Jul 12, 2023     Rudder Skin - (2 hours)       Category: Empennage

Working on bending the leading edge over without creasing the skin. Takes a lot of effort.
With Kelly's help, we managed to get the edges together, holes lined up, and clecos inserted. Then I drilled a new hole between each pair of holes.
Ready for the blind rivets - I don't have enough so I have to order more. I get so tired of paying shipping on small orders.
With the middle section ready for rivets, I put the rudder skin aside to allow my hand/wrists to recover before doing the last section of leading edge.
Started the process of building doublers for the "black boxes" on the instrument sub-panel.

  Jul 11, 2023     Rudder Skin - (5 hours)       Category: Empennage

Finished up with the 1st side - that is, after drilling out the rivets on the bottom and taking the R-716 Rudder Bottom Attach Strip from outside the R-704 Bottom Rib and putting it in it's proper location on the inside of the Bottom Rib. Then I put the RTV daubs at the trailing edge of the stiffeners and proceeded to rivet the other side. It went quicker this time since I didn't have to correct the R-716 but did it right the first time.
The next part was to bend the leading edge. I had already bent the small upper section before riveting the skin on and that was the right thing to do. Bending the main sections is hard! Previously I had thought that you don't need a lot of strength to build this plane, just patience and smarts. I was wrong. Making that leading edge bend and not causing a crease is hard work, hard on the fingers and wrists. After a long time of what seemed to be little or no progress, I got Kelly out there and she clecoed while I held the sections together. I am going to drill more holes for the closing clocoes (like the person who did the original skin did but that is something for another day.

  Jul 09, 2023     Rudder Reskin - (4 hours)       Category: Empennage

Spent the time back riveting on the stiffeners. One of the rivets stuck up the tiniest bit. Rather than saying, yeah, close enough. I drilled it out and made it worse. Still working on it

  Jul 08, 2023     Rudder Skin - (8 hours)       Category: Empennage

Long day of dimpling. All of the holes on the rudder skin (except for a few) had to be dimpled. Got most of them but had to get Kelly out there for some of the holes on the inside near the fold of the rudder skin. Since this is an RV-8 rudder, it is one piece folded over versus the RV-7's two rudder skin pieces.
Then I primed the inside of the rudder skin.
Finally, I started to back rivet the stiffeners onto the skin. I was able to get 4 of them riveted on. I might actually run out of 3-3 rivets and have to order more.

  Jul 07, 2023     Rudder Skin - (8 hours)       Category: Empennage

I have to replace the rudder skin because at one point it was dropped and the trailing edge got dented. If it happened on a flying airplane, would I reskin it? I don't know but it isn't flying and it has every right to be perfect when it is done.
I drilled out all of the rivets holding the skin to the rudder skeleton. I had purchased new angle to make the rudder stiffeners but realized I didn't get enough. Out of the 8 stiffeners on each side, I got one of 6 of them and doubles only for 2 of them. I thought I could order more through Vans but then I realized that I could reuse the stiffeners that were on the old rudder skin. So I carefully drilled out the rivets holding the stiffeners that I needed; and then I thought, these look just fine - I could actually drill out the rest and not have to cut any new stiffeners. So I did. Now I am at the point of dimpling, priming and then back riveting the stiffeners followed by putting the skin back on the skeleton.

  Jan 28, 2023     Elevator Trim - (3 hours) Category: Empennage

Took the elevator to connect a longer wire to the RobAllen Trim. I removed the trim motor, wired up a 24AWG conductor to the existing pigtail, and then resecured the trim motor in the elevator. For the moment, the wire is attached to the trim motor. I am thinking I will make a Molex connector for that 5-wire conductor. My plan is to build the connector for the Pitch GSA 28 and then run the associated wires forward and the trim wires to the tail. That way, I won't have to sit in the fuselage wiring that connector. Ready to cut the canopy - that is scary!

  Nov 14, 2021     Review - (4 hours)       Category: Empennage

Reviewed vertical stabilizer and rudder construction. Began to review fuselage construction. Missing the brake plate on the firewall - F-601TD.
Assembled the control stick assembly