N439RC; Ron's RV-12

I’ve spent several days and many hours de-burring and fluting the nose ribs for both wings.  There are 28 total (14 left/14 right).  They are stamped components, so there is a sharp edge on one side of each.  A quick buzz on the grinding wheel and a little work with a small file takes off the sharp edge.  The stamping process also produces a bit of a bend in the parts, so fluting is required to make it straight.  I have a pair of fluting pliers to accomplish this.  A “flute” is a ‘grove’ that is added to the flanges.  It basically shortens the flange, resulting in a straightened edge. 

I spent the afternoon and evening in my garage watching the March Madness brackets come togther, as well as worked on the Stub Spar section of the plane.  I used a 2×3 piece of wood to assist with the countersinking operation.  This worked well.  The “cage” helped control the depth very nicely.  The first photo actually shows a drill bit for finishing the holes, but more importantly opening the wood below the aluminum, so countersink didn’t bottom out.  The second photo shows the finished stub spar on the doubler (inboard) side.

Last night and tonight, I spent time preparing some of the smaller parts.  This involved deburring the sharp edges and applying a bit of paint.  I was also able to rivet the attach angles onto the LEFT wing spar.  I plan on finishing the left wing first.  Oh … did I mention, that the parts were sharp!  Ouch!

After a couple of days of family events, I managed to squeeze in some time to complete the inventory.  All componets are present and accounted for. 

Below are some photos of the spar crate opening, and some snapshots of the main wing spar (left).   I also started the build this afternoon, and even had temperatures warm enough to throw around a little primer.

Spare crate

I’ve had a couple nights to open and inspect the wing kit for damage, and it appears as everything came through without any problems.  The crates are well made, and the materials are packaged very well.  Below are some photos of the opend skins crate, etc…

Note the 2x2 brace to hold the bend in the skins.Packing listing and new drawingsRibs!

Protecting the smaller parts ... another 2x2 holding materials in place.

Packing listing and new drawings

Ribs!