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As I near the completion of my left wing ( right is completed) I was faced with the task of fitting the pitot probe. I've been thinking about this for most of the time I've been building the wing and I've always felt that installing it into a removable panel was the way to go. I decided that the access panel to the lift strut attach fittings would be the place. The panel was already there so why not? I used a commercially available pitot mount and I mounted it into the center of the access panel. Because I felt the .025 skin was a little thin to support the pitot at speed I added a .050 doubler plate to give it the beef it needed. Once I had everything installed I observed some oil-canning of the skin when trying to move the probe fore and aft. The fix for this is a "false rib" between the two regular nose ribs. Once this was in place the flex was gone and we are good to go. Now if I need to access the pitot for any reason I just remove the panel, disconnect the lines and everything is in my hand.
Some pictures to tell the story. The pic of the false rib is in place at the root just to show you how it is installed in place ( as getting a picture in that hole would be tough).
Soon this wing will be done and I move to the empennage.
Some pictures to tell the story. The pic of the false rib is in place at the root just to show you how it is installed in place ( as getting a picture in that hole would be tough).
Soon this wing will be done and I move to the empennage.
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