Wing building tips

[jgreen]

Do you have any pictures of your aileron diagonal gussets installed with the aileron LE ply?

[jrbirdman47]

Hope this is what you're asking for:

First pic shows top of gusset in the foreground and bottom of the one behind it.

Second pic shows better detail of the underside.

I cut the 1/4" sticks to fit nearly precisely in the corner and add a small cleat under it glued to the spar and diagonal. This cleat gives you a surface to glue the gusset to since the nose skin occupies the spar cap. I used a disc sander to custom fit the cleats and diagonals because they angle slightly, so the beveled part that contacts the diagonal "leans" toward the inside a little. Don't think you have to go to such pains necessarily, I'm just wound tight that way.

[jgreen]

Nice cleat idea. Thanks for the pics.

[Chuck in Indiana]

I'm nowhere *near* this far.. but looking ahead to get a feel for the complete job. How does everyone shape the trailing edge? I'm a machinist, not a woodworker..

[jgreen]

Table saw did the trick for me.  Two cuts, one close then a fine cut right on the money.

[jrbirdman47]

Being a machinist will help you believe it or not! I did a lot of my woodwork on the mill. My partner who is a machinist and building the other LEXL can quickly come up with jigs and ways to make parts because that's what he does with metal. He made steel templates for a lot of parts which allowed us to crank out precisely identical parts with a router. And really, any way you come up with to accomplish making a part is the right one. Pic shows the templates he made and the nose ribs/ template.

[jrbirdman47]

We cut the trailing edges on a table saw. Used an 8 foot long spruce board thick enough to make two passes and get four 8 foot long pieces, (enough to complete both left and right wings) It doesn't need to be 13 feet long like the spar caps because it is cut at the inboard aileron rib anyway. I made them in two pieces and clamped them together in the middle during gluing as if it were a single piece trailing edge and it made a nice looking, straight trailing edge.

[jrbirdman47]

First pic is of the bottom trailing edge gussets being glued on prior to fitting the trailing edge.
Second pic shows how the two trailing edges are clamped together during all this until the aileron is finished and you cut it out. (I just took the excess piece of trailing edge I cut off overhanging the wing tip and inverted it on the joint of the two trailing edges so it would form a parallel top and bottom for the clamps)

[Chuck in Indiana]

Pictures really are worth a thousand words.  Thanks again.
I'm trying to get Scott to send me .dxf files of the wing parts so I don't have to draw them. Unfortunately, my cnc mill is acting up. Probably a warranty problem.. I bought it in '85.. 

[jrbirdman47]

Filling the aileron well:

Iron Design ribs with "K" blocks-

First I used a piece of aluminum flashing about 2 inches wide and bent the ends at such place as the flashing nested in the aileron well at a rib just perfectly, contacting the entire surface of the rear end of the rib and also the of the outside plywood forming the top and bottom of the well.

I then measured the distance between the two bends and added and inch so there'd be 1/2" hanging over top and bottom. I then used a straight edge and razor knife to cut the flashing to size. I found it easiest to make 3 pieces; an inboard piece, about 30" long, and outboard piece about 32" long and a piece to bridge those two in the middle about 15" long. (Your dimensions may vary) These sizes will work well with bench top bending brakes of 36" capacity.

NOTE: Remember to sand/ rough up the glue edges of the flashing BEFORE you bend it! (You only forget to do this once)

Bend the metal as far as the brake will allow. I had to bend it by hand a little more to get the angle right so that it would naturally lay flay on the plywood. It really takes about 130 degrees.

I installed by gluing the flashing to the rear end of the ribs first. (I used a LockTite brand glue that comes in a squeeze tube, no mixing. This stuff has a slightly elastic property I thought would handle vibration well. I think JB Weld would work great here too)

Once cured, I glued the short piece of flashing in the middle on top of the other two pieces. I used quick setting JB Weld for this part and it worked well.

Last I glued the top, and later, the bottom of the flashing to the plywood. For this I used Gorilla Glue because it expands and is kind of foamy and fills voids very well and is stickier than a politician's fingers.
If you use this don't forget to dampen the wood under the metal just before applying and use sparingly. The long nozzle on the bottle slides right under the metal and goes along it's length easily. I ran a bead about 3/16" wide and there was little mess. (My first try was a much bigger bead and resulted in a LOT of cleanup)
Also, save yourself a lot of sanding and cleanup by masking the metal to the edge and the plywood above that so that any glue that squishes out won't stick.
JB Weld can then be used to form a "fillet" where the pieces of flashing overlap and sanded smooth to make a nice, smooth transition for the fabric to rest on.

First pic is the template in place for final bending measurements

Second pic is flashing being glued to the ribs only.

[jrbirdman47]

Glueing the upper and lower surfaces. I bought every clamp Lowes had. TWICE. I placed a long piece of aluminum or wood under the clamp handles to keep them at the correct angle.

JB Weld fillet after sanding.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Needs more clamps.. 

[jrbirdman47]

Yeah, no lie!  I think I have about 60 like those and 120 of the little tiny steel ones, not to mention all the squeeze clamps and bar clamps of many sizes. And there are still times where I can't do anything else because I've used all my clamps! I even had to make some clamps for specialty situations where nothing else would work. I really don't think you can have too many clamps. Except when I finish the last wing this week.......... Then I will have too many clamps.

[Chuck in Indiana]

  

[jrbirdman47]

Hot wire foam cutter details:

As mentioned previously I made a hot wire styrofoam cutter using the wire from inside the wife's hair dryer. Pics below show one rig set up to cut 1" X 7.5" squares for the leading edge false ribs, sorta like a band saw would. You can stack several and cut a bunch in one pass. Second pic shows one made with a 17" opening to straddle two wood ribs at 15" spacing. Third pic is details of the build. Long through bolts allow clamping the battery charger directly to them. Para cord and a stick twisted below the frame allows for adjustment of tension. Too loose and you get poor cutting, too tight and you snap the wire.

Don't know why you couldn't use a rib as a template, fasten the foam to it and cut it like on a router table as well.