Trent's RV14 Build: 9-02: Work on the Elevators begins!

Today, i began work on the Elevators:

Page 9:02 began by snipping apart the elevator ribs - i decided that this time, each time i grabbed a new part and began to work on it, i would deburr the edges etc at that time.. to save having a massive pile of parts that all needed to be deburred at the same time!

Each of the ribs was separated and edge deburred.

Next up was to cleco together and match drill the counterbalance ribs and skins together. Again these were all edge deburred at the same time. Page 9-02 called for straightening the rib flanges, and checking for straightness of the ribs by using the holes in the counterbalance skins as a guide. I found that the best method was to overflute the ribs, so that the rib was bent too far inward, past where it needed to be. I then clecod the skins to the rib in question at both ends only, and checked to see how the holes lined up.

As expected they were over fluted and the rib was bent too far away from the skin edges:

The holes underneath were deliberately bent away from the direction they needed to be (fluted too much) to start with.

Once they were clecod in place and over fluted, i was able to use the hand seamer to very very gently squeeze out some of the fluting (i.e. squeeze the skins with the ribs below them at the same time), which brought the skins back into alignment perfectly with the holes. This method was a lot quicker than the ribs being not fluted enough - as you had to undo the clecos and remove the rib each time to flute a section; it was guessing and wasn't a good method - this way worked heaps better.

After squeezing the flutes out slightly - the holes lined up very well.

Foam ribs

Next up was to cut out the templates for the foam ribs, and stick them to the PVC blocks. I let it cure overnight. I then used the bandsaw to cut as close to the line as i could, then sanded them usign 240 grit paper. I used the backrivet plate as a level base, and a square tube i had laying around to ensure the sanded faces (the ones which would glue to the skin) stayed 90 degrees.

This worked pretty well, with the blocks all being under a 1/32nd in size from each other. Since they really needed to be the same, i decided to hold them all together and use a large permagrit bar across them to make sure they were exactly the same.

Finally, i peeled the paper templates off in case they ever fell off inside the elevators in the future.

Trim Tabs / Skins / Elevator Assemblies

Next up was the trim tab skins, which were edge deburred. I then trimmed the vinyl on all the skins outer surfaces, and followed the instructions to bend the trim tab close out tabs on the left hand upper and lower skins.

MVP (Major Visual Progress)

Next up, i edge deburred the forward spars and cleco'd them to the bottom skins. Next was to start to assemble all the elevator components, one by one, into place on the skin. This meant as each part was grabbed, i also edge deburred each one, before clecoing in place. Everything fit very nicely - i just had to adjust the and flanges of each tip rib to match the angle of the spar / skin holes. The gussets and sheer clips all fit perfectly first go.

Both assemblies cleco'd together

LH Elevator Gusset (note the tip rib ends at the longer rear spar due to the trim tab going at the back)

Trim servo doubler and support bracket

RH Elevator gusset (note the tip rib extends to the trailing edge)

Sheer clip was in a nice position, with enough gap for the upper skin trim tab close out tab to fit. Amazing instructions and amazing engineering. Constantly impressed by the quality of this kit.

Trim Tab Hinge

Next was to measure and drill a pilot hole in the trim tab hinge, and to cleco the forward half onto the rear spar, and the aft half onto the trim tab spar. These were clamped to be parallel to the spar edges, then drilled and cleco'd as i went. I marked their overhangs at the ends of the spars, removed them, deburred them (edges and holes) then reinstalled them because it looked very cool. Starting to look like an aircraft.