Apr 11, 2021     09-25 - Elevator Leading Edges - (8.7 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/28/2021 – 5.1 hours
3/29/2021 – 2.1 hours
The last major task on the elevators is rolling the leading edges, similar to the finishing task on the rudder. I started by rechecking all of the leading edge holes and edges to ensure they were properly deburred. I then used the edge-forming tool to put a slight break in the leading edge of the top elevator skins. The break helps the top skin fit tightly against the bottom skin when they are riveted together. The edge-forming tool can be tricky to work with, and things can go wrong very quickly; but practice from previous attempts with the tool resulted in no surprises this time around.

Rolling the edges essentially requires you to place the skin to be curved on the workbench, tape a pipe to the edge of the skin, and then roll the pipe toward the spar resulting in a curve in the leading edge. One of the keys to this operation is ensuring the pipe is pressed down as it is turned to avoid creasing the skin where it intersects the spar. That is not a natural motion, and requires a couple sets of hands to effectively roll while pressing. I was working alone, and I saw another builder who made a rolling jig that was affixed to the workbench. I made a few tweaks to that design and came up with bushings that had an inner diameter slightly larger than the pipe I was using to roll the leading edges. I lined the bushings up with the gaps in the leading edges and clamped them to the table. I then inserted the pipe and taped it to the skin on the table. The bushings held the pipe down really well, and I could focus almost exclusively on the rolling action. A nice side-effect of using PVC bushings is I could crank down the clamp at the end of each roll to hold the pipe in place while I repositioned the vise-grips for the next crank. I initially used bushings that were nearly the same width as the gap in the skins, but cut them in half later on to give me better access with the vise-grips to the rolling pipe. I also sanded one edge of the bushings flat to keep the rolling pipe closer to the workbench and the skins and to make it easier to clamp the bushing down. The rolling jig works great and is very easy to set up. I highly recommend it for solo and team rolling operations!

The other key is to have a pipe of the correct outside diameter to form the curve. I used a 1” OD pipe for the rudder, and I felt like the curve was formed too sharp and close to the end. I did a lot of manual rework to make the curve more uniform from the spar forward on the rudder. I decided to use a 1.3” OD diameter pipe for the elevators to form the initial curve, and then I followed up with the 1” OD pipe. The result was a nice smooth curve from the spar to the edge of the skin that lined up well with the opposite skin after it was rolled. There is still a bit of a gap between the two skins, and a little hand pressure is required to get the gap to close and align the holes in the top and bottom skins. I used strips of duct tape between each of the holes to help me apply the pressure evenly and align the holes. I inserted clecos into the holes after they were aligned with the duct tape. I remember trying to insert clecos in the rudder leading edge without the duct tape holding things closed, resulting in damage to the holes from pulling against the clecos. The duct tape removes that stress and the clecos can go in damage-free.
[1.3” OD and 1” OD PVC Pipe, PVC Bushings (made from larger PVC pipe and/or couplings), Gorilla Duct Tape (lots of it!), Vise-Grip Pliers, Bench Clamps]

3/30/2021 – 1.2 hours
Blind (pop) rivets are used to attach the leading edges of the rolled elevator skins. The rivet locations were easy to access, and the holes lined up well to make the riveting process relatively straight-forward. I removed the duct tape straps I had placed between each of the holes after riveting each section of the leading edges. The edge break in the top skins resulted in a gap-free fit when riveted to the bottom skins. I noticed that the plans do not include a template for the leading edge shape like they did for the rudder, but the shape looks about right to me.
[Blind (pop) Rivet Puller]

4/11/2021 – 0.3 hours
I finished the elevators by installing the trim tab servo assembly into the left elevator. The space for the servo looks pretty big, and I was surprised by how tight the fight actually is. The pitch trim servo motor wires routed easily through the snap busing in the forward spar, and there is plenty of wire to wrap around the elevator horn for now. I also attached the trim tab push rod to the trim tab horn. I secured the clevis pins at both ends of the push rod with tape for now, since I wasn't sure if I should actually bend them at this point or leave then straight so they can be easily removed later. I also didn't completely torque the access panel screws assuming the panel will come back off at some point before first flight.
[Phillips Head Screw Driver]

  Apr 11, 2021     09-24 - Trim Tab Servo - (6.9 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/24/2021 – 2.2 hours
The pro-seal on the foam ribs in the elevators and trim tab needs a few days to cure, so I decided to move on to some of the final trim tab items. The first task was to bend the trim tab hinge pin so the end lines up with the inside of the rear spar where it will be safety-wired in place. There was nothing high-tech about bending the hinge pin. I measured the location of the bend, clamped the hinge pin between a couple small pieces of wood, and applied a little elbow grease until I had a 90-degree bend. The second bend was a little more difficult because it is 90-degrees to the first bend and there isn't as much hinge pin material left to push on, but the process was essentially the same. The process finished by trimming the end of the hinge pin to fit inside the rear spar and deburring the cut end.

The first bit of electrical work on the airplane starts with the wire harness to the trim tab servo. The harness is pre-made, but the plans direct you to trim the corners of one of the molex connectors to fit through the bushing in the front spar and to seal the trimmed end with silicone. The tabs to be trimmed are very small, and it really doesn't take much to get the connector to fit easily through the bushing. I bought a tube of silicon from my local home-improvement store that was advertised as flexible. It is easy to get to the wire harness later through the trim tab servo access panel if it needs to be changed later.

The final task of the evening was dimpling and countersinking the trim tab servo access panel. I used the #6 screw dimple dies from the #27 holes, and the #40 countersink cutter for the holes to rivet the servo supports to the panel.
[Bench Vise, Clamps, Dremel, 1 1/2" Metal Cutting Wheel, Bench Grinder, 6” grinding and cut-and-polish wheels, 150 Grit Aluminum Oxide Sandpaper, 22” C-Frame, #6 Screw Dimple Dies, Microstop Countersink Cage, #40 Countersink Cutter, GE Advanced Silicone, Razor Blade]

4/2/2021 – 0.4 hours
My roll of 0.032' stainless steel safety wire arrived in the mail to complete the trim tab hinge pin assembly. There are some good safety wire videos in the EAA Hints for Homebuilders video library including one about hand-twisting safety wire. I don't have safety wire pliers, and used the hand-twist method with good success. It took a couple of tries, but eventually I managed a tight, even twist.
[Diagonal Cutters, Needle-nose Pliers, 0.032” Stainless Steel Safety Wire]

4/10/2021 – 1.6 hours
I wasn't happy with the way the servo trim access panel worked out, so I ordered a new one from Van's. The replacement parts arrived, and I jumped into preparing them. I deburred the holes and edges on the access panel and the servo-support C-channels. I then dimpled the large holes on the access panel and countersunk the small holes. The countersink results were the problem last time, but I corrected the errors on the new parts by clecoing the C-channels into place to provide additional support for the countersink guide and countersinking a little further. The countersinks came out clean, and the rivets should sit flush.
[150 Grit Aluminum Oxide Sandpaper, 22” C-Frame, #6 Screw Dimple Dies, Microstop Countersink Cage, #40 Countersink Cutter]

4/11/2021 – 2.0 hours
The primer on the trim servo access plate and C-channels was probably my best effort yet! I let the primer dry overnight, and then assembled the parts to complete the trim servo assembly. There is just enough access for the pneumatic squeezer to set the rivets for the C—channels, which turned out much better than the first attempt. I then put the servo motor in place, final drilled the holes in the plastic casing, and blind-riveted the motor to the C-channels.

The final step was quite an eye and dexterity test. I took my first step into the world of electrical connections by crimping micro-molex connectors to the ends of the 5 trim servo wires. Two wires power the servo back and forth, and the other 3 provide servo position information to the avionics. I bought a basic set of tools from Steinair, and found a video on their website of how to use the crimpers. The crimping went well, and I managed to insert the wired pins into the connector with some difficulty orienting the pins to the connector. I also tested the motor with a 9-volt battery, and confirmed my connectors on the two power wires are good.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, Flat Rivet Sets, Blind Rivet Puller, Automatic Wire Stripper, MOLEX/Open Barreled Pin Crimper, Magnifying Glass, Flush Wire Cutters]

  Apr 02, 2021     09-26 - Elevator Counterweights - (6.4 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/30/2021 – 0.9 hours
3/31/2021 – 2.1 hours
Each elevator tip rib gets 2 lead counterweights (4 total) to help balance the control surfaces. The counterweights are attached with bolts through the tip ribs, and the holes in the counterweights need to be final drilled for the bolts. The instructions for drilling the counterweights were a little confusing, so I skipped this step to review the plans more before drilling.

I moved on to shaping the counterweights to allow them to fit inside the rib flanges correctly. The plans describe the material that should be removed from the top and bottom of all the counterweights as well as material on the inside of the inboard counterweights, and I transferred the measurements from the plans to each of the counterweights. Very little material is removed from the tops of the counterweights, so I used my flat file to remove that material. The file did a nice job of quickly and accurately shaping the top of the counterweights. I don't have a band saw, but a hacksaw and some elbow grease did a good job of cutting off the excess lead from the bottom of the counterweight. The inboard counterweight has an additional section to remove from the inside face. A bandsaw would be the best option, but the flat file also got the job done with admittedly more time and effort.
[Ruler, Fine-Tip Sharpie, Flat File, Hacksaw]

4/2/2021 – 3.4 hours
I finished trimming the counterweights for the right elevator. I tried to use the Dremel and metal cutting wheel to speed things up, but it wasn't very effective and I got better results with the hacksaw and file. Eventually I got the counterweights trimmed to fit inside the elevator tip ribs.

As I trimmed the first counterweight, I noticed that the drawings in the plans very clearly indicate that the inside surfaces of all the counterweights are supposed to be the faces with the ridge down the middle. The ridge is filed off of the inboard counterweight, but left intact on the outboard counterweight. It eventually occurred to me that to make that setup work, the cuts on the outboard counterweight have to be opposite (mirror image) of the inboard counterweight. If you don't do that, one of the counterweights will be backwards and will not fit in the rib. As an alternative, the hole locations of the counterweights are symmetrical after they are trimmed (the holes are closer to the top before trimming), so you could also cut all of the counterweights the same way as shown in the plans and then flip one of each pair upside down. The end result should be the same.

The final step was to bolt the counterweights into the ribs. I'm still getting used to my inch-pound torque wrench, so it took me some time to figure out what the drag on the bolts was to calculate the final torque. The final torque for each AN3-13A bolt and MS21042-3 Self Locking Nut is 28 in-lbs plus the drag on the bolt. I ended up adding 9 to 15 in-lbs to the final torque since the drag on each bolt was a little different.
[Torque Wrench (In-Lb), Torque Paint, Flat File, Hacksaw, Sharpie]

  Mar 27, 2021     09-23 - Elevator Trailing Edges - (5.8 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/17/2021 – 1.3 hours
Finishing the elevator trailing edges is very similar to the rudder trailing edge. There is a trailing edge wedge that is inserted between the upper and lower skins, and then double flush riveted. I prepared the trailing edge wedges by cleaning it with 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes and applying double-sided 3M F9460PC VHB acrylic-adhesive tape to the top and bottom of the wedge. I let the tape set up on the wedges for a few days before adhering the wedges to the elevator skins. I also cleaned the top and bottom elevator skin trailing edges with the isopropyl alcohol wipes to make a nice clean surface for the tape on the wedges to adhere. I peeled the backing off the bottom side of the trailing edge wedges, and put the wedges in place on the bottom skin trailing edge. I cleco'd the trailing edges to an Aluminum “L” section to squeeze the trailing edge skins and wedges together, while keeping them straight. I'll let the tape adhesive set up for a couple of days before I continue the work on the trailing edges.
[3M F9460PC VHB acrylic-adhesive tape, 2”x2”x6' Aluminum “L” section, 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes]

3/21/2021 – 1.8 hours
The elevators have several foam ribs near the trailing edges that are glued into place with tank sealant. One of the keys to a good experience with the tank sealant is preparing the work and area before mixing the sealant and thinking through the work process to keep everything as clean and organized as possible. I removed the clecos from the trailing edges of the elevators, and set the elevators on the workbench that I had covered with cardboard. I also opened all the windows and garage doors to help dissipate the sealant smell. Spreading the sealant on the ribs is like spreading peanut butter or icing on a cake. You have to work quickly because the sealant gets unworkable soon after it is mixed – 2 hours in this case. I installed the prepared ribs in the prepared areas of the elevators, and re-cleco'd the trailing edges. I finished by putting weighted boards on top of the elevators to help the skins maintain contact with the foam ribs while the sealant cures for a few days.
[Flamemaster CS-3204 B-2 Sealant 3.5 oz Package, Popsicle Sticks, Disposable Nitrile Gloves, Caulk Gun]

3/27/2021 – 2.7 hours
Riveting the trailing edge of a control surface is always a bit stressful since you don't want to mess up one of the final rivets, and you want to get the trailing edge as straight as possible. The positive experience the previous day with the trim tab trailing edge helped me jump into this nearly final step with confidence! Before riveting the trailing edges, I did some clean-up riveting according to the plans. The tip and root rib rivets leading to the trailing edge were left open to provide access for the foam rib installation, and needed to be finished. Standard solid aluminum rivets are used except for the two rivets (top and bottom, root and tip ribs – 6 total). The clearance for the last two rivets is pretty tight, so they get blind (pop) rivets. The close-out tabs in the left elevator by the trim tab opening also get blind rivets, but after the trailing edge is riveted.

The double-flush rivets on the trailing edges came out really well using the
pneumatic squeezer and the special trailing edge squeezer sets for this wedge. The trailing edge on the left aileron is pretty short, so I started in the middle of the trailing edge, and then worked left and right on every fifth hole and then splitting the difference from the center out until all the holes were riveted. The right elevator trailing edge has 51 rivets, so I started with every 10 rivet from the center out. The only issue I had was the final rivet closest to the elevator tips. This is the area where the trailing edge wedge was reshaped to match the elevator tips, and it gets a shorter rivet since the wedge at the tip isn't as thick. The problem I had is the elevator skins did not conform well to the changing wedge shape resulting in small gaps between the wedge and the skin. The rivet is tight since it is toward the front of the wedge, but the back is not. I'll have to give that some thought. For now, I have some cleco clamps holding the skin as tightly to the wedge as I can in the hope that the small amount of VHB tape in that area is enough to hold it in. I have my doubts, so I'll need another solution at some point. For now, I'm taking the win that the double-flush riveting turned out very nicely!
[Pneumatic Squeezer, Flat Squeezer Sets, “Safety Pin” Trailing Edge Double Flush Squeezer Set, 1/2" and 1” Cleco Clamps, Blind (Pop) Rivet Puller, Bench Clamps]

  Mar 26, 2021     09-14 - Trim Tab Final Assembly - (20.1 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/27/2021 – 7.8 hours
2/28/2021 – 0.5 hours
This section marks the transition to the final assembly steps for the elevator, so it is time to prime the parts. My previous priming results have been OK, but not great; so I tweaked my process for this batch of parts to see if I can improve the results. Specifically, I hope to get the primer to adhere to the aluminum better. I switched from scrubbing the alclad coating with a grey scotch brite pad and Bon Ami followed by a water rinse and dry to scruffing (scruff ad scrub) with a maroon scotch brite pad and Dawn detergent followed by a water rinse and a wipedown with a degreaser. The change should give the metal more tooth for the primer to adhere to while removing more of the skin contaminants that a water rinse alone didn't clean. The process is also a little easier since I don't need to wear gloves until the final degreaser step.
[Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Dish Detergent, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

2/28/2021
Today was a low point in the build. It started well with good initial results from my new priming process, but went downhill from there. The first assembly step for the trim tab was to rivet the trim tab spar and control horns to the bottom trim tab skin. The normal progression for riveting (from least risky to good luck with that!) is back riveting, squeezing, and bucking, This looked like a pretty standard back-riveting job. I set 20 rivets, and only 5 were acceptable. I found gaps between the skin and the spar, rivets that appeared to be very flat (i.e. mostly set beneath the dimple in the spar, and bent rivet heads (not sure how that's even possible with back riveting. After a brief pause, I decided to drill out the 14 bad rivets and try again. That also went badly because I didn't set the piece up to drill vertically, and I ended up with at least three holes that are beyond repair. I indulged in a brief moment of despair, and went inside to order a new bottom trim tab skin and rudder. I then decided to call it a day and approach the next task fresh. I need to do a post-mortem to see what went wrong with the riveting, so I don't have a repeat on other more expensive parts in the future.
[3x Rivet Gun, Back-Rivet Set, Back-Rivet Plate, Spring-loaded Punch Pin, #40 Drill, #43 Drill, Credit Card]

3/18/2021 – 3.2 hours
The new trim tab bottom skin and spar arrived about a week ago. Time now for the trim tab reset to begin! I went back to the beginning of the trim tab work (Page 09-03) to prep the bottom skin and spar. I started by trimming the pre-bent close out tabs on the bottom trim tab skin with the Dremel and metal cutting disk, completing the close out tabs with the flat file, and deburring the cut edge. I took this opportunity to debur all of the trim tab bottom skin and spar holes and edges.

The next trim tab preparation step was to dimple the holes in the close-out tabs for flush-set rivets. After dimpling the 3 holes in each close-out tab, I cleco'd the top and bottom skins and the spar together. I also taped foam ribs inside the assembly near the close out tabs to provide a little extra support and shape to final drill the close-out tab holes. After drilling the holes, I disassembled the trim tab and marked the locations of the trailing edge wedge and foam ribs. I finished this session by putting a slight break in the trailing edge of the bottom skin with the edge forming tool.
[Straight Edge, Fine-tip Sharpie, Dremel with 1 1/2" Metal Cutting Wheel, Deburring Tools, Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, C-Frame Dimpler, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Dies, #33 Drill]

3/19/2021 – 3.6 hours
Preparing the trim tab bottom skin and spar continued with countersinking the holes on the top flange of the spar. It was nice to have the top skin already dimpled and primed to test the countersink depth and ensure everything would fit tightly together. I transitioned to masking around the areas on the trim tab spar and bottom skin where the foam ribs and trailing edge wedge would end up. I scuffed the exposed areas with 150 grit Aluminum Oxide sandpaper, and cleaned the sanding residue with acetone. I then reversed the masking to prepare the parts for cleaning prior to priming. I ended this session by dimpling the spar and bottom skin. A quick test with the parts showed that the spar and skin should fit tightly together, so hopefully I can avoid the back-riveting issues I had the first time around. I also decided to save the dimpling until after I had cleaned up the parts for primer. The parts are much easier to scrub when the surface is smooth rather than dimpled. Everything looks great at this point and I don't expect any problems with priming or assembly!
[Microstop Countersink Cage, 3/32” Countersink Cutter, Masking Tape, 150 Grit Aluminum Oxide Sandpaper, Acetone, Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Dish Detergent, 22” C-Frame, Reduced Diameter 3/32” Dimple Dies]

3/21/2021 – 3.2 hours
The trim tab is back to the same point as it was on Feb 28th when the back-riveting went terribly wrong. I corrected those mistakes, and back-riveting the spar to the lower skin went much better this time around. After attaching the spar and control horns to the trim tab lower skin, I dove into a new skill – applying tank sealant to glue the foam ribs into place. I read lots of builder logs that talked about how messy and smelly the tank sealant is to work with. It definitely isn't the best smelling stuff, but the smell dissipates quickly in a well-ventilated area. I also did my best to control the messiness by covering the work areas, setting up everything needed for the job before mixing the sealant, and using several pairs of nitrile gloves. The sealant itself isn't hard to work with. The cartridge I had fits into a standard caulking gun, and it spreads easily with a popsicle stick. The sealant is about the consistency of cake icing, so if you can spread peanut butter, you can spread sealant on a foam rib. Work with the sealant goes quickly since time is short before the sealant becomes unworkable. After setting the foam ribs in place, I taped the trailing edge wedge in place, dropped the upper skin in place, and cleco'd everything together. I used the pneumatic squeezer to attach the upper skin to the spar, and finished the work session by putting the trim tab on a flat surface with weighted boards on top to help the sealant attach and cure.
[3x Rivet Gun, Back-Rivet Set, Back-Rivet Plate, Flamemaster CS-3204 B-2 Sealant 3.5 oz Package, Popsicle Sticks, Disposable Nitrile Gloves, Caulk Gun, Pneumatic Squeezer, Small Diameter 1/4" and 1/8” Flat Sets]

3/26/2021 – 1.8 hours
The trim tab has taken a lot longer than expected due to some setbacks and curing time for the foam ribs and trailing edge wedge adhesive. This work session started by double-flush riveting the trailing edge. I used a straight board to clamp the trim tab to the bench with the trailing edge hanging over the edge for access to rivet. I also used cleco clamps on each side of the hole that I was riveting to help hold the skins tight to the wedge. I set the double flush rivets with the pneumatic squeezer and the special trailing edge squeezer sets for this wedge. I started in the middle of the trailing edge, and then worked left and right on every fifth hole and then splitting the difference from the center out until all the holes were riveted. The double flush rivets came out really nicely, and the trailing edge is very straight. Hopefully I can replicate those results on the rest of the elevator trailing edges! The finishing touch on the trim tab was three flush blind rivets in the close out tabs.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, “Safety Pin” Trailing Edge Double Flush Squeezer Dies, 1/2" Cleco Clamps, Blind (Pop) Rivet Puller, Bench Clamps]

  Mar 17, 2021     09-22 - Elevator Closeout - (6.4 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/15/2021 – 3.6 hours
This section completes the attachment of the tip rib assembly to the elevators and finishes riveting the elevator skins to the substructure. The task starts with setting a few miscellaneous rivets including attachment of the tip rib to the shear clip on the rear spar and three rivets common to the tip rib skin and elevator top skin. The shear clip rivets were pretty easy to get to with the pneumatic squeezer since none of the rivets aft of the rear spar leading the trailing edge have been set yet. The two flush rivets common to the tip rib and top elevator skins are a little tricker, but access isn't too bad since the bottom skin has not been riveted in this area. The difficult part is to figure out how to secure the elevator for riveting the top skin while still maintaining access to the bottom skin. The process is to pull the bottom elevator skin away from the substructure, and reach into the cavity between the front and rear spars, and the outboard and tip ribs with a bucking bar to set the rivets on the top skin. It sounds tricky, but actually wasn't too bad. The 2 corresponding rivets on the bottom skin are flush blind rivets. Make sure the counterbalance skin is beneath the elevator skins before riveting! The last “miscellaneous” hole is just forward of the 2 set by reaching into the elevator. It goes through both skins and the front spar flange, and can be set easily with the pneumatic squeezer – you don't have to reach inside for this one. Riveting the left elevator was wrapped up by setting all of the rivets on the top and bottom flanges of the front spar and tip rib. The aft 4 holes on the tip rib are not riveted at this time to allow access for the foam trailing edge ribs and the trailing edge wedge later. I also didn't see any place in the plans to go back to the rivets that were not set on the bottom rear spar flange, so I took out the special RV-14 bucking bar and set those at this point.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, Large and Small Diameter Flat Squeezer Sets, 1/8” Cupped Rivet Set, 3X Rivet Gun, Swivel Flat Set, Small Tungsten Bucking Bar, Special RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar, Blind Rivet Puller]

3/16/2021 – 1.8 hours
Work on the right elevator was essentially the same as the left elevator. I started with riveting the tip rib to the shear clip on the rear spar, moved to the three rivets common to the tip and top skins, and finished the session with riveting the top and bottom skins to the front spar top and bottom flanges. One of the main differences was the fact that the right elevator does not have the trailing edge gap for the trim tab like the left elevator does. The result is the elevator was more difficult to secure to the workbench while still allowing the bottom skin to be peeled back for access to buck the two rivets common to the tip and top skins. I ended up removing all of the clecos on the bottom of the elevator, and clamping the elevator to a raised worksurface on the bench.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, Large and Small Diameter Flat Squeezer Sets, 1/8” Cupped Rivet Set, 3X Rivet Gun, Swivel Flat Set, Small Tungsten Bucking Bar]

3/17/2021 – 1.0 hours
I had a few final riveting tasks to close out this section of the build. The session started by final drilling #33 the 2 holes on the bottom of the right elevator common to the bottom and tip skins for a flush blind rivet, and then setting those rivets with the rivet puller. The rest of the session was setting the previously open holes to attach the bottom right skin to the rear spar, and then squeezing the rivets that attach the top and bottom skins to the tip rib flanges. The bulk of the elevators is complete with just some work on the leading and trailing edges to finish!
[Pneumatic Squeezer, Large Diameter Flat Squeezer Sets, 3X Rivet Gun, Swivel Flat Set, Special RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar, Blind Rivet Puller]

  Mar 14, 2021     09-21 - Root Rib Riveting - (3.3 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/14/2021 – 3.3 hours
There are several unique riveting situations involved with the left and right elevator root ribs. Pretty much every type of riveting situation I've seen to date happens in this step, as well as a couple of new ones. The first challenge was to rivet the aft flange of the left root rib to the rear spar. That seems like a straight-forward task, but the angle of the rib makes for a very constrained area. I decided to put the manufactured head on the rib flange in keeping with the practice of the manufactured head on the thinnest part. In hindsight, it might have worked better to drive the rivet from the spar side. I tried to use the pneumatic squeezer, but the poor access led to a bent rivet and 30 minutes of carefully drilling out the bent rivet. The plans say you can use a flush rivet set on the manufactured head of an AN470 rivet in tight areas, so I decided to go with an alternative form of backriveting. I used the angled face of the bucking bar against the manufactured head of the rivet as a back rivet plate, and drove the rivet from the shop head side with a short back-rivet set. The rivets aren't perfect, but they are acceptable.

The next challenge was to rivet the gusset to the rear spar. This challenge involved very carefully lifting the skin away from the structure to get a bucking bar behind the rivet, and then driving the rivet with a 1/8” cupped rivet set through the spar. This operation is all done by feel, and you have to take your time to avoid damaging the top skin that is lifted up or the bottom skin if the bucking bar gets dropped.

The final steps for the left elevator was to attached the Reinforcement Doubler Brace to the Left Root Rib with two blind rivets, and then to rivet the upper and lower flanges of the root rib to the upper and lower elevator skins. There weren't any surprises with either of these operations, and they were completed without incident.

Like the left elevator, the right elevator root rib had its own set of riveting challenges. Riveting the gusset by lifting a corner of the skin was the same as the left elevator except now the gusset had to be riveted to the root rib instead of the rear spar. With the gusset in place, it was time to break out the special RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar to rivet the final 3 three inboard holes on the bottom skin to the rear spar. These are left open to allow you to lift the skin for the gusset rivets, and can be closed at this point. I reconfigured the work bench for the rear spar rivets including the shim under the spar to allow movement of the bucking bar without damaging the trailing edge. I added a new twist this time that I wish I had thought of earlier. Instead of using the edge of the table as a fulcrum for the bucking bar, I placed an eraser under the bucking bar just aft of the trailing edge. The eraser was an excellent fulcrum, and it provided exceptional lateral stability to keep the bar from sliding and twisting. The last three rivets were very easy to set with the eraser in place.

The aft 2 holes in the top and bottom of the root rib (4 holes total) were final drilled #33 in preparation for blind rivets in a later step, and the upper and lower flanges of the right root rib, with the exception of the aft 3 holes (top and bottom) were riveted to the upper and lower elevator skins.
[3X Rivet Gun, Back Rivet Set, 1/8” Cupped Rivet Set, 3/32” Cupped Rivet Set, Swivel Flat Set, Small Tungsten Bucking Bar, Medium Tungsten Bucking Bar, Special RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar, Rivet Puller, Pneumatic Squeezer, Large Diameter Squeezer Sets]

  Mar 14, 2021     09-20 - Rear Spar and Skeleton Riveting, Front Spar Attachment - (7.6 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/13/2021 – 4.8 hours
The ultimate test with the RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar arrived with a little bit of unease. Can I use the very long bar to adequately set every rivet down the length of the spar without a catastrophe that would send me back to Van's with an order for a new elevator kit? The short answer is yes! My alignment marks on the bar worked well to get everything into position, and provided enough situational awareness during the riveting process to ensure things didn't move around too much. It also allowed me to focus on the gun to keep it steady. I looked at the finished height of the shop head with a flashlight to judge when the rivet was completely set and to keep them uniform. I also spot-checked the rivets near the end of the spar with a gauge to be sure. The rivets went in successfully without incident. Phew!

After riveting the rear spar, the ribs were riveted together with blind rivets (pop-rivets). Each set of ribs gets 4 blind rivets – 2 near the rear spar and 2 near the forward spar area. The rivets by the rear spar are in a very confined area, and it is virtually impossible to get your arms in there and generate enough force on the rivet puller to set the rivets. I started with the rivet nearest the open forward spar area to clear the clecos out of the way, and worked toward the rivet closet to the rear spar. Van's suggests using tubes or pipes to extend the rivet puller handles, and that was the perfect solution for inserting and setting the last 2 rivets on each set of ribs. In addition to the standard ribs, one rib half gets riveted to the trim access doubler. Four of the rivets are identical to the other ribs, but there is a 5th rivet that goes through the rib to attach the doubler reinforcement. That rivet is very close to the skin, so I used the wedge I made for the rudder to angle the puller for more clearance while providing a flat surface for the rivet head.
[Spring Clamps, 3x Rivet Gun, Swivel Flat Set, Special RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar, Blind Rivet Puller, 1” PVC for Handle Extensions]

3/14/2021 – 2.8 hours
The main elevator structure was completed with the attachment of the front spar assemblies. This task went relatively quickly. The spar assemblies were cleco'd to the elevator ribs and skins, and then permanently attached to the ribs with 3 blind rivets at each rib base. I noted on a future step that the tip rib skins are placed beneath the main skins, so I cleco'd the tip ribs in place with that in mind. There are 3 AN470 rivets that are used to attach the trim reinforcement doubler to the left front elevator spar. (Note: There is an error in the plans, which say to rivet the “Trim Tab Reinforcement Doubler to the E-00902-1L Rear Spar.” E-00902-1L is the front left spar. I held the bucking bar inside the doubler and drove the rivets with the 3X rivet gun. The space inside the doubler is very confined, so you need a copmpact bucking bar. It is an awkward setup, but it turned out well.
[3X Rivet Gun, 3/32” Cupped Rivet Set, Small Tungsten Bucking Bar, Blind Rivet Puller]

  Mar 13, 2021     09-19 - Rib and Trim Access Doubler Installation - (4.2 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/12/21 – 3.9 hours
3/13/21 – 0.3 hours
Back-riveting the internal elevator structure continued with attaching the ribs/stiffeners to the bottom left and top right skins. It helped me to reference the skins I had already completed to ensure I had the ribs in the right order (L1 – L5, and R1 – R6) and had the flanges oriented correctly. The process went smoothly and the final results were great.

The trim access doubler and reinforcement brace are also attached at this stage of the build. The instructions call out two rivets in the doubler that must be set first, because you won't have access to those areas when the brace is attached. I used the pneumatic squeezer with the small 1 1/2" yoke to squeeze the rivets around the access hole. Back-riveting would also work in this area, with the exception of the holes for the final two nutplates. Those have to be squeezed or bucked because the outer skin does not include that area. I switched to back-riveting for the approx. 14 holes outside the reinforcement doubler brace. I saved the nutplate holes for last, and used a small diameter flat set in the pneumatic squeezer for those.

The final step was to cleco the left and right elevator sections together. The plans clearly show how to arrange the ribs when the top and bottom skins come together. Once the skins and ribs are aligned, the ribs get cleco'd to hold the top and bottom halves together. The area between the skins is extremely small, and I could not get my hand in there with the cleco pliers to connect the ribs near the rear spar. I read in a later step that you could extend the handles of the rivet puller with PVC pipe for the tight areas, and I applied that technique to the cleco pliers. The extended handles worked great to easily insert the clecos in the confined area.
[3x Rivet Gun, Back-Rivet Set, Back-Rivet Plate, Pneumatic Squeezer, Small Diameter Flat Sets, Short PVC Pipe (2x) for Cleco Pliers]

  Mar 12, 2021     09-18 - Rivet Skins to Ribs and Rear Spars - (9.2 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/8/2021 – 2.1 hours
The elevators start to come together at this point by riveting the top left and bottom right skins to the left and right rear spars and E-1008B ribs. It is also where the forward half of the trim tab hinge is riveted to the left rear elevator spar. This step also highlighted a previous omission (either in the plans or a step I missed). The left skins have close-out tabs that sit just outboard of the shear clip at the outboard edge of the trim tab space. The shear clip was dimpled flush on the trim tab side, but the two close-out tabs were not dimpled. I did not see an instruction in the plans to dimple the close-out tabs, but they should be dimpled to nest with the shear clip and receive the flush head blind rivets that will eventually hold the shear clip and close-out tabs together. I dimpled the three holes in the top and bottom close-out tabs, and then continued with clecoing the top left elevator skin to the left rear spar and ribs. I secured the assembly to the work bench with spring clamps, and used a piece of angle iron and a metal yardstick to provide a shim for the ribs where they contact the workbench. I set the rivets in the location of the trim tab first since I could easily reach those with the pneumatic squeezer. I started in the center and worked out alternately setting ever other rivet heading inboard and outboard. I then removed the remaining clecos and worked similarly from the center out. The most inboard 3 holes don't get riveted at this point in order to provide access to the gusset in a later step.
[Spring Clamps, Pneumatic Squeezer, 1/4" and 1/8” Flat Squeezer Sets]

3/9/2021 – 3.1 hours
I finished riveting the left elevator top skin to the rear spar. I used the squeezer to set the rivets in the area of the trim tab cutout, but had to switch to the rivet gun and bucking bar for the remainder of the outboard rivets. I decided to use the special elevator bucking bar for the 14 outboard rivets to get a little experience with it. The biggest issue is the fact that you cannot see or feel the area where the shop head will be formed. For the first five or six rivets, I set each rivet individually, unclamped the part from the work bench, flipped the part over to inspect the rivet, flipped it back and clamped it back to the bench, drove the rivet some more, unclamped, flipped, inspected, … This was clearly a very time-consuming process that took 15 to 20 minutes per rivet. I accelerated the process by drawing a cross-hair on the elevator bucking bar where it should align with the rivet hole, and I put a mark on the top of the bar where it goes beneath the skin. That helped quickly align the bar, which reduced the time to set each rivet. The results with the special bucking bar were very good.
[Spring Clamps, 3x Rivet Gun, Swivel Flat Set, Special RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar]

3/11/2021 – 3.4 hours
3/12/2021 – 0.6 hours
Back riveting has been a bit of a struggle recently. I ruined the bottom trim tab skin and trim tab spar, and I had a couple of rivets on the left elevator top skin that didn't set correctly. I took a day off to review my fundamentals before resuming back-riveting the ribs to the top left elevator skin. I reduced the gun pressure from 40 to 35 psi, shimmed up my back rivet plate to level it better with the rest of the table, and adjusted my grip on the rivet set so I could hold the pieces tighter together against the plate while controlling the placement of the rivet set. All those little changes made a world of difference, and I was able to back-rivet all of the ribs to the top left and bottom right elevator skins with really good results.

The next task was to repeat the process of attaching the elevator rear spar and ribs on the bottom right elevator skin. One of the big differences is there is no trim tab cutout on the right side, so all of the rivets on the rear spar had to be set using the special RV-14 bucking bar. There are also 9 holes on the spar, 6 at the outboard end and 3 at the inboard end, that do not get riveted at this stage of the build. That left 32 rivets on the middle of the spar to set with the rivet gun and long bucking bar. As before, the main issue is not being able to see or feel the area where the shop head will be formed. I didn't want to repeat the very slow process of aligning the bucking bar, inserting and setting the rivet, unclamping the part from the bench to inspect the rivet, reclamping to finish the rivet, and repeating the process 31 more times. I sped things up by drawing some alignment marks on the bucking bar, and extending the centerline for each of the rivets to the trailing edge of the elevator and making a mark there to match up with the bucking bar alignment marks. With this set up, I could quickly and accurately position the bucking bar. I also decided to wait to inspect the rivets until they were all set. The process went much faster, and the rivets turned out great.
[Spring Clamps, 3x Rivet Gun, Back-Rivet Set, Back-Rivet Plate, Swivel Flat Set, Special RV-14 Elevator Bucking Bar]

  Mar 07, 2021     09-17 - Elevator Rib Assembly - (6.6 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/6/2021 – 3.2 hours
I decided to go a little out of sequence from the plans by riveting the elevator skins to the inboard and outboard tip ribs before attaching the tip ribs to the elevator spars. This gave me more freedom to move the tip assembly for riveting without a 4-foot spar attached to the side of the piece. I think this made the entire process much easier, and the flush-set rivets on the elevator tips turned out pretty well. I used the pneumatic squeezer and standard 3” yoke in a bench vise to set the flush rivets in the elevator tips.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, 3” standard yoke, 1/4" and 1/8” Flat Squeezer Sets]

3/7/2021 – 3.4 hours
The previous riveting session to attach the tip ribs to the elevator spar went well with one notable exception. I did not square the offset rivet set with one of the rivets for the spar / tip rib flange connection, and I ended up cutting into the head a bit. This rivet is hard to get to (thus the offset rivet set), and I was not confident in my ability to drill it out cleanly and replace it. I decided instead to file down the sharp edges with a pencil file, and then insert an additional rivet into the spar and tip rib flange. The fix went really well, and the new rivet should make this joint stronger and more durable than the original plan with just 2 rivets. After fixing my error from the previous day, I riveted the rudder horns to the left and right spar assemblies. The pneumatic squeezer had good access to all of the rivets. The biggest issue was ensuring the rudder horns were installed in the correct orientation – I tripled checked my cleco'd version with the plans before riveting to be sure. The last step of this section was to attach the E-1008B ribs and shear clips to the rear elevator spars. I used the pneumatic squeezer for this job as well. I set the squeezer up in the bench vise, and used a piece of lumber to help ensure I inserted the part level into the squeezer.
[#40 12” Drill, #30 12” Drill, 3x Rivet Gun, 1/8” Cupped Double Offset Rivet Set, Tungsten Bucking Bar, Pneumatic Squeezer, 3” standard yoke, 1/8” Universal Head Rivet Squeezer Set, 1/4" Flat Squeezer Set, Bench Vise]

  Mar 07, 2021     09-15 - Elevator Trailing Edge Rib Location Preparation - (7.4 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/28/2021 – 1.1 hours
I marked the locations for the foam trailing edge ribs on the right top and bottom elevator skins and the right elevator rear spar. I found it was easier for me to translate all of the measurements into 1/16” measurements so I could easily go from rib to rib. If you're keeping track, the rib locations from the left edges of the preceding ribs are 9 7/16”, 8 1/16”, 8 9/16” 8 5/16”, 7 4/16” and 7 4/16”. I marked the left side of the rib by measuring 13/16” from the right side. I then used 150 grit aluminum oxide sandpaper to scuff the rib bonding surface of the rear spar. I needed to do that as the final step before priming the rear spar. Unfortunately, I neglected to complete the same steps on the left elevator rear spar before priming it. I'll have to sand off the primer in the left trailing edge rib locations and then sand those areas with the 150 grit sandpaper. Luckily there are only 2 locations on the left spar and skins vs 6 on the right. I also have not primed the skins yet, so I have time to get those areas sanded first.
[Ruler, Fine Line Sharpie, 150 Grit Aluminum Oxide Sandpaper, Acetone, Masking Tape]

3/3/2021 – 1.5 hours
3/4/2021 – 0.6 hours
3/5/2021 – 2.6 hours
Preparing the bonding surfaces for the foam ribs continued with scuffing the rib locations on the top and bottom right elevator skins. I masked the areas surrounding the rib locations with painters tape, and then sanded the exposed areas with 150 grit aluminum oxide sand paper. After sanding the rib locations, I cleco'd the trailing edge wedge in place as a template to tape off the area next to the trailing edge. I removed the wedge, and sanded the skin trailing edges for bonding with the wedge using the 3M VHB tape.
[150 Grit Aluminum Oxide Sandpaper, Acetone, Masking Tape]

3/7/2021 – 1.6 hours
I completed this session by priming the inside surfaces of the elevator skins. I was really happy with my updated process to scuff the ALclad surface with a maroon Scotch Brite pad and a solution of water and Dawn detergent, water rinse and dry, and degreaser spray and dry. The priming results are better with this method, and I don't have to wear latex gloves during the initial scrub and rinse. I made some “S” hooks out of old dry cleaner hangars, and hung the skins from a tailgate canopy frame. Painting vertically isn't ideal, but the rattle cans work better when they are upright.
[Maroon Scotch Brite Pad, Dawn Dish Detergent, Dupli-Color Degreaser, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can)]

  Mar 06, 2021     09-16 - Elevator Spar Assembly - (5.1 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

3/5/2016 – 1.8 hours
The last riveting session for the trim tab spar and lower skin was a complete train-wreck (I have since ordered a new trim tab spar and lower skin), but it was time to shake that one off and start riveting the elevator skeleton. I riveted the small gusset to the left elevator root rib with good results from the pneumatic squeezer. Since the squuezer was set up for the universal head AN470AD4-4 rivets, I moved on to the universal head rivets that join the inboard and outboard tip ribs. I used the longeron yoke to reach around the two opposing flanges of the ribs. The longeron yoke worked perfectly, but I had to remove one of the rivet sets to get enough clearance to insert the piece in the mouth of the yoke. Once the part was in, I replaced the rivet set and had enough clearance to insert and set the rivets all the way around. After setting the universal head rivets, I switched the squeezer set for the last two flush rivets. I had to remove the rivet set when I was finished to get the assembled part out of the mouth of the yoke.
[Pneumatic Squeezer with 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, 1/8” Universal Head Rivet Squeezer Set, 1/4" and 1/8” Flat Squeezer Sets]

3/6/2021 – 3.3 hours
Riveting the spar assembly continue with the hinge reinforcement plates and nutplates on the left and right spars. The pneumatic squeezer with the 2 1/2" longeron yoke worked well in this area. I kept the same setup on the squeezer to attach the root ribs to each spar as well. I went a little out of sequence with the tip ribs, which I think made things easier and better in the end. Rather than attaching the ribs, and then riveting the tip rib skins in place with the ribs attached to the spar, I attached the skins first and then riveted the entire assembly to the spar. The tip rib skins have 50 flush rivets each, and those are much easier to work with and set with the squeezer and standard 3” yoke in a bench vise vs trying to maneuver the ribs with the spar attached. The spar then slips between the elevator tip skin and inboard rib and is attached with 4 universal head rivets. The rivets through the spar are a little tough to get to, but they would be without the skins on as well. The double-offset universal head rivet set worked well to get into those spots.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, 3” standard yoke, 1/8” Universal Head Rivet Squeezer Set, 1/4" and 1/8” Flat Squeezer Sets, 3x Rivet Gun, 1/8” Cupped Straight Rivet Set, 1/8” Cupped Double Offset Rivet Set, Tungsten Bucking Bars]

  Feb 26, 2021     09-13 - Trim Tab Preparation - (6.5 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/24/2021 – 1.0 hours
The trim tab essentially consists of a forward spar, top and bottom skins, trailing edge wedge and a piano hinge. The first job in this section was to dimple the holes in the close-out tabs of the top and bottom skins, and then cleco the trim tab pieces together to final drill the holes in the close out tabs. After completing the close out tab final drilling, I marked the trim tab trailing edge wedge ends even with the trim tab skins in order to cut them to the proper length. I also marked the forward boundary of the trailing edge wedge on the inside of each skin so they can be masked off before priming. The final item for this work session was to disassemble all of the pieces so they could be trimmed and deburred as needed.
[C-Frame Dimpler, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Dies, #33 Drill]

2/25/2021 – 1.5 hours
I had the countersinking equipment set up from a day ago when I countersunk the holes in the elevator trailing edge wedges. Since everything was already set up, I decided to countersink the top flange of the trim tab spar and the trim tab trailing edge wedge. I also took this opportunity to debur the holes and edges on the trim tab spar.
[Microstop Countersink Cage, 3/32” Countersink Cutter, Trailing Edge Wedge Drill Jig, Deburring tools]

2/26/2021 – 4.0
This session picked up by trimming the ends of the trim tab trailing edge wedge to length. I used the Dremel and metal cutting wheel for the rough cut followed with the flat file to fine-tune the cut and finally a 1” cut-and-polish wheel to finish and debur the piece. The final step for this section is preparing the skins for final assembly. I deburred all the holes and edges in the top and bottom skins, and then used the edge forming tool to put a slight break in the trailing edge of each skin. I then measured the locations for the foam ribs on both skins and the spar, and masked the area around them (leaving the rib locations exposed) to scuff those areas for the bonding agent in the next section. I also scuffed the trailing edge of the top and bottom skins to help the VHB tape bond the TE wedge into place. I finished this section by dimpling all the remaining #40 holes in each skin as well as the holes in the bottom flange of the trim tab spar.
[Dremel, 1 1/2" Metal Cutting Wheel, Flat File, Die Grinder with 1” Cut-and-Polish Wheel, Ruler, Masking Tape, 150 Grit Aluminum Oxide Sandpaper, Vise-Grip Style Edge Forming Tool, 22” C-Frame, Reduced Diamter 3/32” Dimple Dies, Acetone]

  Feb 24, 2021     09-09 - Elevator Horns, Deburring, and Dimpling - (16.4 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/13/2021 – 0.7 hours
It is time to match drill the left elevator closeout tabs by the trim tab area. One item of note is how the upper and lower closeout tabs and the shear clip stack in the build. The upper closeout tab sits over the lower closeout tab, and the shear clip is inboard of the closeout tabs. If you look from inboard to outboard, you will have the shear clip, upper tab and lower tab in that order. Prior to clecoing the trailing edge into place, one of the foam ribs was taped just inside of the lower closeout tab to help maintain the overall shape. The match drilling starts with the aft hole in the upper tab, and moves forward to the 2 holes in the shear clip. Access to the front hole through the shear clip is very limited, so I used a 12” #30 drill bit for that one. I then cleco'd the elevator control horns in place, and final drilled the holes common to the inboard ribs and forward spars.
[#30 Drill, 12” #30 Drill]

2/14/2021 – 4.9 hours
It is always fun to cleco pieces together and create a mockup of the final assembly, but eventually all the pieces need to be disassembled and prepared for final assembly. During the disassembly process, I marked the left and right elevator pieces to ensure they would go back together the same way they were mocked up and match/final drilled. There are a lot of parts for the elvators, and I took the opportunity to debur all the holes and edges as the pieces came off the assembly.

2/15/2021 – 6.5 hours
2/16/2021 – 1.4 hours
2/17/2021 – 1.4 hours
The process of disassembling and deburring the left and right elevator parts continued until all the parts were separated and ready for priming and final assembly. After completing the prep work on the skeleton parts, I turned my attention to dimpling the counterbalance and elevator skins. I dimpled the counterbalance skins with the pneumatic squeezer, and dimpled the elevator skins with the 22” C-Frame. One item to note is the trailing edge of the elevator skins are pre-bent to the shape of the wedges that will be inserted there. A normal-sized dimple die is too large to dimple this area and not ruin the bend, but I found a reduced diameter dimple die worked perfectly with the edge of the die tangent to the bend. The other item to note is the most outboard holes on the elevator skins are not dimpled – they will be used later for the fiberglass elevator tips.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, 22” C-Frame Dimpler, 3/32” Standard Dimple Die, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Die]

2/24/2021 – 1.5 hours
The final step for this section was to countersink the trailing edges. One of the lessons I took from countersinking the trailing edge wedge for the rudder is that the wedge may not be thick enough for a full .007” beyond flush countersink on both sides without enlarging the hole. I had a spar piece of the elevator wedge that I trimmed off stock piece earlier, so I slowly adjusted my countersink depth on that piece until I found the depth that would accept the dimpled skin without going too deep. It turns out the elevator TE wedge, which is thicker than the wedge for the rudder, can handle the 0.007” beyond flush countersink, and that mates really well with the dimpled skin.
[Microstop Countersink Cage, 3/32” Countersink Cutter, Trailing Edge Wedge Drill Jig]

  Feb 23, 2021     09-12 - Trim Pushrod and Access Doubler - (6.7 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/21/2021 – 3.6 hours
The first step in this section was to inspect and adjust (as necessary) the flange angles of the forward and rear elevator spars. Dimpling the holes in the flanges can distort the flange angles, so I checked the angles with a carpentry protractor at several locations down the length of each spar. Most flanges required some adjustment to return to the 84 degree and 96 degree angles specified in the plans.

The nutplates for the Trim Access Reinforcement Doubler needed to be dimpled and then riveted to the doubler. I started with a pneumatic squeezer, but found that I got better results dimpling with the C-Frame. I used a full-size male die to provide some additional surface area to support the nutplates, but had to go with a reduced diameter female die to clear the center ridge.

The Elevator Trim Pushrod comes in 3 pieces that need to be separated, finished, and countersunk before assembling them. I used a hacksaw to cut the pieces apart, and the grinding wheel to fine-tune the cuts. The trickiest part of this step was labeling the parts correctly. I labeled the pieces according to the plans, but found that the parts didn't fit together correctly – the end that is supposed to connect to the trim motor didn't have the gap required for the connection. When I reversed the left and right pieces, the gap came out perfectly, so I reversed the labeling on the parts. The other interesting wrinkle was countersinking the end that sticks up from the rest of the pushrod. The countersink cage won't sit flush in that area, so I used a scrap piece of 0.025” AL to help square the countersink cage with the part.
[Hand Seamers, Protractor, Pneumatic Squeezer, C-Frame Dimpler, 3/32” Full-size Male Dimple Die, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Female Dimple Die, Hacksaw, 6” Medium Grinding Wheel, 6” Cut-and-Polish Wheel]

2/22/2021 - 1.6 hours
The Trim Tab Horns need to be altered and finished according to the drawings in the plan. This was a little tricker than previous cuts on parts because the cut line has to be measured and laid-out on the part rather than simply connecting 2 notches with a straight line. It was also complicated by the fact that the horns are different lengths, but the altered bottom angles between the parts should match. I found that trimming the longer piece first went well, then I transferred that cut onto the second piece. After finishing and deburring the edges and deburring the holes, I dimpled the #40 holes in the flanges.
[C-Frame Dimpler, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Female Dimple Dies, Dremel with 1 1/2" metal cutting wheel, 6” Medium Grinding Wheel, 6” Cut-and-Polish Wheel]

2/23/2021 – 1.5 hours
I finished this section by priming the Trim Access Reinforcement Doubler, Elevator Trim Pushrod Parts, and Trim Horn parts. Once the primer was dry, I double-flush riveted the trim pushrod parts together using the Back-Rivet set and plate. That went really well, and I decided to back-rivet the nutplates to the Trim Access Doubler. Unfortunately, I very quickly ran out of room for the back rivet set, so I switched to the pneumatic squeezer. The squeezer had had much better access to the rivet locations.
[Grey Scotch Brite Pad, Bon Ami Cleanser, Acetone, Dupli-Color Self-Etching Automotive Primer (Green – Rattle Can), 3x Rivet Gun, Back-rivet Plate, Back-Rivet Set, Pneumatic Squeezer, 2 1/2" Longeron Yoke, 1/8” Flat Set, 1/4" Flat Set]

  Feb 20, 2021     09-11 - Front Spar and Trim Access Dimpling - (1.3 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/20/2021 – 1.3 hours
Dimpling the internal structure pieces continued with the front spar, inboard ribs, and trim access doubler / brace. Dimpling the #40 holes in the spars and ribs with the pneumatic squeezer and reduced diameter dimple dies was a straight-forward process. I used the same set-up and process for the trim access reinforcement doubler and brace, with the exception that I needed a #6 Screw Dimple Die for the #27 holes.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Die, #6 Screw Dimple Die]

  Feb 20, 2021     09-10 - Ribs and Rear Spar Dimpling / Countersinking - (3.6 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/20/2021 – 3.6 hours
Dimpling the internal structure pieces of the elevator has a few differences from some of the previous build dimpling tasks. First, some of the pieces, like the shear clip and the rear spar, are significantly thicker than skins and ribs. Dimpling the thicker pieces with the pneumatic squeezer was pretty conventional, and didn't present any problems. The other difference in this task was the hybrid approach to the left rear spar. The holes that mate to the trim tab hinge were countersunk, while the rest of the top and all of the bottom flange holes were dimpled. It is important to cleco the hinge in place beneath the spar flange to give the pilot some additional guidance and keep the countersink cutter from wallowing in the hole.
[Pneumatic Squeezer, 3/32” Reduced Diameter Dimple Die, Microstop Countersink Cage with 3/32” Countersink Cutter]

  Feb 13, 2021     09-08 - Final Drilling and Trailing Edge Preparation - (3.0 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/13/2021 – 3.0 hours
The gussets that brace the corner between the rear elevator spars and the inboard ribs need to be final drilled. The area to drill, especially through the rear spar, is very narrow; so I used a 12” #30 drill bit to final drill those holes. The elevator mockup is then completed by clecoing the tip rib assemblies to the elevators. I had to look ahead to the end of the elevator plans to see that the tip rib skins lie beneath the elevator skins (sheet 09-22). All the #30 holes common to the elevator spars and shear clips get final drilled once the tip rib assemblies are in place. The final stask in this step is to trim the trailing edge wedges even with the edges of the elevator skins and to reduce the outboard thickness of the trailing edge wedges to match the thickness and contours of the fiberglass elevator tips.
[#30 Drill, 12” #30 Drill, Dremel, 1 1/2" Metal Cutting Wheel, 6” Grinding Wheel, 6” Cut-and-Polish Wheel]

  Feb 13, 2021     09-07 - Trim Tab Hinge - (2.0 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/12/2021 – 0.9 hours
The trim tab is attached to the elevator with a piano hinge that runs the length of the trim tab. The hinge was previously marked, and a pilot hole was drilled in the left end of each of the forward and aft halves of the hinge. The task now is to cleco the hinge to the rear spar of the elevator through the pilot hole, and then match drill the remainder of the hinge holes to the rear spar. The first key consideration is to ensure the hinge is aligned parallel to the spar. I did that by drawing a line 3/16” from the leading edge of the forward half to align with the hole I drilled earlier. I then clamped the hinge in place with the line showing through the center of the holes. I used 1/2" cleco clamps approximately 2 – 4 holes ahead of where I was drilling to hold the hinge tight to the spar, and cleco'd every hole after it was drilled to help keep everything straight and tight.
[#40 drill, 1/2" Cleco Clamps]

2/13/2021 – 1.1 hours
After drilling the forward half of the trim tab hinge, I used the edge of the inboard rib and the beveled edge of the rear spar to draw a straight cut line on the excess hinge material. I removed the hinge from the rear spar, did a rough cut with the Dremel metal cutting wheel, and finished the cut with a grinding wheel and finally the 6” cut-and-polish wheel. I rounded the cut corner, and deburred the trimmed edges. The entire process of drilling and trimming repeated with the aft half of the hinge attached to the trim tab spar. Pay close attention to the drawings in the plans to ensure the trim tab spar is oriented correctly and the hinge is attached to the correct flange. The other trick to the aft hinge drilling is to ensure the trim tab spar is clamped down adequately. I managed to clamp the bottom flange of the spar between the bench and a spare piece of wood.
[#40 Drill, 1/2" Cleco Clamps, Dremel, 1 1/2" Metal Cutting Wheel, 6” Grinding Wheel, 6” Cut-and-Polish Wheel]

  Feb 12, 2021     09-06 - Elevator Mockup - (1.1 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/11/2021 – 0.7 hours
The structure of the elevators start to come into focus as several of the elevator pieces are cleco'd together. I started by attaching the ribs to the front right spar, followed by the rear spar, and finally putting some clecos in the skin/rib holes to stabilize everything. The process repeated for the left elevator, but it was a little more involved since the left side has several additional pieces for the trim servo. None of the trim servo pieces, root ribs, or spars have been deburred at this point, but I plan to do that when I disassemble the pieces later.

2/12/2021 – 0.4 hours
A new piece introduced in the elevator build is the gusset, which essentially provides additional support and strength in corners of the skeleton. In this case, gussets are used in the corner where the inboard elevator ribs meet the rear spars. The gussets I received were correctly adjusted, so All I had to do was cleco them into place for final drilling later in the build. I also clecod the three shear clips (1 right and 2 left) to the rear spars. It was interesting to note that the shear clip flange faces inboard while the rib flanges face outboard. I also noted by looking ahead a few pages that the inboard shear clip on the left elevator sits inboard of the skin close-out tabs.

  Feb 11, 2021     09-05 - Elevator Spar Setup - (0.8 hour)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/11/2021 – 0.8 hours
This was a fun step because it looks like a lot of progress in a very short time. The step started by using a step drill to enlarge two holes in the left front spar to 3/8” and 5/8”. I marked the step size on the drill bit with tape as a visual aid to know when to stop drilling, and the drilling went well with no issues. I was a little alarmed by how close the edges of the holes end up when they are enlarged. The holes will be used for access to the trim servo (i.e. wire runs) and not for any structural purpose, so they can be close as long as they don't cut into each other. After drilling the left front spar, I cleco'd the left and right bottom skins to the left and right spars to finish this step.
[Step Drill]

  Feb 11, 2021     09-04 - Elevator Skin Close-out Tab Forming - (2.1 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/08/2021 – 1.6 hours
Construction of the elevators introduces a few new tasks including actually bending metal. In this case, I had to clamp the skins to the workbench in a very specific way, and then bend the close out tabs from the flat skin inward 90 degrees. A mistake on this step will ruin the skin, so I spent a lot of time re-reading the procedure in the plans, setting up the piece correctly, and confirming that I was bending the tabs the right way. I used a 1' x 2' x 10” piece of wood with rounded edges as my bending tool I laid the piece of wood on the tab, and smoothly worked it down the side of the work bench to make the bend. The plans recommend hitting the bend with the rivet gun at low pressure to set the bend, but I found a rubber mallet did the same job with a lot of control and no marring of the skin. I finished the bend after unclamping the skin from the workbench with a hand seamer to get a good 90 degree bend. I was really nervous about this step, but I was very happy with the results. After finishing the bends, I moved back into more familiar territory by trimming the end of one of the rear elevator spars as specified in the plans.
[Clamps, Wood Block, Rubber Mallet, Hand Seamers, Dremel with 1 1/2" Metal Cutting Wheel, 6” Grinder Wheel, 6” 3M Cut and Polish Wheel, Deburring Tools, Maroon Scotch Brite Pad]

2/11/2021 – 0.5 hours
This step ended by marking the forward and aft section of the piano hinge for the trim tab, and then drilling pilot holes in each section of the hinge. I used a digital caliper to measure and check the hole locations, and a ruler to re-check the locations. We'll see how well I did when the rest of the piano hinge holes are match-drilled with the other trim tab pieces.
[Digital Calipers, Ruler, #40 drill, Pin Punch]

  Feb 11, 2021     09-03 - Foam Rib Fabrication - (6.3 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/07/2021 – 0.6 hours
I went a little out of order on this page by skipping to the close out tabs on the left elevator top and bottom skins. The purpose of this step is to mark a bend line in the skins where the close-out tabs next to the trim tab gap in the elevator skins are formed. The step is very similar to marking a cut line on a part, but the follow-on step is bending and not cutting. One major difference is the bend must be formed toward the inside of the elevator skin, so I checked several times to ensure I had marked the inside of the skins correctly.

I also spent a little time trimming the pre-bent close out tabs on the trim tab skins. One of the most difficult parts of this step was removing the duct tape that was used to protect the close out tabs during shipping. After removing the tape, it was a pretty standard process to identify the cut lines on each of the trim tab skins, cut the unnecessary material off with a Dremel, fine tune the cut with a file and 6” cut and polish wheel, and debur.
[Straight Edge, Fine-tip Sharpie, Dremel with 1 1/2" Metal Cutting Wheel, 6” Grinder Wheel, 6” 3M Cut and Polish Wheel, Deburring Tools, Maroon Scotch Brite Pad]

2/08/2021 – 0.2 hours
My wife generously donated some of her spray-glue to the cause so I could glue the foam rib templates to the foam blocks provided in the kit. I copied the template page in the plans, and cut the templates out. I then sprayed glue on the templates and foam blocks, and applied the templates to the blocks. I then set the blocks aside to dry overnight while I decide on the best way to trim them to final shape.
[Elmer's Hobby Spray Glue]

2/09/2021 – 2.2 hours
2/10/2021 – 2.2 hours
These work sessions were all about forming the elevator foam ribs. The first step was to separate the foam blocks into individual ribs. The plans recommend a band saw, which would be a great way to do this. I don't have a band saw, so I very carefully used a square block with a razor blade attached followed by drawing a hacksaw backward through the razor blade slot to finish the cut. The main issue when cutting the blocks is to cut perpendicular to the block face, so the cuts were made slowly and deliberately to be straight. The next step is to sand the blocks to final shape using the attached templates as a guide. I set up a sanding jig by clamping sand paper beneath a straight fence to a flat piece of wood. The jig made it easy to sand the foam blocks while ensuring the edges remained square with the faces.
[Razor Blade; Hacksaw; 60, 150, and 220 grit sandpaper sheets]

2/11/2021 – 1.1 hours
Forming the foam ribs was completed to close out this section of the build. The final step for the ribs was to sand down the notches at the leading edge of the ribs so they would fit inside the flanges of the rear elevator spar. I used the sanding jig I had previously set up, but moved the fence inward to the length of the notch. After that, it was a very quick process to finish the ribs.
[60, 150, and 220 grit sandpaper sheets]

  Feb 07, 2021     09-02 - Rib and Shear Clip Preparation - (9.2 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/06/21 – 5.2 hours
The twelve ribs for the elevators come as single piece units that have to be separated into upper and lower sections. Similarly, there are four shear clips that have to be cut apart. The cuts are indicated on the parts by notches on each end of the cut line. Simply draw a line tangent to each of the notches to identify the cut. I started a little out of order with the shear clips, because they were easier to cut and debur. The ribs required 2 separate cuts – note: they are NOT aligned – and I started deburring the ribs after they had all been separated.
[Dremel with 1 1/2" Metal Cutting Wheel, 6” Grinder Wheel, 6” 3M Cut and Polish Wheel, Deburring Tools, Maroon Scotch Brite Pad]

2/07/21 – 4.0 hours
I finished deburring the elevator ribs, and cleco'd the parts back together per the plans. I then moved on to preparing the elevator tip ribs to ensure the flanges are at 90 degree angles and the holes are aligned. After straightening and fluting the ribs, I cleco'd them into the elevator tip counterbalance skins, and match drilled the #30 holes in the webs and #40 holes in the flanges. Although the holes are aligned well, I needed to use a straight pick for the final fit of the of the two ribs together in the skin.
[Deburring Tools, Hand Seamer, Fluting Pliers, #30 and #40 Drill]

  Feb 05, 2021     09-01 - Elevator Plans - (4.5 hours)       Category: 9 Elevator

2/05/21 – 4.5 hours
My process at the beginning of each new section of the build starts by checking the RV-14 Revisions and Changes posted on Van's website to ensure that my plans are up to date. When I'm satisfied that I have all of the current information, I do a detailed review of the plans to make sure I have a good understanding of what is coming. I start with a high-level review of the section to see how this component is finished and interfaces with the complete aircraft. I also study the plan details for terminology that I may not know, special build notes and warnings, new parts and techniques that I have not worked with before, and potential questions that I need to ask or study further.

I noted that the elevator trailing edges are similar to the rudder build with double-flush riveted trailing edge wedges and rolled leading edges. There are also some new parts including a hinged trim tab, foam blocks to make ribs for the trim tab and elevators, and everything associated with the electric trim servo motor. Pro-seal is introduced for the first time to bond the foam ribs to the skins. The skins also have close-out tabs that need to be bent into place, so I positively identify the inside and outside of each skin to ensure I bend the tabs the right way. This is by far the most detailed set of plans I've come across. I came across one question that I'll send to Van's regarding attachment of the trim tab horns that wasn't entirely clear to me from the language or drawings in the plan. I finished the session by pulling all the elevator pieces off the shelf.