15-03: Outboard Aileron Bracket Doubler - rectification!

A plan of action

As detailed in this post i messed up the outboard aileron bracket doublers by match drilling them to the root end of the spar, not the tip end. Doh.

These parts can't be reused, so i will need new ones. They are only $2.30 each so no big deal - however, due to COVID-19 there are almost no flights to and from the US at the moment, so the shipping is likely to be in the order of $50 for these 2 little parts (FedEx and DHL are still flying), and a lead time of 5-6 weeks (some are saying 10 weeks!). So i really need another solution.

The parts in question are 2024-T3 aluminium and are 0.040" thick.

There happens to be a piece in the trim bundle which is the same thickness, and the correct width as well! But i am not sure what the temper of this piece is, and so if it is suitable or not.

Not knowing the temper, i emailed Van's to ask if the trim bundle piece would be suitable:

So it seems the trim bundle piece is good to go!

The parts have a 1/4" inside radius bend at the top to allow them to nest inside the spar flanges, so i will need to bend the trim bundle piece to this radius.

In order to make this bend, I ordered the tool below:

Replacing the part

So due to COVID-19, it turns out the tool above won't be here for a couple of weeks!!! Argh - it is coming from the other side of the country. However, i was able to have a go at a massive bending brake at the local maintenance shop at the airport where i work, and got the bends done anyway. I added some radius shims to the bender to get the 1/4" radius on the part. 

These new doublers were match drilled to the spars (at the correct end this time!) then the flanges and length were trimmed to fit the spar. Much quicker than waiting for a new part from the US.