Yes, that is the downside of drilling small holes and then enlarging them. Twist drills almost always catch one cutting edge before the other and that throws the drill off ever so slightly when drilling by hand. I have yet to find a good way to overcome that and that is why most holes are fairly oversized compared to the fastener. Unless you can match drill the mating parts, using “close fit” holes is very problematic.
I wish the windshield and skylight were held on with screws to facilitate replacement in the future, but I understand this would add some amount of weight. I also wish the wings were more easily removed and not have the windshield strips riveted to them. I am still trying to decide if there is a way I can test fly my airplane in bare aluminum and then remove the wings to bring it home for painting. It looks like the RANS design makes this impossible to do without drilling out a lot of rivets.
I noticed in some photos from Aerosport Products, Geoff used screws on his. Not sure if that’s to facilitate removal or just how he decided to do it. Yes wing removal would be a major undertaking.
@@s-21project92 I was toying with the same idea, at least for the initial flight test period and then rivet after paint. Though, it would be nice to paint with the wings on so that all rivets get painted, I don’t have that large a home made paint booth. I may have to try to contact him to see what he’s thinking and doing. Thanks for the heads up.
@@s-21project92 I have installed wing root connectors for electrical and will use Jiffy-Tite quick disconnects for the fuel and fuel vent lines. I think the main remaining hassle is the riveted fairings and trim strips and the control cables for flaps and ailerons. Probably the flaps are the most troublesome to disconnect.
Yes, that is the downside of drilling small holes and then enlarging them. Twist drills almost always catch one cutting edge before the other and that throws the drill off ever so slightly when drilling by hand. I have yet to find a good way to overcome that and that is why most holes are fairly oversized compared to the fastener. Unless you can match drill the mating parts, using “close fit” holes is very problematic.
I wish the windshield and skylight were held on with screws to facilitate replacement in the future, but I understand this would add some amount of weight. I also wish the wings were more easily removed and not have the windshield strips riveted to them. I am still trying to decide if there is a way I can test fly my airplane in bare aluminum and then remove the wings to bring it home for painting. It looks like the RANS design makes this impossible to do without drilling out a lot of rivets.
I noticed in some photos from Aerosport Products, Geoff used screws on his. Not sure if that’s to facilitate removal or just how he decided to do it. Yes wing removal would be a major undertaking.
@@s-21project92 I was toying with the same idea, at least for the initial flight test period and then rivet after paint. Though, it would be nice to paint with the wings on so that all rivets get painted, I don’t have that large a home made paint booth. I may have to try to contact him to see what he’s thinking and doing. Thanks for the heads up.
@@s-21project92 I have installed wing root connectors for electrical and will use Jiffy-Tite quick disconnects for the fuel and fuel vent lines. I think the main remaining hassle is the riveted fairings and trim strips and the control cables for flaps and ailerons. Probably the flaps are the most troublesome to disconnect.