Pitot tube, Tank cover

Pitot tube

After a lot of procrastinating I decided to mount the pitot tube aft of the main spar, and just outside the strut. This puts the pitot within 2 - 12 inches of the wing leading edge as per the Dynon instructions.

I made up a .032 doubler that will be riveted between the spar and the bottom skin on the front edge, and between the rib and the bottom skin along one side. This should make it very stable. I then drilled and dimpled the doubler, and cut a hole for the pitot. After checking for a good fit I added (5) #6 nutplates. Tomorrow I'll finish off by replacing the spar rivets.

Having it set up this way means I can remove both the pitot tube and the mount for storing and transporting the wings. It also gives good access through the access covers and a wing lightening hole. I'll cut the aluminium pitot and AOA tubes shorter and angle them rearward to keep the tubing clear of the aileron pulley and cables.

Fuel Tank corner nutplates

I wasn't able to locate any L shaped nutplates so I used the one legged nutplates on each tank corner. These worked ok, but it was a compromise. There are several sheets of aluminium being riveted together on each corner, so there was always one rivet closer to an edge than desired. Once all drilled and countersunk I opened up one hole that was close to an edge to prevent it from forming a crack. It was near the end of the tank bay rear false spar and very close to the end , so it can't go anywhere.

Aileron Cables

I spent a lot of time over the last three days measuring and working out how to do the aileron cables. I'm going to get them made up in Auckland at Martin Aviation using fork ends and eye ends, instead of the nicopress and thimbles. This will keep the fittings smaller and will allow the cables to be removed if needed for future replacement. They can also be installed after the wing is closed up. It also means they will be tested prior to installing.