Got all parts down and unwrapped only to find the elevators DON’T FIT! Spent a hour or more trying to figure out where it went wrong. Turns out, skin and tips need trimming, marked only on plan sheet…
Finished riveting elevator leading edges. Attached rod-end bearings and jam nuts. Small day.
Trim tab was finished. Uneventful. Piece was measured and attached to elevator. Everything was buttoned up and then… Rolling the edges took hours. I hate it. It is miserable. They didn’t come out how I wanted. But I don’t know that spending more time and energy would fix anything. Likely, it would make it worse. […]
Lots of progress. Both sides riveted up! Used RTV on the stiffener ends instead of sealant. Worked well. Left elevator is nearly done! Next it is on to the trim tab. No word from Van’s. Will call later this week. Maybe have to start on fuse?? Ask internet??
Dimpled left elevator skeleton (out of order). Nearly forgot. Riveted skeleton together. Went very quickly. Got skins prepped. Added some dimples. I was planning on skipping. Added weldment. Everything smooth. Went to put skin on. Fitting balance tab skin over weight + ribs again a chore. Stopped there because I wanted to add RTV to […]
Left elevator was dimpled. Countersunk trim spar backwards… had to countersink both sides. 🙁 Two more weakened rivet holes. 🙁 SLOW DOWN!! Started mounting trim servo. Some mentioned countersinking on servo plate cover. I dimpled. Seemed to work. Screws tight… Tabs on elevator bent. This was a pain but went well.
A lot of start-stop. Right elevator skin mated to skeleton. Skeleton, ribs, plates—all riveted. Mixed up tank seal & smeared on interior stiffener ends. Skin riveted to skeleton. Counterweight mounted. Weldment riveted on. Dimpling after priming worked great. Need more tank seal for left-hand elevator (ordered). Only things left: rolling edges, adding rod-end bearings, fiberglass […]
Parts all scrubbed. Some parts took additional deburring. Dremel + Scotch Brite was the best way to go about that. Primer (200ml total) was used. With clean gun the priming went much better.
Discovered 8-ish rivets in trim plate access reinforcement that weren’t dimpled or riveted. These were (embarrassingly) dimpled and riveted in place rather than drilling out the surrounding rivets (again!) and dimpling separate. I deburred. On these notes, I quit. Still no word from Van’s on my wings. 🙁