Widgetitis

I'm building a wing. Outta aruminum, as per Riveting 101. Just finishing
fitting the lower skins around the landing gear legs. Rivet holes are all
done; the thing is at the Bristle Stage although most of my bristles are PK's
instead of clecos because the former are about two cents each and clecos
aren't.

Landing gear structure. Nicely triangulated 4130 leg attaches to an aluminum
spar so that the loads appear in shear across three fasteners, a pair of AN4
bolts to more-or-less hold things in position so the major load can be taken by
an AN6.

Be nice if I could take a peek at that AN6 before going for a ride, when I'm
wandering around wiggling the flippers and knocking off the pee-toe toobe with
my knee. AN4's are no problem since their nuts are hanging out. But those
AN6's are tucked up there under the spar caps, torqued to about a zillion foot
pounds (or mebbe jus' 190 lb/inches...) inside of the wing and the inspection
panel for that bay, which is also the hole for getting the bucking bar in
there, is on the bottom and it's a low-winger and the panel is nut-plated
flush with half a dozen #8 flat-head Phillips. Fifty-hour inspection stuff,
not pre-flight.

Actually, there IS a way to see the fastener without dismantling the wing, via
a drain hole where the lower skin is riveted to the rear spar. I'm a big fan
of Zinc Chromate. And I love drain holes. Nothing fancy, just bopped the edge
of the panel over a quarter-inch rod so it forms a little tapered channel.
Sorta like fluting the flange of a rib but going the other way. Get down on
your handzankneez, peek through the drain hole, you're staring right down that
AN6's throat. On the bench with the top skin off you can see it clear as
anything. Only trouble is, put the top skin on, the inside of the wing is
blacker than my fingernails.

Tried poking various light-wands through the hole... nada.

So I installed a pair of ultra-bright white LED's on each gear leg. Twenty-six
gauge wire and no ground return; dropping resister at the switch, salvaged off
a circuit board and about as big as a pea. Less than two ounces for the whole
sheebang.

Sat out there behind the shop scaring the possoms with my tiny little lights,
mazed at what a smart feller I was until the wife turned the hose on me, told
me to come to bed or she'd lock me out.

Good thing I put in them drains :-)

-R.S.Hoover