starfire73

Surely someone somewhere has some Avistar rib patterns scanned in that they can post or email me right? I can trace out a rough pattern for repair, but I'd rather be more exact from an actual scan of the part.

rcuman

Usually what I have done in the past is to sand down a curvature approximate to the one in the plane then place it right beside an existing rib. The I trace out the pattern of the rib onto the rest of the half made rib. Sounds confusing but it is not. For example I had to repair a damaged leading edge of a trainer. I cut the sheeting back to the middle of an existing rib. I then get a piece of square balsa sheet the same length and thickness as the existing rib. I sand one side of it the approximate shape as the other existing rib and this may take several sandings to accomplish the curvature you need. After you have one side ready to go place it inside the wing right beside the existing rib and trace out the rest of the rib. Cut it out and you may have to sand a little to get it just right and you have the full front half of the rib. You can make copies if you wish. If you are working with a warbird and you have to replace some ribs and if the other side of the wing is not damaged, you can cut into it and make copies of those ribs. The same procedure can be used for the rear part of the rib.