Elevators Next

Next up are the elevators. Below is the blueprint for the right elevator. It's built before the left elevator which has a trim tab making it more difficult.

The elevators are control surfaces like the rudder. They have thinner skins and light weight stiffeners. The flying surfaces that support the weight of the aircraft in flight like the horizontal and vertical stabilizers have thicker skins and heavier ribs. I've noticed that as the building has progressed, it's gotten more challenging. I guess Van wants to ease us into the hard stuff. Sounds kind of addicting, doesn't it?

Finished the Rudder

I finished the rudder today. Three components down, elevators left and that will finish the empennage. I don't want to think too far ahead but the wings will come next.

Here, I clamped the rudder to the workbench to get an idea of how big it is.

Finished the Trailing Edge of the Rudder

I'm not sure that this makes a good picture below. What I'm trying to show is the straightness of the trailing edge of the rudder. The instructions say this is one of the most difficult parts to get right. One of my friends actually ordered and built a second rudder to get it right. I have to admit that I'm not completely satisfied with my work. I'm trying hard not to let perfect get in the way of excellent but it's not easy. The rudder is certainly built within specs and all and I'm sure I'll forget about the small appearance flaws but things were going near perfect up until now.

Here's the rudder all riveted. The only thing left besides the fiberglass tips is to roll the leading edge.

Custom 60 degree Rivet Set

Here's a nifty little tool I modified to be able to rivet in really tight areas. I ground down the tip to make it thin enough to get into the last hole or two in a narrow rib like the rudder tips. I tried several other techniques including one on the "Hints for Homebuilders" section of the EAA website. This method is far superior to every one I tried. I also like that this was an ebay bargain. Got it for $2 plus about $5 for shipping. Can you say steal? They normally sell for about $50.

Prosealed the Rudder Trailing Edge

This is proseal. It's a 2-part epoxy "glue" that's used extensively in aircraft construction. The main place it's used on the RV is sealing the fuel tanks. I'm using it here for the first time to glue the trailing edge of the ruddder together before riveting as recommended in the plans. It's really a mess and gets everywhere. The thing that makes me laugh for some reason is that this stuff has NO KNOWN SOLVENT. Nothing will melt it! Now that's a glue! Hope I didn't get it on my favorite shirt.

Here's the rudder all glued on the trailing edge. It's clecoed to a heavy piece of aluminum angle to keep it straight while the proseal is drying.

Counterbalance Lead Weight

This is the top of the rudder before installing the top rib. It contains a lead counterweight that helps balance the control forces during flight.

EAA Technical Counselor Visit

I invited Norm, our EAA chapter's Technical Counselor over to take a look at my project. It's not a requirement but I really wanted to have another set of "educated" eyes look at how I was doing early in the project. I'd hate to get to the end of the build and have someone ask why I put all the rivets in backwards! Norm has built the same aircraft that I'm working on and is finishing his second (an RV-9). He's what you call a repeat offender. Anyway, Norm was nice enough to drive over from Seguin and give me some good pointers and validate that I wasn't putting the rivets in backwards. Thanks, Norm.

I'll let you read what he wrote. No, I didn't bribe him with a beer or anything!

Rudder Ready for Button Up

I finished all the prep work for the Rudder and now it's time to button it up. Here's the view of the inside of the rudder that won't be seen after riveting on the other side skin.

Here's the front of the rudder at the bottom. The hole is where the hinge rod will be screwed. On the right side you can see a couple of manufactured heads of rivets. I'm proud of those as the plans call for optional pop-rivets if you can't get a good structural rivet in there. With the help of my trusty tungsten bucking bar, no problem!

Here are some of the stiffeners that I got help riveting (see the video several posts back). The specs are dust that I'll blow off before sealing it up.

Dimpling the Narrow End of the Rudder Rib

Here's another McGyver tool. I had to dimple the very narrow end of the upper rudder rib. My visegrip dimpler wouldn't fit in the last hole so I had to improvise. I used my pop-rivet dimpler with spacers and came through the opposite side hole.

Turned out just fine:

Dimpling the Rudder Spar

I'm working on dimpling the rudder prior to riveting and got a visit by niece Micaeli. She was here for Shelby's birthday. Happy Birthday Shelby! She helped by dimpling a couple of holes in the lower rudder spar. Thanks! Also got some help dimpling from R who came out to the shop to see what's new.

Change In Direction

Well, after all the work I've put in on the airplane, I've decided it's not for me. I'm going a different direction now and plan on building a Shelby Cobra replica car. I saw a couple dozen of them drive through town last Friday and loved the look. It's all aluminum so the construction is surprisingly similar to aircraft construction so I'll have a head start on the learning curve. I'll keep you updated under the same label below as this post.