Riveting the Leading Edge:
Pioneer Aero's engineers have made great progress with rebuilding the SBD's inboard wing leading edges over the past few months. All of the components for the righthand side forward of the nose spar are now complete and painted it primer. As a result, it was now time to reassemble them in the jig and rivet everything together. The following images (and video) show various stages of the process which Hadon Smith and Craig Cunha managed to complete. Hadon has also been hard at work remanufacturing the various inter-spar ribs linking the wing center section's nose spar to Spar #1.
This image shows the internal ribs and stringers after they have been riveted into the righthand wing leading edge forward of the nose spar. The row of empty holes at the lower left corner await the installation of a section of web material linking the nose spar to the leading edge skin. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
The inboard rib at Station #10 has been riveted into the righthand leading edge forward of the nose spar. The row of clecos is temporarily holding the end of the nose spar, which has been positioned, with rivet holes drilled through the rib. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
The righthand leading edge with most of the ribs forward of the nose spar riveted into place. For reference the inboard rib seen at the righthand side of image is located at Station #10, which is 10" from the aircraft's centerline. Note the aircraft fuselage in the background - this is P-51D Mustang 44-74829 dressed as a Royal New Zealand Air Force example and operated near Auckland, New Zealand. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
All of the ribs and stringers have been riveted into the righthand leading edge forward of the nose spar. The nose spar has been clecoed in to confirm fitment. This allows the rib-to-spar rivet holes to be finalized and the drilling of the spar cap to leading edge skin rivet holes. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
Hadon Smith in the process of riveting a rib into the righthand leading edge, with Craig Cunha bucking. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
Interspar Rib Remanufacture:
As already noted, Hadon Smith has refabricated the ribs which connect between the Dauntless wing center section's nose spar and Spar #1. Most of these ribs feature large cut outs to accommodate the main landing gear legs when they are stowed. Unfortunately, impact damage from the SBD's WWII ditching incident crushed the original ribs beyond repair. Even so, these parts still yielded valuable information for the restoration team's duplication efforts. Sets of these ribs for the right and lefthand inboard wing sections now await heat-treating to bring them up to the appropriate strength. They will then undergo final-fitting, trimming, and primer-painting, after which they will be ready for riveting into the leading edge structure.
One of the ribs (part #2461243-1) which sits between the nose spar and Spar #1 in the wing center section. It now awaits heat treatment and final trimming. The complex shapes involved in these ribs were determined from manufacturer's drawings and information gained from the original crash-damaged parts. The cut out (as is true for all of these ribs) allows room for the main undercarriage leg when in the stowed position. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
One of the ribs (part #4060266) which sits between the nose spar and Spar #1 in the wing center section. It now awaits heat treatment and final trimming. The complex shapes involved in these ribs were determined from manufacturer's drawings and information gained from the original crash-damaged parts. The cut out (as is true for all of these ribs) allows room for the main undercarriage leg when in the stowed position. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
The opposite side of the previous rib. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
