Almost ruined the LE yesterday....

This is where I get to rant once gain about those that do not provide enough information to ensure that things get done properly. As a result of this lack of information, and my own shear stupidity, I almost ended up destroying my inboard leading edge rib while trying to get the damn thing off the wing spar per the instructions you get from all these web sites using the "Checkoway" method.Well, now that I have experienced the "Checkoway" method first hand, which actually mirrors a similar useless instruction from Vans, I am here to tell you that for this little part of the procedure - the method sucks!

To understand this, I'll review what is going on here.

1. You are trying to mate the LE skin to the fuel tank skin and the top wing skins to ensure that all the skins have a nice fit up against each other with no gaps, and that the joiner plate is properly positioned for match drilling the screw holes in the fuel tank skin to the joiner plate extension from the LE.
2. This means that the LE is clecoed to the wing spar nice and tight, and the fuel tank is clecoed to the wing spar using the #30 clecoes in the fuel tank skin holes through the nut plates for the screw holes - also nice and tight.
3. The other reason why you want this joint to be tight and straight is that there is a joiner plate that connects the fuel tank skin to the LE skin, and there is not a lot of room on this joiner plate for the nutplates and #8 screw holes. So the holes for the screws and nutplates for that thing also have to be drilled in just the right place.
4. Once you match drill the #30 holes in the fuel tank skin and the joiner plate of the LE, the Checkoway instruction tells you to "REMOVE the Leading Edge from the wing spar."
5. The other important thing to note is that the fuel tank is supposed to remain fully attached to the wing spar while you "remove" the LE assembly so that you can properly position the rear baffle plate and drill all the rib to baffle to Z bracket holes, starting with the inboard rib, followed by the outboard rib. SO you can't remove any clecoes or anything else from the now-secured fuel tank to allow you to remove the LE, or you defeat the purpose of mounting everything together in the first place.
6. The joiner plate extension sits UNDERNEATH the fuel tank skin. So with everything clecoed together you cannot just lift the LE assembly straight up off the wing spar with the fuel tank still secured to the wing spar, as the joiner plate will interfere with that.

SO I did all the above, and it was working out rather well. Then I removed all the clecoes holding the LE to the wing spar, and tried to "remove it from the wing spar" per the instructions. The problem was that something was not "letting go" as I tried to remove it, and at first it felt like a cleco was still holding it to the wing spar.  Three full repeated checks later, I confirmed there was NO cleco holding the LE to the wing spar. SO why was the LE hanging up, and on what?

Like an absolute idiot, I decided that maybe I just need to pull harder because the fit of the LE joiner plate to the fuel tank was very tight. The reality, and the truth to this situation, is that in order to get the LE off the wing spar you have to slide it out toward the wing-tip side of the spar, to try to clear the joiner plate from under the fuel tank skin. Then you should be able to lift it straight up and out. Well, all these idiots seem to forget to tell you that their are two problems with this:

1. The edges of the rear flanges of the LE ribs sitting flush against the wing spar web when the LE assembly is on the wing spar sit VERY CLOSE to the shop heads of the forward flanges of the main wing ribs that are already riveted to the wing spar web.

2. In order to slide the LE toward the wing tip part of the spar, you must lift the LE skins up and over your support bracket that holds the wing spar onto the wing stand. This is because the LE skins extend downward past the mounting stand bracket so they can be attached to the wing spar flange along each flange of the wing spar. This puts the LE at an angle, which unfortunately results in the inboard rib flanges of the LE digging into the wing spar and angled toward the shop heads of the rivets even further.

At one point I pulled so hard that "something" finally gave way. Upon removing the LE assembly I found out what that "something" was. One corner of the rear flange of my most-inboard 408 rib had been folded back to about 120 degrees, as it got caught on the edge of one of the shop heads of the main wing rib rivets as I tried to pull it away from the secured fuel tank assembly harder and harder. This also distorted several bends in that entire rib flange, and even bent the rib web slightly out of alignment.

I think I was able to repair the rib by bending everything back in place as much as possible, but Lord only knows what may have happened to my already enlarged rivet holes for that rib, subskin, and outer skin with all that tugging that I did.. I used pliers and my metal straightening/bending tool to try to flatten out the edge of the rear rib flange. It did not crack as far as I an tell, but it was obviously severely stressed.

I just can't believe how stupid I was. Note to self - if the part won't move, it is hung up on something! Stop what you are doing and figure out what it is hung up on, and then figure out how to solve the problem intelligently.

SO here is that "something else" that NOBODY seems to mention in their builders logs or posts to their blogs when they get to this step. I submit this in the event that my stupidity might prevent another builder from making the same mistake that I did.

I reasoned that "normal builders" that only use the small 1.5 inch wide joiner strip per the plans, end up with some "give" in the 1.5 inch wide strip when they lift up on the LE and start sliding it off of the wing spar. This also allows the rear flanges of that first LE rib to lift up high enough to clear the shop heads from the main wing spar rivets as it starts to move away from the fuel tank, and off it comes. OR.......

What probably REALLY happens is that they remove the clecoes that hold the first inboard 408 rib to the LE skin and the joiner strip, and this frees up the entire LE assembly so that it can be lifted STRAIGHT UP instead of OUTWARD. Then the joiner strip can be removed from the fuel tank, and all is well.

But try to find that little blurb in someone's build log - it never exists, and why that is, I will never know.

SO in my case, I would have needed to remove clecoes from both inboard ribs to release the LE skin from the modified joiner plate/subskin that spans the distance of both of those ribs (12 inches wide). Had I done that, all of this would have been avoided, and I would not be stressing further over the integrity of this stupid part of mine.

I'm pretty frustrated over my own stupidity, and I'm absolutely mystified about how others that work on this phase of the build do not comment on any difficulty with removing the LE assembly after the fuel tank is secured to the wing spar. I guess they must be smarter than me.

I think I escaped this stupid mistake without too much damage, but I won't know for certain until the time comes to rivet the LE to the wing spar for the final time.

On a more positive note, I did some more work on the fuel tank baffle and Z bracket rivet holes tonight, but I'll update that work tomorrow with some pics.