Building a Nieuport 11...

[Frank Giger]

The panel is starting to come together. Slip indicator, altimeter, and airspeed indicator are here! Also got the gascolator and the pitot tube.

The airspeed indicator is hilarious in that I rolled it over in my hands and flipped it over to look at the back side.

In big letters it says DO NOT BLOW INTO THE HOLES. I guess I'm not the only one with that idea!

[Frank Giger]

I finally have all the things I need to work on the aircraft:

Last night off, so I got some sleep and so I am not fatigued.
Temps in the 60's so it'll be warm.
No rain.
Winds too much to go flying, but not too much to work in the Wonder Tarp.
No Honey-Do's that can't be postponed.

Goal is to have one aileron done...we'll see.

Funny conversation the other day with a few folks who think I'm bugnuts for building an airplane and even crazier for putting a Big Twin in the front, particularly about the engine.

"It's a motorcycle engine!"
"Yep."
"It's two cyclinders!"
"Absolutely."
"Who would be crazy enough to come up with that idea?"
"Glenn Curtiss," I smirked and then laughed.

(Glassy-eyed looks except for one guy who said "I thought he raced motorcycles...")

[Frank Giger]

Pics of the trials of the aileron.

I had managed to snap off every one of the little teeth-tabs at the front of the root aileron rib and started rubbing my head in the effort to get the thinking parts inside working.



There isn't going to be much of a gap here!



Let's take another approach and anneal that curve. Note the ash color of Sharpie that denotes the right temp was reached (I prefer red Sharpies as the ink evaporates at the correct heat, but I had used a black one when drawing it out).



Cut the tabs out.



Roll the piece on the table to bend...



And notice the bend has a crack on the bow end of the rib....



Well, sh--, at least I figured out the tab thing, so no use throwing something.

[Frank Giger]

Nothing to do but try it again.

Anneal, cut, and roll the tabs down....



Success! Hurray!



On the root aileron rib where I snapped the teeth off, I fabricated a curved piece that has a tab in the center that is locked in with a rivet.



Personally I think this looks and works better than the tab system.

Make the rest of the ribs and put them in place, coping the ends.



Bend the bow!



Lock down the bow and get ready to make the top bend...



I didn't like the fact that the base rib on the inside would have a rivet top and bottom on tabs, so I made a loop to go around it, secured it to the rib, and put the rivet on the backside of the bow, capturing it all the way around.

Sadly, I've been working overtime and have been wiped out; this week is to be a normal one so I'll have a chance to get back into it Wednesday-Friday. I put in for four days off week after next to get on the other upper wing and aileron.

[bookmaker]

Dart, I hate to ruin your "success", but you should round out the bottom portion of the "V"s that you cut into the front of the ribs for the bends. The sharp "V" points will generate cracks. Generally, a 1/4" or so hole should be drilled at the bottom of the cut to make a round bottom "V".

Do you know what metal you are using? Also, which way is the grain running?

I am in the process of rebuilding the stab and elevators on mine. I made sure to get the sheet aluminum for the ribs in a size that I can cut them aligning the grain cross ways so that they are less likely to crack when I bend them.

Dale

[Frank Giger]

Sigh - some days are just heart breaking.

Today was:

Put the leading edge on the aileron. It's a piece of sheet metal that gets bent around those goofy ribs I made. Procedure:

1. Mark the center of the sheet metal.
2. Anneal to soften it for the bend.
3. Secure it on one side of the ribs.
4. Gently and firmly roll the whole thing on the table around the ribs.
5. Gasp that it actually worked!
6. Rivet on the other side to hold it in place.

The sheet isn't long enough to cover the whole aileron, and I started on the inside. I realized that I needed to put the bow on the upper wing to ensure that it made a clean line with the aileron. It's a simple bend and rivet job.

However, my build table was a mess! The wing had been pushed out of the way when working on the aileron and I had piled all manner of tools and paper and junk on top of it.

Aileron on the floor, stuff off the table, sweep it off, step on the aileron leading edge and bend the crap out of it, put the wing back on the table, line it up, step on the aileron and bend the crap out of the leading edge, get the end bow for the upper wing and....wait a second.

I stepped on the aileron leading edge twice, bending the crap out of it.

There are times when one doesn't even cuss, as no words - even the bad ones - will do.

Surveying the damage, I try to salvage the mess into something resembling a nice curve of sheet metal. My results are fine if one were to simulate severe hail damage as part of the build process.

Oh well. Put on the upper wing end bow, ensure the aileron bow is on line with it, and lock it down. End of session.

Tomorrow I'm going to see if gently annealing the aluminum can take the crappy divots out and make it a smooth curve again. If not it's going to be easy to remove it, cut a piece from the big square piece of sheet I bought a long time ago and do it over.

[Yellow Peril]

I bet you end up drilling it off and making a new one. Don

[Frank Giger]

Yep - took a fresh look at it today and it's beyond repair.

I am getting weary of learning experiences that build character.

[Yellow Peril]

I found it takes less time and you get a better result if you just start over and do it again. Don

[Frank Giger]

Just for grins I took off the dented leading edge and applied a rubber mallet over some PVC pipe of the same diameter of the aileron with suprisingly good results. The few divoty waves are very small and a quick fabric check shows that a little felt will smooth them right out.