Although not riveted together, the Tail part of the Fuselage is clecoed to the Center section, including all the auxiliary longerons and forward bulkheads. One of the last tasks (before riveting both parts) is installing the Rudder/Brake pedals. To actuate the brake cylinder, we need to create Aluminum angles and […]
Together with my dad, we finished the Empennage kit today, by attaching the Elevators to the Horizontal Stabilizer. The counter balance weight arm of the Elevator does not fit in the Horizontal Stabilizer. Hence we have to trim the Horizontal Stabilizer, until it fits. Before trimming we drill a hole […]
Attaching the Rudder to the Vertical Stabilizer starts with inserting the hinges with the right depth into the Rudder. The drawings note the distance, however it is important that all three hinges align, in order to get a smooth moving Rudder. Once the hinges are inserted I can start fitting […]
A few more tasks and the Rudder is finished. First set the remaining rivets of the tip rib. I could use the squeezer for all but the last two holes. The second last I could do with the rivet gun and a barn door hinge for a bucking bar. However […]
My dad helped me with gluing the wedge and the two skins together that make up the trailing edge of the Rudder. We hesitated, because I’m keeping close contact with another RV-7 builder in the Netherlands (Joop Sint Jago) who tipped me on using Proseal on the stiffeners to prevent […]
In the top of the Rudder there is a counter balance weight, which compensates the weight of the Rudder on the other side of the hinges. On several places in the RV-7 there are counter balance weights. The Rudder counter balance weight is placed in a rib on the top […]
After match drilling the skins of the Rudder, I can now prepare for priming the Rudder parts. The first step is dimpling the skins, spar and ribs. Many builders do this step after priming, but I rather do it before. Again the DRDT-2 is invaluable for this task (although quite […]
The stiffeners created previously need to be match drilled with the skin. Again great care must be taken with the very thin skin. After having the stiffeners match drilled the must be detached, deburred and dimpled. According to the building plan they can be primed and back-riveted to the skin. […]
The next step is the Rudder, which is a lot harder than the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. The stiffeners need precise trimming and there are multiple doubler plates that you need to create yourself from a bundle of Aluminum plates. For trimming the stiffeners I use the snips. The are […]