During the last Annual Inspection of S/N 263 (nicknamed ‘Glamour Girl’, because she’s good looking, and has a round tail), the IA noticed that a few of the rivets on the leading edge wing panel alongside the fuselage were starting to pull through the sheet metal. This was happening on both on the upper and lower surfaces of the wing. He said this didn’t need to be addressed immediately, but I found an AP who said he could easily replace these ten or so rivets during the winter months. Since S/N 263 was going to be in the shop, I decided to have the shelf kit from K & L Soaring installed, new Hooker shoulder harnesses installed, the crotch strap from K & L Soaring installed, and a transponder/ADS-B Out package from Craggy Aero installed. As it turned out, replacing the ten or so rivets has been the biggest part of the project.

At some point during the last 58 years, there was an undocumented repair to the left wing. The wrong rivets were used to re-attach the wing panel. Per the mechanic, those rivets were going to fail, which is what was happening. So, the entire wing panel had to be removed, which uncovered a cracked rib with a ‘sort-of’ patch. Three new ribs were ordered from K & L Soaring, along with a new wing panel and two access panels to allow the proper riveting to be done. The new ribs are in the process of being installed. The mechanic also noticed that the left aileron push rod had a fairly deep groove worn across it, probably due to vibrating against a frame member in the wing while being trailered. K & L said this is a known issue, but they no longer make new aileron push rods for older model 1-26’s. The mechanic purchased a new 12′ long aluminum tube, which will be machined to accept the original fittings on each end of the push rod. Once all of this is done, and the new wing panel is installed with the correct rivets, the new wing panel will be painted, and I’ll finally get S/N 263 back in the air.

I’ve sat in the cockpit to try out the new harnesses. The crotch strap is marvelous – I can cinch everything tightly without the lap assembly being pulled up onto my stomach. It’s very secure, and I’m certain that I’ve bumped the canopy with the top of my head for the last time!