During painting I had the Vertical Stabilizer and Rudder installed and removed the Horizontal Stabilizer and the Elevator. The main reason is that the paint scheme lines need to correctly align. The only way to do that is that the parts are assembled.

The Horizontal Stabilizer and Elevator don’t have lines that continue on the Fuselage. However we now have to remove both the Rudder and the Vertical Stabilizer in order to install the Horizontal Stabilizer and Elevator.

Maybe I should have only insert bolts in the Rudder instead I had installed it completly. Anyway the Rudder is off and I have to carefully place it somewhere the paint is not scratched.

Next is the Vertical Stabilizer needs to be removed. The Vertical Stabilizer is currently only attached to the end of the Fuselage.

With all the Empennage parts removed, you have to be careful, because the Engine is installed and that makes the airplane nose heavy.
We place the cradle with the wings aside, so we can pick up the Horizontal Stabilizer and Elevator.

Before installing the Horizontal Stabilizer and Elevator, we need to remove the paper and tape that I used to prevent the internals of the empennage te bo painted.

Now we can install the Horizontal Stabilizer and Elevator onto the Fuselage and bolt it to the attach points.

The Elevator is operated with a long push rod running from the baggage compartment all the way to the tail. There is not much room to insert the bolt and washers.

Now we can torque all the nuts and mark them with torque seal.

Once the Horizontal Stabilizer is attached, we can start installing the Vertical Stabilizer, which is partly attached to the Horizontal Stabilizer. It feels great to torque the nuts for the last time, knowing this is the last time they need to be torqued (besides maintenance).

Next is reinstalling the Rudder. The wiring for the tail light requires a service loop, which is a big loop in the wire to prevent it from wearing out when the Rudder is operated.

Finally we need to attach the Rudder cables to the Rudder and clamp the chains and springs from the Rudder to the Tail Wheel.

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  4/0  (2021-09-08)

Video

The Empennage Fairing is a tedious part of the build. It’s a more complex form and some builders don’t use the standard fairing in the kit, but construct one themselves.

I don’t have the epoxy/fiberglas skills to go that way, so I’m condemned to sand and drill and then fix stuff again, because I did too much sanding.

The whole Empannage Fairing took me two weeks to get it to the level that I was content with the result.

Good part is that now I do get a feeling for mixing epoxy and flox te fix stuff.

The Empennage is now completely finished, except for the paint job and final assembly once on the airfield.

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-06-10) Engine Pick Up

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets: 37/0  (2020-06-06)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets: 37/0  (2020-06-07)

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-06-13)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-06-19)

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-06-20)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-06-21)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets: 22/2  (2020-06-27)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  8/0  (2020-06-28)

Video

Unfortunately to fasten the Gap Cover to the Fuselage, you need to tap thread into several holes. Turns out I already Riveted these holes. I re-checked the manual and plans, but I can’t find the note that says to NOT rivet these holes.

So I need to drill the rivets out and enlarge them just a little bit to enable tapping thread in them.

You could probably rivet them to the Longeron, but for maintenance it’s easier to make the Gap Cover removable.
Even with the Gap Cover installed, there is still a very small space between the Horizontal Stabilizer and the Gap Cover itself. This is good, because placing hhe aluminum parts against each other would probably go wrong after some time.

To fill this space, you have to cut a piece of rubber strip to the right size to fill that gap in a flexible way.

The rest of the day I prepared enlarging the holes in the Horizontal Stabilizer and Vertical Stabilizer to attach the Empennage Fairing.

Time: 2 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-05-22)

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets:  0/12 (2020-06-01)

Video

Now I do have a fuselage, so I can attach the Empennage to the Fuselage. Time to finish things, such as the Rudder tips. I can’t help it by applying yet another layer of resin and sanding it of again to make it more smooth.

Next up is the Rudder Stops. I tried the earlier fabricated Rudder Stops according to the drawings, but they don’t fit very well and I didn’t like them.
I hesitated on the ‘internal rudder stops’, but it looks flimsy to me.

So when the time of riveting the Rudder Stops came, I decided to create new Rudder Stops. I used the old Rudder Stops as a template, but made the new ones a bit longer, so I can make it in a better form.

Now I can drill the new Rudder Stops to the Fuselage. They look great and are aerodynamic. However they are placed under the Elevators, so probably no one can see them.

On the Rudder Horn there is a line about half an inch from the top. I wasn’t sure If I had to trim that part of, but apparently I do, because the Horn wouldn’t fit with the Tail Wheel. Maybe the Rudder Horn is also used for the RV-7A or some other model, where you can keep the Horn ‘taller’.

Anyway, I had to trim that part from the Rudder Horn.

I made a card board template to check where the Rudder Control Angle fits the Rudder Horn. At this point I thought I could still cut out the L-form from the Horn and ‘wrap’ it around the Rudder, ‘Fat Change’.

I filed and tried, but in the end I didn’t succeed. If I would yank hared, I’d probably rip the fiberglass.

There is no way I can get it to fit, so after trying for half an hour I decided to trim the L-shaped part out of the Rudder Horn. I could do it on one side and leave the other, but my obsession for symmetry prevented me to do that.

The Rudder Horn fits great, all I need to do is riveting it and than finish it with epoxy resin and sand it.

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-05-21)

Video

With every step it starts to look more like an airplane, however there are still many pieces missing.

We start by positioning the Horizontal Stabilizers in the center of the Fuselage as close as we can by just looking.

We clamp the Horizontal Stabilizers both on the main spar and rear spar to the aft deck.

To position the Horizontal Stabilizers perpendicular to the Fuselage, we measure the distance from the corner of the Firewall to the Horizontal Stabilizer tip.

We did this several times and also measured it with a traditional measuring tape.

Now we can drill the main spar of the Horizontal Stabilizers to the aft deck. First a small drill and after double checking increasing it to the final size.

With the main spar attached, we need to insert shims under the aft spar to set the correct angle between the Horizontal Stabilizers and the Fuselage. With the shims temporarily installed, we can drill the aft spar to the Fuselage.

ALL SET!
Now continue with the Vertical Stabilizer.

Raising the tail-wheel, so the Fuselage is level. This way we can make the Vertical Stabilizer perpendicular to the Fuselage.

The Vertical Stabilizer is attached with a plate to the main spar and to the most aft bulkhead.

Once correctly measured, we can saw the forward attach spar of the Vertical Stabilizer to the correct size.

Before drilling the Hole, we need to be sure the Vertical Stabilizer is not only perpendicular to the Fuselage, but also to the Horizontal Stabilizers. We measured it with the laser and the old fashioned way.

Woo-Hoo, It looks great with the Rudder. Only the missing Rudder Horn looks a little sad.

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-05-16)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-05-17)

Time: 2 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-05-18)

Video

I did some initial bending of sample lines, but somehow couldn’t find out how the ‘hand tubeing bender’ works. After this experience I actually did RTFM!
And I watched several YouTube video’s that explained it. It always seems so simple when experts do it.

The bigger the frustration when you try it and you mangle a piece of Aluminum until it’s FUBAR.
First step is measuring the tube and cutting of the part you need for a specific Fuel line.

We need two feed lines (left and right) and a single return line. The ULPower 520 iSA is an electronic injected engine and requires a return line.
I decided to make a single return line to the left wing. The Sport Cruiser has a similar approach.

While my Dad uses a electric wire to bend a template, I’m widening the holes, so the Fuel lines and the grommet fit the hole.

The Fuel line cover plate needs to fit exactly in the corner of the ‘bend’.

We discuss how the routing of the left feed line relates to the return line. I figured that we should use different routing, but it is now too late. Good thing I had to redo everything

Next day, I concentrated on the Elevator tips.

The lead counter balance weight at the forward side of the elevator tab is trimmed aft as per the drawing. However in hind-side I think it would be better to trim it at the front.

At least then there is enough room for some glass fiber covering. Now I did create the glass fiber cover, only to grind it all away in the finishing.

In order to ‘connect’ he tip to the glass fiber front, I also put some resin on the tip itself.

The fit is good and no I can let it cure (dry) for some time.

After clecoing the tips to the Elevator, I can start riveting them together.

Because I don’t need ‘entry’ to the Elevator and Rudder tips, I use blind rivets to attach them. There is no way you can use ‘normal’ rivets. You could install screws, but that is overkill.

While the tips dry, I use the remaining epoxy resin (you always make too much), to fill the gap between the Elevator and the trim tab. The gap widens at the end and I want a consistent gap. Nothing a little resin can’t solve.

And while we’re at it, we also apply it to the blind rivets and the Glass Fiber – Aluminum connection.

Of course as a noob with resin, I apply too much and I regret it the next day when I have to grind all the excess resin away.
Oh well, learned yet some more.

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets: 11/3 (2020-04-11)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-04-18)

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets: 19/0 (2020-04-19)

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-04-22)

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-04-23)

Time: 2 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-04-25)

Time: 2 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-04-26)

Video

The forward part of the Rudder tips is close during fabrication, in contrast with the Elevator tips, which are open. However I did need to add a layer of epoxy resin and clean it up to make it smooth.

The Aluminum edges, where the tips connect to are also cleaned up with a sandpaper grinder. It enables merging with the resin and produces a smooth result.

Fitting the Rudder tip takes a lot of time. It’s a loop of attaching the tip, check for bumps and unevenness, file and grind and fit again.

Same procedure for the tip of the vertical stabilizer. I used too much epoxy resin for the forward part and had to grind of a lot of material. Note: making the resin hot (by grinding) also makes it weak again.

Next step is to align both tips, so the line of the vertical stabilizer and the rudder should continue nicely.

Once everything aligns, we can start riveting the tips. I use blind rivets, because it’s impossible to use regular rivets and I don’t need access, so I don’t need to be able to detach them.

So now when I created some epoxy resin, I try to handle all tasks that require it. Making resin for every little thing would be too much overhead and a waste of resin (you always make too much).

I use resin on the merge overlap of Aluminum and the glass fiber tips. Also I fill the holes of the blind rivets. Again I shouldn’t use so much resin, because it only results in more grinding.

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets: 18/0 (2020-04-04)

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets:  0/0 (2020-04-08)

Video

In hind-side, I’d probably should have just finished it than and there, because It turns out I still do it at different times. On the other hand, it’s not a problem anyway. I just had to find the Tips in my storage rack.

From the factory, the preformed Elevator Tips fit quite nicely. Just a little trimming is enough.

Because the Tips are blind-riveted to the Elevator, with the Aluminum to the outside, the rivet in pulled to the fiberglass. To prevent pulling the rivet right through the fiberglass, you have to secure it on the inside. You can use either a small washer or aluminum strip. I decided to make custom ‘washers’ from Aluminum. just a strip cut into small squares and drill them.

As a final touch I dimpled the ‘washers’, so it is distributes the tension when pulling the rivet.

Drilling the holes though the Aluminum into the glassfiber works good. However you need to check if the Tip is straight on the Aluminum. The preformed fiberglass fits great, but it will not guarantee being aligned, so check it.

Flipping the Horizontal Stabilizer to drill the other side.
Another problem is the Lead weight on the forward part of the Elevator. In Hind-side (again) it’s better to trim it on the forward side, so you can comfortably make a fiberglass front piece to it.

I didn’t dimple the Aluminum, which is a good thing, as it made fitting the Tips much easier.

With some time left, we also started with the Rudder Tips (the top side. The Rudder Horn (bottom part) can only be done after fitting it to the tail. Because of the Tail wheel, you need to do some extra trimming.

Again after trimming I had to dimple the Aluminum (with the squeezer of course). I used the same Aluminum (custom) square ‘washers’ on the inside to prevent ripping the fiberglass when riveting.

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets: 31/1 (2020-03-29)

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets:  2/0 (2020-04-01)

Video

Before trimming we drill a hole in the corner, because snipping into a corner will result in crackling. By drilling a hole, we prevent stress in the Aluminum. Now we can use the left and right snips to trim the Horizontal Stabilizer.

On both sides we had the “First time right”. The Elevators fitted perfectly in the trimmed Horizontal Stabilizer.

After fastening the hinges and drilling the center hinge holes in the Elevator holes, we could finally attach the Elevators to the Horizontal Stabilizer. Look at the size of this part.

So after 129 hours the Empennage is finished. That is to say, I didn’t do the fairings of the Rudder and the Elevators, but as mentioned before, I’ll pick this up as I do the fairings of the Wings.

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets: 0/0

Video

Once the hinges are inserted I can start fitting the Rudder to the Vertical Stabilizer. It takes several times to attach and detach it again and adjust the hinges. I found that if I set the top and bottom hinge I can adjust the middle to align all three of them.

After hinge alignment I fastened the bolts and here is the attached Rudder to the Vertical Stabilizer in the correct position.

This part can now be shelved for when I start working on the fairings. The nice part is that the counter balance weight arm of the Rudder fits perfectly into the Vertical Stabilizer skin cutout.

The counter balance weight arm of the Elevators however do not fit into the Horizontal Stabilizer skin cutout. Strange, because I don’t see why Van’s cannot prepare that properly (just is with the Vertical Stabilizer). So I inserted the hinges in the Elevators, but did not have enough time to start trimming the skin.

Next time I’ll trim the skin and attach the Elevators to the Horizontal Stabilizer.

Time: 2 Hours, Rivets: 0/0

Video