Wings 21 (11.0 hrs)


Spring has finally arrived with a beautiful weekend perfect for working on the plane.  I finished up de-burring the edges of the remaining wing skins.  Next I used acetone and cheesecloth to prepare all of the surfaces for priming.  Cheesecloth is indispensable for this purpose.  No lint, no dust, no dye. 20140412-210722.jpg20140412-210730.jpgIt took a lot of primer for all of the leading edge ribs, eight wing skins, and the leading edge skins!  Certainly the most primer I have ever used in one session before.  I did break it up into three priming sessions so that I could move parts around in between. 20140412-210802.jpgA few coat hangers repurposed make a great way to prime skins. 20140412-210819.jpg20140412-210827.jpgI didn’t want to prime the left outer bottom skin until I had set up the Gretz Pitot tube mount I had bought.  20140412-210848.jpgHere is the backing plate in place after match drilling to the spar. 20140412-210858.jpgThis was the first angle I used. I wound up abandoning it after the edge distances were out of spec. 20140412-210936.jpgWhen setting the aluminum angle in place, cleco the skin and the backing plate in place.  This will allow you to perfectly place the angle using a couple of c-clamps. 20140412-210943.jpgI measured out where I wanted to put the attachment rivet holes. 20140413-150457.jpgHere is the backing plate after all of the rivet holes have been drilled. I have it clamped in place in order to match drill the aluminum angle. 20140413-150514.jpgHere is the new attachment angle.  Overkill, but I prefer to use scrap when available. 20140413-150522.jpgUsing my large blue marker, I colored in all of the area of the skin that needed to be removed. 20140413-150535.jpg20140413-150545.jpgI used a unibit to remove as much as possible and then filed the remainder flush. 20140413-150602.jpg20140413-150611.jpgHere is the bracket in place. 20140413-150621.jpg20140413-150634.jpgWith the pitot tube bracket complete (except for the nut-plates), I could prime the remaining skins and pitot hardware. 20140413-150644.jpg20140413-150709.jpg

The end results. 20140413-181317.jpg

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About Peter

plbarrett.com | Certified Flight Instructor (Single & Multi-Engine, Instrument, and Advanced Ground) | Commercial Helicopter

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