Empennage, Elevator (Part 13)

All the priming completed during last night's session has completely dried and is ready for the next step.  So, I started the process of final assembly of the Elevator.  To get things started, I riveted the E-921 Gusset to the E-905 Left Root Rib using AN470AD4-4 as instructed by the plans.  The picture below is from the left side of the Elevator and also shows the black snap bushing inserted into the Front Spar.  This is where electrical wires will pass through the Spar for the electric trim motor.  The bushing is designed to prevent chaffing of the wires that get passed through the hole. 

 

The next step in the plans called for the E-903 Tip Ribs and E-904 Tip Ribs to be riveted togethert.  I didn't take any pictures of the Ribs, but here is an excerpt from the plans.  These pieces used AN470AD4-4 and AN426AD4-4 rivets.  

 

Next, all the Root Ribs, Tip Ribs, Hinge Reinforcement Plates, and Nutplates were riveted to the left and right Front Spars.  Here is one of the four Nutplates and Hinge Reinforcement Plates attached to the Front Spar. 

 

Lastly (for today), the E-913 Counterbalance Skins were clecoed to the Tip Ribs.  In the picture, you can see two rows of rivets (there is also two rows on the opposite side and end).  One row is for the E-903 Tip Rib and the other is for the E-904 Tip Rib.  Each of the Counterbalance Skins took 50 AN426AD3-3.5 rivets in this step.  There are an additional six holes in the Counterbalance Skins that will be riveted when the Elevator Skins are attached to the assembly. 

 

It doesn't seem like all that much work was accomplished today, but I set approximately 140 rivets during this session.  However, as the pieces get riveted together, they start to look like airplane parts.....that continues to motivate!  There are still many rivets left to complete the Elevator, but every rivet set is forward progress toward completion.

Empennage, Elevator (Part 12)

Last night I did the Alumiprep and Alodine work on all the remaining pieces of the Elevator.  Tonight, it was time to prime them.  So, I mixed up some Akzo and waited the required 30 minutes.  While I was waiting, I finished up construction on the Elevator Trim Tab.....pictured below.

 

It has been sitting for a couple of days to allow the fuel tank sealant holding the foam Ribs in place to dry.  As far as riveting, the Trailing Edge is not truly flat due to the Trailing Edge Wedge being fatter on the aft end than it is on the forward end.  Additionally, the rivets holding on the Trailing Edge need to be set double flush.  In order to make them double flush, with the angle on the the Trailing Edge, I purchased the RV-14 Safety Pin Squeezing Tool from Cleaveland Aircraft Tool.  The flat sets are already machined to the correct angle created on the Trailing Edge.  The Safety Pin is used to keep the appropriate alignment and prevents the sets from rotating in the squeezer.  I will be able to use this tool on the Elevator Trim Tab and the left and right sides of the Elevator.  

NOTE:  This tool was specifically machined for the RV-14 Elevator Trailing Edge and WILL NOT work on other Trailing Edges.  

 

The Safety Pin Squeezing Tool made perfect double flush rivets on the Trailing Edge of the Trim Tab.  Here is an example of a few.....

 

After the primer sat the required 30 minutes, I began to prime.

Empennage, Elevator (Part 11)

Yesterday, I marked and scuffed the Trim Tab Skins where the foam Ribs were installed.  Today, I marked and scuffed the four Elevator Skins and the two Rear Spars.  The right Elevator Skins are in the first picture and the left Elevator Skins are in the second.  The Skins and the Spars were scuffed and prepared as described in the plans.  

 

 

I forgot to show the Trim Tab Ribs yesterday, so here's a picture of the foam Elevator Trailing Edge Ribs.  Six of these Ribs will be installed in the right side of the Elevator and two in the left side (the Trim Tab will also be installed on the left side).  

 

I looked ahead in the plans and found the four E-910 Hinge Reinforcement Plates will be riveted to the Front Spars in the next few steps.  So, I prepared the pieces by cleaning the edges and deburred the holes.  I then gave the pieces a bath in Alumiprep and Alodine.   Here are two of the pieces hanging up to be dried.

 

 Then, ALL of the pieces of the Elevator got Alumiprep and Alodine baths.  The Rear Spars, Front Spars, Ribs, Inboard Tip Ribs, Outboard Tip Ribs, Shear Clips, Gussets, Reinforcement Doubler Brace, Root Ribs, and upper and lower Skins were all prepared.  Here are most of the parts hanging up to dry.

 

Empennage, Elevator (Part 10)

I finished riveting the Trim Tab Horns, Trim Tab Spar, and Trim Tab Bottom Skin using the AN426AD3-3.5 rivets called for in the plans.  I cleaned the areas I prepped yesterday with isopropyl alcohol and applied the tank sealant.  In the picture below, the tank sealant was applied in the silver vertical areas.  I used an acid brush (pictured below) to apply the sealant onto the Skins.  Surprisingly, the brush worked pretty well and didn't make a huge mess.  Just like on the Rudder Trailing Edge Wedge, I used the 3M F9460PC Adhesive Transfer Tape in the horizontal areas to attach the Trailing Edge.  

 

 

Here is the Trim Tab clecoed together.  The three Ribs are already installed and the Trim Tab Hinge and the Closeout Tabs are clecoed together.  

 

Next, I riveted the Trim Tab Top Skin, Trim Tab Spar, and the aft half of the Trim Tab Hinge (pictured below) together using AN426AD3-4 flush rivets.  

 

The plans have you flip the Trim Tab upside down and lay it on a flat work table with the clecos securing the Trailing Edge hanging over the edge of the table.  Next, the directions say to place a weighted board on the Trim Tab Bottom Skin to ensure contact between the Skins and the Trim Tab Ribs.  So, I placed a 2x6 on the Skins and added several bucking bars for weight.  It will now sit for a few days to allow the tank sealant to cure. 

 

Empennage, Elevator (Part 9)

I worked exclusively on the Trim Tab and associated parts today.  To start the session, I primed the Trim Tab Pushrod.  Once it was dry, I double flush riveted it together with AN426AD3-3.5 rivets.  Finally, here is the finished product:

 

The Trim Tab will have three foam Ribs installed to hold it's shape.  The Ribs will be bonded to the Skins and the Skins need to be prepared to allow the bonding agent (fuel tank sealant) to adhere properly.  The first step is to identify the locations the Ribs will be installed.  The plans give the individual measurements for each Rib.  The picture below shows the locations of the three Ribs for the Trim Tab.

 

I marked off the locations of each Rib, scuffed the Skins and Spar with sandpaper (the areas to be bonded), cleaned with acetone, and then covered those areas with tape.  After the areas were taped, I primed the areas with Akzo.    

 

The picture below show the upper and lower Trim Tab Skins and the Trim Tab Spar after getting primed and having the tape removed.  The scuffed areas will with contain the Ribs and the Trailing Edge wedge. 

 

I started the process of riveting the Trim Tab Horns, Trim Tab Spar, and Trim Tab Bottom Skin.  Tomorrow, I will finish the process and bond the Ribs to the assembly. 

Empennage, Elevator (Part 8)

I spent this session correcting some things that I didn't like and things that.....well, were terrible and unacceptable!

1st:  The very first E-00907-1R Rear Spar (that came with the original empennage kit) turned out quit good......UNTIL.  I was dimpling all the #40 holes on the flanges to accept the dimples from the Skins that will eventlually attach to it.  About 10 holes short of being finished......I did this:

 

I spoke with several people about how to "fix" it, but decided I didn't want to "fix" it.....so, I ordered a new Elevator Rear Spar.  When the new Rear Spar arrived, I diligently started working on it.  During the process, I ended up trimming off to much of the Spar and this one, also, would not work.  Soooo, I ordered ANOTHER ONE from Van's and it arrived yesterday.

 

 

So, needless to say, I worked VERY SLOWLY on the third Rear Spar.  Finally, after.....awhile.....I finished the Rear Spar and claimed VICTORY.  This is the completed third Rear Spar clecoed to the Right Elevator Assembly.

 

I mentioned earlier, I trimmed too much off the second Spar and it would not work.  The circled area in the picture above is where I trimmed off to much. The #40 (silver cleco) holes need to be Match-Drilled to #30 per the plans.  After I trimmed to much of the Spar, I didn't have the appropriate edge distance for the rivet.....no way to "fix" that.  Anyway, I ordered the third Spar and concurred it tonight.  SMALL VICTORIES!

2nd:  Regarding the Trailing Edges, step #6 of the plans say:  "Use a belt sander to reduce the cross section of the outboard ends of the E-1423-L & R Trailing Edges to match the trailing edge thickness of the E-912 Elevator Tip Fairing".  It is supposed to look like this:

 

Let's just say, mine was similar.  After thinking about it for a few days, I ultimatley decided to order a new Trailing Edge because I wasn't happy with the results.  So, called Van's again and ordered a new E-01423 Trailing Edge.  I clecoed everything together, made the appropriate marks, and trimmed accordingly.   I used the same method I previously describe in Part 6 to machine countersink the #40 holes.  The completed countersinks in the new Trailing Edge are shown in the second picture below and they turned out just as good as the first one.

 

 

The only thing I have left to do on the Trailing Edges is use the belt sander to taper the outboard ends for the Elevator Tip Fairings.  That is on my to do list.  Other than that, I'm back to where I was befor the mistake.  BUILD ON!!

Empennage, Elevator (Part 7)

In preparation for completing the Trim Tab, I began preparing the Skins for completion.  The foam ribs will be bonded in place with fuel tank sealant in the next few steps.  Prior to that, the Skins need to be prepared.  I used Alumiprep and Alodine on the inside of the Skins.  After the Skins dry, I will mark off the areas where the Ribs/Sealant will go and prime the rest of the Skins.  Here is a picture of the parts handing up to dry.....

 

I have to make a confession here.....the E-01401AB Elevator Trim Tab Pushrod is killing me!  In Part 5 of the Elevator build, I talked about countersinking the parts WAY to deep and having to order new parts from Van's.  I received the new parts a few days later and started working on them.  Damn if I didn't jack them up again.  While removing the excess material that connected the parts.....can you guess what I did....trimmed away WAY to much material.  So much so, that a couple of the countersink holes were touching the edges of the pieces.  Sooooooo, I called Van's and ordered another E-01401AB Elevator Trim Tab Pushrod.  Here is the third iteration....

 

I used the bandsaw to separate into three pieces.....

 

And a hand file and sandpaper to "smooth" the edges.  All the countersinks look good this time.

 

After an Alumiprep and Alodine bath.....

 

I will prime and rivet the three pieces tomorrow.  More to follow.....

Empennage, Elevator (Part 6)

Alright, I'm back to working solo (mostly).  I continued moving forward on the Elevators where Roger and I left off.  I started work by dimpling the Close-Out Tabs on the Trim Tab Skins.  Here is the left side of Trim Tab Skins after being dimpled.

 

After being dimpled, the Skins and the Trailing Edge were clecoed together.  The purpose was to mark and trim the Trailing Edge to match the Skins.  In the circles below, you can see the overhang of the Trailing Edge on each side of the Skin. After the Trailing Edge was marked, I removed it from the Skins and trimmed off the excess on each side with the band saw (initially) and bench grinder (final trim).  I also used the Edge Forming Tool to make lap joints on the trailing edge of the Skins.

 

I put off countersinking the Trailing Edges until now, so I could do all three of them at the same time.  The aft end of the Trailing Edge is thicker than the forward end, so it creates and angle when it's put flat on the bench.  So, I Match-Drilled the holes in the Trailing Edge into a 2x6 piece of wood and clecoed it down.  

 

Then I clamped the piece of wood to the work table to prevent it from moving.

 

With the Trailing Edge fixed, you can feel when the cutter is level due to the cage on the Threaded Micro Stop Countersink.  The holes turned out perfect on all three Trailing Edges.

 

Next, I clecoed the aft half of the Trim Tab Hinge to the top flange of the Trim Tab Spar.  The holes on the top flange of the Spar were then countersunk in a similar fashion as the Trailing Edge.  Finally, I dimpled all the #40 holes in the botton flange of the Trim Tab Spar and the upper and lower Skins of the Trim Tab.  Below, I test fit all the pieces together to form the Left Elevator and the Trim Tab assembly.  Looks pretty good to me.  

 

Empennage, Elevator (Part 5)

With my Stepdad's help this week, we covered a lot of ground.  While he was here, we were able to finish the Horizontal Stabilizer and Rudder that I've previously started and about 70% of the Elevator.  He was a HUGE help and I thank him for it!!!

Since Roger is leaving tomorrow, we only worked for a short time today.  Unlike the last several days, no major progress was made today.  We dimpled the attachment holes for seven of the K1100-06 Nutplates (five will be attached now, and the remaining two will be installed later).  After dimpling, the plans call for those Nutplates to be riveted to the Trim Access Reinforcement Doubler.  However, prior to doing that, I wanted to Alumiprep, Alodine, and Prime the Doubler.  Following that process, the Nutplates were riveted to the Doubler with AN426AD3-3.5 flush rivets.  

 

The Elevator Trim Pushrods parts (on the right below) and the Trim Tab Horns (on the left below) were marked and trimmed according to the diagrams in the plans.  The Trim Tab Horns were then dimpled.....and got Alumiprep, Alodine, and Priming.  The second picture below shows the finished Horns.

 

 

The Elevator Trim Pushrod parts are not in the second picture because I screwed them up.  The #40 holes should be countersunk to accept a AN426AD3 rivets.  I lost my concentration (also known as a brain fart) and mistakenly made the countersinks WAY to deep!  So, I called Van's and ordered a new piece.  I was lucky.....only a $7.25 mistake and the parts will be here in a few days.  

Anyway, that was it for today.  Thanks again to my Stepdad for all his help over the last week.  Hope to see him in the shop again soon.

Empennage, Rudder (Part 18)

Since my Stepdad is still here helping with the build, I decided to finish the Rudder.  In order to finish, all we had to do was rivet the trailing edge and roll/rivet the leading edge.  I've been putting it off because I wasn't 100% sure how I wanted to do it.....today, I guess I decided!

 

Section 5.8 of the plans describes how to rivet trailing edges.  The trailing edge is riveted with what is called "double flush" rivets.  These are standard #3 rivets, but instead of setting the rivet on a flat surface, it is set in a dimple.  The result is rivet that is flush on both sides of the Skin.  Van's tells you that the rivet will not completely fill the dimple and will look differently than the manufactured head....and it does.  It's been described as an "acorn sitting in a dimple".  I didn't really know what that visual looked like until I completed the first rivet.  Van's also warns about not making the mistake of trying to use a longer rivet to "fill up the dimple".  By doing this, the longer rivet tends to bend over instead of setting properly.  Additionally, due to the force of driving more rivet material, it can introduce puckering and waviness into the trailing edge.  

So, following the directions in the plans, we started in the MIDDLE of the trailing edge.  The plans say to backrivet about every 10th rivet just to "set" the rivet and hold everything in place.  We deviated from the plans here slightly.....not in procedure, but by means.  Instead of back riveting to initially set the rivets, we used the hand squeezer with flush sets. I squeezed the rivet just enough for the flush set (on the shop head side) to just touch the Skin.  After setting every 10th rivet, we continued with the remaining rivets by doing the one rivet that was midway between the others already initially set.....alternating back and forth along the Trailing Edge.  Once all the rivets on the Trailing Edge were initially set, then we backriveted them (in the same order) to get the double flush result. This process was not very hard, but time consuming.  You want to work slowly and constantly check for any deformation of the Trailing Edge.  It turned out pretty straight.....well within the tolerance required by Van's.   

The video below shows the work completed on the trailing edge.

The video below shows the work completed on the leading edge.

Section Complete

Empennage, Elevator (Part 4)

The word of the day.....Dimpling!!  Roger and I dimpled the upper Skins for the left and right Elevator, left inboard Shear Clip, Inboard and Outboard Tip Ribs, Elevator Ribs, Front Spars, Rear Spars, left and right Root Ribs, Trim Access Reinforcement Doubler, Reinforcement Doubler Brace, and the attachment holes of K1100-06 Nutplates.  Like I said, lots of Dimpling.  

I also mixed in a little machine countersinking.  The top flange of the Rear Spar was countersunk where the Trim Tab Piano Hinge gets attached.

Empennage, Elevator (Part 3)

Yesterday, we clecoed the left and right Elevator Horns to the Root Ribs and Spars.  We started today by Final-Drilling #30 the six holes common to the Elevator Horns and Front Spars and the six holes common to the Elevator Horns and the Root Ribs.  Here are the left and right Rudder Horns clecoed in place.

 

 

We marked all the pieces, so they can be reassembled in the same position.  Then, we completely disassembled both sides of the Elevator.  Now, all the holes and unfinished edges get deburred....YEAH!  Several hours of deburring; however, the pain was lessened with my Stepdad helping.....THANKS ROGER!!

I didn't take any pictures of the deburring, but you can enjoy the sweet time lapse video.....if you want!

After ALL the deburring was completed, we started dimpling.  We were able to finish the upper and lower Skins of the right Elevator and the Counterweight Skin before we threw in the towel for the night.  We will continue dimpling the remaining pieces tomorrow. 

Empennage, Elevator (Part 2)

Making great progress on the Elevator with my Stepdad.  We started by trimming the end of the E-00907-1 Rear Spar (11/16"), parallel to the beveled edge, with the band saw.  The picture below shows the two pieces separated after cutting.  The piece on the right is discarded and the Spar on the left had the edges smoothed.  

 

Next, the E-01403 Trim Tab Hinge had to be fabricated from an AN527-P2 Piano Hinge provided in the kit.  Based on the plans, each side was designated "Forward" an "Aft" for better identification later in the build.  Two pilot holes had to be measured and drilled in the ends of the Trim Tab Hinge.....one hole at 3/16th & 3/16th from the edges and the second at 3/16th & 1/4th from the edges of the opposite side.

One of the E-00902-1 Front Spars needed to have a couple #30 holes....made bigger.  I used a step drill to enlarge the two #30 holes to 5/8th and 3/8th.

 

The Front Spar (left) and Front Spar (right) were clecoed to their respective Bottom Skin.  Then, the Left Elevator was assembled by using five Ribs, the Front Spar, Left Root Rib, Trim Access Reinforcement Doubler, Upper Rib, Reinforcement Doubler Brace, Rear Spar, and the Left Bottom Skin.  The Right Elevator was assembled in the same fashion with the appropriate pieces.

 

The Gussets were then added to the assembly.....one for the left side and one for the right side and Final-Drilled #30.  The one below is from the Right Elevator.

 

The Shear Clips were next up.....two for the left side and one for the right side.  The picture below shows the Shear Clip on the Right Elevator.

 

Moving on to the Piano Hinge.  The Hinge was separated into two individual pieces.  The side previously marked "forward" was clecoed to the Rear Spar using the pilot hole that I drilled earlier.  The Hinge was aligned with the top flange of the Rear Spar and clamped into place.  Once in place, all the #40 holes were Match-Drilled between the Rear Spar and Piano Hinge.  Below is the right side of the Piano Hinge trimmed to the edge of the Skin.

 

Both ends of the Piano were trimmed flush to the edges of the Trim Tab Spar.

 

Both Tip Ribs were clecoed to the left and right sides and top Skins for the Left and Right Elevators were then added to the assembly.  Lastly, the Trailing Edge was installed, measured, and trimmed to match the Skins.