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]