Installing the Leading Edge

Installing the leading edge was tough! It took lots of fiddling to get it to fit just right, especially where the brackets poke through on the outboard end, and even then, I cut the openings too big. It'll be covered with fabric, so it doesn't really matter, though. And nailing took a long time. My back was killing me by the time I was done with that.

We scuffed up the areas where there would be contact with epoxy, for better adhesion. I put epoxy along the edges where I would be nailing, but I also epoxied along the very leading edge.

Trimming the end to length.

A view inside the wing with the leading edge on.

The final dry fit. We did probably more than a half dozen dry fits.

I'm applying epoxy here to the leading edge strip, the nail strips on the spar,
the butt rib, and the rib on the far outside.

I had also epoxied the aluminum angle pieces. This piece of spruce applied pressure to that area to keep that aluminum stringer snugly against the nose ribs while the epoxy cured.

My friend, Mike, thought of using this scrap piece of 2x2 to bend over the edges of the leading edge aluminum. You do this simply to remove an area of potentially abrasive contact of sharp metal on the fabric. Notice the straps. I bought these on Amazon pretty cheaply. I put one over each rib to help keep the leading edge tight while I nailed. I don't think I would use the kind with ratchets. You could pretty easily damage the ribs by over-tightening those straps. These worked fine.