• The Biplane Forum is a large global active community of biplane builders, owners and pilots. From Pitts to Skybolts, to older barnstormers, all types are welcome. In addition to our active community, our content boasts exhaustive technical information which is often sought after for projects and maintenance. This information has accumulated over the 12+ years the forum has been in existence.

    The Biplane Forum is a private community. Subscriptions are only $49.99/year or $6.99/month to gain access to this great community and unmatched source of information not found anywhere else on the web. We are also a great resource for non biplane users, since many GA aircraft are built the same way (fabric and tube construction). Annual membership also comes with two BiplaneForum.com decals.



Aileron Coves, Post Cover Installation

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

cwilliamrose

‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ 
Lifetime Supporter
Joined
Nov 10, 2009
Messages
10,631
Reaction score
3,345
Location
SW Florida (94FL)
I'm planning on attaching my aileron coves after cover and finish just as Kevin does on the Model 12. I'm doing this for several reasons.

First, it makes the accurate geometry fairly easy to realize because it eliminates a bunch of guess work about how much the cover and paint will take away from your clearances.

Second, it allows you to create a very large inspection access to the rear spar. Two drag wire ends and the aileron hinges are going to be accessible.

Third, I will have the option of moving the hinge location and this will be easier with better access as I will need to remove each hinge and place or remove shims at the rear spar. I'll make new hinge parts for the aileron which will be swapped out when a change is made.

Jeremy's build thread recently had a timely update showing his covered wings and it answered some questions I have had about how this works. Kevin answered some more of my questions but I figured a dedicated thread was better and I can show everyone what the plan is and get comments. I'll post some images and I hope Jeremy and Kevin will see this and comment along with all you other fine folks.

Upper Aileron Coves1.JPG
Overall view of the upper aileron cove. I have put some holes in place about where the screws will be in the center of the cove. The spacing is around 5", 6" wasn't a good number as the screws ended up in some less than desirable spots.


Upper Aileron Coves2.JPG
The through bolts and AN970 washers sit in a recess and the bolt heads are accessible through the holes in the face (these shouldn't need to be tightened in service but they do need to be installed). The nuts for the drag wire can be accessed easily from here too.


Upper Aileron Coves3.JPG
The other drag wire block and the inboard hinge. The drag wire block is beveled such that the face is the same width as the cove blocks and the angle points to the filler blocks where the fabric wraps.


Upper Aileron Coves4.JPG
The outboard end of the cove is a question looking for an good answer. I'm showing a wide block attached to the tip rib at the end where the aileron tapers in its chord dimension. That wide block gives me a place to glue the fabric that continues outboard to the tip bow. If I just cut the fabric flush with the rib so that I can wrap it around the rear spar I have nothing much left to attach to the tip rib. I could widen the tip rib aft of the spar going outboard or??


Upper Aileron Coves5.JPG
Aileron hinge bolt capture. These are made of aluminum and they are lighter than the AN970 washers they replace.


Lower Aileron Coves1.JPG
Overall view of the lower wing's cove area. Pretty much the same as the upper.


Lower Aileron Coves2.JPG
The bellcrank bracket bolts are shown with nutplates and again, the aluminum parts save a bit of weight over the AN970's.
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Back
Top