Now that the elevators are in place as well as the VS how does one slide all those washers in between the VA-146 and the elevator horns. You can't even get a straight on look at the VA-146 or the horns due to the the VS Spar blocking the view. I must be going about this the wrong way. Any thoughts would be great.
Van's Air Force
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Final Elevator Attachment
- Thread starter ssisca
- Start date
Take a piece of string, start it through the most outward hole and continue to run the string through the holes and washers in order, finally coming out of the oppositre side of the horn. Pull the string tight and allow the washers to line up with the holes. Push your 1/8 punch into the now aligned holes from the opposite side you want the bolt to pass. Then slide the bolt into the hole as the punch is removed.
I find the flat wire lacing works the best since it is stiffer than cotton line, but anything will work.
I find the flat wire lacing works the best since it is stiffer than cotton line, but anything will work.
pierre smith
Well Known Member
Orangutan....
We hired a specially developed, long-armed African Orangutan for this....he only works on RV's... for bananas....
Seriously, you'll use a paint stirrer stick with sticky two-sided tape or whatever it takes. Bandaids a must.
Regards,
Pierre
We hired a specially developed, long-armed African Orangutan for this....he only works on RV's... for bananas....
Seriously, you'll use a paint stirrer stick with sticky two-sided tape or whatever it takes. Bandaids a must.Regards,
Pierre
Lol...After replacing many mux bus matrix assembly's in the F-16 leading edge you learn to contort your arms and balance nuts on your finger tips while reaching under and around bulkheads etc.
If I recall, you can reach them through the two holes just forward of the HS, these are easy. Wait till you bolt up the two front seat support brackets to the landing gear boxes. It took me at least an hour for each bracket.
All kidding aside, working on jets that were engineered by guys who never had to work on them was a great learning experience. The F-15 was really a well thought out aircraft to maintain, the F-16??? Well it seemed that if there was a space you would put some component in it and worry about fixing it later. The above mentioned matrixes were buried in the leading edge with a few wafer connectors on each side right behind the leding edge flap tubes, if you pulled the tubes (recommended) then you had to check the rig on the flaps...so to keep the flight control guys happy you tried not to do that. Hence the ability to install nuts in the dark, using two fingers, upside down and blind.
If I recall, you can reach them through the two holes just forward of the HS, these are easy. Wait till you bolt up the two front seat support brackets to the landing gear boxes. It took me at least an hour for each bracket.
All kidding aside, working on jets that were engineered by guys who never had to work on them was a great learning experience. The F-15 was really a well thought out aircraft to maintain, the F-16??? Well it seemed that if there was a space you would put some component in it and worry about fixing it later. The above mentioned matrixes were buried in the leading edge with a few wafer connectors on each side right behind the leding edge flap tubes, if you pulled the tubes (recommended) then you had to check the rig on the flaps...so to keep the flight control guys happy you tried not to do that. Hence the ability to install nuts in the dark, using two fingers, upside down and blind.
Front Seat Support Brackets
I agree with Rick S on the front seat brackets. Is this a first?, well maybe not. One of the hardest jobs on my RV-10 Build was bolting on the two front seat support brackets to the gear leg boxes. My daughter's hands were almost too big that she also went crazy. I think it took she and I over an hour on each bracket AFTER she agreed to help.
I agree with Rick S on the front seat brackets. Is this a first?, well maybe not. One of the hardest jobs on my RV-10 Build was bolting on the two front seat support brackets to the gear leg boxes. My daughter's hands were almost too big that she also went crazy. I think it took she and I over an hour on each bracket AFTER she agreed to help.
You mean the two holes in the rear deck? That's a long reach even for an orangutan. Wonder if the 7/9 guys have this issue? The local 7/9 builders answer most of my questions because the 10 has the family resemblance (except for the plans book!). I tried the elevator horn access holes at the rear of the fuselage skins and couldn't contort myself enough to get in there. So I didn't do those when doing section 11 stuff. I hoped a solution would present itself before final assembly.
Rick - it is LOL. I'm a LM Aero engineer on the F-16 program during the day. We really do design stuff like that on purpose. Har-har-har...
Rick - it is LOL. I'm a LM Aero engineer on the F-16 program during the day. We really do design stuff like that on purpose. Har-har-har...
Hawkeye7A
Well Known Member
washer wrenches!
We all get off on tools. One of the best purchases I made was a set of washer wrenches from Avery. You get four wrenches(double ended-good for eight sizes) and what they don't tell you is that they work just as well for the -3 nuts that go on the bolts. Simply use the wrench to hold the nut in place and a short (stubby) ratchet(gear) wrench to turn the bolt until you're near torque; then finish it off. Would be a real pita without them. Hope this helps.
We all get off on tools. One of the best purchases I made was a set of washer wrenches from Avery. You get four wrenches(double ended-good for eight sizes) and what they don't tell you is that they work just as well for the -3 nuts that go on the bolts. Simply use the wrench to hold the nut in place and a short (stubby) ratchet(gear) wrench to turn the bolt until you're near torque; then finish it off. Would be a real pita without them. Hope this helps.
