Flight Training - November/December 2021 - 12

PREFLIGHT WHAT AM I?
BY JULIE SUMMERS WALKER
KNOW YOUR RIVETS
The two most commonly used rivets
are the solid shank and the blind
rivet. (Also known as flush and pop
rivets.)
Solid shank
Solid shank rivets are very strong;
they fill the entire hole with solid
aluminum, work-hardened by the
driving process. " It's a thread-less
bolt that you simply squish, " said
Cilliers. The main advantage for this
type of rivet is that they fit flush with
the aircraft skin and minimize drag.
They are inexpensive, sold by
weight, not quantity. The solid shank
is installed using a rivet squeezer or
driven with a rivet gun.
WHAT ROSIE WAS DOING
THE AMAZING STRENGTH OF RIVETS
" ROSIE THE RIVETER " IS AN ICONIC POSTER OF A FACTORY WORKER, FLEXing
her muscle, calling other women to join the manufacturing efforts
during World War II with the declaration that " We Can Do It! " But what
was Rosie doing?
As a marketing tool, the Rosie campaign succeeded in bringing more than
3 million women into the workforce when most men were sent off to fight.
Not all women were " riveters, " but those who were, were immensely proud of
the work they did on the B-29s, B-17s, and Corsairs of the time. Because most
aircraft designs are of sheet metal construction, thousands of rivets-simply
a bolt without a nut-are used to hold aluminum sheets together. The small
metal pins provide an effective, strong bond. Riveters use a " squeezer " or
" gun " to shoot the rivet into place; the shank expands to form the tight seal.
As many as 600,000 rivets were used to construct the B-29. The women who
were riveters worked in pairs. One would install the rivet and hit it with the
gun while the " bucker " would hold the " bucking bar " -a metal bar that forms
the tail of the rivet. The bars are various shapes to fit into different aircraft.
Rivets are as essential to today's aircraft manufacture and repair. The
most common general aviation aircraft fastener is the solid rivet. According
to Carlo Cilliers, AOPA's airframe and powerplant mechanic, the rivet is just
slightly smaller than the hole in the aluminum. The rivet gun applies a " shock
wave " of pressure, he says, that causes the rivet to expand into the space. " It's
a huge force at just a microsecond; like a mini jackhammer forcing the rivet up
against a hard place, " he said.
Bucking bars
julie.walker@aopa.org
12
FLIGHT TRAINING NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021
Blind rivet
Blind rivets are installed using a puller
or a pop-rivet tool. They are made
up of two pieces-the rivet body and
the shank. The puller is used on one
side of the aluminum to pull the stem,
which pulls the rivet body together,
making it swell forming the rivet
head on the other side. The main
advantage of this type is that they fit
in tight spaces that can't fit a bucking
bar, and they only require one person
to install. Since the installer can only
see one side, she is " blind " to the
opposite side, hence the name.
CHRIS ROSE
Flight Training - November/December 2021

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