On 13 Mar 2007 14:47:13 -0700, "dirigible designer"
wrote:

I'm making an eight-foot study model of a personal lifting body
dirigible design of mine. I believe the ribs will be made of
fiberglass and widely-spaced for lightness. I want the skin to be
aluminum sheet.
It would be desirable to avoid installing a rib for every seam
between sheets of aluminum. So, I would like some advice on what is
the state of the art with infallible glue joints between hard aluminum
sheets.
I imagine there is no alternative to crimping the meeting edges as
is done when sewing two sheets of cloth together.
No way am I interested in rivets.

Marine sealants like sikaflex or 3M 5200. would probably work but you
would have to come up with some very fancy clamping fixtures to let
it cure. blind rivets would be way easier. But like Jim said it will
be too heavy to fly.