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RV-9A: Project Entry

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Setup for drilling the A-909 counterbalance pipe

I'm not sure if I'm doing this correctly, but here goes. I'm clecoed the A-901A nose skin to the A-904 nose ribs (not to the spar) with the skin on backwards. I don't understand what the instructions mean by putting the "skin on upside down". This should position the ribs correctly for marking the drill holes in the A-909 counterbalance pipe. I sacrificed a fine point sharpie by cutting it in half with my bandsaw. This allowed me to get to the bottom rib hole to mark the pipe. You'll notice that I have 2 clamps holding the spar flatly on the 2x8 particle board table top. This will insure that the holes marked on the pipe will be in the right position, making it perfectly aligned with the spar. A twist here would not be a good thing. I talked with other builders that told me they had to start over again on the ailerons because they didn't get the pipe perfectly aligned with the spar. After they put on the skins, the ailerons were twisted and even oil-canned on some. After I drilled the holes and put in the temporary rivets, I laid the assembly on the flat work bench to see if there was a twist in the spar because of the pipe not being drilled correctly. Luckily everything laid perfectly flat, no twist.

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