Building a Wing Rib 

Thank You!

Unfortunately, it seems the kids aren't interested until they grow up a bit! Then, when they decide they want to do this kind of thing, the folks who could have taught them have passed on. That's where these kinds of videos will come in helpful to some degree.

Got into aviation at 12, did EAA for a few years at age 15, the smell of the hangar, tools, and sweat and the sound of the airport ATC coming from a radio on a desk while building planes got me into wanting to build planes. I’m 17 now and I wish to continue that passion by building my own plane one day. Thank you for uploading this video and hope I can find someone like him to be an apprentice to. Very Respectfully, Joshua M

@@poorlycookedchile I'm sorry, I missed your reply when you posted it! Thank you for sharing your enthusiasm and we hope you never lose that passion! It takes a lot to build your own plane, but if you find a knowledgable mentor to guide you, you will have a priceless asset! Best of luck to you and don't let ANYONE convince you that you "can't" get it done! The personal message which I wrote on the fuel tank of the Spirit of St. Louis by JNE as a tribute to my husband says, " With Determination, Tenacity and Perseverance, Dreams Take Flight". That is true for anyone who holds fast to their dream. We're "rooting" for you! ~ Heather

@@JNEAircraft No worries ma'am, thank you for replying! I plan on going to a trade school to get my A&P Certificate someday soon and gain skills to be able to do this, thank you for the motivation!

Thank You!

Muchas Gracias!

Glad you liked it, Miss Hailstorm! The question is: Did you learn anything you didn't know before? LOL

Good question i learned alot of this stuff but i forget to much 🤣

Thank You for such a kind compliment!

Thank you! The wood for the strips are spruce and the wood for the gussets are mahogany.

@@JNEAircraft Thank you uncle, success always. greetings from Indonesia

You think? LOL!

The nails are 1/4 - 3/8" long and they are brass coated, glue nails. Unfortunately, we have not been able to find these specific nails anymore. Those that John used in the video were from a stock we purchased more than 20-years ago.

Those are 1/4 inch, brass coated, steel nails. The steel in them are what make them catch the magnetized tack hammer so easily.

@@JNEAircraft Thanks a lot for the answer, i guessed he use some galvanized nails,

These cap strips are spruce. I also like to use Alaska Cedar. Be sure to bend the strips WITH the grain of the wood ... if you bend it against the grain they are likely to snap and if they don't snap there is a good chance you will still have a stress fracture!

It's the exact same rib that was used on the Spirit of St. Louis. That jig was donated to the San Diego Air & Space Museum and they used to have volunteers making ribs to sell as a fund raiser for the museum. We purchased ribs from them when we built the Spirit of St. Louis by JNE replica. John had to make a few extra ribs, so he used one of the ribs produced by the volunteers to make the jig he used in this demonstration. Thanks for taking the time to watch the video!

@@JNEAircraft Thanks for the info!

One can only be "taught" the basics of how a thing is done. Then you have to just keep at it until you develop your OWN technique that works best for you to get the job done. John has been at this for a very long time! Keep at it and you'll develop YOUR technique as well. Thanks for taking the time to watch the video and for commenting with such encouragement!

These ribs are built per the original. Why they shaped the gussets the way they did? Who knows! As with anything, over time we understand that there may be better, more efficient ways of doing things, but if you want to stick with the authenticity of how something was built "back in the day", you do it they way they did! That is why there are so many "rough edges" on the Spirit of St. Louis by JNE ... we were going after the authenticity of the original build. The ribs being built in this video are for the aircraft that came just BEFORE the Spirit ... These ribs will be going on a 1927 Ryan M-2. As for hammering the nails ... again, that is the way it was done. There are likely better ways of doing it today, but those ways are not original. The gussets are there more to keep the rib pieces in place once they are removed from the jig, rather than for strength in the structure, so a chip on a gusset really does not affect the structural integrity of the rib. It only affects the appearance of the rib. We only made this video to give some tips John has learned over the years of building wooden wing ribs, to make it a bit easier for those who are struggling with how to get theirs built ... and to give an idea of what it takes for those who have never built ribs before. Thanks for asking the questions, and Thanks for watching!

Yes he is. Because he was in the wing building business back in the late 1980's - early 1990's we had purchased a huge order of the nails. They didn't all get used up by the time he evolved to full general aviation restoration and these are some of what is left over from back then. If you are building an experimental airplane, the FAA has suggested using staples and then pulling the staples after it dries because the nails don't really do a whole lot. If you building a CERTIFICATED airplane then you do need to nail them since that is the process originally used. Not really sure where you might be able to find the bonderized nails today. Thanks for watching!

@@heathernorman4805 Thanks! I’m building an Experimental aircraft, so I have plenty of options. I just like the look of the nails and wouldn’t mind the work of pounding them in by the thousands.

I believe he was using Resorcinol on those ribs. Thanks for watching!

Once you put the glue on the gussets, it pretty much flows between them if there are gaps.

@@JNEAircraft Thanks for reply.

I believe he was using Resorcinol glue on those ribs.

I'm pretty sure it's Urea Formaldehyde which has many names. Weldwood plastic resin or Cascamite are common. Fairly certain that's not recorsinol. I investigated glue quite a bit and it's a rabbit hole. I tried to get faith in recorsinol as it's the only "approved" glue. It's great but hard to get right as far as conditions and assembly. I think T-88 and FPL16A are excellent epoxies and much easier to use.

Yes, that is one way of cutting the gusset material quickly and it's easier on the hands than using scissors or shears!

Yes!

The majority of these ribs are 3/8" x 1/2" and they are 7' long.

None at all. This is simply a demonstration of what John has learned to do over the years of building wood wing ribs, to make the job easier and run smoothly. Simply a suggestion for others who find themselves struggling with the task. Certainly there are multiple other ways of accomplishing the same end result ... this is just John's way. Thanks for watching!