Bearhawk Aircraft Bearhawk Tailwheels LLC Eric Newton's Builder Manuals Bearhawk Plans Bearhawk Store

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Advice sought

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Advice sought

    Seeking advice on two points.

    I’ve made an error when drilling rivet holes for one of the inspection port frames, resulting in one row of holes being very close to the edge. I’m thinking to put several more rivets in between, but further from the edge to provide more integrity. It should give 4x rivet diameter spacing. Is this a safe way to resolve it ?

    FA64045F-B5DF-46C5-92CF-EA1E7197C9A8.jpeg

    Secondly, is it acceptable to drill and rivet a small stand-off to the main spar, inside a lighting hole ? The rivets would be in the material just outside the lighting hole.

    Thanks in advance.
    Last edited by Nev; 09-15-2021, 06:14 AM.
    Nev Bailey
    Christchurch, NZ

    BearhawkBlog.com - Safety & Maintenance Notes
    YouTube - Build and flying channel
    Builders Log - We build planes

  • #2
    A couple options for the inspection cover holes, one would be like you suggested - add a rivet on either side of the rivets that are too close to the edge (probably not even really necessary but it might make you feel better.) Or just attach the bezel as is and keep an eye on those rivets in the future. Another option would be to increase the size of the inspection hole and start over - that would also require new bezels and covers. It's not something that many will ever notice so it comes down to whether you are going for a functional back country plane or something that will win awards for fit and finish.

    Not sure about attaching anything to the spar, I would think it is probably ok but I'll leave that one for someone smarter than me.
    Rollie VanDorn
    Findlay, OH
    Patrol Quick Build

    Comment


    • #3
      Nev, you are not the first. There is some relevant advice related to this problem from Mark/Bob on the forum. Look for 56715-wing-access-panel-botch.

      Comment


      • #4
        That's a big hole for a puny inspection point. Make it smaller. Looks like Hulk Hogan could get his hand in there.
        Gerry
        Patrol #30

        Comment


        • JimParker256
          JimParker256 commented
          Editing a comment
          Just out of curiosity, what is your technique for making a hole smaller? Inquiring minds...

      • #5
        Originally posted by geraldmorrissey View Post
        That's a big hole for a puny inspection point. Make it smaller. Looks like Hulk Hogan could get his hand in there.
        Gerry
        Patrol #30
        Haha. I'll pass that in to the guy who made it
        Once you get the frame into place it's about right for the XXL glove sized amongst us

        7C18F12C-92EF-40F1-AF91-C0C1F9DA7EEC.jpeg
        Nev Bailey
        Christchurch, NZ

        BearhawkBlog.com - Safety & Maintenance Notes
        YouTube - Build and flying channel
        Builders Log - We build planes

        Comment


        • #6
          Personally I would make a bigger panel and make it correct. The wing skin is part of the load bearing structure of the wing. If it were "just" an inspection panel there would be four screws, one for each corner and that would be it. It isn't hard to do and when you get into turbulence you won't be wondering if it's all done right...because it will be done right. I made a bigger one for different reasons. YMMV:

          homebuilt aircraft, builders log, experimental, experimental aircraft, 51% rule, fifty-one percent rule, 51% percent rule, aircraft homebuilt kit, aircraft homebuilt plan, aircraft composite homebuilt, aircraft experimental homebuilt, aircraft experimental kit


          homebuilt aircraft, builders log, experimental, experimental aircraft, 51% rule, fifty-one percent rule, 51% percent rule, aircraft homebuilt kit, aircraft homebuilt plan, aircraft composite homebuilt, aircraft experimental homebuilt, aircraft experimental kit

          Comment


          • Sir Newton
            Sir Newton commented
            Editing a comment
            100% correct imho

          • Gerhard Rieger
            Gerhard Rieger commented
            Editing a comment
            I fully agree, cut the hole bigger and you’ll have peace of mind

        • #7
          I thought I could make a "master" inspection cover and match drill them all. Unfortunately they are not all the same. I ended up having to make about half of them over. If the wing is cantelevered, I would agree the inspection covers are structural. With a strut based wing, I am not so sure. I am not the authority.

          If they are not structural, you might want to use soft rivets. Regular hard rivets need the edge spacing or you will distort the edges. Soft rivets, not so much, I have used soft rivets for filling a few errant drilled holes and I didn't want to make up a new panel. So far I haven't used one for the requirement that I just suggested.

          Stuff like this is hard to research or look up. I have talked to Bob probably half a dozen times in 2.5 years. He knows the answer off the top of his head.

          Comment


          • Nev
            Nev commented
            Editing a comment
            My understanding is that they are considered structural. I consulted my mentoring engineer on this one. He agreed with the advice given in this thread, either make a larger frame, or add additional rivets keeping the spacing IAW AC43.13.
            Last edited by Nev; 09-15-2021, 05:56 AM.

        • #8
          There is a thread on kit improvements. One improvement I would definitely do is have the inspection covers, and frames, CNC'ed. I made the assumption they were. I would have them cut, and drilled, CNC. Might even save money on manufacturing.

          Comment


          • #9
            Thanks everyone for your input. I referenced another thread where Mark had consulted with Bob for the same issue. For my own peace of mind I've added 4 more rivets with spacing exceeding the AC43 requirement. I'll keep an eye on the edges of the existing rivets during inspections.
            Nev Bailey
            Christchurch, NZ

            BearhawkBlog.com - Safety & Maintenance Notes
            YouTube - Build and flying channel
            Builders Log - We build planes

            Comment


            • #10
              Make it bigger - AC43.13 -
              (1) For single row rivets, the EDGE DISTANCE SHOULD NOT BE LESS THAN 2 TIMES THE DIAMETER OF THE RIVET and SPACING SHOULD NOT BE LESS THAN 3 TIMES THE DIAMETER OF THE RIVET.

              Comment


              • Nev
                Nev commented
                Editing a comment
                Thanks. But do you mind telling me,(and notwithstanding the AC43.13 requirements) is this the only way to resolve the issue, or just your preferred method?

              • N942VT
                N942VT commented
                Editing a comment
                Yes Nev, it would be my preferred method due to the guidance in AC43.13. No, it's not the only way but understand when you ask others for advice it's incumbent on us to provide accepted methods of repair, it would be irresponsible of us to do otherwise. In the end it's your decision of course.

              • Nev
                Nev commented
                Editing a comment
                Thanks - I do appreciate that.

            • #11
              A72CD256-C05E-46FE-AFE7-E18768C3C1BC.jpeg79415162-EF9E-4457-AEBF-A40CC2C7DDC8.jpeg Here is some info from my Aviation Mechanic Handbook

              Comment


              • Nev
                Nev commented
                Editing a comment
                Gerhard - thanks very much, that's what I have also been referencing. I will be adding some rivets in this manner on the larger frame where the holes are not so close to the edge, but close enough to that I think it would be prudent to strengthen.

            • #12
              I would probably just make the hole bigger.

              Comment


              • #13
                Any potential cracks in those holes are already stop drilled, so not much chance of anything going wrong. I am sure some of them will crack through the tiny little ribbons of metal on the edge, but it will not matter.

                Personally, I would not be drilling the "main spar web" - even though it's almost certainly going to be fine. Obviously that's the load bearing structure.
                Last edited by Battson; 09-15-2021, 03:51 PM.

                Comment


                • AKKen07
                  AKKen07 commented
                  Editing a comment
                  My less educated opinion is the same as Battson's. Although I'd bet replacing a rivet with a bolt would be sound enough - its difficult for me to do a good job deburring holes like that so I would worry about it cracking over time. I talked myself out of doing this very thing a few times. It's just too important for me to mess with.

              • #14
                I have a small number of rivets s little to close to the edge on 2 frames. I did a little experimenting today on some scrap. The dimpling really messes with the edge. I tried -4 NAS 1097 OOPS rivets, countersinking very slightly instead of dimpling, with much better results. I will put a couple rivets on either side of that rivet with the proper distance. I will probably under squeeze the OOPS rivet.

                Comment


                • #15
                  The references I have found in the BH community references using 1/8" rivets for the inspection port ring to wing skin. The info I have seen on sheet metal repair dictate using similar size rivets and spacing for the surrounding structure, which in this case would be 3/32". Are 3/32" adequate for this application?

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X