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Wings...installing rib channels 06/28/03 - It's been awhile since I was able to work and today I was finally back in the shop after TWO WEEKS...yikes! I was afraid I would forget what I was doing. ;^) I spent last Thu-Sun in Hays, KS attending the Rans, Inc. 20th anniversary Fly-in (more on that later) and today was the first time since 6/14 that I'd had an opportunity to work in the shop (so, of course, I overdid it and now I'm probably gonna pay tomorrow with aching feet, legs and back!) Regarding the Rans Fly-In...if you haven't been, you SHOULD GO next year! I had a terrific time and will definitely be returning! Fellow Rans flyer Clem Nichols (owns an S-12 in KY south of Louisville) and I split expenses and I'll say here that Clem is great company! Tops among my weekend, in no particular order was meeting a few Rans folks I had only previously talked to (Paula and Ed especially), getting to meet and chat (question) at length with builders who don't mind a new builder like myself asking all sorts of questions, flying (and successfully landing about ten times) the Rans S-6S Taildragger, getting a healthy 'YOU'RE OK' signoff from Rans Boss Randy Schlitter on my taildragger skills, working with FABRIC for my first time (and finally understanding that I CAN do it), sitting in on a very interesting Rotax Engine seminar hosted by Rotax factory representative, Eric Tucker, touring the plant and then there are the Rans aircraft!!! Two of my favorites were Kirby Crawford's S-7 and Chip Meyers' Super Coyote, but they're all beautiful to me. Here's a link to some photos I took during the weekend. Today was all about RIB CHANNELS...well, mostly. First I installed enough fuel line on both root tanks to take care of the connections when I get to that point, but I swear, the rest of the day was rib channels, rib channels and more rib channels. Fuel line installed:
I won't leave it like that, I promise...it's just up out of the way and eventually will be cut and fed into the fuse at the trailing edge. Meanwhile, back in rib channel-land, for the 116 area wing (which I have) Rans supplies fore and aft rib channels which must be trimmed using templates (Elmer's Glue Stick - 89¢ at CVS) in order to accommodate the tapered wing. I will state the obvious here...this is a tedious job! ;^) No really...it is! Here are a couple of shots during that process with the channels and templates laid out:
Glued down:
Trimming and punching:
You can't tell here, but I also spent the workday (as I do most of my workdays in the shop) jamming to one of the best Bluegrass artists around, Rhonda Vincent whom I recently stumbled across in a monthly mailing from Rounder Records, publisher of my absolute favorite Bluegrass artists Allison Krauss+Union Station! I admit, I'm a child of the Woodstock generation and very faithful to my all-time favorites from groups like Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Who, Black Sabbath,etc, but I also very much enjoy music ranging from Classical, Swing, Big Band, Classic Country and Classic Jazz, but over the past few years, I've become a big Bluegrass fan as well. In any case, listening to great tunes makes the day that much more fun! (now, back to work!) Drilling:
FINALLY...I've got the first two channels loosely fit to see if I'm doing this right:
After a bit more drilling (each hole in the rib takes a punch, pilot hole and finish hole and each channel requires SIX holes, so that's six punches and 12 holes to drill for each section of channel) I have the first two clecoed in on the topside:
The next set:
And a nice #30 hole in the palm of my left hand (yes, I FORGOT to pick up my little wood block and back up the tube I was drilling). Oh well, it only hurts a little. ;^)
Back at work and moving right along after the injury timeout: NOTE: I will probably NOT flip the wing on each set when doing the left side wing, but I was being METICULOUS today and have just this minute realized I could have done the job EASIER...so, I live and learn. ;^)
And finished!
If I can move without too many aches tomorrow, I'm going to try and get all the rib ends drilled and riveted on this wing, then next time out, move along to bring the left wing up to the same point and after that, it's leading edge wrap time! All in all, a good day's work and now I'm that much closer to being able to try out some of those FABRIC APPLICATION skills I learned at the Fly-In last weekend, but still lots to do with these wings...many more holes to drill (in the tubing, not the hands) and rivets to pull before it's time for fabric. More updates soon... |
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Last Update: 06/28/2003 |
