Wing Trauma

Tim and I drove out to the airport.  I needed to remove the wings from the airplane so I would have better access to the rear cockpit area.  I am going to seal in the lexan rear window.  Because of the location of the wings it is beneficial to have them off for this procedure.  Anyway, we drove out to the hangar to remove the wings.  I decided to roll the airplane out onto the apron to remove the wings.  It is pretty tight quarters in the hangar with all of the stuff in there so I decided it would be easier to remove and maneuver the wings outside of the hangar.  We rolled the airplane out onto the apron and rolled the wing rack out also.  I put the wing rack next to the wing so we could remove it the wing from the airplane and then set it on the rack.  The wind had been blowing all day and I told Tim I was a little concerned about removing the wings in the wind.  When we arrived the wind was 160 at 12 knots.  No gusts were reported.  We proceeded to remove the wings.  We rolled the airplane out, removed the right wing and put it on the rack.  We then began to push the wing rack around the front of the airplane and over to the left side.  As we were pushing the wind began to gust.  I later learned the wind gusts were 24 knots.  As we turned the wing rack back towards the hangar a wind gust came up and blew the right wing over.  It hit the apron trailing edge first.  We quickly picked it up to survey the damage.  The wing tip was tweaked and there was a winkle in the bottom skin of the tip.  We put the wing back on the rack and placed the rack next to the left wing.  It was now parallel to the wind.  We removed the left wing and put it on the rack.  Being careful to hold both wings in place we moved the rack into the hangar without further incidence.  I was heartsick when I looked more closely at the damage.  There was a bend in the rear spar at the wing root and a kink in the flaperon near the root.  The flaperon seemed to bind  when it was moved.  It looked like there was a definite bend in the end of the rear spar at the end of the wing.  RATS!!  Oh well!!  Nothing that can't be fixed!!  We moved the airplane back into the hangar and closed the doors.  I decided not to worry any more about it until tomorrow so Arlene and I went to a movie last night.  

Vertical Stab Fairing and Photos

Today I removed the PVC vertical stab fairing and inspected the inside.  It looks like the body filler idea has worked.  The space between the 2-fairings is filled with a solid chuck of filler. 

I drilled out the holes and installed the fairing.  I looks good.

I will have the fairing painted white along with the other fairing pieces.  They will be installed after the airplane has been painted and certified.

It has been cloudy and raining all morning.  After working on the fairing for a while I opened the hangar doors and was happy to see a hole had opened in the clouds and the sun was shining.  I decided to take advantage of the respite from the rain and I pulled the airplane out on the apron and took a few photos.

Vertical Stab Fairing

Yesterday and today I worked on the forward fairing for the vertical stab.  I installed the forward portion of the vertical stab.  I held the PVC fairing in place and marked the location of the holes. The 2-forward most holes on each side of the vertical stab fairing will be used to hold the small PVC fairing in place.  I drilled the holes and used the squeezer to countersink the holes for the flat head screws used in that location.  I installed the small PVC fairing.  The forward most holes squeeze the forward part of the PVC fairing in and it looks bad. 

I removed the 2-forward most screws and began to consider various solutions to the problem of how to attach the PVC fairing without deforming it.  I considered attaching some kind of aluminum bracket to the top of the fuselage and then putting a screw down through the top edge of the fairing to hole it in place.  After working with some scrap aluminum and attempting to make 2-different brackets I decided that was not a good solution.  The problem with the fairing is it is too wide at the forward screw attachment points.  I considered stacking some washers between the PVC and the aluminum fairing but that seemed to be a difficult solution.  What I decided to do is mix some body filler and put a dab inside the PVS fairing at the forward screw holes to form a spacer inside of the fairing.  I installed the forward most screws in the aluminum fairing and taped some plastic over the fairing.  

Next I mixed some body filler.  There are a couple of very minor dents in the aluminum skin.  One on the top of the left wing and one on the top of the right half of the stabilator.  I sanded the dents with a Scotch Brite pad and filled them with body filler.

Next I put some filler on the inside of the forward screw holes on each side of the PVC fairing and installed it over the aluminum fairing.  The filler material oozed out of the holes so I am sure there is a good spacer formed on the inside. After the filler has cured for a day I will remove the fairing and redrill the forward holes and see how it fits on the airplane.  By installing the 2-forward most screws on each side of the fairing it will be securely attached to the airplane.

While at the hangar yesterday I also drilled the hole in the wing for the AOA sensor.  I will install the sensor (a ball inflation needle) on the wing and hook up the 1/16^th inch plastic tube that runs to the instrument in the fuselage.

Filler Tube, Tie Down Rings, Vent Cap

It was cold and rainy all morning.  The temperature in the hangar was around 38^o, or in other words, it was cold.  I took the fuel tank filler tube back with me today.  I looks pretty good.  I laid it on the wing and got the necessary tools and supplies to reinstall it to the turtle deck.  

I also shortened the fuel return line by fractions of an inch.

I mixed up some Pro-Seal and then put some Boelube on the underside of the turtle deck here the filler tube flange attaches.  I attached the tube until some of the Pro-seal began to squeeze out.  I removed the excess with a paper towel and MEK. 

The installation looks good.

After cleaning up the filler tube and making sure everything was OK I decided to seal the holes drilled in the fuel tank cap.  After constructing the tank it was suggested that you drill 3-small holes in the fuel tank cap.  The cap consists of an exterior and interior plate with a rubber ring along the edge between the halves.  As the cam handle it depressed it pulls the top and bottom of the cap together and expands the rubber ring.  This action locks the cap in place and seals the tank.  The holes relived the pressure in the tank when climbing or descending.  With the new tank vent system in place there is no longer any need for the vent holes in the tank cap.  I disassembled the top and bottom parts of the cap and used some of the Pro-Seal to fill the holes.  After I install and seal the rear window in place I will make the final attachment of the filler tube to the tank. After working on the tank cap and setting it aside for the Pro-Seal to cure I turned my attention to the tie down rings under the wings.  Using my creeper I got under each wing and installed the tie down rings.  They are parallel with the airflow under the wings and I am planning to have them painted in place.

Meet Dave Wisenger and Remove Tank Filler Tube

I met Dave Wisenger at the hangar today.  He is the same fellow who painted Tom Driscoll's RV-12 and I want to have him paint mine.  We met, discussed the color scheme and what he needs to have me do so he can take the airplane to his shop.  This is pretty exciting stuff.  I gave him a copy of the color scheme I am going with and he is going to get some color samples to me so I can choose the maroon color.

One morning last week I woke up early and while laying there began thinking about the airplane.  It seemed to me that I was going to have a real challenge on my hands trying to remove the fuel tank to install the baggage area rear bulkhead.  Because the fuel return line extends up through the tank filler tube attachment into the filler tube it will be virtually impossible to remove the tank without removing the filler tube.  I don't think the tank can be tipped or turned sideways to get the return line out of the filler tube.  I decided to make a modification that is now in the RV-12 plans.  I decided to remove the filler tube and install nutplates on the flange of the tube so the tube can be removed and then the tank removed.  I removed the screws and nuts holding the filler tube to the turtle deck.  

Using a putty knife I separated the filler tube flange from the turtle deck.  It came off fairly easily.  The majority of the Pro-Seal gasket came off with the filler tube.

I camped the tube in the bench vise and proceeded to redrill the holes.  I used a microsink to countersink the holes in the flange and then riveted the nutplates to the bottom of the flange.  I used a Scotch Brite pad to prep the tube and flange for paint.  I took the filler tube home and primed and painted it.  I hung it up to dry in the garage.  I will take it back to the hangar tomorrow and reinstall it on the turtle deck.