Alex's Vans RV-10 Build Log

After priming the rear spars, I temporarily clecoed them to the wing ribs (ensuring the main spar was not twisted), and then clecoed the doublers and hinge brackets to the rear spar. I decided it would be easier to squeeze rivets in the doubler/bracket to spar attachment holes which were not also attached to the wing ribs, so after clecoing everything together on the wing, I removed the spar to rib clecos and clamped the spar on its side to the workbench. I also taped off holes not to be riveted so as not to make any mistakes. Final fitting of the rear spar and attachment to the (left) wing ribs prior to riveting Right rear spar and attachements clamped to the workbench Squeezing the majority of the rivets was relatively easy, however there were a few that had to be bucked around the inboard aileron hinge bracket. Bucking the rivets next to the inboard aileron hinge bracket. Easy using the longer 7" rivet set for clearance Inboard aileron hinge bracket riveted to the rear spar and...

I again took advantage of a break in the rainy weather to prime the rear wing spars. These didn't take too long to prep and prime, I just had to be careful with handling them as they are each about 12 feet long. Rear spars drying after cleaning with EkoEtch Using packing paper to protect the primed finish while moving the spar around on the priming table Both spars primed and ready to be riveted to the wing ribs once I finish attaching those to the main spars So far with my experiences working with Stewart Systems EkoPrime in an outdoor setting, I have found the following conditions give the best, most consistent, priming results temperature - 64F - 70F away from direct sunlight calm wind (of course!) Primer used:   ~125g + 12g distilled water Time Taken:       1.7  hours Dates:                    March 20 2024 RV-10 Build Total Time:      620 .1  hours Priming Total Time:  ...

Leaving the left wing temporarily clecoed together as a reference, I started to dimple the right wing parts.  This includes dimpling the Lower flange aft tab on all the wing ribs 26 inboard most holes in the top rear spar flange Holes in the bottom rear spar flange that attach to the ribs Rear spar lower flange holes dimpled where the ribs attach Rear spar, 26 inboard most upper flange holes dimpled  These were all dimpled using the pneumatic squeezer, however I ran across a few gotchas for which I came up with the following solutions Dimpling the rear spar top flange using the squeezer was very tight due to the angle of the flange (less than 90 deg. from the web), and the yoke sliding across the web as the dimple dies came together left a fine scratch in the surface. I'm not worried about these as I will later prep the surface prior to priming, but to prevent the scratches for now I put down some masking tape, and this worked very well to fix this issue. Initial dimpling atte...

Prior to priming and riveting in the wing ribs, I decided to finish fitting the rear spars and top skins so that I could complete any necessary drilling and countersinking, and ultimately dimple parts prior to priming and riveting. Starting with the right wing, I clecoed in all the wing ribs, rear spar, aileron and flap attach brackets, and final drilled any holes (as indicated in the plans) in parts where an rivet would not pass through.  There are 4 holes in the third and fourth inboard most rib to rear spar flanges that need to be match drilled through the rear spar doubler. This results in new holes in the flanges very close to the original holes. It is these new holes that will get riveted while two of the original holes in each rib flange will not. Wing ribs and rear spar components clecoed in place for drilling Additional holes drilled into wing rib aft flanges I also countersunk the holes in the top flange of the rear spar corresponding to the doubler plates locations. Even...

I completed a few more steps on the rear spar by deburring the reinforcement forks and doubler plates and countersinking the bottom row of each double plate as directed. I'll leave the steps that countersink and dimple the rear spars themselves until I have the wing ribs in place to make sure that I don't miss anything. Reinforcement forks and doubler plates countersunk and deburred With the rear spar parts prepared and deburred, I started the process of priming them.  Rear spar small parts cleaned with EkoEtch and ready to be primed Getting ready to prime the rear spar parts EkoPrime Smoke Gray left to cure for a couple of days Next I assembled and riveted the aileron bellcrank brackets. This involves inserting a bearing into the slots at the aft end of the parts. These were easier to insert than I thought, still tight enough to stay in place but I didn't need to use the sockets as suggested in the plans. I was able to squeeze the majority of the rivets in a random pattern...

While wing rib work is on hold awaiting laser cut parts resolution, I decided to start work on Section 15 of the RV-10 plans with the wing rear spars. All parts in this section are punched, and the work involves creating a number of smaller assemblies that will be riveted when the rear spars get riveted to the wing ribs. I therefore should be able to complete most of this section without issue. Rear spar parts laid out. Several small parts need to be straightened I started by labeling the inboard/outboard and top/bottom of each rear spar to avoid any confusion. Labeling the ends of the rear spars I then worked on straightening each of the smaller parts by putting the part in the vice and applying either force by hand, or light to medium whacks of the rubber mallet. The thicker, 1/8" parts required more straightening than the thinner parts (especially the rear spar reinforcement forks), but being careful to not over bend I was able to get all parts sitting flat on the work bench. A...