Today I started at my Uncle’s to prime the remaining components in the left aileron.

And then it was time to turn my attention back to completing the right aileron. Riveting the center of the spar is difficult to say the least. Here’s how I went about it.  It is uncomfortable to say the least. Notice that I have taped my sweatshirt to my glove with paints tape to protect my arm. 

Keeping the bucking bar aligned is difficult, especially since the flange and web of the spar are not at a 90 degree angle.  I taped on a small part of a tongue depressor to help line the bucking bar without being able to see it. This allowed me to lay the bucking bar flat on the spar and match the desired angle for the shop head of the rivet. 

It took quite awhile to finish the top of the spar.  Given the awkward positioning, progress is very slow. Next it was time to rivet the end ribs.  Which was easy peasy.

Then on to the bottom.  Now that the top of the spar is complete… finishing up takes no time at all. 

And finally I put the aileron hinge points in place. 

The Collins Foundation brought their WWII bomber to the airport this weekend. I never actually went out to check it out. I’m not sure why, but I’m not really into static displays. Regardless, as I left for the day I snapped this photograph. 

Continuing work on the right aileron, I wanted to have the overlap between the leading edge and trailing edge skins primed on both sides.  Here I marked the overlap with a red marker. 

Then I setup for priming.  I don’t normally prime in the hangar due to having other planes around.  However, this primer dries before overspray is an issue, and this was a very small amount of priming to do. I decided to prime outside the hangar using the Preval aerosol sprayer.

I used some old flooring paper I had laying around to cover the rest of the skin before priming. 

Here is the end result of the priming. 

Next its time to start putting the counterweight and nose ribs together. Because corrosion will be more likely with dissimilar metals, I decided to also prime the rivets.  I didn’t mix up a batch of the AKO primer, but instead just used the self etching primer in a can.

First you put the rivets in the rear of the counterweight assembly.  This requires you to bend the nose rib tab slightly in order to allow access for the pop rivet tool. 

Then I clecoed the skin to the nose ribs and began installing the pop rivets along the length of the counterweight. 

I’m very happy with the result.  The slightly oversized countersinks worked perfectly. The CS4-4 rivets laid almost perfectly. I used a hammer to tap the edges down to finish the job. Here is the end result. 

Here’s a mistake. DON’T rivet the bottom of the aileron nose ribs at this point.  You’ll need the bottom open to rivet the top of the spar. I mis-read the directions, which are poorly written in this section and got ahead of myself.  Luckily, they were easy to drill out. 

I had not yet riveted the reinforcement plates to these spar so I made quick work of that. 

This included the plate nut. 

Next I riveted the nose ribs to the spar.

At this point I realized that riveting the top of the spar was going to be very difficult.  I was having difficulty positioning and securing the aileron. After reviewing a few other build logs I found the solution pictured below. 

Unfortunately, I had no screws or bolts that would work to secure the aileron to the wood blocks. 

I figured I could drill out the blocks to #30 and use #30 clecos, but the wood was too soft. Well, I tried shoving the large clecos in the #30 holes… worked perfectly. 

Riveting the top spar is not easy.  The rivets nearest to the ends allow you to reach your hand in the side to hold the bucking bar as shown here.  The ones in the middle… well, I’ll get to those tomorrow. 

Mike Bullock dropped this off for me to use on the bottom spar.  I’m eager to try it out, as this should make pop rivets a snap. 

Last time I was able to prime the replacement left trailing aileron skin, and so this evening it was time to back rivet the stiffeners in place. I finally upgraded my AT&T account and I can now make my phone a wifi hotspot.  The phone has had the capability forever, but as I was on the old unlimited data plan I was forbidden from using it.  Its nice to be able to use a laptop and my iPad in the hangar!  Makes research much easier!

First step was to tape all the rivets in place. 

Then I put the stiffens in place and began to back rivet.  I use a large bag of lead shot to ensure the skin is perfectly flat on the back rivet plate. This is also a huge help for the last few rivets that are near the trailing edge bend.  The lead shot is very heavy and the weight prevents any mistakes as a result of lifting the upper surface. 

Back riveting always produces great looking rivets. 

Here is my expensive back riveting tape.  They sell specialty rivet tape through the normal suppliers, but this works just as well and it is conveniently located in the aviation section of your local grocery store. 

After the back riveting was complete I bent the trailing edge with the wooden brake, and then clecoed the parts together for final drilling. 

I used the same procedure as last time for drilling the counterweight pipe. 

I paid much closer attention to my countersinks this go around.  I discovered on my last attempt that my drill was not always perfectly perpendicular to the pipe and as a result some of my countersinks were a bit cockeyed. The end result was fine, but still, this was an improvement.