Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers

Build It! Fly It! The Companion Website to the Zenair Newsletter

David Gallagher
  • Pleasant Plain, OH
  • United States
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Setting up shop

Replied Mar 2

Paint and polish

Replied Feb 9

Temporary fasteners?

Replied Jan 27

 

David Gallagher's Page

Latest Activity

Finished up all wing rivets including the nose skin & flaps. The upgrade is DONE! Just a few clean-up items & the condition inspection now.
yesterday
Weighed my 601XL today. The upgrade cost me 35 pounds
on Tuesday
Put the wings back on and riveted the rest of the top skins. I am definitely going to be short on A5 rivets.
March 13
David Gallagher added 2 photos to the album '601XL Upgrade'
March 13
David Gallagher added 4 photos to the album '601XL Upgrade'
March 8
Aileron counterweights are done. Wings almost ready to re-install. Spring is here and it is time to get back into the air again!
March 8
Wing upgrades are all done now. Just need to pull several hundred rivets now to close them in. Working aileron counterweights.
February 27
My wife, aka "lovely assistant," helped me to put the wing leading edge skins back on. Freed up a lot of floor space to move around.
February 21
Riveted all the upgrade center spar components in. Started on nose rib re-installation. The end is in sight!
February 20
David Gallagher added a photo to the album '601XL Upgrade'
Upgrade_22
February 18
Center spar is back in. Back drilling front uprights is a bear. Make sure to buy the small angle drill recommended by ZAC, and extra bits.
February 14
David Gallagher added 3 photos to the album '601XL Upgrade'
February 14

Profile Information

Aircraft Model
ZODIAC XL
Project Status
Flying
Building From
Kit
Building Experience
Have worked on airplanes before
Flying Experience
Private Pilot
Profession / Employer / Background Info
Project Manager for Jet Engine Testing @ GE Aviation
A&P Mechanic License

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David Gallagher's Blog

David Gallagher

Adventures In Riveting

I had a few people ask me why I thought solid rivet bucking was easy. I have to admit that I was fortunate to be taught how to drive rivets in A&P school a fair number of years ago, but the skill could be easily picked up by anyone mechanically inclined. I had the opportunity to make many mistakes before getting it right. I have not riveted much since then so there was a little bit of refresher needed. If you have access to the EAA web site, there is a Tony Bingelis article about rivet drivi… Continue

Posted on January 7, 2010 at 11:30am — 3 Comments

Comment Wall (34 comments)

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At 9:01am on March 16, 2010, Dr. Edward M. Moody II said…
Just thank God you don't live down here in LA. We are kinda food central around this neck of the woods.
At 8:47am on March 16, 2010, Dr. Edward M. Moody II said…
Wow! There went a nice big chunk of your useful weight allowance. Okay.... attention everybody, we're all on a diet as of right now. The savings on the grocery bill will be spent on the extra fuel burn ;-)
At 5:50pm on February 27, 2010, Jake Reyna said…
Dave, when I was first building the wing years ago, cutting the top skin was a huge step and I did the pros and cons. As you know, if we're going to carry extra weight it is best close to the CG, so I cut the hole.

I've looked at some lightweight Dry Sacks at Cabela's, light and cheap, or the old reliable trash bag. Steve W. has a nice solution and I might try to make my own.

How's it going with the Upgrade?

Jake
At 2:21pm on February 25, 2010, Andy Elliott said…
I have the dual stick set-up so I moved down the hole on the inter-stick arm by 1" = 20%. If you were going to move the holes in the elevator bellcrank, you could move them closer to the pivot by the same 20%.
At 7:13am on February 14, 2010, Jake Reyna said…
Dave, I thought you were done. I saw the pictures and video that you posted recently, but I didn't connect the dots, those were Spring/Summer pictures, duh!

Just finished the solid rivets on the second wing and continue to use your blog as a reference. Slow and steady, I will spend almost 2 months on the upgrade.

Jake
At 8:49am on January 8, 2010, Jake Reyna said…
Dave, thanks again for the solid rivet tips. After reading your blog, I drilled out some marginal rivets, no sense in settling for close enough. I had to order more rivets, I was one short, but it won't stop progress on the installation.
At 10:22pm on November 28, 2009, Matt Archer said…
Wow you are progressing well. How tough was the center spar. This has me concerned with all the wires I have going through the hole.

Cheers
At 5:18pm on November 24, 2009, Matt Archer said…
I am using nuvite. Not going too bad. I figure it will save some weight. I figure I will polish them up while waiting for the kit. I will probably pull the skins next. The center wing is going to be a lot to remove. I am checking my documentation to see what wiring I will need to deal with. Once I get it out it should not be too bad. I guess I will learn to shoot some solid rivets. I have a couple of friends that will help.

Cheers.
At 2:00am on November 24, 2009, Geoffrey W Eather said…
David

Finally got the caps out - what a job!! The first one fought me ALL the way. Needed a 2 1/2 foot breaker bar and a second person. Even then it was tough going. Problem was not so much the Proseal but "galling" of the threads. Totally destroyed the filler neck thread, hope I can salvage the tank. The second one, although difficult, came out OK with no damage to the threads.

Suspect there will be a lot more "minor" problems before this little number is over!!

Cheers

Geoff Eather
At 9:13pm on November 23, 2009, Matt Archer said…
Yea, I have a wing off and am polishing it first. Actually compounding it. I decided to polish rather than paint. Save some weight. Going ok. Haven't yet opened up the wing. But that doesn't concern me as much as pulling the center spar. Well it will be a while till we fly again. I guess we have something to do this winter. I hope I am flying again by summer.

Cheers
Matt

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