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Permalink Reply by Normand Lambert on July 26, 2014 at 10:55am

Hi Jon,

If it were my plane, I would punch out the 4 rivets closest to the damage. I would then put a 'L' piece over the damaged area (from the outside) and rivet the 3 parts together ( inside Longeron, skin and added outside 'L') . I would make the 'L' higher than the longeron and higher than the damaged area and rivet back the longeron rivets. I would also add rivets to the skin higher than the longeron (skin + new outside L).  The damaged skin would then be sandwiched between the 'L' longeron inside and the new outside 'L'. It may be a good idea to stopdrill the crack (hole to the top of the damage crack). Simple and tough.

Here in Canada, AC 43-13-1b and also Chapter 549 outline the proper way to repair such damages. There is most probably some standards in the US for the same purpose. 

I would not take the skin out; the damage is not large/substantial enough. 

My plane was damaged the same way when it was transported to the airport for final assembly. The outside longeron was bent so I had to unrivet it, cut it and install a new on. Such is life. Don't worry, it will still fly...and well ! 

When you fix it, share your pictures! Always good to see how it's done and get feedback . 

Regards,

Norm

CH701 C-GFEU

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Permalink Reply by Jon Reddick on July 26, 2014 at 1:22pm

Thank you for the response. It was thorough and explained well enough that I understood exactly what you meant. I read the FAA repair sections but was confused about how they calculated the necessary number of rivets in a patch,whether it had to be a filler patch, and on and on. I'll look into this option.

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Permalink Reply by Dave Gardea on July 26, 2014 at 2:42pm

Jon, you received some excellent advice from Normand. A testament to the incredible value of this forum to collaborate with other builders. I would take the exact same approach if I was making that repair including stop drilling the crack. Regards, Dave

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Permalink Reply by John Austin on July 27, 2014 at 6:52am

Jon,

... and when all is said and done, yes, there will be a patch there which will irritate you to no end, but it's 99% likely no one else will ever notice or comment about it! I once had a year-long restoration on a car with beautiful new paint, etc. Finally one day I accidentally chipped the paint and said, "Good, now I no longer have to worry about getting that first chip!" Same reasoning here!  ;>)

John

N750A

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