Thursday, June 8, 2017

Empennage, Elevator (Part 18)

I only worked on the Elevator for a short time tonight.....but, made a few small steps forward.  On Tuesday, I showed a picture of the Reinforcement Doubler Brace I was about to install with the Trim Access Reinforcment Doubler and the Left Bottom Skin.  As I was installing the piece, I didn't have the Brace and the Doubler completely flush with each other when I squeezed the rivet.  As a result, the rivet spread inside the hole of the Brace and stretched the hole from a #40 to almost #30.  Since a replacement Brace only cost $6.65, I decided to order another one.  I called the parts department at Van's and had a new replacement two days later.

So, I started tonight by preparing the Brace....edge work, Alumiprep, and Alodine.  Additionally, the E-01402 Trim Cover Plate and the E-01409-L & -R Servo Support C-Channels were prepared the same way.  Here are the raw aluminum pieces prior to Alumiprep and Alodine.
 

These are the Servo Support C-Channels after Alumiprep and Alodine.
 

This is the Trim Cover Plate after Alumiprep and Alodine.  The seven larger #27 holes were dimpled and the smaller #40 holes were machine countersunk to accept AN426AD3 rivets. The Servo Support C-Channels and the Trim Servo will eventually be attached to this plate.
 

And finally, the new Reinforcement Doubler Brace after Alumiprep and Alodine.
 

I will prime these four pieces tomorrow and continue the Elevator assembly.