... and the Building Resumes!

Sunday, July 28

Finally, back to work! Today, I started back on the trim tab. I put it in the bending brake last session and I went too far. I tried carefully to bend it back out, no easy task. I managed though. There are a total of 4 tabs (2 on each end) that require bending 91°. Make sure you pay close attention here. The lower tab is bent FIRST, then the upper tab. This way, you won't get water leaking or draining into the tab in the rain. When you start this process, the plans show you starting with the whole trim tab upside down. It makes it a little confusing. In this case, you bend the top tab (lower) down first, then the bottom (upper) tab up second. You'll get the picture with the inboard section as there are 3 rivet holes on one tab that need to be on the outside when finished bending. Do both ends the same. I read of many builders ordering an extra trim tab set just because most use the first one as practice and aren't happy with the outcome. C'mon! It's just a trim tab. Once it gets sanded, cleaned, primed and painted, I don't think they really turn out that bad. I know, there are some perfectionists out there. I'm one too. You can always order a kit later and do it again if it's really that bad. I think mine turned out pretty well. I may have bent a little too much of the tabs on one end, but I think it'll be fine.

Outboard End of Trim Tab, Decent Bending

Inboard End of Trim Tab. A Little Too Much Metal Bent

Basically, I took a piece of 1/2" particle board about 7"x3", figured the angle of my trim tab with the spar in place, which is right about 10°. Then I cut it at that angle. I'm not too fond of my small, cheap, name-brand band saw's ability to cut a nice, straight line. So, I used a piece of 1/4" metal, used for my dimpling in tight spaces, and clamped it to the board on the angle of my cut and used a small hand saw against the edge of the metal and made a real nice cut. In retrospect, it doesn't matter what angle it's cut. Basically, it just needs to be greater than 10° but less than that which would open the trim tab up too far. You can use the distance that when the end tabs are bent, they're separated by 1/8" to 1/4". If you follow the 10° method, make sure to leave a small enough angle at the trailing edge to fit into the space of the trim tab. I used double-sided Scotch tape on both sides of the inside block and a strip on the outside for the outer block. This keeps things mostly in place. I should have put the whole assembly on a non-slip piece of mat on top of the work surface to prevent slipping but it "slipped" my mind. Haha, bad joke. Another thought would also be to use some tape on the work surface to hold the entire trim tab in place. I clamped the whole block assembly to the bench with ratchet clamps as well as clamping the trim tab on the leading edge to the edge of the work bench. Let the bending commence. You want to turn your pressure down on your rivet gun so you don't go too wild and bend the crap out of the tabs. Use a block of wood to get started on the bend, per the plans. Once you get the tab closer to its final position, you can use just your gun to flatten it out pretty nicely, all along the edge, back and forth until you're satisfied. Yes, you'll notice here that this is the same exercise used on the left elevator. I previously used foam tape. BAD idea. Don't go this route. It's is too thick and gives too much and is a royal pain to remove from your jig parts. It was a bit overkill. Just follow the directions for preparing and you should do fine.

Next, I cleco'd the trim tab spar (E-607PP) to the bottom surface of the tab skin. Then I got the electric trim tab motor trim tab horns (E-617EEPP-1 and E-618EEPP-1), clamped them together, used a clevis pin in the holes for alignment and clecoed them as a whole part to the skin. Needed are a couple holes drilled for one of the horn parts as the skin is without. That's why it's necessary to clamp the 2 horn parts together, using them as a template, of sorts. Pretty simple here. After fitting the parts in place, I match drilled the holes through the trim tab horns.

Spar in Place

Elect. Trim Tab Motor Control Horns in Place

Another View of the Trim Tab Horns Connected as One

I stopped here for the night as the next step is working with the piano hinge. I wanted to do a little research on this one. I'd certainly like to get this right on the first try.

Day Total: 1.9 hrs  HOBBS Meter - 132.2 hrs

Tuesday, July 30

Tonight, I started working on a few bends and dings that mysteriously showed up on the leading edge of the left elevator. Okay, I'll confess. I had put the elevator up out of the way, hanging the counterweight end on one of the rafters. I had the garage door open half way for air and later decided to open the door all the way. I wasn't paying attention and the door pushed the elevator off the rafter and bent a couple of areas along the leading edge. So, I took a little time to straighten them out. The edge hasn't been rolled yet, making it pretty easy to ding the edges up a bit. I was able to straighten the worst offenders pretty well. There were only about 3 or 4 issues. The elevator itself looks pretty straight and true so I don't anticipate any issues with it later. It'll be interesting to see the leading edge after it's rolled and riveted. I'll try to post a couple pictures after the roll.

The Smallest of All Dings. Needs a Bit More Work

Ding #2. I Hope This Cleans Up Better After Edge Rolling

Ding #3 More Outboard of #2

The Top of Ding #3. I Hope This Ends Up Rolling Ok

Next on the list was to work the hinge for the trim tab. I checked a couple other builder logs for info. Interestingly, the few I looked at didn't have much in the way of information. So I decided to follow Van's plans the best I could. Sometimes they can be a bit confusing. I have a habit of over-thinking things at times. It took me a while to comprehend that the hinge DOES NOT go between the skin and spars. I don't know why I had this in my head, but once things "clicked", it was much easier to move forward. Over-thinking I guess! The hinge rivets to the innermost area to the skin and spars.

Hinge Measured, Marked & Clamped in Place

Showing 3/8" From Rivet to Inboard Hinge Edge

Trim Tab Hinge Drilled & Cleco'd in Place

I started by marking the hinge at 1/4" in from the trailing edge of the trim tab side of the hinge the length of the hinge. I did the same for the elevator side as well. This line is used as a site line through the rivet holes for alignment and distance. Then, I made a mark on the hinge for the area that would be removed (waste) on the inboard edge. That distance is 3/8" from the left-most rivet hole to the end of the hinge on the trim tab side, per the plans. After trimming the hinge, I clamped it in place on the bottom of the trim tab spar, making sure the site line is centered in the rivet line. Then I match drilled the holes starting with the inboard hole first, clecoing it then drilling every other hole and clecoing while removing the clamps along the way. Then I went back to finish the rest of the holes. I then put the other half of the hinge back together with its mate. The next step is to take apart the trim tab assembly, machine countersink the spar and dimple the trim tab upper holes and work more on the control horns. Stopping here tonight.

Day Total: 2.0  HOBBS Meter - 134.2

Wednesday, July 31

Tonight saw drilling the rest of the holes in the trim tab, countersinking and dimpling the trim tab spar. Next was to disassemble and the usual "Lather, Rinse, Repeat" with deburring, dimpling and priming. Not too much tonight, just enough to keep busy on the project, KPR! (Keep Pounding Rivets), and... edge finishing, deburring, dimpling and priming. KPR for short. =8^)

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

Day Total: 1.7  HOBBS Meter - 135.9

Setting Up ... Again!

Hi Everyone! Just a quick update as to the status of my situation and the project. I've had a change of venue (moved to another house) recently. I'm in the process of setting up the new shop and getting things ready to start back up on the build. I'm still unpacking and trying to arrange the new garage and get things out of the way so I have enough room to work. I need some additional lighting for better visibility and need to work to insulate the ceiling to keep it as cool as possible. This garage is unfinished (non-insulated and no drywall) and I live in the high desert (southern Mojave Desert) of southern California so it can get pretty toasty during the summers here. I'm plugging along so you should see some posting pretty soon.

Take Care and Thanks for Reading!

Still On Hold

My apologies to everyone who is following this post. I've been going through a few things in life that have had me put my project on hold. I hope to start up again soon.

I miss the mistress very much and the joys and exasperations that are presented with this kind of project. I'll be back soon and will try to keep you posted with my status until then.

Take Care and Thanks For Reading!

Holding Position

Hi Gang! No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth. I'm still here. I haven't worked on the project in a couple weeks. Life kinda got in the way and I just got stalled a bit by focusing on a few other things. I thought I'd at least put a note here letting you know what's going on. My apologies.

I have the elevator almost complete. I still have 2 rivets needing to be set but needed to get some thin metal bar to act as a bucking bar. I don't have any setting tools to squeeze in the tight area so I'll be using a little bar in the 3/16"-1/4" range to fit into the flange area with a mushroom tip on it, just outside the flange. I'll have a pic of the technique later to better illustrate what I'm trying to describe here, for those of you that don't understand. I learned it in the EAA sheet metal course and I think it's a pretty popular method and works pretty well in a pinch.

I started getting the elevator trim tab ready to bend the smaller tabs into position. I started by putting it in the bending brake and as soon as I pushed down on the board, I realized a couple things! Always after the fact, of course. First, I failed to pull the blue vinyl, scuff, clean and prime the inside of the tab and. Secondly, I squeezed the tab skin WAY too much. Now I'm left with having to spread it open again so I can perform the aforementioned tasks. Additionally, I squeezed it too tight to allow for the end tabs to be bent into position. I slowly spread it a bit just with my hands and am seeing what appear to be signs of creasing, or double bending, points where the spreading stops very near the actual bend and takes on what appears to be a new point of bending. So, my idea was to get a few sizes of dowel and put them inside the bend area and push enough to spread that area open wider. I still have a little work to do on this little gem but it's coming along. I am basically tinkering with the project right now, 1, 2 or 5 minutes here and there. I need to get a few things out of the way and get my head back in the game.

My first biennial flight review (BFR) is due at the end of the month so I've been brushing up on the regs. I hope to accomplish that in the next weekend or two. I think I'm making things out to be worse than they are. I've only flown a whopping total of about 5 hours in the last year. Can you see my dilemma? Just a little worried and I want to do well. I'm sure it's no big deal, but if you think about it, it IS a BIG deal. Having, holding and keeping a private pilot license (PPL) is a huge priviledge. I want to be worthy of it's benefits.

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

Elevator Almost There

Tonight saw the assembly of the left elevator. I started by putting some red RTV (in case I fly really close to the sun or an active volcano) into the space between the elevator stiffeners (4 of them) to help minimize cracking, according to other builders and supposedly Van's. Although, I've not seen the RTV in the stiffener area referenced in any of the Van's documentation. It can't hurt putting the RTV in, so I did. However, I forgot to put it in on the right side!! Maybe I haven't combed through all the material enough. The reference to the red RTV and the sun is that the red RTV is for applications in the 300° category. 

After the application of the RTV, I proceeded to install the elevator skeleton into the skin then cleco'd it into place. I then riveted about 98% of this section. I still have 2 trailing edge rivets to creatively buck. I took my dimpling bar and tapered the opposite end a couple weeks ago and used it to buck the same rivets on the right elevator. I'll do the same here on the left side. No pictures tonight as this is almost identical to the right elevator assembly. It was getting too late to pull out the rivet gun and buck them so I'll finish those next, followed by putting the E-606PP trim spar in place then riveting it.

Until then, Take Care and Thanks For Reading!

Day Total: 2.3 hrs   HOBBS Meter - 130.3 hrs

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