6/13/2006
The ribs are in!! I finished setting the rivets in the ribs tonight by squeezing the rivets in the inboard and outboard ribs on both tanks. I finally took a couple of pics to show how the rivets get wet installed. This is done using a toothpick dipped in sealant, and swirling it in the hole to cover the dimples edges.
There's still a few things to do before sealing it up like the pickup tubes, vent line, and leading edge stiffeners, but it feels great to have the riveting done on the ribs! I still have to run a fillet seal around the ribs and cover the shop heads, but that's easy! The tough part is over...unless I find out I have leaks! That would be bad...
2.75 hours