Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Section 9 - Elevators (riveted right trailing edge; rolled/riveted right leading edge)

After letting the 6 right trailing edge foam ribs cure for 3 days following adhering with proseal, I double-blind riveted the 51 rivets in the trailing edge, riveted the remaining rivets in the tip rib and inboard rib, and then rolled and riveted the leading edge of the right elevator. Just as with the rudder, rolling the leading edge is an exercise in patience - two-thirds with a 1" PVC pipe duct-taped to the entire length (see section 5.9), and then the rest of the way slowly massaging it by hand.  The two skins must overlap to reduce/eliminate stress on the rivets; once they do overlap, blind-riveting them together was a snap ... and a great sense of accomplishment.

Straight, right trailing edge (top view, machined rivet heads):



Bottom of double-flush riveted right trailing edge:


FAA glamour shot:


Rolled leading edge, clecoed skins, and ready to blind rivet.  Not shown:  2 hrs of slowly bending the skins into place.


And, the leading edge is done!


Turned out a little better than the rudder - seems even, not wavy, and hopefully is the right curvature.  Note that the elevator is positioned upside down in this and the last picture - the top skin overlaps the bottom.



No comments: