Last week was fall break and I had a great time with the family in Disney Land and Lego Land in California. Upon getting back I continued work on the wing-fold parts.

Aileron Control Bells

You can see in the first picture how these swivel paddles (not sure real name) mount to plates at the end of the spars. This half goes on the outboard spar (the part that folds up) and will be connected to the ailerons. The inboard paddles will connect to the control stick and translate control inputs to the ailerons.

Once I had both halves done, I lined them up and noticed that the paddles didn’t line up well at all. The ball bearings rested on the very edge of the opposing paddles. I doubled checked the plans several times, but I had followed them correctly. Eventually I decided the plans were wrong and I was able to solve the problem by drilling out some rivets and putting the outboard paddles on the top of the swivel bell instead of the bottom.

Wing Fold Fix

Wing Fold Panels

Where the wing-halves meet, there are these plates that have soooo many rivets. As I drilled, deburred and counter sunk all those holes, I had plenty of time to wonder why so many rivets would be needed. You can see in the picture above that there’s not much structure to hold together; just two sheets. The best answer I could think of was: Why not? The rivets do add strength to the layers and don’t add much weight. But maybe it’s overkill. Those extra rivers sure added a lot of labor.

Wing Fold Installed

Before attaching the outboard spars, the plans have you install the ribs, skin, and fiberglass tips. I was going to get the folding joint secured first to save workshop room, but the rear spar participates in the fold-locking mechanism so I have at least have to get the ribs attached.

When I clecoed them all together I noticed that the inner most forward rib was about 1/8” shorter than the others. There are spacers on almost all the ribs to make them equal length, but somehow the plans didn’t get it right… and no spacer was provided for this rib. So again I went off script and made my own spacer.

These assemblies are all riveted and bolted now. Tomorrow I’ll see if I can get the spars attached and folding.

Wing Frames