Halfway there on the wing skins…woohoo!

So why has it taken so long to get those damn wing skins riveted on? Some folks do solo bucking and shooting on the lower skins, but I’ve chosen to do this as a team. So Ellen and I do this work when we both have time, and when we don’t, I work on the fuse. But today we managed to complete the lower skins on the right wing.

We used a hybrid approach when riveting the skins. On the inboard skins we followed Vans’ instructions to the letter, riveting in a “chevron” pattern that leaves enough room at the front of the skin to reach up and buck the rear rib-to-skin and spar-to-skin rivets. But on the outboard skins we started out using the book approach, then switched to a bay-by-bay method for the outer part of the skin. Once we could gently peel back the skin, we reached in from the outboard end and did a rib, then the forward and rear spar-to-skin rivets that were outboard of the rib we just riveted. It’s really easier to do than to explain.

Skins riveted on right wing!