Fuel tank cover nutplate missing

[krwill]

Anyone have any tips on how to deal with one missing nut plate and one that might as well be missing with how big it has been stripped out to? Both of the missing screws are in the left tank cover, front and center. How do I replace these with them being right on top of the spar and hidden with the bent over sheet metal leading edge? It is making a nice air scoop so I grounded it till I can get this fixed.

Thanks!
Ken

[Steve Pierce]

I would remove the tank cover, trim the fabric enough to get to the two rivets holding the nut plate in, drill them out. Take a piece of safety wire and fish it through the hole and out to the wing root. With the leading edge wing root fairing off grab the safety wire (might have to cut a hole in the fabric around the butt rib area to gain access. Fish a new nut plate on the wire properly positioned and then put a wrap the wire around a washer with another piece of safety wire wrapped around the washer. Pull the wire through the nut plate hole while the new wire is kept from going all the way into the wing. Once you get the nut plate to the hole manipulate it so you can get a clecoe into it. I have used a small scribe or pick. Pull the wire hanging out of the wing root to get the wire and washer out of the wing and use a 3/32" pop rivets to secure the new nut plate to the leading edge skin.

[krwill]

Steve, Thanks! K1000-3 correct?

[Steve Pierce]

Yes, but a would run a screw through it a couple of times. They tend to be real tight at first.

[Steve Benesh]

While you have the tank cover off, consider checking the special sheet metal screws that attach the leading and trailing edge skins to the top of the two wing spars. There are either seven or eight IMG_1552704836.920863.jpgof these screws per spar in the fuel tank cover area. I had to recover a portion of one wing on my Tri Pacer last Fall and discovered these screws were loose, even though covered by fabric. This puzzled me and finally I came to the conclusion it was probably due to repeated expansion/contraction of the aluminum spar material and skins. The in-flight lift on the fuel cover itself might have also have contributed to the loose screws as well because those screws on the fourth rib bay, where the fuel tank and it’s cover are not located, were not as loose. See attached picture for location of the screws mentioned. If you can access them, consider checking them on both spars as they’re part of holding the fuel tank cover onto the wing. IMG_1552703602.784933.jpg


Steve Benesh

[Steve Pierce]

I have found loose screws in the false spar forward of the flaps on top behind the gas tank. Was able to take an exacto knife and cut around the head and remove in and drill and install another screw adjacent to it. Cut out and inspection hole that hadn't been cut yet and then used that fabric to make a dollar patch and glued it on with Stewarts glue. Oratex works well for patches like this as well.

[Wag-builder]

To replace the nutplate, cut the head off of a 10-32 screw, drill a .032 hole about 3/16 deep into the screw. Take a piece of 1/32 music wire and silver solder it into the screw. Screw it into the old nutplate and drill or the rivers and remove the nutplate out through the butt rib without allowing the wire to pull all the way through the hole. Remove the old nutplate and screw the new nutplate onto the screw and pull it back into position and install the new rivets and unscrew your new tool and save it for later.

Hope me this helps,

steve

[krwill]

Well, got her done. Not as bad as I thought it would be. Thanks for the help everyone!

-Ken

Sent from my LM-X210(G) using Tapatalk