N195AK Construction Log

What is the %of builder using solid rivets vs pulled rivets and what are the pros and cons?

I can't say that I know of any builders for certain building a Moose with solid rivets. The fast builds used to be available with solid rivets, and I believe most people opted to buy them with solid rivets, but I've also heard that now that Murphy is building their fast builds themselves, they are only available with pulled rivets.

The clear advantage of the solid rivet is that it is stronger, but remember that all of Murphy's aircraft were designed around the pulled rivet, taking that slightly lower shear strength into account. The big advantages of pulled rivets are speed, noise, and the ability to work alone. By this I mean, pulling rivets moves along very quickly compared to bucking... you don't have the noise of the air hammer pounding away, and if you can't read the back side of the rivet, it's no big deal.

I've met a lot of people who don't like the Murphy designs solely because of the pulled rivets. But if you consider that the Avex rivet was developed during WWII to ease field repairs on US military aircraft like the P-51, and that Murphy has designed their kits from the very beginning to be built with these rivets. Then take a look at the safety record of Murphy's designs... I think you'll find that there's really no reason to be concerned.

There are a few high stress areas on the aircraft where stainless steel rivets are used because of their increased shear strength. And on the SR2500 and Moose, the main wing spar is assembled with solid rivets for the additional strength. I think this again demonstrates that Murphy only used the Avex pulled rivets where it was appropriate.

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