Wings #6

Completed front and rear aileron spars, originals
on left.

Most of my work the past couple of weeks was focused on the ailerons.  This involved a lot of cutting and planing the Sitka Spruce for the front and rear spars.  The front spar is also routed to reduce weight.  Andy made a nice router fixture that made the process go very fast and easy.

Routing on front spars

The front spar was then temporarily mounted on the wing to check spacing and determine the length of the ribs for the ailerons.  This would insure the trailing edge of the aileron would line up exactly with the trailing edge of the wing.

Detail of aileron hinge

Aileron spar mounted to wing

I also did work on the capstrips for the ribs.  I wanted these installed before I finished tramming the wing to prevent the ribs from bowing under the load of the drag and anti-drag wires.  The capstrips are made from 5/8" wide by 3/16" thick spruce.  This material is too thick to wrap over the nose ribs, so I made a tube to soak them in water and then put them in a forming fixture until dry.  When removed, the shape of the rib remains.  Some make a  steaming apparatus to soften the spruce, but I've found soaking them in water works as well unless the curve is very severe.

PVC tube to soak spruce strips and forming fixture