Hello my dedicated readers, er, I mean reader (thanks, honey)! This week we’ve decamped to Telluride for our annual Memorial Day getaway. While there’s no actual work happening on the plane, the break is giving me time to catch up the build log and post some (hopefully) interesting content (in between margaritas and jigsaw puzzles).
Athena tells me she much prefers the shop and “helping” with airplane building over this.
Too Big for UPS
The big news is that the wing kit finally arrived a few weeks back. I had many people ask how close the final shipment came to the estimate provided by Van’s. It was pretty close. I ordered it the first week of January and Van’s promised shipment within 16 and 20 weeks (they are now listing lead times in months–sigh). I knew shipment was getting close when I noticed the balance charge show up on my credit card. Then about a week later I got an email from the shipping company tell me I could call and arrange delivery. I thought it odd that I had not gotten confirmation from Van’s but then shortly thereafter I got a packet in the US Mail (how quaint!) giving me the details I needed, along with instructions on how to handle potential damages. I have seen some pretty bleak reports of damage during shipment and was hoping I would not have to deal with such headaches.
This photo was taken near 13th and Elmwood. Media stage in Commons Park on North side near dog park. PIO eta is 30 mins. pic.twitter.com/vfXlToB5mE
Of course, this had recently happened a couple miles from our house.
Fortunately I had no such issues when the shipment arrived.
Does Van’s paint the dollar sign to signify, “If you rob this truck, steal these first”?
I’m sure the driver had some questions about the odd-shaped crates but if he did he kept them to himself.
I was tempted to explain that I was a massive pole vaulting enthusiast.
The driver was very accommodating and pushed the crates over the curb and up the driveway into my garage/aircraft factory.
You can almost picture them flying!
After the rush of the delivery was over I realized I had made a tactical error in scheduling it for mid-week. In retrospect it would have been better to schedule it for Friday so I could have quit work and gone straight into inventory management. However, you shouldn’t attempt to build an airplane if you aren’t good at problem solving and, after thinking about my predicament for a few moments, I grabbed my laptop so I could take my remaining Teams meetings from the garage. I assure you I was definitely, sort of, paying attention.
One thing that is not on the inventory sheet is the shear volume of packing paper Van’s uses to protect the valuable cargo. I was pretty sure I could have packed a small, single family home with everything that was left over, as you can see in the time lapse video below:
Another satisfied customer of Van’s Packing Materials Company.
Inventorying the kit is a critical first step as you only have 30 days to inform Van’s of missing components and get them shipped for free. After that you pay the bill. I inventoried the large/aluminum parts as I unpacked them but there are several bags and sub-kits that require more careful study. In the end everything was accounted for with the exception of some backordered flap nose ribs, some AN4 bolts (they shipped AN3’s instead), and 3 measly K1000-06 nut plates. I felt sort of bad for making Van’s send me 3 replacement nut plates as I’m sure I have some extras but, being extremely Type-A, I could not violate the mandate to tell them what was missed. I received the bolts and nut plates within a week or so.
You Can Have a Storeroom or a Workshop But Not Both
As satisfying as the unpacking and inventorying was it left me with the dilemma of what to do with all the new pieces parts (not to mention the completed empennage) such that I would have room to work (and park my truck at night). I had already used a good chunk of the wall space for some decorative aluminum art pieces:
New York collectors will pay big bucks for this stuff.
And I’d cleaned off enough junk from some storage shelves for the smaller pieces:
It looks so cool I almost don’t want to start building. Almost…
That left the problem of what to so with larger wing skins and the massive spars. My first thought was to hang the leading edge skins from the ceiling. I bought a hardwood closet rod at Lowe’s and fashioned some plywood brackets but, after attaching the brackets to the ceiling discovered the skins were just too heavy and cumbersome to safely get them up there. Instead I opted to reposition the “elevator wall art” so I could hang the skins alongside):
Note the strings keeping the skins from expanding.
For the wing skins I decided to use the space along the wall I normally try to keep clear do I can open by truck doors. I used some structural pipe, hose and pipe clamps, and the sides of one of the crates to fashion a shelf of sorts that hold not only the wing skins but rear spars, j-stiffeners, and other long parts:
Note the all-important “anti-door whack” system.
The reason I chose to mount the shelf off the floor was that I need room to store the wing spars. While it won’t be too long before the spars are part of the larger wing structure I did want a way to tuck them away during the initial construction phases. The solution I came up with was to attach some casters I had on hand to the shipping crate. That way I can roll them against the wall when I need to:
Overengineer (ō-vər-ˌen-jə-ˈnir); verb; To make something more complicated than necessary; often implies that the complexity was added intentionally.
That left only the empennage, which had been occupying one of my rolling workbenches for the past several months. I had already decided it would live on the ceiling of the garage. The question was now to get it there. I thought about purchasing a manufactured solution like the one I use to store our Christmas sleigh (don’t ask–long story) but these are a bit overkill and expensive for what they are. Therefore I decided to try to roll my own solution.
I had previously fabricated two cradles to hold the empennage and so started by building a frame out of 1×3 boards and some plywood gussets to which these could be attached:
I used hardwood floor scraps to reinforce the pine boards against flexing. See previous definition of overengineering.
I bolted eye hooks at the corners and to the ceiling joists with the idea that I’d use rope to hoist the whole enchilada skyward and then secure it with some surplus light fixture chain I had on hand. After I trial run with ropes passed through the ceiling hooks I discovered the whole thing was too heavy to lift, even though most of the weight was surely the wood, not the aluminum. In the end I decided to add pulleys to both the frame and the ceiling to fashion a rudimentary block and tackle system. That provided the leverage I needed and, for the first time, at least part of the airplane took flight:
Up, up and away!
The empennage just rests in the cradle so to keep to sliding out and ruining both part of an airplane and two cars I threaded a bolt through a length of chain and fitted it to the tie down bracket. In the end I was pretty happy with the result as will be easily to get back down if I want to work on some of the remaining tasks.
Now, in the immortal words of Robert Irvine, “Let’s get to work!”
With the elevator debacle under control I decided to sweep up the metal shavings and switch gears to Section 12–empennage fairings–one of the few tasks left to do. Section 12 covers the installation of composite fairings to elevator, rudder, and stabilizer tips. The molded tips come as part of the empennage kit but some must be modified by building up one side with raw fiberglass cloth. The plans are extremely basic, describing a two-step process through very clean-looking engineering drawings. Little did I know how much “character building” would be involved in saga that unfolded over the course of multiple weeks.
Some time ago I had ordered the composite practice kit from Aircraft Spruce. I ordered the version that comes with Burt Rutan’s “Moldless Composites Sandwich Homebuilt / Aircraft Construction” (a $15.50 value!), figuring it would be useful to learn from the master. For some reason this SKU was backordered (the kit with just the raw ingredients would have shipped immediately) and so it didn’t arrive until early January. When it arrived I wasn’t sure I’d made the right decision since the manual’s contents weren’t any more illustrative then what I can find online through EAA and YouTube.
I waited weeks for this?
Regardless, the kit came with everything I needed to get started, including West Systems resin and hardener, fiberglass cloth, flox and micro, cups, stirrers, gloves and more. The accompanying manual suggests several practice projects with which to get familiar with the materials and processes but, frankly, none seemed all that interesting. I suppose back when Rutan wrote the manual (apparently using a typewriter and ink pen) someone reading it would be mystified by this “magic” process. Today, when composite manufacturing is practically live-streamed (not only aircraft, but boats, custom cars, and more) you (or, rightly, me) feels like they understand what’s going on.
And thus I decided to jump right in.
The tasks called out in the plans are fairly straightforward and go something like this:
Trim excess material to ensure the fairing will mate with the matching aluminum part.
Remove any excess epoxy/gel coat from the joggle along the flange perimeter.
Match-drill the fairings using the pre-punched holes in the aluminum skins.
Dimple the skins and countersink the holes in the fairings.
For fairings with an open side, enclose with three layers of fiberglass cloth and resin.
Attach the fairings (except for the lower rudder fairing, which waits until lighting is sorted) using CS4-4 blind rivets
There are several considerations that affect the fit and finish of the fairings. Rather than provide a chronological narrative of the process (since that would result in a 70-page blog post) I will present some highlights of each stage along with lots of pictures as well as my observations, learnings and frustrations.
Mis en Place
As when making a great meal, each stage begins with prep work. First you must sand off any resin/gel coat in the “joggle” where the fiberglass parts get riveted to the aluminum structure:
Make the sloppy look clean!
I tried using a razor blade for the first few passes but this proved cumbersome and not all that effective. I found using a flat file much easier. Just hold the long edge of the file snug against the corner and work it back and forth until it’s square. It’s a bit hard to see in the image below but goal is to get a nice clean edge so there isn’t a gap when you rivet these onto the metal components.
Failed to get a picture of the technique but you can (kind of) see the results
The next step is to trim excess material from each part. I used a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel as well as painter’s tape and a reference line to reduce splintering.
Trimming to fit
One thing to be careful of at this stage is the width of the flange. The plans specify a nominal width but I would recommend making it a bit oversize and then sanding to fit. Otherwise you risk not leaving enough material to support the rivets (see below).
Match-drilling and countersinking the fiberglass parts is pretty much the same as when working with aluminum, involving clecos, #30 and #40 drill bits, and countersink cage.
Match-drill #40 first, then final-drill #30
Where Are The Dressing Rooms?
One thing you might have noticed in the photos is that the fit between the rudder and rudder fairing was, er, not great. In case you missed it, here’s a close up:
Eeeew! Gross!
Oh, by the way, see that cleco right above the counterweight attach screw? The placement of that rivet hole is ambiguous in the plans drawings (note the lack of handy-dandy dotted lines below) but the text states you need to use an odd number of CS4-4 rivets and there does appear to be a hole drawn on the forward end so I assumed a rivet was needed there. If my rudder falls off because I misinterpreted the plans then now you know why.
18 lines, 19 rivets–the story of my life…
In retrospect I would recommend prepping the fairings while assembling the tail section components so you can check the fit and attempt any adjustments. However, because the rudder was already built when I got the kit I didn’t have that opportunity. My first thought was to attempt to improve the fit with some composite treatment. (I had never used composites before and so assumed they were effectively magic materials.) After stewed on the issue, though, I decided to try to improve the fit of the aluminum skins. Keep in mind this piece has to line up with the vertical stabilizer tip fairing and I determined just slathering on fairing compound was not going to provide the finish I wanted.
My fix involved removing the rudder counterweight, filling in the top screw hole as well as the infamous 19th rivet hole with JB Weld epoxy (using duct tape over the holes), clamping the skins tight around the fairing, and re-drilling the holes.
Putting the SQUEEZE on the rudder
You can see how much the top portion of the rudder skin squeeze together (about 1/4 inch) the final photo above. You can also see a layer of JB Weld I applied between the two skins after reassembling the skins. Eventually all this will be covered with a layer of composite material.
Sometimes You Can Be Too Trim
The rudder fairing was the first piece I tackled and (naturally) I took off a bit material more than needed. To avoid having the fiberglass crack at some point in the future I borrowed a tip from another builder and patched in a thin strip of 0.020 aluminum using a strip of bi-directional glass cloth and resin.
Hold me tight and I’ll hold you tight (but not too tight)
You can see that I only added the aluminum to the forward sections where the flange was too thin for my liking. Also, the tips of the cleco clamps are wrapped in packing tape to prevent them from becoming permanent fairing accessories.
I made a similar mistake when trimming one of the h-stab fairings, cutting it to close to the end, right through a rivet hole.
Soooooo close!
In this case, though, because I needed to build up the open side with fiberglass, I assumed (correctly for once!) that enough material would get laid down to provide a reasonable anchor point.
Cutting in Three Dimensions
One of the challenges of trimming these fairings in particular is getting the upper and lower curves to align with the elevator fairings. You want to follow the contour of the elevator tip and fairing, leaving just enough space to ensure the elevator can move freely but not leave so much clearance that it doesn’t look pleasing to the eye. As with my aspects of the build, the solution is to work slowly, making small adjustments as you repeatedly attach and remove the fairing using clecos.
Ultrafine tip Sharpie to the rescue
You can see above that before you close out the aft portion of the h-stab fairing with fiberglass it protrudes a bit outside the edge of elevator fairing. My solution to this was to make the temporary foam rib (see below) a bit taller than the profile of the h-stab fairing, thus “tucking in” the outboard curve.
R V Serious?
See what I did there? Subtle Latin reference. I crack myself up sometimes!
One of the most mysterious aspects of constructing the fairings involves enclosing the open side of the elevator and vertical stabilizer fairings with fiberglass cloth. The diagram in the plans that tries to explain this is deceptively ambiguous.
How hard can this be?
The first stab is to fashion a temporary rib out of foam and shape it to the fairing profile. I ordered some PVC Divinycell foam from Aircraft Spruce for this even though the composite practice kit came with some blue foam insulation pieces. I figured I might need it for other projects at some point in the future. At this point he plans are not very explicit as to how to go about forming the rib. Here are a couple of things that I took away from the process:
You can approximate the profile of the fairing by firmly pressing it into the surface of the foam.
Given the curve of the elevator counterweight, the rib should be made somewhat concave, not straight as it is shown in the plans.
Unless you like digging out pieces of foam and epoxy from hardened fiberglass, consider wrapping the temporary rib in packing tape. Argh!
Rather than making the rib flush with the back of the fairing as shown, recess it 1/8″ or so to provide a “well” to fill with fairing compound/micro-balloons. Argh again!
Make sure to test fit the fairing and attach with clecos until you are happy with the profile. Yay!
First experience working with fiberglass and so far Virgin Galactic has not called with a job offer
As you can see from the last photo, the first layer of cloth detached from the fairings in a few places. I figured this was okay because most of the strength was going to come from the two layers applied inside the fairing. As long as I was happy with the shape (you can see this in one of the photos) I decided to move on. Also, because I did not apply packing tape there was some foam residue on the inside of the fairings but, again, since this was going to be saturated in resin in the next stage (and no one except me–and, well, you–would know about it) I felt it was okay.
The next two layers of fiberglass cloth went on pretty easily, though getting it to lay down in the tight inside curves was a but tedious. Incidentally, even though the composite kit came with calibrated pumps for the West epoxy system I found it easier to measure the resin and hardener by weight (5 to 1) since I was working with such small volumes. I used a small digital scale I had bought for the kitchen.
A Heart of Glass!
Super-sharp shop shears (alliteration!) and a Dremel tool with cutoff wheel made quick work of cleaning up the excess cloth and resin.
This Page Intentionally Left Blank
After reinforcing the fairings the next (and last) step in the plans is to rivet them on to the appropriate tailfeathers.
Fiberglass, meet Aluminum. Aluminum, Fiberglass.
While the plans don’t dictate anything beyond this I have seen numerous builders apply composites to the joint between the two materials to make a more visually pleasing interface. In fact, the junction between the two components did look pretty amateurish. I contemplated leaving them as-is to reinforce to the FAA that this aircraft was, in fact, built by a total noob but, in the end decided to attempt to replicate my esteemed peers’ work.
In retrospect, I have to question that decision for the sake of my sanity. What became apparent quite quickly is something I’m sure builders of Long-Eze, Glasair and other composite aircraft are well acquaint with–the frustrating and fruitless hunt for smooth perfection. In a way, it is the definition on irony. I am building an aluminum aircraft, where subtle ripples in the skill and rivet lines are part and parcel, but somehow believed the tiny pieces of fiberglass at each tailfeather tip needed to exhibit the characteristics of the Hubble telescope’s main mirror. In case you are similarly afflicted I’ll briefly describe the high points here but, in truth, I am reluctant to relive this portion of the build.
I started by applying a layer of West Systems 410 filler to the individual parts in order to create a semi-smooth surface. I followed this up with a sanding and a layer of epoxy and micro-balloons. More sanding and a second layer of micro–followed by more sanding–yielded satisfactory pieces which I then riveted on to the main structures. I varied sandpaper grit from 80 to 220 and found these Durablock sanding blocks to be super useful.
I was hungry and had to keep telling myself it wasn’t peanut butter
Once riveted, I applied a layer of painter’s tape to protect the aluminum skin and repeated the 410-sand-micro-sand process to file and feature the gaps between the fiberglass and aluminum parts.
Because I love things that take multiple steps separate by hours of curing time
Once I had achieved reasonable good contours I hit the tips with a coat of SEM self-etching primer, which helped highly any ridges, valleys and pinholes. (It also offers a layer of protection to the layer of Alclad sanded off during the process.) Then it was back to spot filling with thinner and thinner coats of micro and more sanding.
You can have it in any color as long as it’s gray
In the end I was reasonably happy, if exhausted. Remember that gnarly gap between the rudder and rudder fairing? Viola!
Smooth as a bowl of ramen…or something
There was also a pretty nasty gap where the v-stab met the fairing that I was able to disguise.
With the elevators themselves in limbo, I decided to move on to the elevator pushrod. In theory this is a straightforward step. You trim a piece of aluminum tube to length and then rivet in threaded inserts on each end. The aluminum tube is deceptively light and you wonder how it handles the stresses of control inputs. Of course, like an aluminum can, as long as it isn’t deformed in any way it has tremendous longitudinal strength. That means don’t dent it!
Second, you want to make sure to get the finished length correct. This is particular important with a piece like this one since, at 6+ feet in length, if you cut it short you’ll be paying as much for shipping as for a replacement piece. To complicate matters I had just broken my bandsaw blade and so needed to go “old school” with a hacksaw.
As is good practice whenever working with aluminum I measured the correct distance but then cut the tube slightly longer. I then set up some blocks on an adjacent workbench level with my sander. This would allow me to sand off the excess aluminum (being careful not to overheat it) until I had the specified length.
ROUGH CUT A BIT LONG
SET UP A LEVEL BRACE
CAREFULLY GRIND TO LENGTH
This ended up working very nicely. I measured several times as I was getting close to my mark and sanded a bit more until I had a perfect length (or at least as perfect as a my tape measure). You can see this in action here:
After sanding the pushrod to length the next step is to drill six equidistant holes for blind rivets. The plans provide an easy way to do this–cut a strip of paper that matches the circumference of the tube, mark the hole locations, then wrap it around the pushrod. It worked a treat! Now just measure the edge offset and drill #30 holes through the pushrod and insert.
DON’T FORGET TO MAKE ALIGNMENT MARKS TO EASE REASSEMBLY!
As you may have noticed, the previous builder dispensed with primer on the interior surfaces. Again, I won’t get into the endless debate here. Van’s is typically indifferent but does recommend priming the inside of the pushrod tube since, once it’s rivetted, you have no way to inspect it. I took their advice and sprayed some self-etching primer in both ends. It was a bit difficult to confirm coverage but spray was coming out the opposite end and there was enough accumulation to swirl around the inside.
Additionally I thought the outside would just look nicer with a smooth coat of primer so I scuffed it with Scotchbrite (probably not needed with self-etching primer but did anyway) and cleaned with acetone. To get a consistent coat I fashioned some simple hangers from 1×2 redwood and nails clamped to a shelf protected with plastic. I got some drips at first but quickly realized they were being caused by ill-fitting nitrile gloves hanging over the nozzle. A quick adjustment and the priming was done.
After a few days of curing there was nothing left to do but make use of my new Ace Hardware rivet pulled and attach the threaded inserts, followed by some rod end bearings.
Many builders look forward to the moment when, after months of diligent and careful work assembling numerous subcomponents, you get to Section 11. The title of the this section is brief and to the point: Empennage Attach. Like all sections, it begins with an overview diagram that conveys what you will accomplish by the end. The image associated with Section 11 tells the story. You will now assemble those numerous components into something resembling a real airplane (at least if you stand at the F-1006 bulkhead looking aft and squint your eyes). I feel kind of bad that this is one of my first tasks as the new kit owner and that the previous one won’t get to witness it (but don’t worry, I’ll get over it 😁).
One of the first steps is to attach the elevators to the horizontal stabilizer. Each is first attached by two rod end bearings secured with AN6 bolts, then you drill through the (very important) control horns, at which point both elevators are tied in to a common attach point. I was sweating this step because once you drill through the steel control horns you are, as they say, committed (in terms of geometry). Anyone who has worked with door hinges know that with two attach points you can get away with a little imprecision but with three everything needs to be lined up pretty closely. Such as it is with an RV-10 elevator. You are committing almost 11 feet of painstakingly and lovingly rivetted aluminum to two 1/4″ holes drilled using nothing but the central bearing as a guide. Screw this up and you will forever feel whatever wonkiness you’ve introduced in the control stick. Eek!
REQUIRES (ALMOST) MORE COMMITTMENT THAN MY 20 YEAR MARRIAGE
Fortunately I time to contemplate this most significant hole drilling exercise as the E-drill bushing (which is used to protect the central bearing from the nastiness of the drill) could not be located in the purchased kit inventory. Another order to Van’s and waiting for USPS was in order.
After the bushing arrived I decided it was time to forge ahead, the first step being to secure the horizontal stabilizer to a workbench “just so”. You position it so that the elevators hang over the edge of the workbench–all the better to test their range of motion.
ARE YOU READY TO RECEIVE THY ELEVATORS?
The next step involves setting the offset distance of the rod end bearings to a specific measurement (7/8″), attaching each elevator, checking the edge clearances, and adjusting the bearing distances as needed. No problem!
Before I go on I want to point out that whomever decided to put rod end bearings in such a tight location (recessed inside the elevator skins) and expected someone to be able to adequately manipulate them must have been a masochist. After several clumsy attempts to adjust them using “off the shelf” tools (and mucking up the bearings in the process) I decided to search for a better option. I did find one–a custom tool for sale on line–but not wanting to (a) lay out more cash for a finished product and (b) endure the inevitable shipping delay. I decided to fabricate my own based on what I saw. So it was back in the truck and off to Lowe’s for raw materials.
One thing that has always appealed to me about the building process is that it will inevitably involve solving problems. (Keep than in mind–it becomes relevant again later in this post.) I do truly enjoy the process of being presented with a problem and having to stare, contemplate, theorize, diagram, experiment and (eventually) solve the riddle. For this particular conundrum I decided to fall back to my woodworking and plumbing experience and fabricate a tool that would do the job. It consisted of a plug made from an oak dowel (shaped using my drill press and small milling vise) and some PVC pipe.
With a handy new tool in, um, hand, I set about to satisfy the plans instructions regarding attaching the elevators. That’s when I had my first (only?) really big “WTF” moment thus far.
I was feeling pretty clever after figuring out how to support the port elevator so I could insert the AN6 bolts into each bracket, securing the rod end bearings into place, without assistance. Then, given the precision of modern, CNC-punched parts that Van’s produces, I expected to quickly confirm that the gap between the elevator end rib and horizontal stabilizer was a consistent 1/8″ as the plans specified. Well, not only was the gap not consistent, the forward tip of the end rib was actually binding on the h-stab. (As I said, WTF?!)
I won’t relay all of the thoughts that raced through my head at that moment (as some of them are not appropriate for a family audience) but suffice it to say I did pause and stare at the situation in front of me for some time as the stages of grief started to set in. The first phase, of course, is denial, as in, “wait, that can’t possible be happening.” I checked the plans and my work and indeed confirmed that the tip was binding. This quickly gave way to anger and several more curse words were uttered. Then the bargaining began. If only I adjusted this a little here and that a little there the maybe, just maybe…no. Actually I did get the tip to stop binding by backing the outboard rod end bearing out of its mount until it was hanging by just a couple threads but that didn’t seem like a structurally sound solution. After several iterations taking the elevator off, making adjustments, and putting it back on to no avail, depression set in.
Not ready for acceptance just yet I decided to try fitting the starboard elevator. Surely this was an isolated problem–or maybe I’d just misread the plans–and the second elevator would reveal the error of my ways. You can probably guess the result. It was a mirror image of the first elevator, if not worse. What was going on here?
DISTORTIONS IN THE SKIN ARE HIDING MY TEARS
I took a carpenter’s square and lined it up with the centers of rivets on the elevator’s longitudinal axis and attempted to also align it with the rivets on the end rib/counterweight skin. If you look closely at the images above you can see that, while the longitudinal rivets are perfectly aligned, the end rib rivets are askew, progressively getting worse as you go forward.
I shot off an email to Van’s and their response was, paraphrasing, “unpossible”. Well, yes, I agreed. If you follow the plans and align the pre-punched holes this should not be possible. We discussed potential ways to affect a fix, including longer rod end bearings and grinding down the edges. Neither seemed workable for various reasons.
Going back and reviewing the plans related to fabrication of the end ribs I noticed that it is up to the builder to straighten the ribs using fluting pliers. The skin is then clecoed to the ribs and the holes are match drilled. I speculated that the ribs might not have been completely straight and, after clecoing, might have put some sort of tension on the skins such that they developed a small deformation. Match drilling and riveting the skins locked this in. If you follow the plan’s assembly sequence you build up the entire elevator before fitting it to the h-stab so it’s possible the previous builder didn’t catch the problem.
So, what to do? I think the best solution is to drill out all the rivets that attach the counterbalance skin, remove the skin, and attempt to straighten the ribs, re-attaching the skins after that. This will likely involve replacing the skins since the existing holes would not align completely. Before committing to this course of action I decided to reach out to by build instructor Troy (who is also an EAA Technical Counselor) to get his opinion. I’m still waiting for him to take a look so, until then, this part of the build is on hold. Problem solving indeed!
Building N726AG 