Lightening Holes And Dies

Today's task is to start construction on a pair of dies that will be used to make the flanges on the lightening holes I plan on cutting in the ribs and bulkheads. Having lightening holes will save a tiny bit of weight, maybe just enough to allow me to add a 1 or 2 lb instrument though, so that's a good thing. The real reason however is to add stiffness to a part that would otherwise be quite flexible made from .020 or .040 inch thickness aluminum sheet.

Also, having holes in the wing ribs will allow me to run plumbing for the pitot tube and wires for the wingtip lights! To a lesser extent, it will allow me inspection access to various parts of the wing after I've installed some access ports.

I figure two size holes, 2 and 3 inches in diameter should suffice. I'll post more details as I progress, but the dies will be made of hardwood and cut using an attachment for my Dremel motor tool. Dremels are the Swiss Army knife of the handheld tool world!