Feb 27, 2022     Elevator Attach       Category: Empennage

Section 11 work on the Elevators attach to the Horizontal Stab. The plans say to use Duct Tape to secure the elevators in the "trail" position. I found that tape wasn't stable enough and elected to use wood hand screw clamps. It was much more stable. After I filed the bushing to fit in the center bearing the plans call for using a #30 drill to make a pilot hole. It seemed to allow to much play inside the bushing and I elected to used a #33 drill to eliminate the wobble. Now I want to verify the center bearing hole alignment with the holes I drilled before I move on to the holes for the push rod.

  Feb 26, 2022     Elevator Re-work       Category: Empennage

Section 11. Finished up the elevators and got the trim tab hinge pin re-safety wired. I'm much more happy how it turned out this time. Started to mount the elevators on the horizontal stab. Using the temporary assembly pins is a great help. So far only slight adjustment to get a nice, even 1/8" gap along the outboard edge of the horizontal stabilizer and the inboard edge of the elevator counterbalance arm. And no interference! Now I need to check the travel limits. Found a matrix on VAF that has the Min/Max Travel for all the flight controls.

  Feb 11, 2022     Elevator Re-work       Category: Empennage

Wanted to do some re-working on the elevators. Better leading edge bending with the help of Tomoko. An extra set of hands really helps. I elected to go with flush pulled rivets. New elevator horns, etc...

  Feb 28, 2021     Tailcone Attach       Category: Empennage

Got Tomoko out to help wrestle the Tailcone and cleco it into position. All the holes lined up nicely and Its finally ready to rivet!

  Jun 14, 2020     Horizontal Stab Attach       Category: Empennage

Worked on mounting the elevator trim. Noticed some interference with the trim mount bracket and a screw on the bell crank. Had to grind it out to allow free movement. Then had to fish the elevator trim cables through the horizontal stab and out the bottom of the elevator. This was a little tricky but was able to use a flexible lighted claw tool to direct the cable. I used the aftermarket aluminum Elevator Trim Cable Anchor Bracket from iflyrv10.com to secure the trim cable. I was then able to hook up a small 9v battery and switch to check movement of the trim actuator.

  May 06, 2020     Horizontal Stab Attach       Category: Empennage

Started to attach the Horizontal Stab. Got the rear spar clecoed in place and drilled the Horizontal Stab Attach Bars. Then needed to square up the Stab. I drilled a #40 hole in my tape measure and clecoed it to the center point on the upper skin. I think it worked very well.

  May 04, 2020     Elevator Attachment       Category: Empennage

Worked on attaching the elevators. Filed down a bushing in the drill press, to be used as a drill guide. I used an Allen Wrench to help align the rod end bearings during installation. Lot's of on and off to adjust the elevators to the correct gap on the edge. I finally found Temporary Assembly Pins at Aircraft Spruce. The pins are threaded so the pin holder can be removed — this is necessary to prevent damage to the skin when you move the control surface too far during fitting.

  Apr 23, 2020     Back to work!       Category: Empennage

Back to work! Got my wife, Tomoko, to help drive some rivets that were in an awkward spot to drive and buck by myself. Got the Aft Deck riveted in place. I'm ready to start the Empennage Attach now.

  Feb 19, 2020     Pushrod Assembly       Category: Empennage

Wanted to do something simple and easy to transport while waiting to move to the new Hangar. So I took some time to assemble the elevator pushrod. Had to prime the inside of the tube, per the plans. Cut the tube to length and de-burred. Used the rivet fan to help mark the spacing for the tube holes on a piece of paper. Then taped it in place and drilled in the drill press. Pop-riveted in place and done!

  Dec 16, 2019     Tail Cone - Section 11 - Empennage Attach       Category: Empennage

I really enjoy fabricating some of the small parts. Also got to start on some electrical stuff. Crimped some D-Sub pins for the Elevator Servo wires.

  Nov 10, 2019     Tail Cone - Section 10       Category: Empennage

It's really starting to look like something now. Putting the tail cone together starts to give an idea as to the scale of this. Got the hard to reach rivets with the help of my daughter Sheena. Will get to the aft deck next. Majority of skins were back riveted. Turned out very nice. For the flanges on the curved part of the bulkheads I got my daughter Sheena to help buck. I used a sliced off portion of a rubber tube as sort of a shim to help press the flange tight and set the rivet about half way. Then removed the tube and set the rivet the rest of the way. Plan to run some wires for the elevator trim and tail light before I close up the top skins.

  May 22, 2019     Elevators - Section 9       Category: Empennage

Made both elevators at same time. It helped to keep me organized. Back riveting the ribs to the skins is straight forward. Got to use the special elevator bucking bar. It actually worked quite well. I used it for both upper and lower skins. Using pulled rivets and standard hand rivet puller for ribs was no issue. Used a 4" yoke on the Rivet Squeezer to set the rivets on the leading edge skin to the leading edge spar flange. Trailing edge worked out well. Used the trailing edge jig to cleco the skins in place. I used silicone paste to cote the jig so it wouldn't stick to the skin when the Chem Seal was applied. I then used Chem Seal again for the foam ribs and the trailing edge. Cut the lead balance weights and trimmed to the same weight for both sides. I'm using the aftermarket trim billet rather than the nut welded on a small stainless part. Much nicer. Then on to the trim tabs. Made a "break" out of some nice oak 1x4s and a piano hinge to bend the trailing edge of the trim tabs. Bending the tabs on the ends of the trim tabs was a little nerve wracking but it worked out. Really need an extra hand to roll the leading edges. I found that if I roll the top skin first then roll the bottom skin tight and inside of the top skin with someone holding the top skin out of the way it works best.

  Apr 27, 2019     Horizontal Stab - Section 8       Category: Empennage

This Horizontal Stab is huge! Lot's of de-burring. Had to fabricate elevator attach brackets. Messed up the first one's but the second set came out quite nice. Got Sheena to help with some of the riveting in tight areas. Also used a Arrow RL-100 riveter for some of those tight areas. Hard to find this tool as it's not manufactured anymore. Thank you eBay!

  Mar 30, 2019     Rudder - Section 7       Category: Empennage

Finishing the rudder. Used angle aluminum, with holes drilled for clecos, as a jig to help keep the trailing edge straight while the adhesive sets up. I put a thin layer of silicone paste to keep the jib from sticking to the skin if any adhesive got out. Very happy how the trailing edge worked out. Rolling the leading edge was accomplished with two different diameter PVC pipes to get the roll right. The larger pipe didn't get the edge rolled enough to prevent pillowing between rivets.

  Jan 29, 2019     Vertical Stab - Section 6       Category: Empennage

Well here we go! The very first step involves cutting flange material from the spar caps. I used a block of wood to help stabilize the aluminum piece as I made the cut with the band saw. Then used the bench sander to smooth it out. Joe Waltz recommended fabricating a single piece rudder stop, rather than using the two pieces riveted to the hinge bracket. He said that there had been reports of them snapping off.

  Dec 06, 2018     Kit Arrives       Category: Empennage

The Empennage Kit arrived via FedEx with only slight exterior damage to the crate. The bottom was pulled out a bit. Fortunately no damage to the contents. The driver and his helper were kind enough to use their pallet jack to bring the crate into the garage. Lots of paper wrapping and the strongest duct tape I've ever encountered. Inventory begins!