The final tasks on the rudder assembly are the riveting of the trailing edge (earlier bonded into place using tank sealant), riveting of the hard-to-reach narrow sections of the top and bottom ribs, the setting of the rivets inside the lower brace, and the curving of the leading edge. The rivets in the narrow aft … Continue reading Finishing the Rudder →

Almost done with the rudder! I've assembled and riveted the skins and the counterweight assembly on the top of the rudder: The lower rib, horn, brace, and fairing attach strips are riveted together on the bottom of the rudder: The rivets holes inside the brace (now held by clecos) are impossible to reach with my … Continue reading Rudder Final Assembly →

Today's building session was spent assembling the rudder, final drilling the rivet holes, and fabricating the lower fairing attach strips (R-918). The first task is to assemble the skeleton which includes the main spar, a lower rib, and the upper counterweight section. The skins are then clecoed to the skeleton. I had one fit issue … Continue reading Rudder Assembly and Drilling →

Having trimmed, smoothed, deburred, primed, and dimpled the rudder stiffeners and the left and right rudder skins, it's now time to rivet the stiffeners to the skins. I'm using the back-riveting technique for this task, which involves driving the shop heads while the flush factory heads are held against the hard smooth surface of a … Continue reading Riveting Rudder Stiffeners to the Skins →

With the Horizontal and vertical stabilizers completed and set aside, it's time to start building the rudder assembly. The first task is to trim and prepare the stiffeners so they can be riveted to the left and right skins. The rudder skins are significantly thinner and lighter than the skin on the vertical stabilizer. To … Continue reading Rudder – Stiffeners →