Two Weiss Guys Visit DOG Aviation

Long time friends and brothers, Kurt and John Weiss paid a visit to the DOG Aviation production facility this week. Kurt flew to Michigan from California to meet up with his brother John, and then the two of them drove here from Michigan for a brief visit to check out the RV-12 project and reminisce about old times.  A Field of Dreams moment - if you build it, they will come!

The Wiess guys ... John from Michigan on the left, and Kurt from San Diego on the right.

 Left to right – Kurt, myself and Jan reminiscing about the good ole days.

 

After showing the Weiss guys the RV-12 project and the many various specialty tools that were being utilized, it was a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the extra hands to complete the riveting of the W-1210 aft ribs onto the right spar.

 

The pneumatic squeezer is always a crowd pleaser … a whoosh of air, followed by a bone crushing squeeze and clunk sound as the squeezer’s piston ram crushes anything in its path into submission. The pneumatic squeezer is a heavy, bulky tool that commands respect … but is truly fun to use.

Giving Kurt a quick lesson on how to control the pneumatic squeezer’s piston ram.

Demonstrating to Kurt the process of setting a rivet using the pneumatic squeezer.

Kurt using a pneumatic squeezer to set one of six rivets securing a W-1210 rib onto the rib attach angle on the right spar.

                        Not to be out done by his older brother and also excluded from all the fun, John tried his hand

                        at using the pneumatic squeezer by also setting a rivet into one of the W-1210 aft ribs.

 

Early on Van’s, has the builder remove the forward flanges of some of the W-1210 ribs and those ribs get attached onto the outboard portion of the spar. The remaining W-1210 aft ribs that have the forward flanges intact are attached onto the right spar’s inboard regions where the spar’s doubler plates exist. The W-1210 rib flanges have are four holes on the forward flanges of the W-1210 ribs which are normally riveted onto the spar doubler plates using LP4-3 pop rivets. Here again, as on the left wing, solid rivets were used but they were set using a rivet gun and bucking bar because there is not enough clearance to use a pneumatic squeezer. The forward flanges of the W-1210 ribs were riveted using AN470AD4-7 solid rivets.

 

                 Kurt helping an eye on the right spar as it was rolled on edge to allow for riveting the four rivets on

                 the forward flange of one of the W-1210 aft onto the right spar by way of a rivet gun and bucking bar.

                                             Riveting the forward flange of a W-1210 aft rib onto the right spar

                                             with a rivet gun and bucking bar using an AN470AD4-7 solid rivets.

 

After taking some time away from the RV-12 project, work resumed in the late evening. John, not wanting to leave for Michigan before seeing the rear spar set onto the W-1210 ribs, suggested we finalize the riveting of the aft ribs … so John and I worked until around midnight to finalize the riveting of the W-1210 aft ribs onto the right wing’s main spar.

                                 All of the W-1210 ribs riveted onto the right spar and the rear spar set in place

                                 and ready for the next step in the instructions which is match drilling.