Rib replacement...

[flypdx]

Hello everyone.

I'm new to this... I recently purchased an unfinished -5 that has been in storage for 8 years.

I have a couple of questions and appreciate any input I can get.

1) First, I need to replace 2 wing ribs. The wings were built at the factory and stored since 1998. Ribs 7 and 8 have broken webbing and cap strip where it looks like someone tried to pick the wing up using them as handles. I have searched the forum and found several posts that help but, I would like to get some more detailed guidance on rib replacement. It seems people have had good luck removing Hysol from the struts with a heat gun or blow dryer but:
-What do you suggest using to scrape the Hysol from the spar with? I obviously don't want to scratch or gouge the spar.
-After you scrape as much off as possible is there a solvent to clean the remaining off with? Does it need to be completely removed?

2) The inside of the spars need to be washed out. Any suggestions?

3) What is the best way to document the work that I do? The fuselage has all controls installed and the landing gear are installed. I plan to go through and re-do all of that work checking all fittings and hardware.

4) Is there anyone with a 5,6, or 7 in the Portland, Oregon area that I could use as a resource?

Thanks in advance. I'm sure I'll have many more questions but these are the big ones for now!

[DanB]

What worked well for me was to make what looked like a 1" chisel out of hardwood. I think I used wallnut but any hardwood should work. When it lost its edge, just hit it on the sanding belt.

[cap01]

to document the work youll need a builders log and really helps to have lots of pictures of the progress . not only for the dar that looks at the plane but for your own use after youve completed the project . you could even locate a dar in your area and get ahold of him to talk over what exactly he wants and is interested in looking at . that will remove a lot of the stress of getting ready for the inspection when it comes time . if youve never delt with a dar , it seem they are all different in what they require to sign off on your plane . whatever you do dont call the faa and ask them , i made that mistake .

[flypdx]

Great suggestions, you guys. Keep them coming!

Dan- How much of the Hysol should I remove from the spars? Will I be able to remove it all? Is there a solvent that I can safely use to remove the last of it?

Cap- How do I track down a DAR? Through EAA?

Jeff

[akflyer]

It would be very easy to just sister rib the broken area and install new cap strip.

If you are going for full rib removal, the hysol will normally come right off with heat and a scrap piece of wood.

Best documentation is pictures, pictures, pictures. You don't have to have a written description of every step, but a good over all written log. IE, you dont have to document every bolt that you turned, but you can just state that the "elevators were assembled per the written factory instruction" etc.

When I rebuilt mine, I noted that "wing rib tails were replaced per factory instructions" (along with many more entries such as that for various parts of the rebuild) and the FAA inspector did not have any issues with it at all. He spent about 20 minutes going over the book, 10 minutes on the plane and told me to have a nice day and enjoy flying it!

[cap01]

it sounds like the wings arent covered yet , if not , nows the time to decide what to do about the gas tanks . trust me , its a lot easier to deal with them now than after the wings are covered . also if the small tanks are installed it mignt not give you enough range to do what you want to do . i had the two 6 gal tanks which would only hold a little over 10 gal . that wouldnt give me enough to get out and back from most anywhere i wanted to go . im just completing installing a 13 gal tank now , i did the other one last winter . since weve had such crappy flying weather out here on the left coast , i dont feel bad about having the wing off .just some more things to think about .

[cap01]

jeff , the local eaa chapter would be a good place . the dar i used had inspected planes for people that i knew and that was how i located him . he is also the patron saint of the eaa chapter at pierce co airport or where ever its located . i dont know if you have a faa mido office in pdx . if not i probably still have the phone number of the seattle office and they might be able to tell you how to locate one down there . who knows , being across the river , pdx might not want to deal with you . or if worse comes to worse i can give you the number or email of the dar i used .

[flypdx]

akflyer- I have, and I guess I am still, considering doing a repair on those 2 ribs. I'm having trouble finding guidance on the correct way to do the repair. Faa 43? is some help but it doesn't give much detail. I'm still doing research on that, part of me thinks I should just go ahead with replacing those 2 damaged ribs and be done with it. The wings were built at the factory and haven't been touched since- so no fabric, fuel tanks... etc to deal with.

Thanks for the tips on documentation- I'll take lots of pictures.

chuck- I do have the 13 gallon tanks. The only issue is the fact that I believe they are pre-ethanol. I don't think I'll be interested in using auto gas though so I will most likely just use the ones I have.

Thanks for the offer to get me the info for the DAR that you used. I may take you up on that. I'll try to locate someone here locally first.

Jeff

[t j]

Jeff, could you post a picture of the damaged ribs? To replace 7 and 8, 9 and 10 will have to be removed along with the drag tubes. A picture might give someone an idea how to repair in place. I would lean toward the sister rib idea.

In my builder's log I wrote one or two lines at the end of each day describing the work I did that day and the total time I worked on it. My DAR actually looked at every page in my log. It has helped me afterwords too. When I needed to remember how I had done something I can look it up.

[flypdx]

Yep, I'll get pictures posted this weekend. I've been meaning to do it but I'm still in the clean up and inventory stage- and now I'm out of town all week.

Rib replacement would definitely be a project with pulling 4 ribs and the associated drag tubes. We'll see how viable the sister rib repair is after I get some input from the upcoming pictures.

Thanks again everyone, for the input. Very helpful.

Jeff