Finished up the Rudder tip fairing seams. Umlike the top rudder fairing, which needed a lot of fill work, the bottom was pretty good. Not much filler needed on this one.

Time to store the Rudder away. All that’s left is the Vertical Stabilizer tip fairing.

I fabricated a mounting plate for the tail-strobe. It matches the shape of the bottom rudder fairing. I used JB Weld to fix the nuts in position on the inside portion of the mounting plate. This will allow the tail-strobe to be removed for maintenance.

The mounting plate was primered and mounted to the bottom rudder fairing using two CS4-4 pop rivets. The access hole in the fairing had to be shaped with a dremel to allow for the nuts to clear. The two mounting holes were dimpled in the mounting plate and countersunk in the fairing.

Here you can see the tail-strobe mounted to the fairing. It seems to be a viable solution. I am curious to see if it will stand the test of time when the plane is flying. With this complete I can move on to mounting the bottom rudder fairing and check that off the list.

Finished the rudder top fairing. Still need to do the bottom rudder fairing after I get the mounting hole for the tail-strobe light cut out.

Also finished up the left elevator fairing and started the left tip fairing of the horizontal stabilizer.

Wing kit is expected on May 9th, so I need to get these done and into storage before then.

Received the Whelen tail light strobe in the mail the other day. This will allow me to complete the bottom rudder fairing along with the rest of them. I need to order some electrical tools (which I’ll need eventually anyway) to extend the wiring so I can have a disconnect near the front of the rudder for easy removal.

This morning I was able to complete the rudder. The other night I finished double-flush riveting the trailing edge and rolled the leading edges. I can say that I don’t like doing the double-flush and rolling the edges. Of all the things I’ve done so far, these two tasks were the least enjoyable. Both came out fine, not perfect, but good enough. I had the most trouble rolling the middle of the three leading edges. Just didn’t want to come together. I am also going to go back and hit the tailing edge rivets again as I can see a few spots where the shop side isn’t sitting in the dimples far enough.

I mounted the rudder on the vertical stabilizer for a test fit. It swings pretty good. Finally looking like I’m accomplishing something. Now on to the Horizontal stabilizer. I think I’ll wait to start that until the family gets out here for Christmas so they can get a taste of what it’s like to go through the steps from square one on a sub-kit.

Total Hours on Rudder: 22 Total Hours on Vertical Stabilizer: 17.5 Total Hours To Date: 39.5

Over the last couple of days I managed to get a few things done with the rudder. With the priming fiasco out of the way, the stiffeners were back-riveted to the skins. Back-riveting is the bomb compared to shooting the rivets. I’m going to try and do as much back-riveting as possible, as most builders do I guess. It just looks so much cleaner.

Also finished prosealing the trailing edge. This was not as bad as I thought it would be. Makes me feel a little more comfortable about doing the fuel tanks even though I know that is a little more involved. I plan on using the method outlined on Tim’s site. As you can see I have everything but the kitchen sink thrown on top of the trailing edge to weight it down against the workbench. Hopefully that will keep it mostly straight.

Today I primed the rudder skeleton in preparation for final riveting. I finally got a chance to use my recently purchased mini-HVLP sprayer. All I can say is that I WILL NOT ever be using it again. It is a big mess. Cleanup afterwards is a royal pain in the #$?! I will be sticking to the rattle can version of the primer I use. I compared the amount of primer used from the quart I bought and it took almost as much as what it takes with the rattle can. So, the cost of the rattle can version is about the same in the end and it is a joy to work with. No messy cleanup, when you’re done, that’s it. I will be heading out to buy a case of the stuff soon so I don’t have to deal with that damn sprayer any more.

On we go…

Tonight I was counter-sinking the AEX training edge of the rudder and I ran across what I thought was an issue. Both sides of the trailing edge get counter-sunk to receive the dimples in the skins. When I started counter-sinking the 2nd side I noticed that it was opening up the hole because of the thin material and the depth needed to fit the skin dimples. I called Van’s and they said that was normal and expected. Whew!

Today I took a personal day off work and was able to get the rudder skeleton done and get everything put together. Of course I jinxed myself on the previous post and messed up a rudder strike plate. I forgot to check my micro-stop countersink depth before I dug in. Yup, way too deep. Oh well, called Van’s and ordered the part which was a whopping $3.50. I doubted I was going to make it through the entire kit without a re-order anyways. Anyhow, continued on as the strike plates aren’t needed again until final riveting. You can see every hole clecoed in the trailing edge to keep it straight while match drilling.

Also, today I stopped by Andrew’s place to look at his project and give him a hand riveting his tailcone. He is back-riveting the skins on the tailcone instead of bucking them. It takes a bit more time, but it REALLY looks great. He’s only a couple miles away from my place and is a few sub-kits ahead of me, which is better for me than him. HeHe.

Progress on the rudder has now started. Spent my lunch hour today on the first few steps. The ribs were separated and deburred. The shear clips were also separated and deburred and likewise for the stiffeners. Everything went smoothly. No parts to re-order (knock on wood).