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Dimpled the wrong side of the skin, what now?

A

auburnaviator

Well Known Member
RV-10 right aileron
I forgot to mirror the right aileron and primed/dimpled both sets of top & bottom skins exactly the same. I didn?t catch it until I was setting everything up to back rivet the stiffeners and main ribs on.

So here?s the xx.xx$(insert shipping cost here) question. Can those two right aileron skins be redimpled in the correct direction and will it matter that the outside is primed already (this will be a painted/wrapped airplane so no need to worry about polishing)? To be honest it?s only my second ?big? mistake so at least I?ve got that going for me, which is nice...:rolleyes:
What says the collective group at the great VAF?
 
I’ll give a different opinion. If it were just a few dimpled, I would agree. The whole skin dimples the wrong way, I would replace it. (Or set it aside and add this skin to your fuse order to avoid shipping costs).
 
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BrianDC said:
I’ll give a different opinion. If it were just a few dimpled, I would agree. The whole skin dimples the wrong way, I would replace it. (Or set it aside and add this skin to your fuse order to avoid shipping costs).
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I think I agree. It is one thing to reverse a dimple on just one or two holes. Lots of margin in most places in riveted structures.

But if a whole skin is dimpled the wrong way, it may be a real problem. Imagine you finish your airplane and spend a chunk of money on a nice paint job. And then you start getting cracks around several rivets in high-stress areas of that aileron?

I would replace that skin now.
 
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Did this and tried the re dimple thing, the skin was so screwed and distorted (wavy) ordered new skin. Have reversed dimpled a few things and it worked out ok but this no way, ugly.
 
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Yeah, this is kinda what I thought might happen with the different opinions going each way. I called Vans builder assistance line and he said since it’s a control surface vs a structural skin (wing skin etc.) that it’s a much thinner piece of material and therefore less susceptible to work hardening or cracking. He said to redimple it at look at each dimple closely and if they all look good then I’m fine. I checked them all under a jewelers loupe and couldn’t see even a hint of cracking. I’m tempted to build on since the mother ship said it was fine but you 4 guys with the opposite opinion give me pause as I’ve been reading y’alls opinion on here for years and specifically Dave, Larry, and Steve I highly respect. (No offense Brian, I guess I just don’t read a lot of the threads you’ve posted in)

Choices, choices.....
 
auburnaviator said:
Yeah, this is kinda what I thought might happen with the different opinions going each way. I called Vans builder assistance line and he said since it?s a control surface vs a structural skin (wing skin etc.) that it?s a much thinner piece of material and therefore less susceptible to work hardening or cracking. He said to redimple it at look at each dimple closely and if they all look good then I?m fine. I checked them all under a jewelers loupe and couldn?t see even a hint of cracking. I?m tempted to build on since the mother ship said it was fine but you 4 guys with the opposite opinion give me pause as I?ve been reading y?alls opinion on here for years and specifically Dave, Larry, and Steve I highly respect. (No offense Brian, I guess I just don?t read a lot of the threads you?ve posted in)

Choices, choices.....
Click to expand...

No offense taken, I'm still a newbie I guess. Opinions are worth what you pay for them. If mothership gave you advice, I would listen.
 
If the mothership said to build on, I'd build on. My experience with Van's is they are usually pretty conservative on there advice when to replace parts, so I would take this as your ok. But if you do decide to replace, I'd do as mentioned earlier and just wait and add the skin to a later big order. Shipping is a killer on some of these parts.

auburnaviator said:
Yeah, this is kinda what I thought might happen with the different opinions going each way. I called Vans builder assistance line and he said since it?s a control surface vs a structural skin (wing skin etc.) that it?s a much thinner piece of material and therefore less susceptible to work hardening or cracking. He said to redimple it at look at each dimple closely and if they all look good then I?m fine. I checked them all under a jewelers loupe and couldn?t see even a hint of cracking. I?m tempted to build on since the mother ship said it was fine but you 4 guys with the opposite opinion give me pause as I?ve been reading y?alls opinion on here for years and specifically Dave, Larry, and Steve I highly respect. (No offense Brian, I guess I just don?t read a lot of the threads you?ve posted in)

Choices, choices.....
Click to expand...
 
Well, just to be safe I went ahead and purchased new skins. Much to my pleasant surprise they were able to roll the skins and place them in an aprox. 12?x12?x12? box. Shipping was about the same price I paid for the last shipment of proseal tubes. Both ailerons are now complete. Off to work on the flaps and hopefully my fuselage arrives sooner rather than later next month!

Thanks for all of the replies everyone. Stay safe.
 
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