Removing an errant lost screw, inside wing trailing edge

[LSaupe 123]

Real bone-head move by me today.  Long story short I lost a screw I was removing from my fuel tank indicator today.  It is a small stainless screw about 3/8" long (looks to be about an 8-32).  The head diameter is about 1/4".

It fell down the inboard rib/cord of the wing and came to rest at the inboard trailing edge of the wing.  It is in the aluminum V channel against the inboard rib (lowest possible portion of the wing).

Problem is, that it is very tough to get to (given the spar and gas tank).  Only about 1/4" gap between the aft spar and lower fabric, and it went by there just fine unfortunately. There is hence only a small rectangle with which to access the area (roughly 1/4" by 1") - the gap under the spar between the inboard rib and gas tank.

How best to remove?  It has an under-camber wing.

I don't want to fly with it loose in there.  Headed out of town for a few weeks so trying to come up with ideas to attack it with when I get back.  Anyone run across this before?

My initial thoughts (in order of presedence and hassle)

1. Raise the tail of the airplane enough to allow for gravity assist (might need to be a bit high with the under camber wing).

2. Insert a flexible 1/4" tube with vacuum to try and hold/pull out (not sure what vacuum level/flow I could get out of a 1/4" tube 24" long though)

3. Try a flexible stick with some sort of glue or adhesive on the end.

4. Open a hole in the fabric near the screw and repair afterwards.

5. Find a way to inject some epoxy (possibly down a tube) to bond it in place.

6. Remove the wing and try to shake it out.

Any other idea's?

 

Larry S.

 

Edited 28 Jan 2017 by LSaupe

[lv2plyguitar 172]

A strong Magnet to move it closer where you can get to it?  

Edited 29 Jan 2017 by lv2plyguitar

[EDMO 1078]

A strong Magnet to move it closer where you can get to it?  

Some stainless is weakly magnetic - Other stainless is not magnetic - I haven't tried it on any screws.   I think I would try putting a small hose on a vacuum and trying to suck it up.   I happen to have a small portable vac that my wife uses a lot and think it would work, but some other kind might work too.  Maybe tape a bent coathanger wire to the hose so you can get it around corners?  How about using a small holesaw to put a hole in the rear part of the rib to put a hose thru, and you can patch it later.  EDMO

Edited 29 Jan 2017 by EDMO

[LSaupe 123]

I will try a small magnet on the remaining screw to see if there is any attraction.  I magnet, the size of a nickle on a string would be perfect (as gravity would take it right too it).

Yep, thought about whether to drill the rib and repair or do the fabric (both kinda undesirable at this point), but either would have a high probability of success.  

[tcj 150]

I don't know what its official name is.  It's 24 inches long.  The the end is 3/8" diameter with the claw retracted.  Push the button and the claw extends out the end of the cable.  Release the button to grab the unreachable item.

I have seen them at harbour freight but can't find it on line at the moment.

[allonsye 85]

Real bone-head move by me today.  Long story short I lost a screw I was removing from my fuel tank indicator today.  It is a small stainless screw about 3/8" long (looks to be about an 8-32).  The head diameter is about 1/4".

It fell down the inboard rib/cord of the wing and came to rest at the inboard trailing edge of the wing.  It is in the aluminum V channel against the inboard rib (lowest possible portion of the wing).

Problem is, that it is very tough to get to (given the spar and gas tank).  Only about 1/4" gap between the aft spar and lower fabric, and it went by there just fine unfortunately. There is hence only a small rectangle with which to access the area (roughly 1/4" by 1") - the gap under the spar between the inboard rib and gas tank.

How best to remove?  It has an under-camber wing.

I don't want to fly with it loose in there.  Headed out of town for a few weeks so trying to come up with ideas to attack it with when I get back.  Anyone run across this before?

My initial thoughts (in order of presedence and hassle)

1. Raise the tail of the airplane enough to allow for gravity assist (might need to be a bit high with the under camber wing).

2. Insert a flexible 1/4" tube with vacuum to try and hold/pull out (not sure what vacuum level/flow I could get out of a 1/4" tube 24" long though)

3. Try a flexible stick with some sort of glue or adhesive on the end.

4. Open a hole in the fabric near the screw and repair afterwards.

5. Find a way to inject some epoxy (possibly down a tube) to bond it in place.

6. Remove the wing and try to shake it out.

Any other idea's?

 

Larry S.

 

Definitely would rule out #6 but I appreciate your levity-:).  All the others have merit. I'd  avoid any solution that could possibly cause more harm than good.  More often than not, in my experience, errant, small, light weight bits of hardware find a place to hide and stay there with out causing harm provided not in an area of moving parts.  First order of business is get rid of the worry beads, then  reassess.

 

[LSaupe 123]

Thanks TJC.  I have one of those, unfortunately the head is too big,  I will keep an eye out for a smaller one though.  Very handy devices.

[LSaupe 123]

I hear ya allonseye.  My one concern here is the proximity to the fiberglass fuel tank.  If it finds it way against the tank (between fabric and tank or spar and tank) I might end up with an unhappy result down the road somewhere.

[TJay 1041]

If it is Magnetic you might be able to hold the magnet on the outside of the fabric under the wing and move it closer to grab it. Or move it, then loose it and never see it again,

Edited 30 Jan 2017 by TJay

[marksires 484]

Sounds like you need some trained ants... :-)

Mark

 

[MarkD 53]

I like the vacuum method....been there done that.

[lv2plyguitar 172]

TNT works well to.

[Knuckledragger 135]

I've used a coat hangar with duct tape or gorilla tape wound sticky side out wound around the end.  Bend the end of the wire in a 1x1/4" U shape.  use a tiny zip tie to secure the tape just above the U shaped part.

[MarkD 53]

Oooo....Sticky on the end of a stick. I like that too. You could always positively identify where the errant screw is located and make a small incision in the fabric, remove said errant POS and then apply a small patch to the fabric.  May not be the prettiest way but not a bad way if nothing else works.  That is one reason I use Poly Tone as my final finish, easy and less visible to repair.

MarkD