National Aeronca Association Bulletin Board

Getting ready to put new leading edge skin on my rebuilt wings. Does anyone have any shure fire method or tricks of the trade they would like to pass on? Thanks.

After fighting and a lot of swearing I got new leading edges on my champ back in 1980. Not a week later I saw someone doeing the same thing without the swearing! He had taken some of the ratcheting cargo straps and used a multitude (4 to to control and contain the metal in position when he drilled the holes for the little iddybiddy screws. The straps allowed you to snug the leading edge right up to the rib without deforming anything. That and you are not drilling with one hand and applying pressure with the other.

Prior to trying all this I bent the leading edge to the right radius by wrappind it around a length of pvc pipe. I chose a diameter slightly smaller than needed to allow for the springback of the aluminum. I wrapped it all in plastic then used a shop vac to remove air and a little body english to set the final radius. It took some experimentation but I got a good result.

Good luck,
Mark

Don't forget to break the edges 45'. I found one Champ that had a wood
filler on TOP of the spar so the metal would not bend down when the fabric
was tightened. Guess what, you can not inspect the top of the spar!
As above noted above, that is the best way (cargo straps).

Does anyone have a large print of the wing details for a Champ that I can get a copy of?

Thanks, Dennis