Page 6 calls for making the spar even longer. There is a doubler plate that connects a ~2 foot Spar Extension to the outboard edge. I clecoed that up a few days ago and was very pleased with myself when 6 clecos went together nicely. On Sunday I played Grandpa and gave Layne (an 8 year old) his 2nd lesson in riveting. He did a good job of wearing ear & eye protective gear, too. I shot my first 470AD4-6 rivet, but couldn't get the next one to insert. Upon closer inspection I discovered that the doubler is not symmetric about the longitudinal axis and I had in fact installed it upside down.
Layne got another lesson; how to drill out a rivet. It didn't take too long and I happened to have some spare 4-6's from the RV-12 kit so I won't be short at the end.
I'm not able to re-seal the tanks (3rd time!) until I get some parts from Van's. Specifically, I ordered replacement screws since the Phillips heads are getting stripped from so many insertion/removal cycles. That left me with either the option of waiting around and wasting another day or starting another major component. If there's a leak on the forward edge of the tank, I'm going to be very pissed at Past Me!
Attaching the main spar to the forward edge of the tank was very easy -- just my favorite LP4-3 blind rivets. Attaching the inboard D-rib was pretty easy even with the ridiculously long 470AD4-12 rivets that were conveniently accessible from the root side of the wing. The next four D-ribs were another piece of cake as they, too, just attach with LP4-3's.
On page 10, I came to a complete halt on the 6th rib. To quote from the Wiki page: 6th rib from root: rivet gun + long-armed bucker through the lightning hole required. Plan for a helper or an unconventional body position. That is an understatement. I think even with a helper, it's going to be a bear. I'm waiting for a confirmation that Steve B (he who lent me the rivet gun) will be able to swing by and give me a hand on Friday the 14th to finish that rib.
The remaining 9 or so ribs will be attached with driven 470AD4-4's, which are not my favorite but will be easy to access.
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