Rudder Assembly

Monday 19th Nov 2hr 10min

Assembled rudder and match-drilled skins to ribs, spar and trailing edge. Trimmed rudder brace Fitted and match-drilled rudder brace.

The manual suggests that you prime and rivet the stiffeners to the skins before assembling the rudder to match-drill the remaining parts. However, I am delaying priming so I clecoed back on the stiffners in order to prevent bowing of the skins. There sure are a lot of holes in this thing.

Trimming the rudder brace was easy and it fitted without any problem. The Orndorff video shows a trim line etched in to the sides of the brace but these have been replaced with twohalf-holes in the edges which you join up with a line, just like on the skin stiffeners. There are also a lot more pre-punched holes in this kit. For instance the R405PD rudder horn to R710 rudder brace holes are now pre-punched in the horn.

What goes together, must come apart

Wed 21st Nov 2hr 20

Completed R-918 attach strips, fitted and match-drilled them to R-901 skins and R904. Disassembled the rudder and began "DDEP" (Deburr, Dimple, Edge preparation)

Ken Scott replied to an email I had sent Yesterday to Vans support. He says I should replace the HS-902 spar on which some of the countersinks are too deep but the others three spar halves can be used. He also suggested two additional rivets through the skin and stiffeners either side of the double-holes created by mistake when dimpling the stiffeners. I don't like this as I believe the eye will be drawn to the anomaly in the rivet pattern. However the part is very cheap and as I am having a HS-902 shipped across anyway, there will be no additional postage or packing charge. Once they arrive, I can completely eliminate that ding. I also copied my examiner Mick Bevan on this correspondence and he concurs.

Yesterday evening was also the monthly meeting of the SAAC. I always bring a notebook along to record all the useful information and contacts that I get. Yesterday, I got a lead on a torque screwdriver that can handle the very low torque values necessary for the AN3 bolts in the central HS hinge brackets - 20-25 inch pounds. Charles O'Shea also took me through the builders manual that I will be completing with Mick Bevan.

I had already cut the bottom attach strips to length as they come from the same piece as the R-917 shim. As George Orndorff recommends, I cut the two R918 attach strips from the ends of this piece, leaving more than enough for the R917 in the middle. This evening, I cut off the angled ends that butt up to the rudder brace and filed and polished the edges.

They are held in place initially with side-jaw clecos (you need the longer 1" type to reach) and then clecoed as the holes are drilled. The lower holes are not drilled at this stage. The plans simply specify "2" approx spacing" - one of the few places I have seen the abreviation "approx" anywhere on these plans.

Taking the rudder apart took a while as there were so many clecos but that is because I had the stiffners clecoed in as well. I also deburred the skins very lightly.

No photos this evening - The camera is acting up and just could not be persuaded to perform.