Vans’ response on my flap skin problem wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for. They’re aware of this issue, but don’t ship replacement skins any more. They suggested using replacement inboard and outboard ribs with no prepunched holes; according to Joe Blank at Van’s, match-drilling those ribs to the skins will fix this problem. I agreed to try their solution, since the replacement ribs are free. We’ll see if they work.

Meanwhile, I did some cleanup work on the flap braces on both wings. One thing I had neglected to do in the past was match-drill them to the lower wing skins. Before I could do that, I had to tweak the braces a bit with a hand seamer to make them line up smoothly with the skins. The braces are left with a bit of a twist due to the way they’re riveted to the rear spar and doublers. With a little adjustment, the braces and skins line up nicely for match-drilling.