983RV Life

Tag: Empennage

  • Trim Tabs Formed and Drilled

    Trim Tabs Formed and Drilled

    The trim tabs arrived later than expected. They didn’t come until Thursday which I had other stuff that ended up happening that night. So I finally got a chance to work on it all today. I got the skins bent to their proper angle and then I got the ends bent as well. They still are further in than they are supposed to be. I finally got the first tab to bend properly on the second end of the first trim tab that I worked on but the second tab that folded over it for some reason still ended up further in than it should be. That is a very frustrating step. I kept eyeing over the block and it was not slipping on me, but I also couldn’t get the block as far forward as I wanted with the first tab bent up. I almost feel like you need to bend the first tab a little further out and then the second tab will fall into place. I don’t know. Either way that is all done. I went to final drill the holes but it appears that these new parts are final sized already so that work was for not. I still went through all of the holes just to check but they were all final sized. I then finalized it by bending the forward edge of the trim tab. I’ll work on priming it tomorrow and then hopefully getting to assemble it. I have a car wash fundraiser that I need to go to tomorrow morning with my boy but I have the afternoon and evening to finish those tabs. Fingers crossed they stay true. I used a flat edge and weights on the trim tabs while I was drilling the ends so that it would stay straight. So far they are still straight as can be so so far so good.

    On a final note I did finally finish organizing all of the parts from the wing kit and I mounted the drawers to the wall so I had more table space.

  • Trim Servo Assembly Initial Work

    Trim Servo Assembly Initial Work

    I started work on the trim servo assembly. I ended up wasting some work on trim bell crank tab as I cut too much out of it. I ordered more aluminum from Van’s to remake the one tab I made. I also finished the other tabs that are used to mount the trim cables. All of the rest of the drilling and countersink work is done. I just need to get the aluminum stock in and then I can finish up the last little bit. Then I’ll prime all of the parts and get it installed. I’m going to start working on the elevator trim tabs tomorrow while I’m waiting on those parts.

  • Elevator Push Rod Completed and Rudder Installed

    Elevator Push Rod Completed and Rudder Installed

    I got the pushrod completed today. I just created 60 ml of primer and just swirled it around on the inside. I checked and it created a complete coverage on the inside. I let it dry for an hour or two before putting the caps on each end with the pop rivets. Got the install of the rod completed and had to file down the rear elevator stop to achieve the 30 degrees of up elevator. I already had enough for down elevator. Then I installed the rudder and it has plenty of throw. I’ll have to get the elevator trim tabs done next so that I can get them installed and check clearance for the ruder on them. I also need to double check my throws even though they seem like they cleared enough. All in all I got quite a bit accomplished today even though we had alot of kid stuff to do today as well as my meeting with the EAA 1612 chapter at David J. Perry today.

    • All components installed right side
    • Pushrod installed
    • All components installed left side
    • Filed down up elevator stop
  • Pushrod Prep

    Pushrod Prep

    I got all of the prep work done for the push rod today. I just need to get some primer on the inside tomorrow, rivet it together and install it. I also got a good hack from the Facebook group. I was having trouble getting my spacing washers installed for my elevator horns and someone suggested using floss. That worked great! I’ll have to remember that in the future.

  • Vertical Stabilizer Attached & Rudder Stop SB Completed

    Vertical Stabilizer Attached & Rudder Stop SB Completed

    I had bought the rudder stop service bulletin hardware a while ago, but just hadn’t executed on it yet since it was up in the attic. I knew I would pull it down at sometime so I just waited. I finally got that done which we can see the completed work below.

    After completing that I was able to get the vertical stabilizer attached as well as reinstall the elevators. I am hoping to get done with the assembly of the rear by the end of this weekend but we’ll see. We have the kids starting school and then we have band and cheerleader stuff we have to go to this weekend.

  • Horizontal Stabilizer Attached

    Horizontal Stabilizer Attached

    I got all of the work done to attach the horizontal stabilizer today. I saw that I did not trim down the shims on the forward portion of the horizontal stabilizer properly so I spent some time reshaping those. Luckily I had to remove more material so it wasn’t a total redo. I also got the vertical stabilizer attached with the clecos to see how it would fit. It looks good and I just need to do the drilling tomorrow.

  • Control Horns Drilled & VS Attach Point Ready

    Control Horns Drilled & VS Attach Point Ready

    I got the control horns drilled, the vertical stabilizer forward attachment point prepped, and I also got all of the horizontal stabilizer spacers cut and stuck on to the forward horizontal stabilizer brace attachment points. I’ll have to figure out where to put the rest of the parts before I turn the empennage around so that I can attach the horizontal stabilizer. I’ll figure that out tomorrow.

    Control horns drilled
    Forward Vertical Stabilizer Mount Prepped
    Spacers done and attached
  • Elevator Control Horn Initial Drilling

    Elevator Control Horn Initial Drilling

    I didn’t get too much time yesterday but I did go back and tighten up the lock nuts for the elevator threaded rod end bearings that I forgot to do the other day on the elevators. I also found a piece of wood that was exactly the width I needed for between the control horns and drilled the first hole. I need to get the drill press out tonight, drill the block and then drill the control horns together.

    I did end up ordering a new caliper as my old one just doesn’t want to work anymore for some reason. And all of it’s dimensions on the slide ruler are in metric. So I had to measure what I needed on a ruler with the caliper and then transfer that to the control horn. Also ignore the mark I made on the control horn that is still there. I had my measurements backwards and when I went to double check my work I noticed I had them switched.

  • Elevators Aligned & Installed

    Elevators Aligned & Installed

    Over the past few days I’ve worked here and there to get both the left and right elevators straight and the control horns drilled. I was surprised that the drill bushing was not only larger in diameter (which they warned us about) but I also had to figure a way to drill out the middle to the right size. Either way, it’s all done and it’s aligned. The one odd thing is that the right elevator is straight down the line, but the counterbalance is 1/16″ skewed inboard. The left elevator is in great shape and straight as can be. Not sure why it is off that amount.

  • Left Elevator Initial Attachment

    Left Elevator Initial Attachment

    I didn’t get alot of time to work on the plane this weekend with all of the church and band activities we participated in. I did get the left elevator attached and measured the gap along the counter balance. It is 1/16″ wider at the front than at the back. The back is perfect at 1/8″. I’ll need to take it off and remeasure the rod end bearings distance from the rear spar. I suspect I might have tightened the right rod end bearing one turn too much but we’ll see tonight when I start working on it again.