Vans Aircraft RV-12 Build, Section 17: Wing Skins (part 10)


Reference: page 17-05; 2.5 hours


Today I only got one step done, however I spent most of the time working on how to handle the wing tip close out on the RV-12.

Step 3: Rivet the W-1204B Wing Tip Aft Skin and the W-1204A-L Wing Tip Fwd Skin to the wing.





Builder's note: This is where I started playing with the front corner of the wing tip. The next two pictures below are different treatment for the tip. The first is of Vans Aicraft's factory plane.The second is of Larry Geiger's beautiful plane which was taken at AirVenture in 2010. He used epoxy and fiberglass to build it up. Both methods work, but I wanted something in between these extremes.





Below are photos of the steps I went through to come up with a formed aluminum tip. As you can see the closout tabs are bent with a curve on the front tabs as opposed to the factory angles.











If messing with forming aluminum is of interest to you, practice on scrap first. Also, a really good resource is Kent White the Tinman
Here's a link to the DVD I have from him: Basic Damage Repair on Aluminum Body.