N439RC; Ron's RV-12

With some assistance from my lovely wife tonight, we flipped “Lefty” over in order to start the skinning process.  I had to start by peeling back the blue plastic coating on the aluminum skins, then clecoing the skin into place.  The process is pretty simple, and I am still amazed how well all the components fit together.  I put most the clecos in place tonight, and the riveting process will start soon.  Good thing I have a pneumatic rivet gun!

I had my wife sign her name to the inside of the wing, to put a personal touch on the plane.  My kids have signed other places as well.

More pictures of the wing as the skins go down.

After completing both the stall switch and the terminal bracket, I had to connect the wire between them.  There is only one wire, for the fuselage carries the ground.  In addition to running the wire between the stall switch and the terminal bracket, I ran some fishing line through the wing ribs in preparation for the lighting kit.  I did not purchase the light kit at this time (due to funding issues), but I will need to use this fishing line to pull the navigation light wires through at the time I purchase the lighting kit.

Another detail that has to be completed before the skins go onto the wings is the installation of the stall warning switch (only on the left wing).  It is a simple micro-switch with a tongue on it that protrude through the wing skin at the leading edge of the wing.  During a “stall” (when the wing stop flying), the pressure changes at this point in the airfoil enough to activate the tongue/switch combination.  The switch will warn the pilot of the condition, by activating a horn or alarm in the cockpit.  A very simple, yet important device.

Now that the ribs are attached to the main spar (left wing), it was time to work on some of the wing details.  I started work on the terminal brackets, and the Teflon pieces that attach to them.  The Teflon (insulation) pieces start out as a simple square of material and a gauge.  The gauge provides the location for drilling final holes and trimming off material so it fits into the terminal bracket.  The terminal bracket is where the electricity will pass from the fuselage to the removable wing.  Because the wings are removable, there cannot be wires that pass between the wing and the body.  Terminal points located where they meet will be how the power is passed into the wings.

After several weeks, I finally put in enough time to get ALL the ribs deburred and straightened.  I did the ribs for both the left and right wings.  Figured I’d get them all done, even though my plan is to complete one wing at a time.  So now the fun begins again.  The first photo shows the first main rib attached to the left spar; followed by the rest!

I then tipped the wing horizontally, and began to cleco the nose ribs into place.  Once I was comfortable with their fit, I then cleaned, primed, and riveted each rib to the spar. 

Several days later … we now have a spar full of ribs!  It is starting to look like a wing!