FAQs Wing Build
Q#1) What does the "LP" stand for in the designation LP4-4 pull rivet?
Answer: Low Profile
Q#2) What number drill should I use to drill a rivet hole for a GESIPA LP4-3 pull rivet?
Answer: #30 Drill, Just like a solid 1/8 inch rivet.
Q#3) Why are some of the aluminum sheets in the wing kit box curved and held in place by a retaining board?
Answer: The curves represent the leading edge of the wing skins.
Q#4) Am I missing sections 6 to 12 on my RV12 Wing Kit plans?
Answer: No. The RV12 Wing Kit plans do not have sections 6 to 12 inclusive.
Q#5) Why do I get a dimple on the head of the pull rivet when I use a powered rivet gun?
Answer: You are using a tip with too large of an opening on the rivet gun and the aluminum on the head of the rivet is being formed into the opening in the tip of the rivet gun.
Q#6) Is there a directionality for internal protruding head rivets?
Answer: Unless directionality is specified in the plans or required by physical constraints, the rivets don't appear to know which way they are going, but prefer placing the manufactured head on the thinner sheet.
Q#7) My wings and flaperons have fingerprints and smudges. What product should I use to wipe them down, so they look a little cleaner?
Answer: You can use a soft cloth and water with Dawn detergent.
Q#8) Is every part in the RV12 wing kit covered with blue plastic film alclad?
Answer: Yes, but beware that some alclad kit parts from VANS may be covered in clear plastic.
Q#9) When do I use the LEFT aluminum shear?
Answer: When making cuts in aluminum away from you curving to the left, use the LEFT aluminum shear.
Q#10) How do I keep the drill tip from walking when I am drilling aluminum sheet?
Answer: You can twist the drill chuck while applying slight pressure to etch the surface of the aluminum sheet and then give the drill gun a quick burst to seat the drill bit before "drilling" the hole.
Q#11) How do I keep from marring the alcad when removing the tabs from the angles?
Answer: First, I covered the grinding post with duct tape. Second, I found that I could leave the blue plastic on the angles and still remove the tabs with a medium wheel on a bench grinder. This allowed me to rest part of the angle on the grinding post for maximum control. I then removed the plastic from the angle, hand de-burred the angle, and then, using an unsupported free hand technique, machine de-burred the edges using a scothbrite wheel. For a final touch, I hand sanded the edges with a scotchbrite pad.
Q#12) How do I separate the W1210B-R and W1210B-L doublers?
Answer: While this is certainly a most opportune time to convince the spouse that you need a band saw, I clamped the larger piece between two pieces of wood and used a Dremel Cut Off tool to amputate the smaller piece.
Q#13) Must I de-burr the factory rivet holes?
Answer: "The sheet aluminum is joined by pull rivets pressed through holes that are not just pre-punched but punched to final size; no final sizing, deburring or dimpling."
Q# 14) How do I keep the #30 extension drill from wobbling as I drill?
Answer: As instructed in the "Standard Aircraft Manual" I supported the drill lightly with one hand, away from the flutes, _while_ drilling with the other hand. Some authors recommend using a drill guide "made from a piece of tubing that is held with the free hand."
Q#15) How do I de-burr a drill hole if I do not have clearance for the quick de-burring tool?
Answer: Switch to the smallest de-burring head on the swivel hand de-burring tool and use that to de-burr the hole. Or use a slightly over size drill and twist it by hand.
Q#16) How do I drill and tap the AEX tie downs when they are already mounted on the spar?
Answer: I quick clamped vertical 2X4s to the side of the legs of my EAA tables and, using wood to protect the spar, then quick clamped the spar to the 2X4s so that the spar was held, resting on the tables, with the tie downs vertical. I then spun the head of my table top drill press around 180 degrees and placed it on one of the EAA tables so that I could drill out the AEX tie downs. I used a level and shims to align the drill and the hole. Remember to use tap oil on the tap when you tap the holes and follow the instructions in the plans for clearing aluminum from the tap as you go. I found that a drop of drill/tap oil also helped with the drilling.
Q#17) How do I remove 1/8 inch pop rivets?
Answer: Do not panic. This is going to happen and you CAN do it. First get yourself a #31 drill which is just a smidge smaller than the #30 drill, just in case you drill to far, you will not enlarge the hole. Next get yourself a spring center punch with an awl point on one side and a nail driver on the other side. Ground down the awl point so that it just covers the steel mandrel. Ground down the nail driver so that it cleanly fits through a rivet hole and is just long enough to drive out the rivet. Now center punch the steel mandrel so that it does not interfere with the drill. Then drill very slowly until you have gone through most of the rivet head. Use the nail driver side of the punch or the drill to snap off the rivet head. Then use the spring center punch to drive out the rivet. It really works. I should know!
Q#18) How do I use a ScotchBrite wheel to de-burr the scalloped flanges on the ribs?
Answer: Avery has a one inch ScotchBrite wheel that can be attached to a grinder using the included mandrel.
Q#19) How do I control the power pop rivet gun after it breaks off the pull rivet stem?
Answer: I use two fingers of the free hand to hold the nose of the power gun and press these fingers on the surface to be riveted.
Q#20) How do I rivet the attach angles without bending the angles?
Answer: I ground off just enough of the top of the tight space hand pop rivet tool with a medium grinder, without excessively weakening the tool, so that the rivet tool would fit over a rivet in the attach angle without the top touching. I then added some duct tape to the rivet tool so that I could dispense with the aluminum protective sheet. The duct tape will need frequent inspection and replacement. According to the plans, a wedge of aluminum can also be used with an air rivet puller. I had success using the aluminum wedge by bending the rivet shaft appropriately before riveting. Finally, Jim C has made a wedge close quarters tool that works with an air rivet gun.
Q#21) The holes in the factory attach angles and spar do not line up. How do I rivet these angles?
Answer: I used the special tight space hand rivet tool. I then placed a tapered awl in one of the external factory holes and marked the spot where the awl stopped. I then ground off the tip of the tapered awl to make a hole alignment tool. I then placed the rivets in the holes by placing the hole alignment tool in an adjacent hole and pivoting the tool perpendicular to the hole to center the hole. The trick is not to pull any rivets until you get all of the rivets placed in the holes in a given attach angle. In the rare case that the rivet still would not go into a hole, I "touch drilled" the hole with a #30 drill using a drill guard and then de-burred the hole with a swivel de-burring tool and/or a quick de-burring tool.
Q#22) Do I need to radius the corners of the attach angles?
Answer: Yes.
? #23) How do I machine countersink the sub spar assembly?
Answer: Make sure to use the 1/8" (#30) 120 degree countersink. Practice on scrap aluminum first. Hold the stop with one hand against the aluminum to keep the stop from spinning, while drilling with the other hand. One author recommends using a lower speed and higher pressure than drilling, not to exceed 2500 rpm. Whatever combination of speed and pressure used, the goal is to avoid chattering which will result in an uneven surface and irregular depth. If the pilot reaches the back wall of the aluminum, the bit can chatter. If the pilot reaches the back wall of the spar, a shim can be used behind the spar to center the pilot. A drop of machine oil may extend the life of the countersink bit. It is important to maintain the angle once you start drilling and avoid "wobbling." If the drill is not perpendicular to the hole, it will appear eccentric. Just clear the loose aluminum, reset the angle and drill again. Over time I think the best technique is to use a second piece of aluminum with a #30 hole secured to the work piece to stabilize the countersink. Be aware that both the lock nut AND/OR the plastic stop can become loose and contribute to irregular depths.
? #24) How do I generate enough pressure to repeatedly squeeze AN470 AD 4-4 rivets?
Answer: After hand squeezing a few of these rivets, my arms started to fatigue. I found it a lot easier to start the rivets using hand strength and then complete the task by resting the straight arm of the rivet squeezer on a wooden stool, using body weight to accomplish final rivet compression. Be aware of the extra compression generated by this technique, especially if the rivet should start to bend.
? #25) I squeezed the AN470 AD4-4 rivet on the stub spar and hinges to 1.5D, but the height is less than .5D. What's up?
Answer: The AN470 AD4-4 may be a bit short for this application, so aim for a shop head diameter between 0.163 inches and slightly less than 1.5 times the rivet diameter. That should result in a shop head depth between 0.05 and 0.07 inches.
? #26) The W-1212 Hinge Assembly calls for two AN426AD4-6 flush rivets. If I machine countersink both sides of the assembly for a flush machine head, the shop head is proud. Is this going to interfere with movement of the flaperon?
Answer: Van's prefers that the shop head is flush, but there is some clearance. The shop head can be filed down.
? #27) I don't see any instructions on attaching the flaperon to the wing in Section 18. Am I missing a Section 19?
Answer: Nope. The instructions for attaching the flaperons and the needed hardware such as the AN3 bolt are not included in the wing kit.
? #28) Is there a directionality when fluting the nose ribs?
Answer: YES. The indentations should point inward, away from the skin surface.
? #29) How many holes need to be manually dimpled in the leading edge of the inboard wing skin?
Answer: Three. One in one place and two in one place for a total of two places. Go figure
? #30) How can I bend the lower edge of the wing doubler?
Answer: I used an customized edge rolling tool. I moved the rollers of the Avery edge roller closer together to close the gap and, as suggested by "Butch", I removed two small washers under the rollers to narrow the width of the rolled edge. Finally, I used the tool at a slight angle so that only one edge of the tool rubbed on the sheet metal, keeping the rollers off the dimples. I only rolled the edge enough for cosmetic purposes, not enough to make full contact with the underlying skin.
? #31) How do I get the spar rivets to go into the wing doubler?
Answer: First, try this with the wing doubler clecoed to the wing. If this does not work, then try to insert the spar rivets with the wing doubler "free". Where possible I inserted any difficult spar rivets into the wing doubler and clecoed the remaining spar rivet holes. Only then did I clecoe the remaining wing doubler to the wing. This required some ingenuity in getting the inferior row of clecoes into the leading edge of the wing doubler.
? #32) Twice, when trying to rivet the W1204H wing tip trailing edge to the wing, the rivet shop head collided with an existing pulled rivet shop head. This prevented the manufactured rivet head from seating fully. How do I get these two rivets to seat fully?
Answer: On one rivet I was able to gently lift the inner surface with the round side of a rivet gauge to provide clearance. Your experience may vary. On a second rivet, I used a hand rivet gun. I angled the rivet so that one side of the manufactured head was seated against the surface. I then slowly pulled the rivet. As the shop head was slowly pulled in I was able to slowing bring the rivet perpendicular and flush to the surface.
Hope that helps.