Feb 07, 2024     Sand Vert Stab & Rudder Tips - (2.5 hours)       Category: Empennage

Added more balsa and did more sanding on the Vert Stab and Rudder Tips.

  Feb 06, 2024     Sand Vert Stab & Rudder Tips - (.75 hour) Category: Empennage

More sanding of the balsa Vert Stab & Rudder tips.

  Feb 05, 2024     Forming Vert Stab Tip in Balsa - (.5 hour)       Category: Empennage

Bond more balsa to the Vert Stab Tip.

  Feb 02, 2024     Apply 3rd Coat of Varnish to Access Cover Foreward Bulkhead - (.1 hour) Category: Empennage

Applied the third coat of varnish to the Forward Bulkhead Access Cover.

  Feb 01, 2024     Apply 2nd Coat of Varnish to Access Cover Foreward Bulkhead - (.25 hour)       Category: Empennage

Applied the second coat of varnish to the Forward Bulkhead Access Cover.

  Jan 31, 2024     Apply 1st Coat of Varnish to Access Cover Foreward Bulkhead - (.5 hour) Category: Empennage

Applied the first coat of varnish to the Forward Bulkhead Access Cover.

  Jan 30, 2024     Bond Access Cover mounting brackets - (1.75 hours)       Category: Empennage

Bonded and riveted all six Access Cover brackets to Ribs and Forward Access Cover Bulkhead. Also a bit of time sanding the balsa Rudder and Vert Stab tips.

  Jan 29, 2024     Finalize Access Cover mounting brackets and fittings - (4 hours)       Category: Empennage

Finished fabricating all six Access Cover brackets. All were drilled and mounted to the Vert Stab Ribs and the Forward Access Cover Bulkhead was trimmed slightly to final size. Prepped all surfaces for Hysol epoxy application which will be the next step to be completed.

  Jan 28, 2024     Empennage Access Cover Mounting Brackets - Begin Install - (4 hours)       Category: Empennage

Begin creating the Empennage Access Cover mounting brackets and fitting to the Vert Stab.

  Jan 28, 2024     Bond Balsa Rudder Tips - (1 hour)       Category: Empennage

Bonded the initial pieces of balsa to the tip of the Rudder and the Vert Stab using Hysol epoxy.

  Jan 27, 2024     Begin Forming Rudder Tip in Balsa - (.5 hour)       Category: Empennage

Began to fit balsa wood chunks to the Rudder Tip.

  Jan 27, 2024     Cut Bolt Access Holes on Rudder Leading Edge - (2.5 hours)       Category: Empennage

Mounted Rudder to Vert Stab and enlarged bolt access holes on Rudder Leading Edge until access holes were large enough for reasonable installation of bolts and nuts.

  Jan 26, 2024     Prepare to Cut Bolt Access Holes In Rudder Leading Edge - (.5 hour) Category: Empennage

Prepared to cut larger bolt access holes in the Rudder Leading Edge.

  Jan 25, 2024     Bond Leading Edge Fairing to Rudder - (1 hour)       Category: Empennage

Lightly sanded the inside of the Rudder Leading Edge fiberglass and wiped clean with denatured alcohol on a rag. Lightly sanded the contact area of the Rudder Ribs where the bonding will take place and cleaned with a rag. Applied 2-part Hysol epoxy adhesive to front of Ribs and slid the fiberglass Leading Edge onto the Rudder. Applied more Hysol to form fillets at the joint locations and then used masking tape to bind together and hold all tightly in place as it cures.

  Jan 22, 2024     Images of the bonded Trailing Edge Fairing       Category: Empennage

Removed the clamps and took some pictures of the bonded Trailing Edge Fairing.

Very happy with the tight fit between the fairing and metal vert stab which squeezed out the Hysol nicely giving a wide bonding surface.

  Jan 21, 2024     Bond Trailing Edge Fairing to Vert Stab - (1.25 hours)       Category: Empennage

Used Scotch Brite pad to roughen the powder coated trailing edge portion of the vertical stabilizer. Lightly sanded the contact area of the Vert Stab Ribs and the inside portion of the Vert Stab Trailing Edge fiberglass Fairing where bonding will take place. Cleaned surfaces with denatured alcohol on a rag.

Applied 2-part Hysol epoxy adhesive to the rear edge of the Vert Stab Ribs and along the rearmost section of the power coated Vert Stab and slid the fiberglass Trailing Edge onto the Vert Stab to bond them together. Applied more Hysol to form fillets all joint locations and then clamped to hold all tightly in place as it cures.

  Jan 21, 2024     Final Fit of Vert Stab & Rudder Fairings - (3.00 hours)       Category: Empennage

Final fitting and trimming of fiberglass Vertical Stabilizer Trailing Edge Fairing to fit nice and tight and be ready for bonding.

Also, did more trimming and fitting of the Rudder Leading Edge Fairing, but have not yet cut the holes necessary for accessing the Rudder hinge bolts. (which will be done later after the Vert Stab Trailing Edge Fairing adhesive has cured)

  Jan 20, 2024     Rough Fit of Vert Stab & Rudder Fairings - (5.75 hours)       Category: Empennage

Fit, trim, adjust, repeat. Many iterations of those steps to get the fiberglass Vertical Stabilizer Trailing Edge Fairing and Rudder Leading Edge Fairing to fit nicely and tightly.

  Jan 19, 2024     Apply 2nd Coat of Varnish to Rudder and Vert Stab Ribs - (.75 hour)       Category: Empennage

Applied the second coat of varnish to the Rudder and Vertical Stabilizer Ribs.

  Jan 18, 2024     Apply 1st Coat of Varnish to Rudder and Vert Stab Ribs - (3.25 hours)       Category: Empennage

Varnished the Rudder and Vertical Stabilizer Ribs and Stiffeners. This is the first coat of varnish.

  Jan 17, 2024     Hysol the final Vert Stab Rib Stiffeners - (1.75 hours)       Category: Empennage

Trimmed and Placed the final Rib Stiffeners for the Vertical Stabilizer. Added additional Hysol to previously installed Ribs and Stiffeners where needed, in the Vert Stab and Rudder.

  Jan 16, 2024     Add Longitudinal Rib Stiffeners to Vert Stab and Rudder - (3.0 hours)       Category: Empennage

Cut the various longitudinal Rib Stiffeners and fit to the Vert Stab and Rudder. Hysol them in place using masking tape to hold tightly together and in place. (did not yet add the short stiffeners running along pitch axis)

  Jan 15, 2024     Finish Gluing Vert Stab and Rudder Ribs - (3.5 hours)       Category: Empennage

Finished using Hysol epoxy to attach the last 13 (of 19) Vert Stab and Rudder Ribs in place. (next job is to Hysol on the Rib Stiffeners)

  Jan 13, 2024     Fit Vert Stab Ribs; Begin Gluing - (6.75 hours)       Category: Empennage

Measure out Rib locations on Vert Stab and Rudder. Adjust locations to line up and make even. Sand and grind Ribs to fit.

Begin gluing (Hysol) the Ribs. Completed 6 (of 19).

  Jan 10, 2024     Rudder Stops and Rudder Vert Stab Ribs - (1.25 hours)       Category: Empennage

Ground down the Rudder Stops to achieve the desired 25 degree deflection to both left and right. Unpacked the Vert Stab and Rudder ribs and removed the small bits of "separation tape" from them all. Lightly sanded each side of the ribs.

  Jan 09, 2024     Initial Mounting of Rudder - (2.25 hours)       Category: Empennage

Reamed the three Rod End Mounting Tabs on the Rudder for a tight fit. Used 1/4"x28 tap to clean out the threaded Rod End Bushings in the Vertical Stabilizer Tail Post. Threaded the Rod Ends into the Tail Post to achieve the proper Stabilizer-Rudder spacing. Mounted the Rudder to the Tail Post. Found some slight mis-alignment of the Rod Ends with the Mounting Tabs causing some unnecessary friction so bent the Mounting Tabs up/down as necessary to reduce binding.

Began measuring the angular travel limits of the Rudder and can see that some filing will be necessary to achieve the 25 degree right and left deflection called for in the instructions.

  Oct 08, 2023     Install Scissor Bracket for Elevator Trim Actuator - (1 hour)       Category: Empennage

installed the scissors bracket for the elevator trim actuator. I have no clue what purpose this mechanism provides, but I guess it keeps the actuator rod from rotating. (although it seems there would be easier ways to accomplish that)

  Oct 08, 2023     Install Elevator Trim Actuator - (4 hours)       Category: Empennage

Installed the elevator trim actuator. Had to file the tabs holding the actuator for clearance. Had to ream 2 holes on the stab (not mentioned in the instructions). Had to use Dremel cut-off wheel to wide the gap in the squeeze tube, as it wasn't wide enough to squeeze down sufficiently to grab onto the trim actuator rod/shaft.

  Oct 08, 2023     Mount Stab and Elevator - (2 hours)       Category: Empennage

Mounted the elevator and re-mounted the stabilizer (w/o nuts) to check fit.

  Sep 29, 2023     Varnish Horiz Stab and Elevator - (2 hours) Category: Empennage

Applied two coats of varnish to the horizontal stabilizer and elevator ribs.

  Sep 28, 2023     Plan Varnish Application - (.5 hour) Category: Empennage

Prepare to varnish the wood on the horiz stab and elevator (planned for tomorrow).

  Sep 28, 2023     Done Gluing and Sanding Horiz Stab & Elevator Tips - (2 hours)       Category: Empennage

Finished gluing and sanding the tips for the horizontal stabilizer and elevator.

  Sep 27, 2023     Gluing and Sanding Horiz Stab & Elevator Tips - (6 hours) Category: Empennage

Lots of hours, gluing and sanding the tips for the horizontal stabilizer and elevator.

  Sep 26, 2023     Guel Rib Stiffeners; Shape Stab & Elevator Tips - (4 hours)       Category: Empennage

Final gluing of the elevator rib stiffeners. Began shaping the stabilizer and elevator tips from balsa.

  Sep 25, 2023     Glue Elevator Ribs & Stabilzer Rib Stiffeners - (1.5 hours)       Category: Empennage

Glued the Elevator Ribs in, and added rib stiffeners to Stabilizer ribs.

  Sep 21, 2023     Prep Horiz Stab Rib Stiffeners & Glue Elevator Ribs - (3 hours)       Category: Empennage

Prepared the Horizontal Stabilizer Rib Stiffeners to fit in the locations selected, but not glued.

Began gluing the Elevator Ribs in place.

  Sep 20, 2023     Drill for Horizontal Stabilizer Trim Bearing - (1.5 hours)       Category: Empennage

Drilled the 4 top holes for the horizontal stabilizer trim nylon bearing, per plans. (bottom 4 get drilled-through later after nylon bearing is installed)

  Sep 20, 2023     Fitting Elevator Ribs - (3 hours)       Category: Empennage

Sanded the elevator ribs to get them to fit exactly where I had marked them to go to align with the horizontal stabilizer ribs.

  Sep 12, 2023     Press Elevator Bearings - (2 hours)       Category: Empennage

Pressed the 7 brass bearings into the horizontal stabilizer. Used a bolt/nut/washer to press the bearings in. Used Kitfox Toolkit Loctite RC680 bearing cement to secure.

  Sep 11, 2023     Final Gluing on Horizontal Stabilizer - (1 hour)       Category: Empennage

Performed the final bit of gluing on the horizontal stabilizer.

  Sep 10, 2023     Sand and Prep Stabilizer Ribs - (4.5 hours)       Category: Empennage

Sanded all horizontal stabilizer ribs and trimmed to fit exactly in spots specified in plans. Cleaned powder coat surfaces with denatured alcohol and used scotch brite pads to roughen. Fit all horiz stab ribs and taped in position in prep for future hysol adhesive.

  Sep 09, 2023     Glue First Stabilizer Rib - (1 hour)       Category: Empennage

Sanded and prepared first rib for horizontal stabilizer. Used Hysol dispenser gun and nozzle for first time and installed one rib.

  Aug 25, 2023     Sand Elevator Bushings - (2.0 hours)       Category: Empennage

Fit all 7 elevator bushings to their bearings. Sanded the steel bushing to reduce diameter to fit the brass bearings.

  Aug 24, 2023     Reaming - Horizontal Stabilizer and Elevator - (2 hours)       Category: Empennage

Reamed the horizontal stab and elevator. Had to grind hex shape onto end of reamers (which came with the optional kitfox "toolkit" that I purchased) to be able to turn the reamers with a wrench. Had to buy wobble socket extension to allow use of electric drill at a slight angle due to clearance issues.