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Flaps & Ailerons...and a rudder doubler! 04/26/03 - I mentioned last week that I had installed the rudder horns IMPROPERLY initially, which made a few extra holes in the bottom of the tube. Just to be on the safe side, I installed a doubler tube I received from Rans in the mail yesterday. Not a very involved process and now I feel more secure about the rudder and those EXTRA holes I put there by accident. Thanks go out again to Ed at Rans for his invaluable help! After finishing the doubler installation, I began work on the Ailerons and Flaps which really just involves some drilling, installing a few nut plates, a few closeout caps and the horns. A few photos of today's tasks follow. Doubler installed (note the 3/16" SS Rivet head just above the 1/4" bolt):
End view showing the doubler inside the tube:
Of course, I had to run the Coyote outside again and see what he looks like in a flight profile now that we've got an empennage:
Laying out the work for the day:
Drilling and deburring for the hinges:
Installing the nutplates:
First aileron finished:
Opposite side finished:
The process is very much the same for the flaps and here's a photo with all completed:
According to the manual, I'll start on the forward and aft wing spars next and from the bit of reading ahead I've done, building the wings may take me a while. The control surfaces finished today are actually ready for fabric now, although I still don't know the first thing about fabric work...everything in due time, I guess. ;^) I have EAA's videotape on Fabric covering and three books on the subject that Mark Dickey (formerly the "Fabric Man" at Rans) recommended, but I've not watched the video or read anything YET and no, I'm not being lazy, just priority-challenged. The Superflite fabric covering process used by Rans is supposedly somewhat quicker than the Poly Fiber process and certainly less labor intensive than the Ceconite process, but that's about the extent of my knowledge on fabric work (so far). I've been considering making a trip in the next month or so to Hartford, CT or Frederick, MD in order to attend a fabric covering workshop. The seminar in Hartford on May 31 and June 1 is being sponsored by EAA Chapter 1310 and the workshop in Frederick on June 21 and June 22 is a regular EAA sponsored event. I think of the two, I'd rather go to the local chapter sponsored event in Hartford. I will most definitely first place a call to Rans before making a decision in order to get a more informed opinion from Ed on whether it might be better to go to one of the workshops, try it out with my books and video or maybe take a trip back out to Hays, KS and spend a couple of days following their current covering person around. Whichever path I take, it'll be interesting for sure! More updates soon... |
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Last Update: 04/26/2003 |
