What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Initial aileron assembly - bunched/wavy top skin?

N

N674P

Well Known Member
Finally building ailerons, following instructions, and all goes well until:
Cleco nose skin to bottom skin & spar (every other hole), then cleco to top skin & spar (every other hole). Talk about a fight! First assembly of tanks and LE's was a breeze! Then the skins (primarily top skin) had several waves - like 3/4" peak to valley.
After much massaging, adding boards and weight, and unclecoing of ribs, I got everything really flat, but then skin to rib holes were off (like figure 8's). More massaging and everything now lines up and is almost (a few slightly discernable waves) perfectly flat. I drilled all the holes except counterweight and TE wedge, and still have it weighted down.
So is this normal? Can I expect more trouble? Does this all work out in the end?
I've done a search and didn't find anything like this, but did find posts on other things I'm experiencing (like TE off a little, rib poking out past skin) that some filing and sanding will take care of.
 
Are you *sure* you have things assembled correctly?

I have not built ailerons - I have a QB. But, everything I have done so far has fit perfectly - unless I have tried to assemble something incorrectly.

Take a break. Come back and look carefully at the drawings again and make sure things are really supposed to go the way you think they should.

Good luck
 
Thanks Clay - sounds like you had a somewhat similar experience, and it all worked out.
I like your site! I've bookmarked it for further refererence...
 
ClayR_9A said:
here's my experience... (sorry I didn't write more at the time)
http://www.eaachapter.com/rv9a/Wing2.htm

read between the lines... that aileron TE is really wavy until you put a board and a lot of weight on it and cleco it all down to something sturdy.

-Clay
Click to expand...

Ditto what Clay says. I had about 100 lbs. of sandbags on mine and they came out OK. Same thing with the flaps, if I remember correctly.
 
just finished my ailerons and flaps...

The first one was a bear as you said- wavy up until rivetting the trailing edge. The second was much easier. A note- Check the leading edge pipe and ribs before drilling and rivetting to check for twist- its easy to "tweak the skeleton assembly at this time to get it to lay flat under a board. It is near impossible after drilling the pipe and skins on...

THE FLAPS-

There is a bracket on one end of the flap (the control arm bracket). This should be drilled in place AFTER spar and ribs are secured in position flat on a table to reduce twist. Don't necessarily rely on the pilot holes on the rib (you might have made the little angle bracket a little off and it will throw the alignment off.

I got a little twist here in one flap and it only shows up in the last third of the flap. It's minor and nobody will notice but me, but my next plane will be better. :D
 
Getting the leading edge skins on alone...

So the aileron/flap is flat on the table with a board across amd weighted. The spar is hanging over the edge with cleco's in the bottom. The table is drilled out for the bottoms skins for the flap.

You are ready to cleco the leading edge skins on...what a bugger alone! It's hard to get the skins on evenly.

I put 4-6 screws into the sacrificial table about a foot away from the piece running with the trailing edge (parallel to the TE).

I used packing tape (the clear stuff- easier to get off than duct tape) and ran three pieces triangulated to each screw (2-3 screws per skin). I twisted the tape ends together to make one braid (nothing fancy- it's tape). I could pull the braid and wrap it around the screw to hold the skin and keep tightening each braid until the skin was close enough to press into position. So tie off braid #1, #2, #3, then go back and start tightening each braid.

Slow, but it worked better than an extra set of hands- no cleco buggers in the skins either.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top