Fore Spar Stiffeners Marked for Trimming
Here are the fore horizontal stabilizer stiffeners marked and ready for trimming. I learned that the last holes on the ends are right at the required edge distance. DO NOT take any material other than the milling marks off the ends when radiusing. If you do, you may not make your edge distance specs.
Trimmed and Polished and Ready to be Bent
I completed the trims and then had to make the 6° bends to the tails for the fore spars to make the tapered shape.
The 6° "Bends" Completed
I also completed the bend relief holes in the fore spars and the corresponding 6° bends in them to match the stiffeners. Next is the dimpling of the spars and the countersinking of the stiffeners for the four inner rivet holes.
Spar Assembly complete
HS Spar is complete and ready for primer. All holes are deburred and edges are dressed. At this point, the parts are set aside and now on to the Forward Spar assembly.
Bearing Assembly Matched Drilled
Once the bearing assembly is riveted, you match drill it to the spar. I sighted down the spar through all the hinge pivot points. It is straight as an arrow, right down the middle of the holes. This kit is a thing of beauty.
First Rivets of my plane are now set
So…here is the completed elevator bearing assembly. The first 6 rivets are now in the books. I am using a pneumatic squeezer. Worth every penny. Consistent, clean, and correct.
Prepped and Primed
After all the rear spar stiffeners and channels were match drilled, I prepped and primed the elevator bearing. I am using Dupli-Color’s self etching. I like how it sprays and heck, I even like the color. The next step is to rivet it to its brackets.
The matched punched assemblies are spot on
Every RV starts here. I had to debur the Spar Stiffeners and round over the edges near the channel bends a bit for a flush mating. Then the ends were rounded over to remove the points (aka crack generators). Once both were buffed to a smooth satin finish, I clecod the rear spar and the stiffeners together. Next step is to match drill them.
