Elevator on the Home Stretch!

I told you I'd let you know how the issue went with the CB skin to the right elevator skin and alignment issues with the sub-structure. I had previously riveted the 4 holes, 2 top and 2 bottom, which helps you avoid using pull rivets later. Afterward, I was seeing alignment issues with some of my holes when putting a few clecos in through the skin to the substructure. The simple solution is to put clecos in ALL holes, that way, they are all lined up. Then, pull one cleco at a time and shoot a rivet. As you go, you shouldn't have any alignment issues. Little by little, the clecos pull everything into place when you put them all in. You can't just muscle this AND drive rivets at the same time. You might have to work on wiggling a few rivets in here and there but they should go in pretty well. Using clecos every second or third hole sometimes just doesn't do the job. There ya go! Give it a try if you're struggling with alignment issues next time.

Sunday, September 16 - Today saw only a couple hours work on the right elevator. I clecoed the right skin onto the substructure then proceeded to rivet the assembly. While final attaching the CB weight, I realized I had forgotten to trim the weight per the plans. Well, once it's in place, you cannot remove the weight because of the countersinks and dimpling, which keep the weight in place and from moving. Though not an arduous task, it's just a pain in the butt to fabricate while in place. So, I marked the measurements on the weight and began cutting. Same thing here as when you drilled the holes for the weight, LUBE! I started with a hacksaw and just kept lubing the area and things went pretty well. My hacksaw couldn't exactly fit in the area against the CB skin as it was too wide. I got as close to the line as possible then put a lot of tape on the skin and pulled out the jig saw and finished as closely as possible. I then took a flat, metal file to clean up the flat areas then I took a rat-tail file to round the inside corner. I think that, for my goof, things turned out pretty well. After that, I secured the weight in place. I still need to get the nuts torqued and apply some torque seal on them.

CB Weight in Place and Trimmed

Day Total: 2.2 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 124.7 hrs

Sunday, September 23 - Today, I started on making a jig for bending the tabs on the left elevator. There are 2 tabs that require bending then riveting. They act like a rib at that point of the structure when finished. Right next to this area is where the trim tab will fit so you want to get the bending right the first time. You're to use the trailing edge of the elevator, where the trim tab attaches, as your line to mark the perpendicular location to mark the elevator tab bending points. I have heard of builders working on the trim tab first to get the hang of the bending process so if they screw it up, it's cheaper to purchase a new tab than a new elevator skin, and all subsequent parts as you've already riveted everything together. Then, you'd have practice building two before moving to the elevator tabs.

I decided to approach this head on and follow the plans. I have confidence in my creativity and mechanical skills to follow the directions and do a reasonably decent job with the construction. First, I put the trim spar in place to determine the height of the widest area of the tab distance then measured the narrowest, tapered end to get the angle. Then I got a piece of MDF and cut the angle. The remaining piece of the cut I trimmed so I'd be able to clamp it to the bench. You should use a double-sided tape on all of the wood surfaces to keep them from sliding while bending the tabs. I went with a thin, foam tape with a high adhesion factor to make sure things wouldn't slip. This turned out not to be the best idea as the tape kind of "spreads" because of the thickness of the foam itself. If I were to do this again, I'd get a solid tape, not a foam tape to prevent this. I still need to work on the trim tab so I'll get a different tape for that bend.

I got the foam tape in place and clamped to the bench then proceeded to use a small block of wood to bend the lower tab first. You're supposed to bend the upper tab down over the lower to minimize the possibility of water entering the area. I took my rivet gun and started using it against the block against the tab, slowly bending it down (down because you're working on the elevator with the bottom side up first). Then I ran the gun against the tab, back and forth, making sure it was nice and flat and straight. I was satisfied with that so I removed the outer block, put new tape on it, flipped the elevator over so it was right-side-up. I put the block on the other side and proceeded to bend the top tab down over the bottom tab with the same process as the bottom. I'm not too worried here with imperfections on the face of the tabs as it will all be painted later and cleaned up pretty well. Now I just need to see how well I hit the bend lines when I put the trim tab in place. Crossing my fingers.

Jig Pieces Cut For Bending Elevator Trim Tabs

The Wedge Piece Without Tape. The Bottom
Edge Lines Up With the Marked Line

Test Fit of The Wedge in Place (No Tape Yet)

The Clamping Piece Before Tape & Trimming

After the tabs were bent, I proceeded to cleco and rivet the elevator sub-structure together. I first started with assembling the E-703 end rib and E-704 counterbalance rib. Then I assembled the E-610PP and E-611PP spar reinforcement plates with their respective platenuts. After that came the E-705 left root rib to the E-702 spar assembly, making sure the flush-head rivets were facing forward. This allows the elevator horn to sit flush over the assembly and not hitting any rivets. Next came the riveting of the E-703/704 assembly to the spar. After that I riveted the WD-605-1-L elevator horn to the E-702/705 assembly. Then, I cleco'd the CB skin to the elevator skin with the 2 rivets top and bottom. After the skins were connected, I put the CB weight in place to put the bolts in to hold it in place loosely. STOP!! I just realized at this point that when I drilled the weights previously, I had this weight inserted into its location incorrectly. UGH! Okay, I just re-drilled the holes in the correct location. Now, what to do with the other 2 holes. Simple! I took two flat head wood screws the same diameter of the holes, I ground the heads flat on the left and right sides so they wouldn't interfere with the countersinks of the adjacent holes (they're pretty close together). I cut the screws to length so they wouldn't extend past the thickness of the weight. I whipped up a little batch of JB Weld and smeared the screw shanks with it then inserted them and made sure they were seated well. They're lighter than the lead they're inserted into but it's better than leaving the holes empty or inserting a wood dowel or something. I think the difference in weight will be negligible. I stopped here to let the epoxy harden. Plus, it's been consistently in the 90s here all week, making work in the ACME garage uncomfortable. 

E-611PP Reinforcement Plate with Platenut

Manufactured Side of Rivet Assembly of E-611PP

My Correction of Mis-Drilled CB Weight Holes

CB Weight in Place After Correction

Inside of CB Weight with Screw "Plugs"

I've been trying to get to a local EAA chapter (Chapter 49, Lancaster, CA) meeting and, for the past several months, kept missing it, for one reason or another. I've been trying to attend to meet and get to know tech counselors so I can find out how my work is measuring up. I found that a co-worker, in his younger days, was an A&P and I mentioned to him my project. I encouraged me to bring in a couple parts and that he'd be thrilled to take a look. SO, I took my VS and rudder in and had him give them the once, twice and thrice look-over! He said my work looked really clean and pretty good. The only suggestion he had for me was to squeeze my #40 rivets a little more. I checked the gauge I've been using and I think it's a little undersized for what it should be measuring. It's right at about 9/64ths and it should be between that and 5/32nds. You know, 1.5 times the width of the diameter of the shank (for a #3 rivet in this case). So, I measured everything and I'm now starting to use my calipers to double-check my work. I'd like to extend a BIG thanks to Bruce for his assistance, encouragement and support!!! I feel much better about my work now and know what to pay closer attention to. He even encouraged me to call him up when help is needed for bucking. I'll be taking you up on that soon Bruce!

Hey all, as always, Take Care and Thanks for Reading!

Day Total: 3.3 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 128.0 hrs

Elevators - Figure-8s & Being Creative

Monday, September 3 - Today was a simple day of deburring, dimpling and cleaning the right elevator parts and preparing them for priming. Ordinarily, this simple little process can be a mind-numbing one. However, this is such a small number of parts and it doesn't really take that long. That said, I tend to get a little impatient at times and rush some things. A perfect example would be instead of switching tools when dimpling gets into tight areas, I tried to keep going with the pneumatic squeezer and I created a figure-8. For those of you unfamiliar with what that is, it's where you are supposed to put the pin (male die) of your dimple set into the flat hole then squeeze the trigger of your pneumatic squeezer and you then have a dimpled hole. Well, a figure-8 is where you basically rush the process and miss that hole and punch a new hole right next to the one you were supposed to dimple in the first place, making the hole look like a figure-8. This is ONE of the MOST irritating, annoying, aggravating (you pick an adjective) thing to do. This happened  in the rib flange of the left elevator tip rib.

Figure-8 That is in the Process of Being Cleaned Up

The picture above shows my mistake in the process of being cleaned up. Here, I have already flattened the offending hole, which you see as what appears to be a blemish. The nice, round hole is where the dimple die was supposed to go and as you can see, I missed it by 1/8 of an inch. The space was a little too tight for my pneumatic squeezer but I felt I could get it done. Well, apparently not! I should have put it on the "hammer dimple" jig. That is a jig that has a countersunk hole in it. You put the hole to be dimpled over the hole on the bar, insert the male die and WHACK IT with a hammer a couple blows and it creates the dimple. The bar that's used is about 1/4" thick, which will usually fit in the area that needs dimpling. So, at that point I said I'd fix it later and move on. I pressed on and wanted to finish all the prepping for the right elevator. As I moved on, I approached the elevator skin an started dimpling it. Everything was going well, then BAM! I did it again !! I've been so very careful as to NOT do this during the entire project. I said it would not happen to me. Well, I did it twice within 1/2 hour. I had no clue as to how I was going to repair these. I went ahead and finished, slowly!

UGH! These Are UGLY, & Very Painful to See!

Flattening the Offending Hole with the Squeezer

Flattened & Ready For Repair

I stopped here for the evening so I could decompress and think about and research the best way to repair these 2 figure-8s.

Day Total 2.4 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 112.7 hrs

Wednesday, September 5 - Okay, I figured out what to do about my inadvertent mishaps. First, I flattened them out, as seen in the previous post by using a pneumatic squeezer and 2 flat dies. If you happen to do this, another option is using your rivet gun with a mushroom set on your rivet back plate. If you're unable to reach the hole with a rivet gun, you can use a flat piece of steel bar and slip it in and put it on the hole and use the rivet gun as close to the hole as possible, on the bar, flattening the spot out. Be creative.

Next was to re-dimple the holes, properly. After I accomplished that, the right way, I was still left with how to fill those holes. I've read where, depending on the hole and where it is, sometimes you can get by with leaving it alone. If it's a structural hole, that would concern me. You might end up with having to get a new part to replace it and do it again, WITHOUT the figure-8, of course! A little research lead me to JB Weld! You can get this stuff at most any home improvement store. I happened to purchase mine at Lowes. So, I mixed up a little batch and filled the holes using vinyl gloves and was very careful not to let it interfere with how a rivet will sit in the hole when finished. Everything turned out well and all looks good. I trust it will hold.

This is the Tip Rib Flange, Fixed & Filled.

This is the Right Elevator Skin, Fixed & Filled

I also finished the priming of all the parts for the right elevator tonight.

Day Total: 0.7 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 113.4 hrs

Friday, September 7 - Tonight I cleco'd all the parts for the left elevator and match-drilled all the holes, then dimpled and countersunk the screw holes in the CB skin and the CB weight.

This is the Right Elevator Parts But the Process
is the Same for the Left Side

Day Total: 2.7 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 116.1 hrs

Sunday, September 9 - Tonight, I primed all the parts for the left elevator.

Left Elevator Parts, Primed & Drying

Day Total: 1.0   HOBBS Meter - 117.1 hrs

Monday, September 10 - Tonight I did some touch-up priming and a little more dimpling. No pictures though. You've seen that stuff before and it can be boring.

Day Total: 0.7 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 117.8 hrs

Tuesday, September 11 - Two major things are recognized today. First, Happy Birthday Dad! Yes, it's his 73rd birthday today and he doesn't look a day over 71! Haha, just kidding Dad! Seriously, this guy is kicking strong and enjoys all kinds of activities. He got to visit me a few weeks ago and though we didn't work on the project, we will have a chance soon, I'm sure. He loves to work around the house and play Mr. Fixit, as well as fishing and kayaking. Have fun today Dad!

The other major event to day is to Never Forget 9/11! Today is the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation. 

Never Forget!

Today, the task was dimpling the E-606PP trim spar on the top and bottom to accept the dimples for the E-701 elevator skin. After that, I dimpled the aft side of the face of the trim spar (you can do either side here per the plans) for flush rivets. I chose the aft side as it looked like it would be easier with the tools to set the rivets. Next, dimpling was done on the E-705 left elevator root rib to the E-702 left elevator spar.

I also worked on the the electric elevator trim mechanism assembly. The kit comes standard with a manual elevator trim but I chose the option of an electric elevator trim. This makes things much easier and according to Van's, no weight is added by using this option, compared to the manual trim. First, I marked the location on the E-616PP trim cover plate for the EET-602-B left and right z channel servo support brackets.

Bracket Locations Marked for the Trim Servo

Then I drilled/match-drilled for the #40 holes for riveting the brackets to the cover plate and followed that up with dimpling the parts. Next is to clean, scuff and clean again, then prime those parts.

Drilling for the Z Brackets

Brackets Drilled & Ready for Prep, Prime & Rivets

Elevator Trim Servo as it will Look in Place

Day Total: 1.5 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 119.3 hrs

Wednesday, September 12 - Tonight I worked to assemble the right elevator. First though, I cleaned, scuffed, then cleaned again then primed the E-616PP trim cover plate and the two z channel servo support brackets. Next, I riveted the two z brackets to the cover plate then loosely put the servo in place with it's screws. I set the cover plate with the servo aside for later.

Next I riveted the E-703 end rib to the E-704 CB rib. After that was riveting the E-610PP and E-611PP spar reinforcement plates to the E-702 spar along with the associated platenuts. These are for the rod end bearings which is how the elevators attach to the horizontal stabilizer.  Next was riveting the E-703/704 parts to the E-702 spar. After that, I riveted the WD-605-1-L elevator horn in place to the spar and E-705 root rib. Take your time with these elevator hors as the horn is a very tight fit to the spar and root rib. Make sure they line up well before drilling and riveting.

E-611PP Reinforcement Plate with Platenut,
Shop Head Side

Elevator Horn Riveted in Place

I stopped here as I need to dimple the skin in a few places to match the CB skin. I missed a couple previously. I'll have to rivet the skins together in a couple places before putting the skeleton in place. This eliminates the need for using blind rivets.

Day Total: 2.0 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 121.3 hrs

Friday, September 14 - Tonight I worked on the right elevator. I was working to prepare all the parts for both right and left elevators so assembly could be done simultaneously but that is nearly impossible. The only thing that is advantageous is priming all the parts at the same time. If you're using a 2-part epoxy primer, I can see the advantage of prep and cleanup. However, I am using a self-etching, rattle-can primer so it doesn't really matter to try and batch parts together. Sometimes it works, but not often.

Tonight I riveted the E-713 CB skin to the E-701 right elevator skin with 2 rivets on each side per the plans. As mentioned before, by doing this now, I'll eliminate the need for doing these later using blind rivets, keeping a nice, clean profile. Next I put the CB weight in place and inserting the screws (loosely, no nuts right now). This just holds it in place. Then I put the skeleton in place and cleco'd it. I'm ready to rivet but I stopped here as I have some hole alignment issues. I want to think about this a little bit and maybe play with the parts later to see if they just need some wiggling or, and I really hope this isn't the case, if maybe I mixed up the 2 CB skins and I have the wrong one in place. It wouldn't be a huge issue as mush as it would be a pain in the butt. I'd only have to drill out 4 rivets. I'll let you know how this went later.

Look Closely & You'll See the Rib Hole
Out of Alignment

Another Shot of the Alignment Issues
on the CB Skin to Rib

That's all for now and I apologize for getting so behind again. I don't know how some of these guys do it, keeping up with their posts and blogs more regularly than I'm able to. I must have WAY too many things to do to keep up. Yeah, that MUST be it! Hey, Take Care and Thanks For Reading!

Day Total: 1.2 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 122.5 hrs

Elevator, Going Up or Down?

Another busy day in Aircraft Construction & Manufacturing Enterprise (ACME) garage! I always wanted to use that acronym for my build.

Today, I started by dimpling all the left elevator parts. I had forgotten this step earlier, but no worries, the primer I'm using, SEM self-etching primer, works well when dimpling after having primed then letting it dry. It doesn't chip, break or damage in any way, which I really like. So, after dimpling all the stiffeners, skin and E-615 reinforcement plate, I moved on to dimpling the #6 screw holes in the reinforcement plate.

#6 Dimples Added for Platenuts
& Standard Rivet Dimples

These dimples sit in the platenuts and receive the cover plate, which will be dimpled as well. I've seen some builders machine countersink the rivet holes for the platenuts but you have to be EXACT on them or you risk countersinking too deeply, expanding the size of the hole itself. I tried to do this on one and was very uncomfortable with the result. This is not a structural rivet and only for the platenuts which will hold the access cover plate. The machine countersink holes, if done right and done well, leave a very nice, very flush rivet when completed. Yeah, like I said, this is only for a cover plate and they'll be covered up anyway and you won't see them when the plane is sitting on a ramp. Additionally, this will not be a show plane. This plane will be for recreation and FUN! So, I went back to dimpling these holes. The reason I believe some people don't like this is that if you dimple those holes, you also need to dimple the platenuts as well. I agree that dimpling platenuts isn't the best idea, but again, it's just for holding an access plate. You have to take your female dimple die and shave an angle on it so it will fit in the corner of the platenut in order for you to dimple it. So, this is the way I went. The flush rivets don't look bad.

Next I riveted the E-615PP access reinforcement plate to the skin, then backriveted the stiffeners. After that, bending. I brought out the bending brake and took care of the business of bending the right elevator. The bend went very smoothly and looks very good. I think I'm liking the additional 1/8" space that I added to the brake.

E-615PP Riveted in Place With Its Platenuts

The Skin View of all Set Rivets. Looks Good!

Right Elevator After the Bending Process

I clecoed the E-610PP and E-611PP reinforcement plates to the E-702 spar and match-drilled them. After that, I fluted the E-703 end ribs and E-704 counterbalance ribs. Once they were fluted, they were clecoed to the spar and match-drilled. This completed, they were removed from the spar. Next up, working with the counterbalance. At this point, I'm working the two elevators together where I can to expedite some of the building.

Basically, you cleco the E-714 CB skin to the E-703 and E-704 ribs then slide the weight into position. Make sure you remove the vinyl first to make this easier.

Clecoing the CB Skin to Ribs

This is Where the Weight Goes 

The Weight Being Slid Into Its Position

The Weight Fully in Position 

Once the weight is in place, make sure the ridge on the weight is seated firmly against the skin. In other words, slide the weight into place as far as it will go.

This is the Weight in as Far as it Will Go

After that, in an upright position, I clamped the exposed weight to the workbench. This made the holes for the screws point to the ceiling. Now it's time to drill the #12 holes for the screws.

CB Assembly in Position for Drilling.
Use Lube! I Can't Stress This Enough.

MAKE SURE YOU USE LUBE WHEN DRILLING! If you are using a new drill bit, which, at this stage of the build, you probably are, this bit will want to chew its way through very quickly. Without lube, it will be very difficult as the lead is very dense and the bit will bind quickly. The lube helps the cut lead slide up the drill bit and out making things go much more quickly, smoothly and easily. Now, When drilling, go S-L-O-W. Don't force the drill. Let the drill do the cutting by itself. You'll actually need to keep the drill from going to quickly as it will still have a tendency to bind up if you let it. I had to hold the drill back and not let it rip into the lead too quickly. As it was, it still wanted to bind a bit, even with the lube. Stop and with your hand, reverse the chuck, unless you have a reversible drill, and pull it out. Add a little more lube then go back at it. you should be able to drill all 4 holes in about five minutes or so. I used Boelube for this process. It works very well and is excellent for other lube situations as well.

Boelube to Start the Drilling

Continue Adding Lube as You Drill

Viola! Nice Clean #12 Holes

Once I was done with drilling, I unclecoed the E-713 CB skin, releasing the counterweight. I made sure to mark the weights, right and left, then set them aside. I re-clecoed the CB skin back on then clecoed this final assembly onto the E-702 spar. After that was done, I clecoed the E-709 root rib to the spar and final drilled it to #40. Next, I clecoed the skin onto the understructure. Like the rudder, the main skin lays on top of the CB skin. I beveled the CB skin with the ScotchBrite wheel at the 2 locations on either side of the elevator where the skins overlap on top of the spar. Again, this is to minimize the bulge created by the CB skin pushing up on the elevator skin. This will make a cleaner appearance. Next, I removed the clecos holding the E-709 root rib from the spar and clecoed the WD-605-1R elevator horn in place and match-drilled it to the spar and root rib with a #30. The holes don't line up exactly and you have to fuss with it a bit, which I did and was eventually successful. After that, I match-drilled all the holes in the skin to the structure. Once that was completed, I disassembled the entire elevator.

Right Elevator, Drilled, Ready for Dis-Assembly

One last thing, after I disassembled the elevator, I took care of dimpling the E-713 CB skin for the screws that will hold the CB weight in place. In addition, I machine countersunk the weight itself to accept the skins dimpling.

The Weight Machine Countersunk & the
CB Skin Dimpled for the #12 Screws

Awe, It Fell Apart. Time for Deburr, Etc.

Now, Rinse, Later, Repeat! Yep, you got it, edge clean, deburr, deburr, deburr, clean and prime. I'm about half way with the deburring. I'll complete that then on to cleaning, priming and assembling. Take Care and Thanks For Reading!

Day Total: 6.1 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 110.3 hrs

Elevator Continued

Tonight's fun and frivolity consisted of scuffing the left elevator stiffeners, the E-615PP trim reinforcement plate and the left elevator skin, then cleaning and priming all these parts. There wasn't really much tonight. I used a Dremel-like tool, procured from the aviation aisle at Costco, to break some of the edges on the reinforcement plate. I'm not too thrilled with the results as the best thing it has to offer is a sanding drum, which I feel is a little too rough for cleaning edges on most pieces. I've seen where other builders will make their own tool for their Dremel tools using ScotchBrite material. Just get a bunch of ScotchBrite at Lowes, or Homer's if you prefer, then cut your pieces out and stack them together in whatever diameter size you desire, then attach them to one of the screw-shafts of your Dremel, using a little washer, so they don't disintegrate. Viola! You can make a number of these little gems for a few bucks compared to ordering them online. Yeah, it may take a little work, but we need to put our money toward other things on our project, right?

Scuffing up the Right Elevator Stiffeners

Right Elevator Parts Primed & Ready for Riveting

Right Elevator, Primed, Ready to Go!

Later, I'll be riveting the pieces that were primed tonight. I'll let them dry for now and have fun later. Take Care and Thanks For Reading!!

Day Total: 1.3 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 104.2 hrs

Finish the Rudder, Begin the Elevator!

I am determined to keep this blog up to date! I've been a little busy with other things recently with vacations and such but I've still been slacking. It's been a month since my last construction post and that's not acceptable. My sincere apologies. Once I get behind, I develop the defeatist attitude and keep thinking, "Ugh, I have a lot to catch up on", then I procrastinate even further. Let's get caught up, shall we?

Rudder Skins - Continued:

Wednesday, August 1 - Tonight I installed the counterbalance into the R-913 CB rib. I didn't have to adjust the weight at all. I see where a lot of builders have had to shave the area around the rivets to make the weight fit in the rib between the rivets. I wonder if Van's is doing a better job of making sure there is less work to do in these kits as time goes on? So, I inserted the #10 screws and torqued the nuts to 20-25 in. lbs.

Counterbalance Installed with Little Fuss

I then cleco'd the rudder skins to the spar. NOTE: Make sure the rudder CB skin lays down FIRST, then the rudder skins lay down on top of that. Yes, it seems a little backwards. This is because the rudder skin leading edge will be on top of the CB skin and into the wind when completed. Well, not necessarily into the wind as it sits back from the leading edge in the taper of the rudder a bit and doesn't really catch the wind all that much. Besides, if you do it the other way, it just looks goofy. So, follow the plans very closely and you'll be fine.

First, rivet the 6 holes connecting the CB skin to the rudder skin. Then, rivet the 3 holes in the skin that attach to the spar. If you accidentally close this area with the rudder tip rib first, you'll either be drilling out the rivets or pulling rivets there and it won't look nice when finished. After you finish the 9 holes on each side, you'll then attach the tip rib then use 2 pull rivets here for the first time. There are only 2.

CB Skin in Place Under the Rudder Skin
Start With These 6 Rivets

Tip Rib in Place Covering the CB Weight
Using 2 Pull Rivets

Next, I riveted the skin to the spar. After I got done with that and ready to start the tip and root rivets, I looked at my rivet line and the shop heads looked very troublesome to me. They weren't sitting cleanly. I realized I was putting AN4263-4 rivets in and they were supposed to be AN4263-3.5 rivets!!! DANGIT! I set 96 rivets with 3-4s. Ok, I stopped here out of frustration. I'll drill them out, ALL OF THEM, tomorrow!

Notice the Rivets With a Bit of a Slant?
All of Them Are a Bit Too Long!

 Day Total: 2.0 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 86.9 hrs

Tursday, August 2 - Tonight, I drilled out and reset the 96 rivets connecting the rudder skins to the R-902 rudder spar. With that completed, I moved on to riveting the skins to the rest of the skeleton. I was struggling inside the rudder brace with 2 foreward-most rivets. I'll have to find the perfect bucking bar to reach that area or end up using pull rivets. I'd rather keep a clean profile. However, I know sometimes that's not possible. I'll give it a little more thought. I got one side done, attaching the rudder bottom strips. So, I still have more to complete riveting the skins before I get to working on the trailing edge.

Just a FEW of the Many That Were Drilled Out
and Replaced!

Ok, Back in Business. All Rivets Replaced

I'm going on a cruise to Alaska next week and I hope to have the trailing edge in the curing stage by then. I'll be gone 7 days which will allow plenty of time for it to cure without being disturbed. I'm stopping here as my eyelids feel like lead and I don't want to make any mistakes.

Day Total: 2.0 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 88.9 hrs

Friday, August 3 - I managed to get all the rivets in the horn brace squeezed and ended up pulling the last rivets on the bottom trailing edge and the last two on the tip trailing edge. It looks ugly now but a coat of paint when all is said and done will help pretty things up. Basically, I have everything prepared so I'll be ready to ProSeal the trailing edge tomorrow.

All Rivets in Rudder Brace Squeezed
Even the One That Looks Empty There

Rear-most Rivet on the Rudder Bottom

Rear-most Rivets on the Rudder Tip

Day Total: 3.1 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 92.0 hrs

Saturday, August 4 - On the workbench, I prepared the rudder on it's side. Then I laid out some adhesive plastic on the other bench and laid the AEX wedge on it. I used the small plunger-type ProSeal and prepared per the instructions on the package. Before this, I took care of roughing and cleaning all surfaces where ProSeal was to be applied. I made the mistake earlier of priming the entire insided surface of the rudder skins. I should have masked off the area where the ProSeal would be applied. Oh well, I'll catch that on the NEXT airplane! Yeah, Right!!! So, I cleaned up the primer from the trailing edge location with acetone and scuffed the area with a ScotchBrite pad then cleaned everything twice with denatured alcohol. Follow the plans regarding tank cleaning preparation steps in Section 7, per the plans! Not just clean, CLEAN!

So, everything is clean, the ProSeal is mixed and put in the caulking gun. YES! You need a caulking gun to squeeze the epoxy from the tube. Make sure you have one BEFORE you mix or you'll be grabbing a screwdriver last minute and pushing it up in the tube, which is cumbersome, but can be done. A caulking gun will make things much easier. So, with the AEX wedge laying on my plastic (basically this is carpet cover used for painting), I squeezed some epoxy all the way down one side of the wedge then took a popcicle stick (a.k.a. craft stick, found in your local Walmart or any craft store) and used it as a squeegee and laid the bead to a thin layer. I then picked up the wedge and laid that side down in the rudder. I had previously inserted 1" blocks to separate the skins with a 2x4 block in the center. This is only temporary while you are inserting the AEX wedge. I made sure to spread the epoxy on the side  of the wedge to be laid down in the rudder. After placing it, I then squeezed a bead on the now, up side and repeated the popcicle method. After the wedge was covered with epoxy, I applied some red RTV on the rivets of the trailing end of one side of the rudder stiffeners. I've seen this on other builders' sites and figured it couldn't hurt. It's to minimize vibrations of one surface against another. Then, I pulled all skin spreading blocks out and squeezed the skins together, wiping off all excess ProSeal. I put 2 pieces of angle aluminum on and put a cleco in every other hole on one side then cleco'd the rest of the holes on the other side. I tried to clean any other oozing. I set the rudder on its leading edge with the trailing edge pointed to the ceiling on a couple blocks where the rod bearings will be inserted. Then I put a couple clamps on either side of the rudder to prevent the rudder from falling one way or another. We live in earthquake country and all it takes is a little tremor for it to make its way off the workbench. Now, I'm off to Alaska on a cruise for a week. This ought to be plenty of time to allow the ProSeal to cure.

AEX Wedge in Place With ProSeal
Cleco'd with Aluminum Angles

Okay, Now Wait for a Week!

Day Total: 1.1 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 93.0 hrs

Monday, August 13 - Today, I removed the clecos and angles to reveal what 7 days of curing did with Misty's rudder. WOW, very straight! It looks really nice. I took and X-Acto knife with a #11 blade and carefully cleaned all the holes of ProSeal to get them nice and clean. Then I took Q-Tips and denatured alcohol and cleaned the rivet seat of the hole to make sure everything was very clean so a rivet would sit nicely into each one with no issues. I didn't add this time to the build as I felt it wasn't necessarily building and was more cleaning up residual "spill over". I put rivets in a cup with denatured alcolhol to clean them and get any manufacturing goo or gunk off them, per the Section 7 instructions. I'm sure this isn't necessary here as the Section 7 information on cleaning is targeting the cleaning preparation that'd done on the fuel tanks and THAT's where you want the rivets to be extra clean as they'll be coverd with ProSeal. I then put all rivets in the trailing edge and taped them off for the preparation of riveting, which will be tomorrow. 

Day Total: 0.0 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 93.0 hrs

Tuesday, August 14 - Tonight I set 46 rivets in the trailing edge of Misty's rudder. I started by half-setting every 10th rivet then going back and half setting every fifth then back and continuing every fifth until they were all fully set. After that, I drilled out one rivet that was sitting a little proud. I reset that one, then flipped the rudder over and used a mushroom set to finish setting them all. Everything looks good with very minor deviation in a couple spots. It looks like they're less than the maximum .10" allowance. Next, rolling the leading edge!

Manufactured Side, Rivets Set

Shop Head Side, Everything Set Very Nicely

I don't remember which day I did this but I didn't log my notes so I'll try to fill in the blanks here. It was a difficult challenge, but I managed to get the edge rolled. I went to Lowes to get a 3/4" pipe for rolling, per the plans. I started by using duct tape and starting first with the side that has a 90° bend, which will end up on the inside of the two skins after they're brought together. I followed the plans pretty well, keeping pressure down on the pipe, against the skin, while rolling. I did all three sections as one roll. I've read where people will do a section at a time to have better control. This also lessens the amount of force needed to make the roll. After having done this, it's my obvservation that the plans aren't accurate enough to accomplish this task cleanly and reading other's blogs helps. However, I tried to be a true Van's plans follower and was left a little disappointed. In the plans, there are two places that call out information as to exactly what to do. Now, this may vary because the preview plans used are for all builders. That said, I think the plans are generic in nature and not all rolled edges are alike. So, in the preview plans and information area, they have you use a larger 1" pipe and in the build plans, they have you use a 3/4" pipe. I know from reading other blogs that all builders have to mess and tweek the roll a little to get the two sides to meet up correctly. Expect this. You have to start clecoing the sides together, use duct tape, and everything in the world to get these two sides together. If you're doing this yourself with no help, it will be a challenge. It takes quite a bit of hand strength to bring the edges together. I'm sure with practice on many rolled edges, this will get better and easier with time. Take a deep breath and go slow. Once you have everything cleco'd together, you need to match-drill. No problem. Now, you need to debur and clean. Yeah, right. Now, you can either pull all your clecos and do your best to get behind the impossibly reachable area then try to get everything cleco'd back together again. Or, you can do what everyone else does and clean as much as you can with things cleco'd in place. I used a little deburr tool that fits in the #40 holes and lightly cleaned everything I could and used fingers to feel all the holes  reachable on the inside for any burrs. Because this is not a stress area and the sides are only being brought together to keep them from flapping in the wind, it seems that this is not really that big a deal. Next, I used pull rivets on all the holes. I had a little concern that when I had the line of holes cleco'd, the line wasn't trully straight from tip to bottom. My line had a slight curve to it. I haven't seen anyone else mention this but I haven't read everyone's blog either. No worries. The rudder looks straight and it might be just because of the length of skins from trailing edge to leading edge. I didn't measure beforehand, but why would I? After all the rivets were pulled, the rudder looked great!

The Start of Rolling the Rudder's Leading Edge

After that, I made a cool little tool that I picked up from another builder's site. It's for installing the rod bearing. It's pretty simple. You only need a couple feed of 3/4" PVC water pipe, 2 end caps, 1 T-piece and a slip joint. Here are some pictures to help you. Make sure you line up the slot at the end of your tool with the handle, making it easier to know where your bearing angle is.

Here Are All Your Parts, Use Standard PVC
Joint Cleaner & Cement

The Parts Dry-Fit Together. The Slip-Joint
Shown at the End Will Be Cut in Half.
Only Half Will Be Used to be Flush at the End

All Glued Together with Rod Bearing Entering

Rod Bearing Completely in Showing Fit

Rod Bearing Tool On & In Place. Nice Huh?

Close-Up View of Tool in Place

 THE RUDDER IS DONE, except of course for the fiberglass tip. Moving on.

Day Total: 0.8 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 93.8 hrs

Starting the Elevator

Wednesday, August 22 - Tonight I prepped the elevator stiffeners by pulling off all the blue vinyl and marking all the parts with their part numbers. I marked the cut marks on one stiffener to make sure I had the markings right.

Pulling the Blue Vinyl Is Fun!

All the Elevator Stiffeners, Marked & Ready
to be Cut

Closer View of Part ID & Cut Marks

Day Total: 0.6 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 94.4 hrs

Friday, August 24 - I finished marking the rest of the stiffeners with their cut marks then proceeded to cut with my metal cutters, then I edged-cleaned all of them on the ScotchBrite wheel. No pictures tonight.

Day Total: 2.3 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 96.7 hrs

Sunday, August 26 - Tonight, I officially started on the right elevator by clecoing all the stiffeners to the right elevator skin then match-drilling. I removed all stiffeners then deburred them as well as the right skin. Then, I dimpled the skin and all stiffeners for the right side. Next will be setting rivets for the stiffeners and bending the elevator skin. I have the parts but need to make the suggested bending brake per the plans.

Right Elevator Stiffeners All Prepared &
Ready for Priming 

Right Elevator Skin Dimpled Ready for Priming

Day Total: 2.3 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 99.0 hrs

Monday, August 27 - I scuffed, cleaned and primed the right elevator skin and stiffeners.

Stiffeners Primed& Drying 

Right Elevator Skin Primed & Drying

Day Total: 1.3 hrs HOBBS Meter - 100.3 hrs

Tuesday, August 28 - Today, I riveted all the previously prepared stiffeners for the right elevator and skin, E-701R. I stopped here to get ready to make the bending brake needed to bend the elevators and the elevator trim tab per the Van's plans. I've seen where people will put a 1/8" wooden dowel rod in the skin bend to keep the skin from bending too much at that point. I'm considering using a dowel as well as separating the boards of my bending brake by 1/8" to enable a good bend without putting too much pressure on the curve where the rod would go and more pressure past that point to the leading edge. I've also seen where builders had a problem with not being able to bend far enough with the dowl rod in place. With the space between the boards of my brake, I should be able to get the bend of the elevators to a point that won't require much, if any, fiddling. I'm also concerned a little with another builder issue that I've seen where the 1/8" dowel was too small when they bent their parts. I may get a couple of sizes and play with it a bit to see how it goes.

Right Elevator & Stiffeners All Riveted
Awaiting the Big Bend! LOL

Day Total: 1.0 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 101.3 hrs

Wednesday, August 29 - So, today I made the bending brake per the plans for bending the elevators and the trim tab. I cut a 2"x6"x8' board into to pieces, making one piece 46" which left the other piece 50". This will make one a little longer, giving me a handle to grab while it's on the bench. I bought 2 packages of 3"x1" brass hinges (4 total). It doesn't matter what kind of hinge it is, brass, steel, etc. I happened to find some on sale for a couple bucks a set. I put wedges between the boards at a gap of 1/8" then installed the hinges. I figure having the 1/8" gap keeps you from mashing the trailing edge of the skins. Plus, you can't really bend the skins that far anyway because of the stiffeners inside preventing the skins going to far. However, it seems to me if the space between the boards is not there to begin with and you don't use a dowel in there, you run the risk of maybe bending or creasing the radius of the trailing edge too far. I did not use a dowel as I didn't want to make a trip to the store for just a piece of dowling, plus, it's not called out in the plans. I put my elevator in the brake and with steady pressure, I pressed down in the middle then on the ends and then up and down a few times and VIOLA! I think it looks pretty good. I put a straightedge on the skin and it looks pretty good to me. I'll look closer and make sure a little more tweaking isn't necessary. I can always pull the skin out a bit to where the stiffeners are outside of the brake area and apply a little more pressure, if needed.

The Bending Brake Completed

This Shows the 1/8" Gap I Added In

The Bending Brake Ready For its First Victim

This Worked Out Pretty Well. Nice & Easy

After the right elevator bending, I proceeded to get the left skin and stiffeners cleco'd as well as match-drilled. The E-615PP trim access reinforcement plate was in this little process as well. I've deburred all the left elevator stiffeners and the E-615PP plate and the inside of the left side elevator skin. I still need to "break" the edges of the skin and the E-615PP plate. I stopped here as I need to remove the blue vinyl from the riveted holes on the outter area of the skin and I just wasn't up to the task of plugging in the soldering iron to get it heated. I'll attack this on Friday, my day off of a long, 4-day, Labor Day weekend!  Take Care and Thanks For Reading!!!

Day Total: 1.6 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 102.9 hrs