip edges straight and doing it it the cradle. I did notice you have to push pretty hard to get the tip into the wing LEADING EDGE. So help is on its way guys. Let you know when its done.
Thanks Ron in Oregon
 
Thanks Jim. I think Ill get my tool back out to set the tip straight, but now thinking I might hold off for the tip installation on the thoughts of the the other guys about splitting the tip because of the mis match on the trailing edges. Thanks (9A)
Ron in Oregon
 
thanks guys. Well W931 rib got glassed in yesterday and drilled out for rivets today. Lots of confidence thanks to you guys. Tomorrow Rivets go into W931 rib. Then Ill put in W 916 rib. Got the alieghment tool W930 in place and got the wings on two days ago when a fellow RV9A flyer stopped by and said whats next. I said the wings. Whats holding you up? I said quality help. Shoot he says lets do it now and 40 minutes later the wings are on! Next time I will get a third body to hold the fuselage from sliding sideways while the wing is being wiggled in place. How easy! Now I have to set the incidence. If I told somebody about the install of wings it would go like this. (will remove wings for painting before final assembly) My wiring is in place in the wing but not the pitot tubes. The four bolts I used where big box store .004 thousands under and two 6" long and two four " long. All bolts sanded 3/4" to a point. 4"bolts go in lower spar hole closet to the wing and the two upper farthest away from the wing. Grease everything that will be sliding! Heres a important one. Looking down at the spar from in the cockpit, mark two lines showing the thru holes in the spar ON THE SPAR. Then mark two lines presenting the holes on the fuselage spar bar.This is your blind spot so you know when to insert the temps bolts. As you slide your wing in make sure you cut the fuel and vent lines a little at a time. Plus push as much excess aluminum tubing BACK into the fuselage (about 3/4" ) so when you mate the fitting to the tank you can pull back out enough for the attachment of your fuel and vent lines fittings. Watch the rear attachment of the wing into the rear two bar attach bracket. While pushing on the wing you will have to watch under the wing that the fuselage skin is on the outside of the wing skin. I used four pieces of 4" square spare 22 gauge aluminum ( tougue depressors work well too ) as wedges as the two skins come over each other. Then you can feel the bolts slide into place. Well there you have it until the next few days on prep" ing my tip. Aileron now installed.Will put flaps on and line them up and put on the tips. Will add to this blog in a few days. Thanks Ron in Oregon.9A
 
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Rib W931 riveted in today. I was so scared I'd crack the fiberglass setting the 426 AD3-4 rivets. Not one went in badly. Sanded tip where rivets are. Its now ready for a little filler and the next rib W916. Saw what you all meant about the tip edge being STRAIGHT with the trailing edge of the Aileron. Got them all straight in-line.
Ron in Oregon 9A
 
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