Although it takes a bit of effort, I quite like removing strips of vinyl over the rivet lines. Not to prevent scratches particularly, although this is nice….but when the exterior is painted it will all be scuffed up anyway. It’s more to do with the fact that it effectively masks the line of rivets, enabling me to prime the dimples so the metal under the rivet heads has been treated. Might be overkill, probably. But I started doing it on the fin, so sort of locked in now!
The vixen file was again in it’s element removing the jagged edges. The deburring tool along the edge followed by finishing with sandpaper on a rubber block got the job done.
Sandpaper wrapped around a wooden mixing stick tackled the awkward places.
Vans supply a rivet for the static vent, which looks good on the outside but doesn’t leave very much inside to seal a tube onto. Lots of other builders have fitted a Vent Kit from Cleaveland, as in the above picture. It comes with comprehensive fittings to connect up the pipes. I decided to fit the Cleaveland vent, but I did ask my inspector first since it means drilling the hole out to 1/2″. Actually Vans have recently released another Static Port Kit, which may well be an option, but I hadn’t discovered it prior to purchasing mine. Think carefully about this, since the geometry of the vent has a great effect on the static pressure reading, and Vans have no doubt invested considerable time in finding the best solution. But everyone seems to like the Cleaveland option.
I don’t think that Cleaveland sell their Static Port Kit any more, but the Vans static port kit mentioned above looks an ideal solution.
I understand that Flyboy Accessories are now selling what was the Cleaveland parts.
The Cleaveland ports have proven very accurate.
28 June 2023
I step drilled the vent hole now, since I was terrified I’d trash the skin. So I jigged it up under the pillar drill and took my time.
And here is the vent in place.
The bottom edge of the skins need breaking slightly to help sit flat after riveting. Important not to forget this stage … it needs to be done prior to dimpling in order to allow the roller tool access.