Ugh. I don’t do well with tedious work. Which is unfortunate, because this rib prep stuff really fits the bill. I guess that knowledge is part of the reason I haven’t been out in the garage much lately, although I have been out of town the last two weekends, so that’s a kind-of excuse.
Anyway, today I actually managed to get myself out in the garage after work. The tank ribs for the right wing seemed like the next logical attack point. Hoo boy, are these things all kinds of wonky. Definitely worse than the leading edge ribs…I’m guessing that since (I think) they’re thicker material than the leading edge ribs, they’re more susceptible to warping. I worked on one of the things and got it mostly straight, but man, I just did not want to keep doing this stuff. I went back in the house for a bit.
When I came back out, I decided that maybe what I should do is try something a little less challenging. So I put the tank ribs aside and went with the main ribs. I figured that since they’re less curved than the tank ribs, they’d be easier, and I could boost my sense of achievement. Well, I guess they really are simpler, but on the other hand they’re bigger. It seems a lot easier to put a twist in these things if you’re not careful while fluting.
Oh well. I got three of them done. Yep, 90 minutes in the shop, and a grand total of four ribs straightened. Seems like it’s going to be a real grind getting these things done. I’m probably like 15% done with these ribs so far.