DISCLAIMER: This is a sponsored post (the only one on this blog so far).
In July, I received my fancy new Aveo ZipTips Vegas! In the box, I found the tips with all parts taped up, and short connector pigtails for testing them (I could probably splice them to the longer wiring and use them directly, but I see no reason to have a lot of splices like that):
Unboxing the ZipTips
ZipTips as they come in the box, with parts taped up
ZipTip lights ready for initial testing
I started by testing each light, by connecting a power supply to the provided pigtail (that way I didn't need to finish crimping/wiring before I could test it). I avoided removing tape from the polycarbonate lenses at this stage just to keep them protected during the install:
ZipTip landing light test
ZipTip ground and logo light test (without removing tape, so not full brightness)
ZipTip position light test
ZipTip long-distance landing light test (in darkness)
With this, I also understood some of the light functions - the wig-wag light makes the taxi lights flash (and will synchronize that flashing between tips if you connect the SYNC wire), and the recognition light is not a separate light, but it instead just makes the long-range landing light also flash. Turning on the ground and logo lights turn on together. The dimming function turns on either all lights at partial power (if no other light is on) or the same lights that are currently on at partial power, which can be useful for preflight and to not blind others when taxiing around a dark airport.
I started by separating the parts that are taped up - the rib, the inspection panel, and the light module - so for the structural mounting I could work with just the shell (much lighter, and keeps dust away from the actual lights/circuits):
ZipTip with taped-up parts, as it comes
Rib, inspection panel with ground light, and light module removed from the ZipTip
To make them fit all the way, the leading edge needed to be sanded to remove the seam that runs down the middle:
Tip of the flange after sanding
I started by marking the inboard edge for tirmming such that the flange left was about the same width as the skin that sticks out from the wing, and I also transferred an outline of the aileron geometry to trim the part further aft (conservatively, at first):
Inboard flange marked for trimming
In a few places, the J channels were sticking out of the outboard wing rib slightly, so I had to make corresponding notches on the wingtip edge in order to get it flush:
J channel protruding out from the rib, with corresponding notch on wingtip flange to accommodate
Once everything fit well all around (it's easy to check through the inspection panel hole, since the light module is removed at this stage), I made sure the wingtip was pressed well against the leading edge, then match-drilled the wing skin holes into the wingtip, starting at the leading edge. This would normally be #40 holes to start, but in my case, since I had already previously installed the older ZipTips, I started with #30. I left upsizing to #28 to much later, since with #30 the clecos will still hold well and guarantee alignment (at #28 they may hold, but won't fill the hole, so they could be holding the tip in a slightly offset position):
Wingtip match-drilled and clecoed in place (top side)
Wingtip match-drilled and clecoed in place (bottom side)
With the wingtip in place, I marked the required clearance distance from the aileron per Van's instructions (which I had previously only cut conservatively / enough for it to fit), and trimmed it:
Markings for trimming the wingtip for the minimal distance from the aileron
Then, I located the light module inside the tips so that there was enough room for the nutplates without interfering with its inboard web (you can see the wingtip hole locations through the light module flanges when light shines through them):
Light module clamped inside wingtip for drilling, with light showing the outside flange holes
Light module drilled and clecoed in place inside wingtip
I trimmed the excess flange from the light module assembly, sanded it down so it matched the wingtip flange, and verified that it still fit on the wing:
Wingtip in place with light module to verify it fits
There's an expected gap between the light module assembly and the wingtip, which will be filled later - this is due to the fact that the tips "open up" slightly when pulled against the skin, so the wingtip "at rest" does not have the right width even with the light module in place:
Small gap between light module and wingtip surface
For the inspection/ground illumination panel, I marked attachment holes (evenly spaced on each side), drilled them #30 on the wingtip only, taped the panel in place, then match-drilled it #28 in the other direction:
Inspection panel taped in place in order to match-drill the flange holes into the panel
Inspection panel fully match-drilled and clecoed in place
I countersunk the holes for #6 tinnerman washers, and drilled and countersunk nutplate attachment holes:
Inspection panel with holes countersunk for #6 tinnerman washers
Attachment holes for inspection panel nutplates
There was a little bit of interference between the light module plastic and one of the holes, so I had to trim the plastic in that area:
Plastic portion of light module shows through attachment screw hole
Plastic portion of structure sitting just behind the inspection panel attachment hole
Marking from the scre hole on the plastic part
Plastic part after trimming to eliminate interference
Nutplate without interference after trimming
Small vertical clearance between nutplate rivet and plastic part
I then riveted all the inspection panel nutplates with soft rivets (AN426A3-4 - not AD). I figured it'd be easier to do that before the light module is glassed in (but also means I had to support the flange with a block of wood to be able to put pressure on it with the squeezer):
Inspection panel nutplates riveted in place
Wood block supporting the inspectional panel flange during riveting
The ground illumination lights come detached from the inspection panel, but with convenient reliefs to ensure their alignment - so I drilled holes at those same spots for securing it with screws and nutplates:
Ground illumination module separated from inspection panel
Ground illumination module attachment holes through inspection panel and module
Ground illumination module with nutplates for attachment
I later closed it all up with #6 screws and tinnerman washers:
Inspection panel and ground illumination module screwed in place, with tinnerman washers
The trailing edge rib comes with some faces painted white - however, I wanted to make a smooth finish (make the whole aft part of the wingtip be closed off flush), plus the white paint does not have very good adhesion (a lot of it came off on the tape that Aveo themselves used), so I had to sand the edges to remove the paint:
Aft wingtip rib in its original form
Aft wingtip rib after sanding the edges for filling/finishing
I assume the rest of it will get sanded off later for painting too (the white paint that comes on these parts flakes off easily), but that'll be Jonathan's problem :)
There was some delamination on the aft portion of the flange which I had to sand off:
Delamination on aft portion of aft rib flange
I then set it in place and adjusted the location until the wingtip profile matched the aileron's, then drilled a few locator holes to hold it in the right place later when I glass it in:
Aft wingtip rib in place and marked for alignment
Aft wingtip rib secured with clecos
I also added holes for the static wicks, following the Dayton-Granger recommended layout for the RV-10 - one wick against the aileron rib, one at the wingtip rib (about 12 1/2" from the first), and one about 11" further outboard:
Static wick holes drilled through wingtip, with one static wick resting against it
A note of caution for the step above - the wires from the trailing edge light module run close to where the outboardmost static wick holes go - make sure to move them out of the way so you don't damage the wires (having the aft rib removed for this step helps, as you can look in and see where the holes and wires are).
Aft rib with nutplate for static wick attachment
It was then time to attach the light module and rib permanently. For the rib, we applied resin with flox to its flanges, aligned it in clecos, and then used resin with microballoons to make a smooth transition so it looks like the rib is just an integral part of the tips:
Aft rib glassed to wingtip with resin+flox
For the light module, it was very important to protect the wing ribs first - if any excess resin leaked and got into the cracks between the wing rib flanges, I'd have a very very hard time removing the tips again. Likewise, it'd still be a pain to remove any resin from the lens without scratching it, so we covered it with press-n-seal. We then applied a fillet of resin+flox+cab-o-sil, set the light module in place, ensured all gaps were being filled, and clecoed the tip in place, using (waxed) screws to ensure the light module was at the proper alignment until it cured (without compressing the flange with clecos):
Lens protected with press-n-seal before glassing in the light module
Applying a fillet of resin+flox+cab-o-sil to glass in the light module
Resin fillet all around what will be the edge of the light module
Light module in place with gaps filled
Once that was cured, I removed the tip, cleaned up the excess resin, and added a couple layers of fiber over the inside part of the flange:
Fiberglass strips for reinforcing light module attachment
Light module attachment reinforced with 2 layers of fiberglass all around
With all the structural attachment done, I final-drilled the holes to #28, countersunk the tips, attached nutplates, and dimpled the skins, then countersunk and installed nutplates along the length of the wingtip flange:
Wingtip flange countersunk for dimples and nutplate attachment rivets
Nutplates installed on wingtip flange
Wing skins dimpled for
With this, the only steps left for physical installation are securing the wingtip with screws, and connecting the power wires and the static wick grounding straps, both of which I'll wait to do until the wings are on.
Last but not least, I adjusted the length of the wires coming out of the outboard rib so they comfortably reached the light module connector, added wire sleeving and heat shrink to protect that length, and installed the connector (I had previously ran the wires through the wings and crimped all the Molex pins - through I hear they're soon changing the connectors to be TE CPCs, just like previous models):
Protected wire bundle coming out of the wing
The wiring was mostly standard - each light is connected to one pin on the VP-X (with care taken that different lights are on different VP-X banks for some redundancy) and there's a corresponding switch, with a few exceptions: the wig-wag, the recognition lights, and the ground/logo lights, mainly to save VP-X pins for other equipment.
The wig-wag light depends on the taxi light being on (since it simply flashes those), so I wired a two-position switch such that the first position turns on the VP-X's taxi output (J2-6 switch input), and the second one also lets the taxi power output (J10-4 output) through to the wig-wag control wire:
VP-X wiring to the ZipTip, with wig-wag spliced out from taxi light
I also connected the landing and recognition lights to the same 2-stage switch (SteinAir 2-10), but in that case I used two switch inputs from the VP-X. I could've done something similar to the wig-wag for it, but didn't see the need to.
Wiring of the taxi and landing light switches
I did not connect the dimming function at this time (simply because I didn't have the panel space to easily locate another switch), but I ran the wires for it to the wingroot anyway so I can add that switch on the next version of my panel (whenever that happens).
Overall, I really like the Ziptips Vegas - they're not hard to install (in fact, easier than the stock tips since there's no need to mess with the lens or lights), the lights are very bright, and they save me the hassle of having various lights elsewhere. Once I get to testing them in actual night flight I'll post an update with my real-life impression from using them.
On the next post I'll show the installation of the left wingtip, which will have some differences - due to the NAV antenna and magnetometer, I'll be attaching the bottom side with a hinge and running the wiring through specific locations as the Archer antenna requires.
Finally, Aveo has asked me to reinforce a point about their patents:
Aveo invented the Conforma™ and ZipTips™ series of composite wingtips and winglets featuring zero-drag embedded lighting modules. Beyond the obvious aerodynamic advantage, these solutions minimize wiring weight and permit additional airframe and ground lighting to occur from an ideal location.
AVEO holds U.S. Patents for the designs and utility/functions to achieve these solutions. These formal patents began in 2014 and continue with every new release of our advances in this space. They will be vigorously defended in Court for those who continue to mimic and try to copy our work. For those claiming that they invented this solution or copy our form factors etc, understand that it will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. Intellectual Property Theft is a disgusting practice and Aveo will not tolerate it.
Time lapse:
Total wingtip rivets: 141 (reset due to discarding old wingtips)
