Empennage Completion... CHECK!

Hi Gang! Over the last two days I've been working to finish the empennage. By finishing the second elevator trim tab today, I've completed all the metal parts of the emp. I still have some fiberglass to do which will probably be done towards the end of building and before paint. I'll have to go back to torque a few things and put torque seal on the nuts. I may have to work with the counterbalance weights to get the balance of the elevators right. They seem fine now but we'll see how they do after all fiberglass work and paint is done.

I learned a little tip tonight by experimenting with needing to dimple a hole that was very hard to get to. First, I inserted a block of wood under the hole that needed dimpling. Next, I drilled a #40 hole into the wood. Second, I took the block out and gave it a little camfer to the hole with a deburring tool. Third, I took the block and re-inserted it under the hole, then took the dimple die and inserted it into the hole then hit it a couple good whacks with a ball peen hammer. It's not identical to a normal dimple but it worked pretty well. The reason for this process is that the back side of any of the dies I had, including the pop rivet die, would have interfered with the inner tabs that fold down and damaged one. Below are the pictures showing the steps I used and a couple showing the comparison of both trim tabs. I'm pretty happy with how the second one turned out. I think it's much cleaner. Remember, you can click any of the pictures to enlarge them. :)

Setting Blocks for Drilling/Dimpling

Hole Drilled Into the Block

A Little Countersink with the Deburr Tool

A Couple Whacks with a Hammer and ....

VOILA! A Dimpled Hole

Top is the First Tab, Bottom is the Second.
The Back Side was Actually worse on the First.

I'm now ready to call one of the EAA chapter tech counselors to take a look at my work and give me either a thumbs-up or a list of things to fine tune, fix, clean up or repair. We'll see how that goes and I'll keep you posted on that report.

I recently purchased and received the parts for the RV-7 Service Bulletin 14-01-31. In the empennage, more specifically, the horizontal stabilizer (HS) some builders/owners have shown an area on the that has exhibited cracking. A service bulletin came out warning of the issue and a kit was made by Van's to repair the issue for those that are already flying or currently building. It's about $15 +shipping. For those that are building, this can be used to repair the are of potential cracking they might currently have, which I would guess is doubtful, or they can use it in the future, should any cracks show up. I am going to repair mine before completing my plane as I'd like to have the corrections made before they even have a chance to happen. Right? It makes better sense to repair now so you wouldn't have to disassemble your plane in the future. This will save a lot of time and give me a greater feeling of safety and security. I'll probably save this little project for sometime when I have any lulls in the project. I think it'll make good filler.

Van's RV-7(A) HS Repair Kit
Service Bulletin 14-01-31

Here's a glamour shot of the completion of my empennage and me in the picture to let you know who the builder of this project is.

So Relieved to Have This Kit Finished! Wings Next

That's all for now. Take Care and Thanks For Reading!!

Day Total: 2.6 hrs  HOBBS Meter - 160.9 hrs

Let's Get This Thing Going!

Hi Gang! I'm finally back at it after much procrastination. I had previously spent about an hour working on the elevator in preparation of getting it welded, as mentioned previously.

I discovered that a friend of mine at work is a skilled welder. I got in touch with him and asked if he could weld some airplane parts. He asked when I wanted to do it and what kind of metal he needed to weld. I asked what kind of liquid payment ;) he would like and we hooked up and got it done. Thanks Mike! I've been waiting for a good time to start back up and now seemed as good a time as any. I didn't get any pictures of the welds before cleaning and filing.

Today I cleaned up the welds on the fills Mike did for me. I needed to file down the excess weld material to get them back to smooth and flat. After the filing, I cleaned up the surrounding area of powder coat that was damaged by the heat of the welding with a ScotchBrite wheel in my Dremel. All pretty now.

Weld Filled Hole After Filing & Cleaning

Back Side

Next was to make sure my rod bearings were the exact height they needed to be. I think I took care of this previously as when I checked the bearings on both elevators, the height measured right on all 4. I mounted them both, set them in trail with the HS then eyeballed how the 1/4" bold would appear to fit and it looked good. So I took the right elevator off, put the drill sleeve into the hinge bearing and drilled a #40. So far, so good. I took the left elevator and put the right one on and did the same thing. Off with that one and put the HS away so I could work with the elevator horn holes. This is the same procedure as mentioned in a previous post. Just size the holes up with each successive drill bit until it's 1/4". I cleaned the holes with a half round file so a bolt would slide easily and cleaned the surrounding area of any sharp metal. I put both elevators back on and put the bolt in and VOILA! Everything fits & both elevators line up perfectly. Nice smooth movement with no binding. They seem pretty balanced right now. I still need to file the counterweights to the right shape so we'll see how the balance is later. I'm very happy with this.

NOTE: I strongly recommend to the builders out there that are at this point and before drilling to check carefully to see if your bolt appears that it will fit WITHOUT the bolt head and nut being to close to or interfering with the torque tubes. If it looks too close, recheck your measurements on the rod bearings.

The Line Up & Clearance After Installation

After taking everything apart, I then started working to finish the 2nd trim tab that I had ordered awhile back and had just started. I'm about half done with it now. I'm almost to the riveting stage. Just finished the countersinking in the trim spar. I'll pick up there next time.

That's all for now. Take Care and Thanks For Reading!!

Day Total: 3.9 hrs  HOBBS Meter - 158.3 hrs