Av8torTom
Well Known Member
I just finished the left flap and I thought I'd share a couple of things I learned that made things a little easier...
1. The leading edge skins are almost impossible to cleco into place. This, in part, is due to the leading edge ribs (like the wing leading edge ribs) being too big. The very front leading edge rib tabs need to be adjusted so that the skin doesn't have to stretch so far around them. This is easy to do with a pliers. I used a ratchet strap wrapped around the table and the flap to pull the leading edge skin into place while I clecoed. This made things A LOT easier.
2. When riveting the trailing edge I squeezed in every other rivet starting from the middle and working outward. They were squeezed just a bit more than was necessary to hold them in place. Check frequently for straightness of the edge. Then removed the clecos one at a time working again from the middle outward and squeezed in the remaining rivets. Then did the final set by back riveting with a mushroom set. Came out straight as an arrow.
3. The plans call out for AN426AD3-3 rivets for the trailing edge. In my opinion these are WAY too short. I used AN426AD3-3.5 rivets and the shop head filled the dimple beautifully.
This picture shows the nose rib tabs that must be adjusted. There are 6 of them/rib, 3 on each side. As they are, the leading edge skin cannot easily get around them and get clecoed into place. Push the tabs slightly in the direction of the arrow, but keep the tab faces parallel to the skin surface:
This picture shows the 2"x2" square steel tube that I used to weigh down the flap assembly. Also shows the ratchet strap clamp that I used to pull the leading edge skin into position. It also acted as a third hand while I got those top clecos in position:
The square steel tube also distributed the force from the clamp.
Finally - me and the guy who taught me everything... thanks dad
1. The leading edge skins are almost impossible to cleco into place. This, in part, is due to the leading edge ribs (like the wing leading edge ribs) being too big. The very front leading edge rib tabs need to be adjusted so that the skin doesn't have to stretch so far around them. This is easy to do with a pliers. I used a ratchet strap wrapped around the table and the flap to pull the leading edge skin into place while I clecoed. This made things A LOT easier.
2. When riveting the trailing edge I squeezed in every other rivet starting from the middle and working outward. They were squeezed just a bit more than was necessary to hold them in place. Check frequently for straightness of the edge. Then removed the clecos one at a time working again from the middle outward and squeezed in the remaining rivets. Then did the final set by back riveting with a mushroom set. Came out straight as an arrow.
3. The plans call out for AN426AD3-3 rivets for the trailing edge. In my opinion these are WAY too short. I used AN426AD3-3.5 rivets and the shop head filled the dimple beautifully.
This picture shows the nose rib tabs that must be adjusted. There are 6 of them/rib, 3 on each side. As they are, the leading edge skin cannot easily get around them and get clecoed into place. Push the tabs slightly in the direction of the arrow, but keep the tab faces parallel to the skin surface:
This picture shows the 2"x2" square steel tube that I used to weigh down the flap assembly. Also shows the ratchet strap clamp that I used to pull the leading edge skin into position. It also acted as a third hand while I got those top clecos in position:
The square steel tube also distributed the force from the clamp.
Finally - me and the guy who taught me everything... thanks dad
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