Two steps back - Accidental Cleco Damage

A cleco on the bottom of my wing got caught by one of the square tubes underneath while repositioning the wing - the cleco was pushed up flat against the skin. Not sure if I’ll need to replace either the bottom skin and/or rear channel segment yet. I wont fully inspect until I finish the root skin install, fuel tank plumbing/wiring, and nav/strobe wiring. Crossing my fingers for now. Frustrating!

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Comment by Perry Delano on October 31, 2025 at 9:23am

Agree, just tap it down. Expérienced this several times on long multi year build. I got very comfortable with putting in a few rivets versus clecos to store parts in prep for pre-closure inspection. Avoid doing latter at spar due to thicker material where it’s harder to get rivet out. 

Comment by Greg Newsome on October 30, 2025 at 1:54pm
Thanks, that’s my plan. Just preparing myself for the worse case.
Comment by John Montgomery on October 30, 2025 at 1:03pm

I would not worry. No need for a new skin. Zenith designs are very forgiving of minor mistakes like this. I would just tap the deformed area flat and if you think the hole looks rough redrill for an A5.

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