Mar 15, 2022     9-17: Trim tab wrap up - (2.0 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Clamped and drilled the hinges to the spar. Everything looks pretty good, although the drill bit did mark the bottom skin in a few places as it punched through the top skin. Should have used a drill stop.

Not happy with the control horn on the left tab. Rivets sitting too proud and the hole for the linkage didn't align well. I opted to drill out a few of the rivets and use cherrymax blind rivets. Upsized to 1/8” and lightly countersunk the dimpled horns to accept the larger rivet head. Used the wedge method from chapter 5 to set the cherrymax rivets tight up against the horn. Overall happy with how it turned out.

[update] I realize what I was doing wrong with the rivets - I was pushing the flush set into the corner of the horn and that was causing the flush set to ride up the fillet and not sit flush. Should have known better - that's what I get for taking off so many months of working.

  Mar 06, 2022     9-17: Trim tab work - (3.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Got the spars backed riveted to the bottom skin. Rivets all came out great, but the dimples may have been a little under done with the squeezer. I opted to redo the top skin dimples on the drdt2, much cleaner. Masked and primed the area where the control horns attach.

Then bucked the rivets for the control horns - my least favorite part of trim tab construction which I'm becoming so well-versed in. Really struggles with these and had to drill out several. Even had to use a few oops rivets. Got it done though. I realize in hindsight was I was doing wrong - I was pushing the flush set into the corner of the bracket and it was riding up the fillet which resulted in proud rivets.

Double checked the fit of the foam wedges and sanded them down a little to reduce the bulging of the skin. Mixed up the proseal, installed the foam ribs and clamped them up. Done for now. Overall, very happy with these and glad I persevered to redo them.

  Mar 05, 2022     9-16: Trim tabs - 3rd time's the charm - (3.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

New trim tabs and spars came in. Perfect timing to knock them out before the wings get here.

I really took my time on the bends this time and was sure not to push the skin all the way into the corner of the break. I think that is what pinched it last time. Both came out much better.

Then the end tabs. Made sure everything was double sided taped and secure. Did the wood block and rivet gun method. Happy to say they all came out really well.

Vans had the control horns backordered so my plan was to rob them from my second trim tabs if I made it past the bend stage with better results. Having succeeded, I proceeded to drill out the horns. Came right off without any problems. Two old trim tabs are officially trash.

Prepped, primed and ready for final assembly. Used a little self etch to touch up the outer face of the lower close out tabs.

  Feb 10, 2022     9-16: Trim tab fail again - (2.0 hours) Category: 9: Elevators

After letting the proseal on the trim tabs cure for a long time, I pulled the tabs out of the clamps. I'm not happy with them. I don't know if the foam ribs were a little undersized, or I just pushed them too tightly into the clamps, but there is a distinct deformation in the skin at each foam rib. It seemed as though the skin was maybe under-bent between the ribs, so I tried to fix it by squeezing the tab between wood blocks as shown in Section 5. This didn't work well and put additional marks on the tabs at the ends of the blocks I used. At this point, I think my original tabs look better than the new ones. It's funny how the things that I struggled with on these tabs were no problem at all on the first tabs, and vice versa. Maybe one more attempt and I can get them perfect - I'm on a quest for perfect trim tabs now. Something to work on while still waiting on wings. Of course, now even some of the trim tab skins are backordered.

Purchases: Van's: new trim tab skins, spars, and foam blocks.

  Jan 30, 2022     9-16: trim tab rivets and proseal - (3.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Got the trim tab spars back-riveted to the bottom of the skins. These all came out great. Then tried to back rivet the horns to the skin. Was able to get a few, but ended up having to buck most of them. What a pain. Got them done without too many cosmetic scratches. No dings or dents on these tabs!

Got the foam ribs glued in place and everything is set in the clamps.

  Jan 28, 2022     9-16: Trim tab bends - (1.0 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

Bent the ends of the trim tabs ends. People have come up with various other ways to make these bends, but I had good luck with the wood block method in the plans the first go around so opted to do it again. I applied double sided tape to the blocks, but I should have also applied tape to the part itself - taping it down to the table. The first bend came out just ok. I think my previous efforts were better. I modified my method and taped the tab to the table prior to clamping and the remaining bends came out better.

  Jan 15, 2022     9-16: Trim tab - (1.1 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Just a little work on the tabs this weekend. Masked and scuffed the rib areas, then masked for priming. Finished the bend on the tabs in the break I had previously used - glad I didn't scrap it yet. Bends turned out good, slight indentation on the bottom of the left tab, but still looking better than my previous attempt.

Temperature is in the mid-30s so no priming this weekend. Not much else I can do.

1/17: did some countersinking of the spars prior to painting. Also was able to use a block and a spoon to pretty much eliminate the small indent on the left trim tab.

  Jan 13, 2022     9-16: Redo trim tabs - (0.6 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

After fearing that Fedex had lost my shipment, the new trim tabs miraculously showed up at the door today. Made just a small amount of progress removing vinyl and a little deburring. Cut the trim horns and deburred. Printed and spray glued the foam templates.

Ordered a small thing of proseal for bonding the foam ribs.

Purchases: ACS: Proseal

  Dec 29, 2021     Trim Tabs - Part 2 Category: 9: Elevators

Had to get something from the storage unit and took a minute to admire my completed empennage. Well, most of it. My trim tabs are really atrocious, and I know I can do so much better now. Ordered new parts from Van's for left and right elevator trim tabs. Will probably show up before my wings and give me a small project to knock the rust off my riveting skills.

Purchases: Van's: Trim tabs

  Aug 25, 2021     Trim tab correction - (1.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Just admiring the beautiful tail assembly in my garage and noticed an error. The pull rivets on the close out tabs of the left trim tab were sitting quite proud. As in, I must have not dimpled them. I drilled out the rivets and sure enough no dimples. Not sure how I missed that step.
Had to drill out about 6 of the top skin to spar rivets on each side so that I could pull the skin back enough to dimple them. Also had to separate the inboard foam rib from the skin. I used a razor saw to slice through it. I will still provide the compression support of the skin and it is close enough to the end that it should be ok.
Got the holes dimpled with combination of squeezer and tight quarters die. Reinstalled the countersunk pull rivets and reinstalled the spar rivets.
All fixed. Glad I caught that.

  Aug 22, 2021     12-3 & 12-4: Rudder and VS fairing - (7.0 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Just a lot of work on and off throughout the week. Tough to really keep and accurate tab on time when working in lots of 30 minute spurts.
Got the single sided nut plates from ACS and installed on the rudder bottom fairing. That allowed me to finish the bottom after some more sanding, filling, priming, sanding…
Got the top fairing sanded to its final shape and installed to the rudder with blind rivets. Then bolted the rudder to the VS to check alignment of the VS fairing. It was pretty disappointing. I aligned the back of the fairing with the step in the skin and there was a pretty big gap at the leading edge, about 3/16”. It also didn't align well with shape of the rudder counterbalance and fairing. I used some scrap balsa to make a rib to hold the fairing open, but still wouldn't come close to the shape of the rudder counterbalance. I made the close out of the fairing using the method from the RV-14 instructions - layup two layers of glass on a flat surface and let it cure. Then bond to the fairing and finish with a fillet of flox and two more layers of glass on the inside. That worked well.
Used some flox to reform the leaded edge of the fairing to better match the VS.
Once the fairing was closed out, I slathered a lot of micro onto the VS fairing to try to get the shape to match the rudder better. Got the first round of that all sanded out and I'm happy with the fit now. A few low spots still to fill and then final sand, but it's getting close.

  Jul 23, 2021     11-2 & 11-3: Elevator attach to HS - (1.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

With the left elevator finished I finally got to install both elevators onto the horizontal stabilizer. Mounted and removed several times to adjust the rod ends. Confirmed it was closing uniformly along the HS skin at full deflection and had a uniform 1/8” gap along the counterbalance. Used the level app on my phone to confirm full deflection up and down (measured almost 40 degrees up and 30 down without any binding).

Drilled the center bearing with the drill bushing. Had to turn it down a bit in the drill press then drilled the left elevator to #30, and gradually upsized to 1/4”. Repeat for right side.

Installed all hardware and torqued the jam nuts on the rod end bearings. Remaining hardware is not final torqued yet as I assume I will still need to remove the elevator at some point.

Measured and drilled the pushrod attach point in the elevator bracket. Installed a 3/4” wood block as a drill guide and clamped in place. Drillled other side through the block.

  Jul 22, 2021     Left elevator control horn - (1.4 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

When I got home from work I was pleased to find the left elevator control horn was sitting at the door.

Got it riveted in place and closed out the skins. Just need to roll the leading edge.

7/23: rolled leading edge before work. I was anxious about it, but it actually came out really well. Minor pillowing, but very consistent along the length. If not my best LE roll, it was definitely the easiest. I used clear packing tape instead of the gorilla tape I had been using. The gorilla tape is so hard to remove from the skins that you end up distorting the roll a bit. Much easier and more consistent results with packing tape. Will use this method going forward.

  Jul 18, 2021     Right elevator control horn - (2.0 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Still waiting on the left control horn, but went ahead and finished up the right. Got the horn match drilled and riveted in place. Fairly easy to access with a bucking bar through the trim access hole. Finished riveting the skins around the end of the elevator.

Rolled the leading edge. This was a little difficult as the elevator horn is in the way of my rolling pipe. Had to cut the pipe to fit inside of the horn, but then I didn't have as much room to grip the pipe. Made do with a pair of channel lock pliers. Came out ok, but a little bit of pillowing between the clecos. Rolled the top skin edge to put a slight bend in it and it looked better. Riveted in place. Fit up against the horizontal stabilizer and quickly realized I need to not worry much about these leading edges; they are impossible to see once mounted on the stabilizer.

Looking back at these old elevators gave mixed emotions. The quality is not as good as I know I could do now, but probably not worth redoing. The parts for all new elevators add up to about $1000. Will hold off for now.

  May 05, 2021     9-18(R): right elevator finished - (0.7 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

Wanted to fix the hinge that I riveted yesterday. The pin was a little tight going in and it was squawking a bit when I moved the trim tab. I could tell it was binding a bit. Then I also noticed a slight oilcanning of the elevator skin and pillowing at the joint. I drilled out about seven rivets until the trim tab moved freely. I noticed that I could put a little pressure on the clecos and remove the oilcanning while also giving better alignment of the hinge. I pulled on it, clamped it and riveted checking the trim tab alignment along the way. Ended up much better. No binding, no oilcanning, and no pillowing. I was very pleased that I was able to drill out the rivets and fix it. I admit I did have to use one oops rivet.

Also got the last few rivets in the end rib at the trailing edge that I skipped previously. Just back riveted against the plate using the narrow bucking bar. This is still a pain, but I'm getting pretty consistent, acceptable results.

Right elevator is done until I get my back ordered control horns. Done enough. At first I thought it was turning out so much better than the left. I'd say it's about the same. A few dings here and there. Just different dings.

On hold until my new spar cap arrives from Van's.

  May 04, 2021     9-14, 9-18 & 9-19: Right elevator almost done - (2.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Pulled the right elevator out of the clamps now that the proseal is cured. Got the double flush rivets done. Came out like the rudder did. Straight, but definitely some places where the proseal pulled away from the wedge a bit.

Moved on to installing the hinge for the trim tab. Got everything matched and drilled to the elevator. Match drilling to the trim tab took a little work to try to pull the tab skin and spar into alignment before drilling the hinge. I think I did ok using a 3/32 punch as a bit of a lever in the adjacent hole while I drilled.

Removed the hinge, and cut it to length on the band saw and finished with the belt sander. Riveted to the trim tab, again using a little leverage to hold the hole aligned. Then riveted the elevator rear spar to hinge. There is a very slight amount of puckering at the outermost rivet of hinge to elevator. Then when inserting the hinge pin, there is a slight misalignment at that very end. It moves fine but is a little stiffer than it should be. I will drill out those last couple rivets and try again.

Got the hinge pin bent into place. Tried to get it tucked in tighter than the left side but came out about the same.

  May 01, 2021     9-14, 9-15 & 9-17: Right elevator proseal and counterweight - (1.2 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Got the tank sealant applied to the foam ribs and installed in the trim tab. Set in the clamps and riveted the end tabs.

Moved on to the elevator and applied sealant to the foam ribs then coated the wedge pretty liberally again. Installed clecos in every hole then went between each cleco and gave a good squeeze with the vice grip clamps.

Set the weights on the trailing edge and will let it cure for the rest of the week. Back to the Horizontal stabilizer.

I did finish off the right side lead counterbalance weights too and installed them while proseal is curing. Nice to have AN bolt gauge I bought recently to confirm the AN3-13 bolts from the assorted pack of bolts Van's supplied.

Order confirmation letter for the wing showed up today too. Looks like an October 4th crating date. Glad I ordered it when I did.

  May 01, 2021     9-17(R): Right trim tab finish up - (1.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Got back to the right trim tab in preparation for proseal session later today hopefully.

Disassembled and deburred the tab. Dimpled skins and bottom of spar. Countersunk top spar and touched up with primer.

Back-riveted bottom of spar to skin. Came out really well. Remembered to get that corner rivet prior to installing the brackets. Riveted brackets with flush set and tungsten bar. Got one small mark from the bar, otherwise everything came out great.

  Apr 30, 2021     9-13(R) & 9-14(R): Front spar rivets and tip assembly - (1.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

The honeymoon phase of working on the plane has ended. No more 2-3 hours a day in the shop, lucky to get a 1/2 in the morning before work and maybe a little more in the evening. They say just do a little bit everyday and keep the project moving forward.

So used my free 20 minutes this morning to pull the rivets on the wrap to ribs.

Did manage another hour after dinner allowed me to get the tip assembly attached.

  Apr 28, 2021     9-12(R): Back to the rear spar rivets - (0.9 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

After feeling very frustrated with the bottom skin riveting on the rear spar, I took a break. Plus my second COVID shot really kicked my butt.

Fixed the few remaining rivets in the bottom then flipped it over to do the top skin. This uses the special bucking bar again. Those all came out perfect.

Got a few more minutes in this evening. Enough to finish 9-12 and get the internal ribs blind riveted.

  Apr 26, 2021     9-12(R): Rear spar rivets - (0.8 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

Thought I would knock out the rivets from the skin to the rear spar. Half of these are easy because you can squeeze them. The other half you have to buck and somewhat awkwardly.

Despite the fact the I dinged the skin a bit on the left elevator, I didn't find bucking the rivets to be very difficult. I don't know what I was doing wrong today, but I really struggled. Bucking bar was bouncing around, dinged the skin in several places and ended up with about 10 rivets that I had to completely drill out because they were sitting proud.

Re-bucked the first few and they still were sitting quite proud of the skin. Very frustrating evening. As if I've lost all riveting skills. I decided to call it a night and walk away before I do any damage. Will deal with those tomorrow.

  Apr 25, 2021     9-9(R) to 9-11(R): Right elevator assembly - (3.8 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Got the skins dimpled. Ben didn't last as long as I had hoped. I finished them solo. Scuffed and cleaned the proseal areas and put the small bend on the edge of the skin. Should have done both of these steps prior to dimpling.

Riveted the attach doublers and nut plates the rear spar.

Backriveted the trim cable doubler to the bottom skin and proceeded to backrivet all the ribs to the skins. The back rivets really came out well and these skins have almost no scratches in them at all. Getting better at this.

Riveted the rear spar and associated clip angles to the ribs, but not the skins yet. Calling it quits for the day. Gotta work on the pool - almost summertime.

  Apr 24, 2021     9-7(R) to 9-9(R) Priming right elevator and start assembly - (4.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Got all of the right elevator parts cleaned, etched and masked - ready to prime. Took a break and then came back to priming everything in the afternoon.

Priming went fine. I shot the outside of the counterbalance skins gray to match the left elevator. For some reason the gray ran a little bit. I cleaned it up but may need to touch it up later. Once I had everything cleaned up I saw that I missed the trim tab cable access plate. For some reason I thought I'd already done it with the left one. I'll get it later the next time I prime.

Dimpled all the ribs and miscellaneous pieces. Saved the skins to do with Ben tomorrow. He loves that DRDT2.

Assembled the counterbalance tip assembly and the installed the trim tab access nut plates.

Didn't stop to take many photos. Pretty much the same as the left elevator.

  Apr 22, 2021     Right elevator rear spar countersinking - (0.8 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

Decide to countersink the holes on the rear spar before priming this time. Seemed like an easy morning task, but took longer than it should have.

Had the countersink all setup already from a previous session. Did one hole and checked depth with a rivet, looked good - about 0.007” recess. Proceeded to do all 29 holes but could tell by the end that they were not deep enough. Couldn't figure out why the cage wasn't fully seating. Finally saw I was hitting the stop on the drill press. Fixed that and re-hit every hole to the correct depth.

  Apr 20, 2021     9-7(R): Right elevator disassemble and deburr - (1.2 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Took apart the right elevator and started to deburr everything. Got through most of the ribs, just the skins to go. The fact that I now realize this step is entirely unnecessary makes it especially painful. But since I did final drill or ream the holes, I feel I have to follow through and deburr them all too.

Trying to get to a place where I can start priming this weekend. Shouldn't be too hard.

  Apr 19, 2021     9-14(L) & 9-15(L): Left elevator finish up for now - (1.6 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Finished up some miscellaneous items on the elevator including the trailing edge rivets and end rib rivets.

Also got the remaining holes on the trim tab drilled and riveted. Got the wire installed and bent. Not happy with how the bend came out. I realized afterward that I should have bent it shorter so that it turns down behind the rear spar and not beside it. May be able to fix that later.

Started trimming the lead counterweights. Kind of a pain. I went ahead and tried doing them on the band saw. Of course that creates lead dust which is no good. Wore gloves and a face mask and vacuumed often. Had to pause often and let it cool down so that it didn't melt and stick the blade. Got the counterweights mounted with the AN3 bolts and torqued to the proper value.

Called Van's today to check on status of my back-ordered parts, including the much needed elevator horns. They don't have them. No ETA. I'll have to put this aside for now and start on the right elevator.

  Apr 19, 2021     9-18(L): Left trim tab hinge - (0.8 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

Little shop time before work. Got the piano hinge drilled for the starter hole and then cleco'd and aligned the hinge. Used some cleco clamps to hold it tight to the elevator and match drilled the holes.

The trim tab was a little more difficult because the skin and spar didn't want to line up without a little pressure. And I couldn't cleco those together and match drill the hinge at the same time. Pulled it into alignment and cleco clamped as best I could then carefully proceeded with the match drilling. Once I got a couple holes done and clecos in place it all aligned just fine.

  Apr 18, 2021     9-14(L): Left Elevator trailing edges - (0.7 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

Took a few days off from the build while proseal cured. Just a little work this evening. Pulled the weights and clamps off the elevator and trim tab. Cleaned the excess proseal off the skins and I'm pretty happy with how the elevator turned out. Also, the additional proseal I smeared on the rudder turned out really well. I had ordered extra skins from Van's to be delivered with my wing kit, but I canceled them based on how this came out.

Installed a few of the blind rivets in the close out tabs of both. Will try to get to the double flush rivets on the trailing edge this week.

  Apr 13, 2021     9-14(L) & 9-17(L): Left elevator and trim tab proseal - (0.8 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

Not happy with the trim tab but I'm going to build on. Proceeding with the proseal. First, I re-scuffed the foam rib areas on the elevator and I also touched up the primer on the trim tab countersinks.

Proseal - Did the elevator first. I was a little more liberal with the sealant this time and got a little bit more squeeze out. I still feel like there is a gap in the trailing edge that I wish wasn't there it is straight though. I made sure that there was at least sealant filling the gap and it does look pretty uniform.

Inserted the foam wedges into the trim tab and got it set in the clamps.

Took some left over sealant and figured I would try to seal up some of the gaps in the rudder. We'll see.

I'll let that sit for the rest of the week. Not going to make much progress on anything else either - I have too many part spread throughout the shop at the moment.

  Apr 13, 2021     9-17(L): Left trim tab rivets - (0.5 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

Just a quick session this morning to try to wrap up those rivets. Awkward but it thought I could buck them without problem. They went in fine, but when I pulled the tape off I saw that I had dinged the skin with the flush set on every one of them. Ugh, should have stuck with the back-rivet technique. At least it is on the bottom and the paint shop should be able to take care of it.

Riveted the attach brackets. No dings but not my best work. Should have done the rivet in the corner first before the bracket. Had to use a blind rivet.

  Apr 12, 2021     9-16 & 9-17: Trim tabs - (2.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

I bent the tabs on the right trim tab. Now that I have the technique down they bent quite well. When compared to the left elevator tab they are definitely better, but only marginally so. I don't think I could redo the left side much better than it already is. I've heard so many horror stories of cracked trim tabs from these bends, I should be pretty happy with what I have.

Back to focus on the left tab. Took everything apart and deburred, then dimpled the skins and bottom flange of the spar. Set up the countersink and did the top flange. It's pretty thin but came out ok with a wood block backing it up.

Reassemble and get ready to rivet the skin the bottom flange. How the hell do I get to those? Try bucking bar, but was really awkward and had to bend the skins back a lot. Realized that I could actually get back rivet set in there and proceeded to back rivet most of them. Just set clecos in every third hole and used the corner of the backrivet plate overhanging the bench to get them. Pretty good, but did drill out four. They were harder to drill out then they were to set.

Going to stop here for the night. Need to buck the last few rivets on the trim attach brackets. They look tough.

  Apr 11, 2021     9-14(L) & 9-16(L): Left elevator work and trim tabs - (4.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

A good full day in the shop. Picked up where I left off yesterday on attaching the outboard rib/counterweight assembly. Bucked several ever increasingly difficult rivets. Most involved precariously balancing the bucking bar in just a few fingers through the pulled back skin, or even through the lightening holes in the spar. Got it done though. Finished the remaining rivets in the skin along the counterbalance and also went back and squeezed the rivets in the bottom of the rear spar - don't know how I missed those earlier. Holding off on the top of the rear spar for the trim tab hinge. Also holding off on the finishing up the in board end of the elevator until I get the back-ordered elevator horns. The left elevator is done to the point of prosealing the trailing edge. I'll set it aside for a bit to work on the trim tabs.

Prepped and primed the trim tab skins, spar and the inside surfaces of the trim cable attach brackets. Masked off the areas of the skin where the foam ribs will be bonded. Priming session went well; getting very comfortable shooting primer. When the parts were ready for handling (<20 min), I pulled the masking tape and re-masked over the freshly sprayed primer to scuff and clean the foam rib areas. Then I got to do the final bend of the trim tab skins. They are pre-bent from Van's, but still open quite a bit to do the work on the inside. So I need to final bend them in the brake that I made last week. That went great - pretty much got it right the first try. I can tweak the bend a little bit by hand later, but the clamps that I made conform to the skin pretty well, and there is no distortion of the skins.

Moved forward with bending the end tabs to close the end of the trim tabs. I started with the longer, inboard end, and figured I would bend the bottom first and then bend the top over it. I set it up with the wedges to clamp it in place and carefully measured the 1/32" from the end shown in the plans. Bent the bottom tab starting with a wood block and then hit it with the flush set on the rivet gun. Came out fine. Flip it over to do the top tab and since the bottom was already bent, I couldn't align the support wedge to be 1/32" from the end - best I could do was closer to 1/8". Well, not much I can do about that now so set the block as close to the end as I could and bent the top tab. It came out fine, but the unbent ends are extending quite a bit past the close out tab. Maybe I can trim those tabs a little and clean it up later - we're talking 1/16th of an inch, but it is noticeable.

Set up to bend the second tab, and this time decided I should set the wedge and do the two bend simultaneously to avoid resetting the wedge. Also, decide to use the double sided tape on the wedge called for in the plans - don't know why I didn't do it the first time. Set the wedge at the 1/32" from the end and clamped it. Started bending the bottom tab with a block, then bent the top tab. Then finished the bottom tab with the rivet gun, then finished the top tab with the gun. Came out much better. Looks like I have another part that I might consider redoing if the right side turns out a lot better. There are things you get to practice on the practice kits, but most things the first realy practice is on the plane. I guess that is why so many people build a second plane.

Got the trim tab all cleco'd together and match drilled the end tabs. Also match drilled the trim cable attach brackets. I didn't see in the plans where it said to actually final drill the skin to spar holes, but the next step says to disassemble and deburr, so I figure I was suppose to final drill those already - I did it.

Almost ready for the proseal session. Just need to deburr and dimple the trim tab.

[update] Asked Tech Counselor about the extensions of the skins past the tabs. He said people typically file them down. I did that and they look a lot better.

  Apr 10, 2021     9-13(L): Left elevator front spar riveting - (1.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Brother was in town and got to see a little bit of airplane building action. He's an A&P so I figured he's qualified to help.

We got the front spar riveted to the ribs and proceeded with the skin to spar rivets. I don't have my elevator horns so was careful not to proceed too far.

Started looking at the counterbalance and realized that I had the orientation of the skins incorrect. I was running the counterweight skin over the elevator skin, which made sense from an aerodynamics standpoint but there is no way I could have installed the rivets as shown in the plans. I see that it clearly shows the elevator skin over the counterweight skin. Looks good that way I suppose. I'll stop here before riveting just to make sure.

And my new HS spar arrived along with two tubes of proseal!

  Apr 08, 2021     9-11(L): Left elevator rib close up - (0.7 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

A quick morning session to get the blind rivets of the elevator ribs. Despite my relatively large hands, I was able to get the rivets installed without assistance. Once the ribs were in place, I could see places where the skins were not laying flat. I think this is due to slight angle variations of the flange of the rear spar. I was able to bend the flange slightly by hammering on the skin at the spar with a wood block and mallet. Came out ok.

Cleco'd the front spar on and I'm going to set this one aside for now. Will get started on the right elevator. Also need to progress the trim tabs so I can proseal at the same time as the elevator. Trim tabs should be a good project with my dad while he's here this weekend.

I did notice that I got a pretty large mark from the flush rivet set on the top skin. I was trying to not mark the portion of the skin aft of the spar as I bent it up to buck the spar rivets and was intentionally shifting the flush set a bit forward on the spar. I guess I had one a little too far and marked the skin with the flush set just forward if the spar. Nothing the paint shop can't fix, but it is my first big ding in a skin.

Also have noticed some surface corrosion on the outside of the skins. I'm pretty sure it is from some acid etch that didn't get rinsed thoroughly from the skin. Lesson learned to be more careful to rinse both sides of the skin. It will all scuff out.

  Apr 07, 2021     9-11(L): Left elevator assembly - (2.0 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Back riveted the elevator ribs to the skins and back riveted the trim access plate doubler. Cleco'd the rear spar in place and riveted to each of the ribs and installed the clip angles. Realized that somewhere along the way I missed that the holes in the E-921 gussets were supposed to be upsized to #30. I did go back and confirm. Also missed the dimpling of the in board rib for the skins. Took care of both and carried on.

Bucked the top skin to rear spar rivets. There were a bit of a pain. Then flipped it over and cleco'd the bottom skin in place and used the special bucking bar to get the bottom skin rivets. Was a little apprehensive about these but they came out great. Did have to drill out a couple that were sitting a bit proud but they re-bucked no problem.

  Apr 07, 2021     9-10(L): Left elevator assembly - (1.0 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

Didn't get any work done last night so got out in the this morning before work. Got the tip ribs dimpled and riveted together. Then put the counterweight skin on and riveted. It was a tough fit and actually had to ream a couple holes slightly so they would sit flush. Still anxious about squareness and alignment of these tips.

Moved on the the forward spar and installed the doubler plates and associated nut plates. Finished with the in board rib and snap bushing. A good morning's work.

  Apr 05, 2021     9-8(L) & 9-9(L): Left elevator dimpling - (2.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Dimpled the skins and substructure of the left elevator. Counter sunk the rear spar holes at the trim tab hinge. I should have countersunk these prior to painting. I used a little primer in a q-tip to touch up the holes, easy peazy.

When I primed the skins, I failed to mask off the trailing edge or the areas where the foam ribs get glued. So before dimpling I sanded off the primer in those areas.

I also realized as I was priming that I had prepped and acid etched some surfaces that were not meant to be primed like the outer portion of the trim cable access plate and the outer surface of the counterweight skin. Since I had etched it, I need to prime it to protect it but I don't really want the green on the outside of the airplane. I still have a little bit of the gray tester paint from Stewart. I mixed up less than an ounce of it and sprayed those parts. It won't look bad at all. So nice to have such an easy clean up product. I would never have mixed such a small quantity of epoxy paint.

  Apr 04, 2021     9-7(L): Left elevator priming - (4.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

I decide to go forward with just one elevator at a time with intent of getting one a few days ahead of the other to stagger the proseal work.

Not a lot of photos today, but a ton of work. Most of it was the less glamorous part of building. Took apart the cleco'd elevator and deburred all of the holes. Then clean and etch in preparation for priming.

Priming is getting better. Very happy with the results, but also getting much better at getting good coverage without wasting paint. Everything came out great and I finally took a break to take a photo.

  Apr 04, 2021     9-16 & 9-17: Trim tab prep work - (1.2 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Built the brake for final bending of the trim tab trailing edges from 2x8s and probably more hinges than it needed. Maybe I got lucky, but the hinges all fell in line easily and it actually works well.

Cut the remaining trim tab clamps and wedges for bending the close out tabs.

Did some other miscellaneous fabrication of some trim tab parts. Rough cut on band saw and finished on the belt sander. Clamped a pair back to back on the sander so they would match perfectly. So nice to have good tools.

Purchases: Lowes TE Brake supplies

  Apr 03, 2021     9-16: Prep for trim tabs - (0.8 hour)       Category: 9: Elevators

Looking ahead in the plans, I realize that I will need to proseal the foam ribs into the trim tabs. I'll need to start on the tabs to get them to the same state as the elevator to make the most of my proseal sessions.

A little anxious about the trim tabs as it seems people have trouble. I need to fabricate the trim tab clamps and wedges. I also need to get some 2x8s to make the brake for final bending the trailing edge.

This morning I just made the foam rib templates. I printed them full-size from my preview plans and verified they were indeed 100% scale. Then spray mounted them to the foam blocks supplied in the kit. Rough cut them on the band saw and then sanded to the line on belt sander and block sanded by hand. Got them all knocked out pretty quickly.

Used the dimensions for the clamp shown in the plans to rough out what the wedge dimensions should be. These trim tab close out bends seem to be what trips people up.

  Apr 02, 2021     9-7: Finish final drilling skins - (1.2 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Got the right elevator skins final drilled. Nothing special, just a lot of clecos again. I did have my helper for a bit.

I think I will pause here, disassemble and prime everything.

  Apr 01, 2021     9-7: TE wedges and Final drilling skins - (2.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Cut the trailing edge wedges for each elevator and got them cleco'd in place. The elevator trailing edges were very rigid then, and I match drilled the holes in the trim tab close outs. Everything looks pretty good so far. Good alignment on trailing edge.

Next, final drilled the skins on the left elevator. Started in the middle of the spars and worked my way putting a cleco in every hole. A lot of clecos. I'll need to finish off the left elevator entirely so I can harvest clecos for the right side.

I had to skip the step for elevator horn installation because those parts are still back-ordered. I think I can go pretty far without them.

Prepped the trim cable cover plates and installed the steel cable guides.

I'll have to put the left elevator to the side and start on the right side.

  Mar 31, 2021     9-4 thru 9-6: Elevator skeleton and skins - (3.1 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Deburred hinge reinforcement plates and cleco'd to spar. Cut the trim cable hole with the uni-bit. Deburred the rear spar and cleco'd all of the ribs and spars to the skins and to each other. Installed the E-1022 clips - reread that several times to see what they were trying to say about the orientation. Wasn't a big deal. All of these operations involved flipping the elevator over to access clecos from either side. Flipped it probably four times.

Deburred and cleco'd the trim access reinforcement plates and installed the E-921 gusset angles.

Now cleco'd the previously assembled tip rib assembly. I've read others having trouble with squareness of the tip in the final elevator. I can easily see how it could get slightly crooked. There are just a few common holes in the skin to hold it all square. I checked with a framing square top and bottom to try to keep it square and un-twisted before final drilling the tip to the spar. I'll have to keep a close eye on this when it's time to final drill the skins.

Cleco'd the top skin onto the elevators and called it a night.

I'm doing everything simultaneously on the left and right rudder so every task is times two. Went quicker than I thought though. I'm going to run out of work if I don't get my new HS spar soon. I have some proseal in that order too. I have another dreaded trailing edge in my near future - two actually.

  Mar 30, 2021     9-3: More elevator skins - (1.5 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Just a little work tonight. Finished the trim tab bends on the other two skins and got all of the skins deburred. Also deburred the elevator spars and hinge attach reinforcement plates in preparation of the next step.

Purchases: HF Hand seamer, air tool fittings; Autozone 1/4" torque wrench

  Mar 29, 2021     9-3: Elevator skins and trim tab bend - (1.3 hours)       Category: 9: Elevators

Ben asked if we could do some work in the garage before bed. So I thought he could help with removing vinyl from the elevator skins. After he went to bed I kept working and got two skins done and got the trim tab close outs bent. Clamped it against the workbench and used a combination of wood block, rubber mallet, and flush set rivet gun. First one came out just ok. Second was actually pretty good.