Drilled nutplate strip for right wingtip

November 19, 2012 – I started prepping for the installation of the nutplate strips by dimpling the holes in the wing skins. I’m using the Cleveland Tools 4-40 screw kit to attach my wingtips, so the wing skin holes stay at #40.

I started by drawing a line down the center of the reinforcement strips provided by Van’s. This will ensure safe edge distance for the screws.

When the strips are clamped in place for drilling, I look for the drawn line through the hole.

I drilled the holes to #40, then countersunk them to accommodate the dimples in the wing skins.

I then took the screw holes up to #30. The correct drill size for the shank of a 4-40 screw is #31, but I’m doing #30. I also used a nutplate jig to drill the holes for the nutplate rivets.

Time: 3:15