Comment

Comment by Andrei Ungureanu on May 27, 2015 at 8:38am

Brian, I messed up my first 4 parts. I have a large piece of scrap sheet from a damaged wing and I use it as practice. There are couple of things I discovered in the process of creating 4 bad ribs and an almost good one. 1) you need to bend the side flanges first. This way they act like a "stop" for the material that is coming from the front part of the rib. 2) Take your time. I was hammering for like 15 min only on the frontal part, which is the nastiest part ever. And hit slowly, be patient. 3) Stop hitting a particular area if you see crests forming left and right. Look for another approach (this from the philosophical part of me, not helping very much :-) ). this is how I ruined 2 out of 4 ribs.

4) Start with the lower tail frontal rib first (the upper one in the picture). It is easier and will gradually prepare you for the upper one.

5) Cut a small strip of 0.025 (1/4 inch wide). Clamp it between forming blocks leaving 1/2 inch outside, mark the block's contour on the metal and then bend it over the radius. see where the bend radius ends and then 2, max. 3 mm below that make a mark. Then remove the strip and bend it back to flat. The distance between two marks (one from the forming block and one below the bend radius) should be what you use when you draw your rib blank in the nose area. The template in the plans calls for too much material and you will have a hard time training that excess metal once you bend the nose. That is how I ruined 1 of the 4 test ribs.

When I will be confident to make my final ribs (after couple of more scrap ones) I will record the whole process, because it is something that could be of help for the next guy who faces the same issue.

I live in Germany (Central European Time), you can give me a call anytime during your morning to midday. my number is +49 15162955733 or +49 4329 3091373 land line home. I would be happy to help in any way I can, but please be advised that I am not an experienced builder. Those are my first 2 parts. and I am learning as I go. Unfortunately for me there is no EAA here. :-). Good luck and success with your project.

Comment by Brian Thomas on May 26, 2015 at 6:04pm

Andrei-

What was your trick for getting the compound bend at the nose?  I messed up my first part, and would like to get it right the net time.

Comment by Earnest Fontenot on May 22, 2015 at 5:14pm

Yes, but it an excellent journey!

Comment by Andrei Ungureanu on May 22, 2015 at 10:34am

Thanks Brian. Don't ask me how the first 4 tries look like. ☺ First step in a million steps journey.

Comment by Brian Thomas on May 22, 2015 at 10:24am

Congrats!  I expect it feels good great to have completed the first part.