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1. 01:04 AM - Leading edge dings - tip (Vince-Himsl)
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| Subject: | Leading edge dings - tip |
Hello,
PROBLEM:
One wing with two dings; both are between ribs on the leading edge; one
on
gas tank, the other further outboard and neither accessible by reaching
inside.
Both dings were what you would get if someone laid a =BC=94 drill
perpendicular
to the leading edge and whacked it with a mallet. The damage was limited
to
the dinged area and there was no deformation of the surrounding leading
edge.
PROCEDURE:
I know it sounds bizarre, but take a weighted rubber mallet and from the
outside (counter intuitive I know) start gently taping around the ding.
How
gentle? Gentle enough that you would tap anywhere on the wing without
worrying about denting it. Tap over, around, above and below as you
don=92t
know where your tapping will have the most effect. After a little bit
you
gain a better feel for what force you can safely apply to the tapping.
Grab
a chair though, as this will take awhile. I started noticing results
after
three to five minutes of continuous tapping.
What results? Both dings actually started working themselves out!
MY =91THEORY=92:
The leading edge skin is stressed like a drum head. You tap the skin
(drum
head) with the mallet pushing it in and the skin rebounds. That rebound
force over time works to return the dinged area to its original
position.
Another way to do this, for the more daring, is to replace the mallet
with
your variable trigger/force rivet gun. Set up a machine-gun type tapping
around the ding once again so gentle you would not hesitate to do it
elsewhere on the wing.
You may transition to this by putting a piece of rubber, grommet, rubber
washer, etc. under the rivet head.
Alas, some dings are so severe, i.e. dents, or located in places, i.e.
the
rib line that this technique will not work. Even so, my technique is
pretty
much =91what have you got to lose=92?
Hope this saves some one from tearing apart their wing or gas tank.
With luck I will not have to test this technique again.
Regards,
Vince H. Idaho
RV8 Glacier Built (Moved to airport last weekend, beginning registration
paperwork=85getting close)
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