Finally some progress with the main spar carry-through

After an inevitable slow down during the gorgeous summer months, I had to deal some health issues, which means that progress ground to a near stop for several months.

In the past couple of weeks I have finally managed to get back into it.

I had some troubles with the main spar which caused some frustrations. Although the holes I think were all in the right place, the main spar has a spring to it, which means that even when fully clecoed in, things weren't aligned quite right.

So when I checked the gap where the main spars will fit, nothing was right! AND the holes had been matched drilled and enlarged incorrectly, uh oh.

It turns out the best practice is to put a precise and correct spacer where the main spar would go, and to then secure the main spar accordingly. Of course, the manual does NOT mention any of this.

Then I needed to fix those holes. That wasn't too bad. After checking with the factory, I could oversize to 1/4 inch, which is the size of the hole where the shop head goes. Having the shop head stick out should not be a concern.

So I had to buy some 1/4 inch rivets, and a riveter ... still cheaper than a new main spar carry-through!

As for spacers, the factory told me to measure my wing spars. Funny! I don't have any, as I'm buying kits as I go. So they gave me some ideal dimensions, 26.8-27mm.

After some rather unsuccessful attempts at building spacers out of wood (I was never happy with the result), I found some precision made aluminum spacers online.

This is the result:

And the dimensions are all prefect and square, nice!