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Ruined my front HS spar (and accessories), I think

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Echo Tango

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Accidentally match drilled my HS-404's to the Front Spar, HS-710, and HS 714 prior to match drilling the skins. Read the directions as "Drill as depicted in diagram" and the diagram showed holes through all three (when in reality they needed to be aligned after clecoing the skin in place). I should have stopped and read further on in the directions as I sat there thinking how I was supposed to align the ribs in respect to their inboard/outboard location.

Now my skin on the right side overhangs the HS-404 rib by 1/16" in some places and 1/8" in others. The left side actually looks dead on. Looks like I'll be placing an order to Vans tomorrow. :eek:
 
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I stuffed up one of my HS skins. Since had an endless supply of aluminium for all sorts of doublers, brackets etc. Did my VS spar 3 times and bought 6 trim tabs to get 2 right. Eventually caught on. There is a reason you start with the cheap bits at the back.....;)
 
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Rib is over-fluted, but this is the overlap I'm looking at. I would like to just "build on" but something tells me this is excessive.
 
paul330 said:
I stuffed up one of my HS skins. Since had an endless supply of aluminium for all sorts of doublers, brackets etc. Did my VS spar 3 times and bought 6 trim tabs to get 2 right. Eventually caught on. There is a reason you start with the cheap bits at the back.....;)
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yeah, looks like it will be around $65 in parts for the right side. the left side sits flush so I won't have to replace that, thankfully. :D

if there's one thing i've learned, it's to read 6 or 7 steps ahead and see how everything is "supposed" to go together down the road. i have to admit i was a little drill-happy.
 
Echo Tango said:
yeah, looks like it will be around $65 in parts for the right side. the left side sits flush so I won't have to replace that, thankfully. :D

if there's one thing i've learned, it's to read 6 or 7 steps ahead and see how everything is "supposed" to go together down the road. i have to admit i was a little drill-happy.
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I don't suppose that had anything to do with the two empty cases of beer in the last picture? ;)
 
What is your edge distance?

I'm having a little trouble seeing the big problem. So the skin doesn't align exactly with the toe of the rib flange. I don't think it makes any difference as long as you have proper edge distance on the rib flange. Before you start throwing stuff away, drill the ribs and see what your edge distance is. If the distance is OK, build on I say.

You'll surely make a bigger mistake than this :)
 
I don't see the first drill hole in the rib sides. Bend it out slightly and drill it in place with the skin. That edges you are fretting about are inside a area that a fiberglass fairing covers and are completely hidden. Even if they are not perfectly matched on the edge, they are covered by the fairing.

You can also rivet a doubler on the inside of the rib with flush rivets and back drill through the spar after you get it in the position you want.

Of course, get a fresh cold beer, take a breath, and build on. When it comes to making a boo boo, you ain't seen nothing yet!!!

Just an opinion.
 
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Sorta looks to me like this isn't a problem... The flanges in question aren't drilled yet? Once you've pressed some of the fluting down to straighten the rib a bit, you could drill it right where it is, assuming you have the edge distance.
 
Just pull the rib out so it is aligned with the edge of the skin, clamp it in place, and drill the flanges. Even if the edges don't match you are good to go as long as you have proper rivet/edge clearance on the rib flange.

This is a non-issue unless I'm misunderstanding the "problem".
 
My HS root ribs don't line up perfectly either. Getting the edge distance on the rib flange is the important bit here. If you have that then I don't see anything wrong with those pictures.
 
Thanks for the words of encouragement, guys! I was feeling a little defeated, but after reading the replies, I sat down and started looking things over, and I'm really only after 1/16" or so on the top HS-404 hole (the holes in the HS-710 and front spar really don't matter). So I turned my attention to the HS-404 and thought about trying to drill the hole from a #40 to a #30 and slightly offset the enlarged hole to get the rib inboard a few hundredths, but it's a fairly sloppy solution and I'll probably just end up with a chewed-up hole.

I think the best solution is to just buy a new HS-404 ($7), clamp it as close to flush with the skin as I can and back-drill a hole (using the existing HS-710 hole as a drill guide), just inboard of the minimum edge distance. I think this will get me most of the way there. :D
 
Ahh...After my careful analysis I see the root cause of your issue in the second picture. You really should have something other than the weasel pee as a beverage. Generally the good stuff comes in dark bottles, have real bottle caps not screw offs, and have deep rich flavors. Not trying to start another "prime war" here.....just sayin.....

"Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza."
-Dave Barry
 
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Sam Buchanan said:
Just pull the rib out so it is aligned with the edge of the skin, clamp it in place, and drill the flanges. ....you are good to go as long as you have proper rivet/edge clearance on the rib flange....
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Um, in general, rather than drill first and then measure, try this - first measure and then drill.


You'll find that often this is a more economical approach to things.

You can mark the flange right through those little holes with a felt-tip marker, a little one. Makes measuring easier.

Dave
 
David Paule said:
Um, in general, rather than drill first and then measure, try this - first measure and then drill.


You'll find that often this is a more economical approach to things.

You can mark the flange right through those little holes with a felt-tip marker, a little one. Makes measuring easier.

Dave
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Well....I thought it would be obvious that he would measure before drilling...guess I should have been more specific?

Measure first then drill.....yes, a novel concept. :rolleyes:
 
David Paule said:
Um, in general, rather than drill first and then measure, try this - first measure and then drill.


You'll find that often this is a more economical approach to things.

You can mark the flange right through those little holes with a felt-tip marker, a little one. Makes measuring easier.

Dave
Click to expand...

I don't think an RV is something anyone really tries to "eyeball"

my problems haven't been lack of measuring. they've been lack of measuring correctly :p
 
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