Prior to moving the right wing into the wing stand, I wanted to finish attaching the outboard leading edge. To do so, I carefully repositioned sawhorses away from the outboard end of the wing where the leading edge get riveted in, and made sure there was no chance of the wing tipping with the additional weight of the leading edge by adding weight and clamps to the sawhorses at the inboard end. Then it was a matter of asking my wife and daughter to hold the leading edge up under the main spar so that I could cleco it into place through the spar.
 |
| I wiped the wing surface with acetone to clean off any fingerprints and markings prior to attaching the outboard leading edge. Top surface looks even better now! |
 |
| Saw horses removed, and outboard leading edge strategically placed under the main spar so that it can easily be lifted straight up into position. |
 |
| Leading edge clecoed to the main spar |
I then continued by riveting leading edge to the spar web using LP4-3 pull rivets. For the two outboard ribs, the plans give the option of using either pull rivets or solid rivets.I decided to use pull rivets as there was less chance of error.
Pulling rivets right next the ribs and top skin can be a challenge with a standard rivet puller (requiring the use of a wedge for additional clearance), but I obtained a
PRP-26A close quarters rivet puller that worked extremely well to get into those tight corners, and it pulled all the rivets easily.
 |
| The PRP-26A rivet puller is the best rivet puller I've tried so far, especially where space is tight, although it is somewhat pricey |
Next, enlisting my daughters help again, we bucked rivets through the leading edge skin into the main spar top flange. This was straightforward as it was no different to riveting the top skins. I then started bucking rivets from the leading edge skin to the main spar bottom flange, but quickly realized that squeezing the rivets would be quicker and more consistent, so I switched to using the pneumatic squeezer.
 |
| The pneumatic squeezer makes easy work of setting rivets in the outboard leading edge skin in this area where the access panel nutplates and aileron/autopilot servo brackets live |
 |
| I used my angled tungsten bar to easily squeeze rivets in the rib flange corners that were close to the bolts going through the main spar |
 |
| Outboard leading edge fully riveted to bottom flange of main spar. Very happy to see no interference between the splice strip nutplates and the main spar step bars (although the nutplate attach rivet next to the lower step bar sits only about 1/64" above it) |
 |
| Right outboard leading edge fully riveted to the top flange of the main spar. Great results again with my daughter's help! |
To close out section 17 for the right wing, I completed riveting the inboard and outboard leading edge ribs to the main spar web. The plans call for riveting the inboard rib with AN470 4-7 rivets. To be able to do this I had to use my double offset rivet set, but even with that set, the rivet gun has to be placed right up to the web of the rib so that it was not angled to the rivet.
After setting the first couple of rivets, I noticed some minor deformation on one side of the rivet manufactured heads. The shop heads looked great, but I realized that even with the double offset rivet set, the rivet gun could not be placed entirely in line with the rivet due to interference from the rib web, and the edge of the set was deforming one edge of the manufactured head while riveting.
I set the remaining rivets, and all had the same issue. The deformation is minor, and there is no issue with rivet strength so I will leave them in place, and after some minor sanding with a scotchbrite pad and wiping with acetone to clean up the manufactured heads, I applied some primer to protect the rivet heads and they look fine. I will look to see if there are any alternate options to setting these rivets when I get to the same step on the left wing.
 |
| Primer added over the manufactured heads going through the main spar into the inboard leading edge rib for added corrosion protection |
With the right wing complete for now, I moved it into the wing stand and prepared to repeat the remainder of sections 16 and 17 for the left wing.
 |
| Right wing in the wing stand, clamped at the inboard end |
 |
| The straps are holding the wing well. I added a piece of carpet where the straps contact the leading edge, and will probably put some foam pieces near the tops of the straps to prevent any skin damage if the wing gets pushed sideways |
Build Hints
- If you're using a PRP-26A rivet puller, and it stops gripping the rivet mandrel while pulling (seems to happen shortly after using a newly purchased tool), just put a few drops of light machine oil into the pulling mechanism and function is restored almost immediately, after which the puller works flawlessly.
- Remove the quick change spring and use self-sealing silicone tape to hold the double offset rivet set to the rivet gun to prevent it rotating while riveting.
- The double offset rivet set requires a much higher air pressure than other smaller and/or straight rivet sets to set rivets. As a result, if it is not held entirely in line with the rivet (even with tape or rivet set caps), it will deform the manufactured head during the rivet setting process. Be careful to hold the set as close to vertical as possible!
Time Taken: 4.2 hours
Dates: May 12 - May 17 2024
Wing Outboard Leading Edge Total Time: 43.5 hours
RV-10 Build Total Time: 679.0 hours
Priming Total Time: 81.9 hours (not included in build time totals)
