Finished Right Side Riveting

Today I was going to prime the left side parts but decided to go ahead and complete the riveting on the right elevator. Everything worked out well. When I do the left side I will be waiting to rivet 704 and 703 together until I get the short rib to the spar thereby avoiding the squeezer gymnastics needed to get all the rivets squeezed in that joint.

There’s two items I need to investigate further. First, Van’s came out with the soft rivet bulletin this weekend. Although I am not affected by their apparent mishap, it got me thinking that I had bought some rivets locally early on before knowing the difference between soft and hard rivets. And, just tonight, it felt like a few of the rivets were VERY easy to squeeze. The other thing I need to check on is the quality of my trailing edge bend. It seems like it needs a little more massaging in the middle sections to reduce some bowing I see. Work is going to kill me over the next couple of weeks so I might not get a lot more done on the elevators in November.

Tasks Completed:    

• Finished riveting the right elevator skeleton
• Riveted 701 skin to right elevator skeleton

Right Side Priming and Riveting

I worked quickly this afternoon to get the priming done. I ran out of daylight, but decided to spray outside the garage. Worked OK even in the 45 degree weather except for the fumes that got into the house. The priming turned out good.

To get the 703 and 704 ribs together by squeezing I had to get a little tricky. The longeron yoke would not open wide enough to get around both flanges. So I had to take the bottom set out of the yoke get everything into place around the flanges and then put the set into the yoke. It worked out fine even if it was a bit tedious. 

Tasks Completed: 

• Washed all the elevator parts
• Acetoned all the elevator parts
• Etched the right elevator parts
• Primed the right elevator parts
• Riveted E 703 and 704 together
• Riveted both doublers and nut plates to the spar
• Started the rivet the 703/704 assembly to the spar

Counterweight, Blog and Wing Cradle

Over the last few days I have transfered all my paper and electronic logs of the build over to this blog. It’ll be much easier to update and edit along the way. Plus I can share progress with other builders and maybe pass on some of the hard lessons I learn along the way.

Also today I went down and picked up Dave Parson’s old wing cradle at his hanger in Renton. The wings aren’t due till April but its never too early to carve some space out in the basement. It was nice to see his -7A up close. I learned some good intel. On some of his systems.

I might switch to putting the landing light in the wingtips instead of the duckworks setup. It looks like less of a hassle. His dual AFS EFIS setup is sweet but he did say it wasn’t flawless. Little glitches here and there during updates and such. That probably won’t dissuade me from installing an EFIS but I should do more research on each model and the support that comes with it.

Tasks Completed:      

• Cutaway excess lead on left elevator counterweight

Note: I ended up removing a bit more than I wanted but its within spec. Also there was a bubble exposed after cutting away the lead. I’ll probably end up filling with epoxy just to keep moisture out. 

Update (12.11.07): DO NOT remove material from the left E714 counterweight. I did not read the plans carefully enough. There is a note under the trim detail for the right counterweight that says this is for the ride side only! The extra lead on the left side is to counteract the additional weight created by the trim tab. 

Misc. Elevator Prep

Tonight I just tried to clean up some loose ends so that I can prime all the skeleton parts for both the left and right elevators this weekend. The weather looks dry but cold. We’ll see.

Tasks Completed:  

• Matched drilled E610PP doubler to spar
• Deburred and dimlped E702 spar
• Deburred backside of counterweight

Countersinking and More Dimpling

The jig worked pretty well. If I were to do it over I wouldn’t insert clecoes in the countersunk holes. The countersink was basically right to the edge so the holes distorted a little when I took the cleocos out. I think its minor issue since this part will be sandwiched between the dimpled skin and the trim tab hinge.

Tasks Completed:

• Countersank E606PP using jig.
• Continued to scotchbrite and dimple left elevator skeleton parts.

Left Side Scuffing and Dimpling

Tasks Completed:

• Began to scotchbrite and dimple left elevator skeleton parts.
• Built simple jig to hold E606PP for countersinking

Deburring and Servo Mount Drilling

Tasks Completed:

• Deburred all the left elevator parts
• Match drilled servo mount brakets to coverplate

NOTE: The measurement in Drawing 5 for the edge distance for the outboard servo bracket was off by about 1/32″. After checking on VAF, I found a number of folks with the same comment. I shifted my mark and drilled the coverplate.

LE: Skeleton Assem., Drilling

Tonight I drilled the counterweight attach hole in E713, 714, 703 and 704 to #12. I clecoed on the left skin and elevator horn and finshed match drilling the remaining holes. Everything seemed to fit very well. I am wondering if the trailing edge is bent enough in the middle section. It looks a little too rounded around the edge there. I will check further before final riveting.

Detail of the left elevator showing the electric trim bay

LE: Drilling, Counterweight

–Match drilled E610P and E702
–Clecoed E703 and 704 together
–Matchdrilled them to E702
–Shaped E714 and clecoed E713 into place.

NOTE: E610PP holes don’t quit align with E702 holes.They appear to be 1/32″ off. I emailed Van’s. They said if I can get the clecos on without distorting the spar, then its probably ok to drill. Build on…2 hours

E: Deburring, Dimpling, and Riveting

• Rechecked and deburred right elevator parts as necessary
• Riveted nut plates to E615
• Backriveted left elevator skin
• Bent trailing edge of left elevator skin

Note: My original backrivet tool from PlaneTools.com went TU. That’s about 3 tools from them that have made it into the trash. So far Avery and Cleveland tools are holding up well.