Empennage gets set aside for now..

I finished working on the Emp for a while, wings should be here this week and I need to get ready. I was able to close out the rudder and both elevators with final rivets. I haven't closed out the Horizontal Stab or Fin yet since I will need to do some additional work with Balsa, or foam to fully close out the fairing. But for now I have a good start on it and can work on the tips during other slow parts of the build.

I also torqued all nuts on the Emp last night and played with Torque Seal for the first time. (Didn't use torque seal on the rudder, but did torque the counterbalance) I think I got this all figured out. My understanding is that you don't put the torque seal on the treads of the bolt, only the nut, washers, and back plate. I had to torque the elevator counterbalance before closing the tip since you can't reach it after words.

More Fiberglass..

Worked on all the tips last night. The Rudder tip is the first one to be permanently riveted as you can see in the pic. All that is left for this one is filler and sanding then more filler and more sanding. The HS and Elevator tips are all cut and ready to be mounted but they need to be closed out first. This piece might not happen in the short term since the wings should be here next week.

Continued Empennage Tips

Tonight I continued working on the empennage tips. More cutting, drilling, and sanding. The rudder tip is almost complete, just final drill and then pop rivet. You can see how I am putting sheet metal in for the rivets to grab onto. Also, Finished drilling and adding the metal strip to the right elevator. Tomorrow will work on the left one.

Fiberglass Tips

Today I started making progress on the fiberglass tips for the Elevators and Horizontal Stabilizer. I won't get them totally complete by the time the wings come, but will at least get them drilled and in place. Here is the general process for the tips...

1) Ensure the fiberglass flange isn't too long, as it can't be resting internally on any substructure.

2) Cut to General Shape.. best tool for this is a pneumatic die grinder with a cutoff wheel.

3) Pilot Drill into the proper location

4) Epoxy the interior with aluminum strips over pilot holes to give the pop rivets something to grab.

5) Final Drill, Countersink Tips, Dimple skins

6) Close off open areas of the VS and HS Tips with Epoxy/Balsa.. More info on that will be coming.

7) Fill surface cracks and sand, Fill and Sand, Fill and Sand, etc... until smooth..

Trim Tab - Victory !

OK, I know I don't have pics of all the detailed work going into it, but this weekend I was able to crank out a perfect trim tab. Here are some pics of the finished product. I found out that the twist in the tab is fully dependant on the folded tabs where the pop rivets go. Don't drill the holes until you have it mounted on the Elevator and can twist to make sure it is straight with the trailing edge. Then drill the holes and install the pop rivets. This is done after the bottom of the trim tab spar is riveted in place. The tab can twist ever so slightly but makes a big different with alignment when it is done, and if you don't get it right will not align with the trailing edge.

Wings come next week and will give me just enough time to work out some of the fiberglass tips on the Emp..

Trim Tab

Spent a couple of hours on the trim tab, mainly working on getting the bends exact. You can see in the picture how I used a piece of Iron Wood (IPE) in a vice to support the tab. The bends came out really good, now lets just see if I can keep this trim tab straight as it goes together.

Still Here

Don't give up on me.. I am still here, just not making progress by leaps and bounds right now. Waiting on the wings and slowly working on items in the garage. Been so hot in Seattle these days, can't stand to be out there for more than a few minutes at a time. I am aligning the elevators on the HS, trimming some excess skin and getting ready to final drill the root ends of each Elevator.

I have to confess, the first trim Tab I but together came out with the trailing edge not square, so I am onto my second tab like so many other builders. Will get some pics of that as I get it together..

Rebekah is heading out of country in the next couple weeks so expect some fast and furious progress and lots of updates.