Those who know how fast an RV-12 can be built
can tell things are not moving very fast at DOG Aviation. That said, there has
been plenty of R&D going on behind the scenes. One example was the
necessity of having a tool special made for the RV-12 project. Because the
decision has been made to use flush rivets, that means all holes will need to
be dimpled on the skins and ribs … a lot of extra work but the end result will
be rewarding. There will be holes the C-frame can’t (or shouldn’t) reach so
another approach is needed to make the necessary dimples at those locations.
Those experienced with other RV’s that use pounded rivets may be familiar with
the dimple dies that are used with a pop rivet puller for dimpling in tight
places. The concept is simple, the dies are placed on either side of the skin
hole to be dimpled and a nail is inserted through holes that are in the center
of the dies. The nail is then placed into a hand pop rivet puller and the pop rivet
puller is squeezed, pulling on the nail, thus compressing the dimple dies
together making a dimple in the skin. Unfortunately, those specialty dies are
for 3/32” rivets and are not readily available for the 1/8” holes which the
RV-12 has.
The close quarter 120 degree dimple dies Bob
Avery custom made for DOG Aviation.
Fortunately, Bob Avery from Avery Tools was willing to make
the 120 degree dimple dies special for me. In fact, Bob told me he was
wondering how long it was going to be before somebody building an RV-12 with
flush rivets was going to ask for those specialty dimple dies. Anyway, Bob quickly made them up and sent
them right out. The close quarter dies were tested last week and they make
perfect dimples … Thank you Bob!
No comments:
Post a Comment