I made a bending brake per Van’s instructions. Used a straight 2x8 and door hinges. I then bent the right elevator to the final radius. Checked the elevator with straight edge. Looks good.
Also laid out the components for the left elevator.
Dick helped me rivet the right elevator stiffeners. We back riveted all except the rivets right next to the trailing edge. There was not enough room to get the rivet gun in the folded skin to access those rivets. We ended up buck riveting them. Had to drill out about four […]
Clecoed and drilled all skin and stiffner holes. Dimpled stiffners, skin and ribs. Cut counterbalance weights to size.
Cut and trimmed elevator stiffeners for the right side of elevator.
Riveted the rudder skin. Squeezed most rivets and bucked the balance.
Installed reinforcement plates on spar. Installed counterbalance rib. Riveted counterbalance skin.
I have been quite concerned about how I was going to countersink the holes in the R916 trailing edge stiffner. I spent all morning building wooden fisture and clamped it to my drillpress. The fixture positioned the topside of the wedgeshape stiffner at a right angle with the drill bit. And it keeps […]
Finished dimpling all remaining holes in the skin, spar, and ribs. Dick and I used the DRDT-2 for most holes but some were too confined so we had to use our homemade vicegrip squeezer.
I did not have a die set for the two #10 holes in the counterbalance rib R 912. […]
Clecoed rudder skins on the skeleton and match drilled the remaining holes including the 916 trailing edge. Removed clecoes and deburred holes.
Fabricated the 918 attaching strips.
Trimmed and finished the rudder brace, R710.
Clecoed 904 to 902, enlarged the .125 hole to 3/8″ with unibit.
Fabricated 917 shim–twice. I was not happy with the holes in my first effort. Not a big problem as it is only a small piece of aluminum. Glad Van sent some extra sheet material. Having Dick’s sheet metal sheer sure came […]