Finished the drawer project and some additonal Hawaii Info

I finished the Bench drawer today and already have it stuffed full of tools. Nice to finally be done with that little project. I bet you can tell that the front was made from a remnant of the shipping crate of the wing kit, can't you?

I ordered 3 drawer handles today, so OK, it's not totally done yet, but close enough. I will spend the weekend purging shelves in the garage and re-arranging my peg board in a more organized fashion.

For my fellow guitar and music lovers, I just wanted to insert this little video from the first night we were in Hawaii. I have never seen Santana being played on a Ukelele before - thought it was quite cool! The original song was being played over some loud speakers and this guy was jamming to it on his ukelele. A little further down I found another "dueling" musician on a pair of Jamaican drums that was also playing to the same song - who would have thought....

Next is pic of my lovely wife taking advantage of one of the colorful flowers that were blooming on bushes all over the place..

And another pic of the top of Diamond Head, a dormant volcano on Oahu and the edge of Waikiki that is said to have erupted over 300,000 years ago. To appreciate this photo, you have to reailize that on all the travel and tour brochures it cautions people that it will take about 1.5 hours to cimb to the top where this pic was taken. Yes, you have to hike up to the top from the parking lot, which is shown down in the crater where we started the trail up to the top. Noreen and I made the climb in about 25 minutes - we were really truckin up that hill! Thought we had really accomplished something until we found an alternate stairway near the top with 99 stairs, and met a woman at the top who said she climbs up and down this set of stairs 10 times a day - after which I went back to feeling like my usual out-of-shape self! One trip up those stairs was enough for me. The view from the top was absolutely beautiful, and well worth the hike to get there.

And lastly, I took more video than pics while at the Arizona Memorial. As I mentioned in a previous post, this was a special, life-long goal of mine that is now fulfilled, but with a yearning to return again someday. It was a very emotional experience for me. Noreen took this shot of me looking back toward the remains of the bow of the Arizona, which can be seen just above the water line in the background. Further in the background is the U.S.S. Missouri, in its pristine glory as the last battleship ever built by the USA. The entire time I was out there all I kept thinking about was how ironic this was - to be at the site where WWII began for America in 1941, and at the same time to be within sight of the Missouri, where the war was officially ended in 1945 while it was moored in Tokyo Bay. Two ships at the opposite ends of a journey, together in one place.

I will try to transfer my other video and post some clips of the memorial. One other word of caution to anyone that would like to experience this for themselves - this is a time to rent a car and take your time to visit the grounds, take the audio tour, and visit the museums, in addition to the short time you are given to visit the memorial by ferry boat. Do NOT take a tour bus.

Taking a break - Airplane Motivation Hawaiian Style

Taking a break by spending some quality time with my wife on the beautiful island of Oahu, Hawaii. You know, that one special person that is gracious enough to allow me to spend time endulging in my own selfish endeavors like building an airplane.

In the short time that we have been here in Waikiki and Honolulu, we have already done so many different things. Among them are an outdoor Luau, climbing to the top of Diamond Head, and spending time roasting on the beach.

To my friends and fellow builders, I wish that you were all here with us. Since I know that this is just not physically possible, I thought I would include a motivational picture titled "Place your favorite RV airplane here..." If this photo does not instill a drive and sense of purpose to KPR and finish your aircraft project and get it flying, then I don't know what will.

Caught a beautiful Hawaiian sunset this evening. Can't wait to be heading to some long-awaited destination somewhere in the plane, and then happening upon a spectacular view very similar to this one someday. Absolutely beautiful out here in the South Pacific.

Tomorrow morning we embark on an aviation-related event that is very dear to my heart. We will be visiting the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial. Anyone who knows me well at all, knows that I am a long-time WWII history buff. I can't even describe the feeling that I get when I start to ponder the fact that I am actually in the place where it all began for America back in 1941. This will be a truly special event for me, and it is something that I have aspired to do all of my life. I am truly humbled by this opportunity, and I am overwhelmed by a sense of sadness and admiration for those that endured that tragic day in our history.

That said, I should be rarin' and ready to go to get back on the build after I return.

ALOHA Everyone!

Drawer Project Day 4 - Hard part is done

A humble thank you back to those of you who have chimed in with congratulatory coments for my completion of the empennage kit. It has taken me about 3 times longer than I ever imagined it would, but only because of many lengthy interruptions along the way.

Work has absolutely consumed me for the last week and a half. A long awaited software deployment is on the way out the door after years of hard work. Unfortunately my work tends to get harder and longer the closer that we get to that point. I spent half of this past weekend working instread of countersinking nutplate holes as I had intended.

No worries though, because I have a well deserved break coming my way in a few days on a tropical island with sandy beaches and warm weather. Yep, that means another delay in the build, but I need this little breather before I fully re-engage in the project.

As for the drawer project. I managed to get the hard part done this evening - mounting the right side frame and sliding track. Now I just need to get the dfront and back installed and a few finishing touches, and this little endeavor is finished.

Here is the drawer all mounted into position:

And another with the drawer open:

It was a bit tricky to get the 2x10 frame installed, especially since I somehow managed to screw up the measurements twice. Once for the length between the left and right drawer tracks, and again for the vertical measurement for the location of the right side track, which I somehow managed to get about 1 inch high. A little disassembling, re-measuring, drilling, and screwing is all it took to get it corrected. The drawer is about as level as level can be, which made me happy.

I had my son hold the 2x10 in position under the bench after getting the correct distance for the door tracks, and screwed two screws into the front of the bench to hold in place. then he supported the rear of the 2x10 while I fit the drawer onto the glides. One final push is all I needed to close it up and align the 2x10 square with the side of the drawer. I then countersunk several screws into the top of the bench and into the top edge of the 2x10 to hold it all in place nice and firm. Worked out fairly well. Would have been even better and faster had I got my measurements right the first time.

Day 3 of the drawer project - getting there - -slowly

If work would not keep getting in the way I might have this done by now. I know folks that could have whipped this out in an hour or so, but I am not one of them. Actual total time invested in this endeavor is about 5 hours so far. Thought I would snap some in progress pics to show my progress.

First one is the drawer. Dimensions are 24x27x6. The drawer slides for the drawer sides are already attached. Drawer sides were cut from 3/4 inch ply scrap, and I will probably use some of the left over airplane kit crate wood for the front and backs of the drawer.

I am using 4 inch L brackets for supports between the floor and sides of the drawer. I will also insert brads or screws on the edges to further secure the sides to the floor.

Next is my solution for the mounting bracket on the open side of the drawer (toward the middle). After installing the outer drawer slide on the bench, I determined that I need to suspend a 2x something on the other side that is at least 8.5 inches long, so a 2x10 should fit the bill for this. I have decided to cut a length of 2x10 long enough to fit in between the front and rear runners of my workbench. I will then screw it into the bench from the top, countersinking the screws so they can't mar up any aluminum parts. I will also secure it from the front, and I may also toe in some screws on the rear side of the bench. I do not want to pull the bench out from the wall if I can help it. Too much junk to clean off and it is 7 feet long and very heavy.

This pic shows the 2x10 almost cut to the correct length standing in its approximate position next to the drawer side:

And lastly a pic of the bench with the left drawer slide already mounted:

Now if I can only find a drawer handle shaped like an airplane.........

Oh yeah, Joe from Vans called me back this morning and told me that the engineers said that every once in a while they have to debur the edges of the support plates on the wing spars because they get slightly deformed when riveted to the spar web - whatever that means. I also double checked the scuff marks again last night and determined that there are no defined edges at the ends of each mark, and everything seems to be smooth. My main concern was that they were so close to the rivet holes that I wondered about the possibility of a mal-fitting rib flange or a wierdly shaped shop head on a rivet. I don't think that this will be a problem though. Vans said to dress out the scratch and reprime, and then build on, so I guess that is what I will do.

I hope to be countersinking nut plate holes in the spars this weekend.

KPR folks!

Continuing the Shop Cleanup and Work Bench Drawer Assembly

I had hoped to finish building my bench drawer this evening, but I only managed to get about half way. The actual drawer space dimensions I am shooting for are about 27 inches long x 24 inches wide x 6 inches deep. Turns out I already have some 4 inch metal support brackets that I will use to secure the sides to the bottom. The bottom is 3/4 inch particle board that I had laying around doing mostly nothing, and the sides will be 3/4 inch plywood, also because I had a piece laying around doing nothing.

I have another dilemma that I am still pondering how to resolve. My work benches are 7 feet long and have no center post on the middle. This was done by design as I wanted to have as much free standing space underneath the bench as possible. Problem is that I do not have any frame member onto which I can mount the drawer slide on one side, so I have to measure and fabricate all that. I should be able to finish that up tomorrow.

Here are some additional pics I did not have time to post yesterday.
This first one is of the two wing spars, which I finally removed from the protective pastic adn placed on the work bench after moving enough stuff out of the way to allow the 9.5 foot long spars to sit on the bench. Sure would be nice if these were made of gold, eh?

That is one TV show that I am absolutely captivated by these days, is the two gold rush shows on the discovery channel. Not so much because it is about gold mining, but because it documents the journey and the struggle to achieve one's dreams and ambitions, which is very similar to my experiences thus far in my endeavor to build and fly my own aircraft. The wing spars are actually anodized with a chemical treatment to prevent corrosion, and this is all done at the factory. The end result is a beautiful gold-colored wing spar, which will infortunately be covered up by the wing skins, never to see the light of day again.

I was taught a long time ago that if you grow up having everything handed to you, you will never learn how to truly appreciate anything. True appreciation of the things that you own and do in life always comes as a measure of the trials and tribulations experienced along the way. The Hoffman crew on the gold rush show must overcome one hurdle after another, but in the end they almost reached their goal of 100 ounces. I admire that kind of drive adn determination to achieve something that is not easily attainable, and that is an attitude that keeps me going, even through the delays and the screw ups along the way. So even when I am reduced to re-arranging the shop instead actively building the airplane, I stay focused on the fact that all the little challenges along the way are simply a means to an end, or perhaps a right of passage, etc.

Next is a pic of the root end of the left wing spar with several serial numbers. These numbers help identify the left from the right wing spar, and they also help identify the center section of the spar box that fits inside the fuselage that must precisely match the mounting holes in each wing spar root. Apparently there have been a few builders that have actually built the wing upside down because they don't properly identify the inboard from the outboard end, and the top from bottom of the spar. I do not intend to make that mistake.

This left spar also has what appears to be  edges on the support bracket that have been ground or polished down on one side of each lightening cutout for some reason, but the right spar does not have these marks. I will need to discuss this with Vans tomorrow.

This next pic is a really nice one showing the detail along the span of each of the spars. This really gets your juices flowing until you realize that the very first step in the process of building the wings is to countersink about a billion holes along each spar flange. These holes will hold the dimples of the wing skins and the nut plates and screws that will be used to attach the fuel tanks to each wing. Everyone's posts I ahve read when they complete this task always mention how sore their arms and hands are afterward. No pain, no airplane!

And here is the only piece of damage I have encountered on the Wing spar. It is a deep scratch about 5 inches long. I think I will be able to dress this out, but it may come at the expense of removing the anodized corrosion protection to dress out the scratch. I did not notice this upon initial inspection after receiving the wing kit, but I also chose not to remove the spars from the plastic covering because I was still in the middle of my tail kit at the time. So lesson learned for anyone else that orders a slow build wing kit, make sure you inspect all of the major parts very carefully for damage. If necessary I will sand out the scratch and cover the area with primer.

Here is a shot of the underside of the left spar. The graduated steps are ground from a single piece of aluminum bar stock and riveted in place with the other parts that make up the spar. This give you an idea of how beefed up the root section of each wing is.

Next is  a little blurry adn the flash really did a number with the reflection for some reason. This shows just a handful of the many nut plate and rivet holes that have to be countersunk or drilled - a lot of work to be sure.

And finally a shot of the ground down edge I mentioned previously. I ahve to beleive that this is intentional but I do not know why it is this way only for the left spar and not for the right.

Wings - 2 hours Cleaning garage and breaking down spar box contents

Well OK one more pic of elevators with blue vinyl removed and the center bearing bolt holes deburred. Elevators are all but done IMHO:

I have had to navigate that pesky long box crate that contained all the spars and tubing for the wings for a long long time. I finally was able to dig into that crate and remove the contents and get things ready for wing building. Here is the crate all broken down. I am using the sides to provide a place to set somethings until I get the rest of the garage cleaned out.

SO all this stuff on the shelves will need to find a new home in the shed or somewhere so I can store the elevators and the other components for the wings such as the flaps and ailerons:

Also had to switch to a new plan set for the wings. Lots of new pages to complete!

I am also building a drawer that will fit under one of my work benches. This is a long overdue workshop addition. Amazing how the room on the peg board runs out as you acquire new tools throughout the build. You almost have to build at least one more airplane to justify the investment in tools that you will have by the time the plane is ready to fly. (Don't tell my wife I said that though!)

I am using a 24 inch ball bearing drawer slide, similar to the ones used for heavy duty file cabinets and sliding entertainment center shelves where support for heavy things is needed. I got them at HD for about $18.00, and they have a weight capacity of 100 pounds, which should be more than enough for my needs.

463 hours - Drum Roll Please......................

Got my reamer in the mail today. It was a pleasant surprise since I was not expecting it until tomorrow at the earliest. Made quick work of finishing the bolt holes in both elevator control horns. Immediately afterward I enlisted the help of my son again to remount both elevators and check for the hole alignment, freedom of movement, and alignment of the elevators with the bolt installed. The bolt went into all three holes a bit snug, but good enough to insert it by hand. So far so good...

And as for the outcome of the alignment and freedome of movement, well.......this should provide the answer:

Everything moved just as it had before - no binding, no noise, no scraping - nice and smooth on both sides with the center bolt in place.

Did the laser show one more time with the elevators clamped in trail at the counter balance arm:

Still a couple of things left to do before I consider my self done with the tail section to the point that I can move on to the wings:

Solder and heat shrink a 12 inch extension to the electric trim servo wires
Touch up primer in a few areas on the elevators
Debur the edges of the bolt holes in each control horn
Mount the electric trim servo to the left elevator (Will probably not bend the cotter pins for the clevis pins yet)
Wash and clean all the empennage parts in preparation for the tech counselor visit

Sure is nice feeling to have all the hard stuff done. My next major goal is to finish at least one of the wings by the time I go to Oshkosh this year. Also just found out today that the Steve Miller Band is coming for the opening day concert - and that is TOTALLY AWESOME!

462 hours - took the plunge and drilled the mounting holes in the control horns

Went to A&A Tradin post and got a whole bunch more drill bits so I could step drill the hole to the proper size. Only problem was that I do not have 1/4 inch reamer so I had to order one from Cleaveland tools today. This whole process was one of proper clamping, using the proper drills and drill bits, and having a very straight and snug drill guide/bushing and the proper size drill bit to use for the pilot hole. Then you end up playinv a bit of "musical elevators" by adding/removing them from the HS as needed. I did not like having to remove th left elevator after having determined that is seemed to be very well aligned with the right one with the laser level test the other night.

SO here is the beginning - drill bushing has been turned and ground down just enough with emery cloth to fit snugly inside the center bearing. I used a #27 drill bit as previously described, and my air drill for the pilot hole. Main reason for thusing the air drill is that I wanted to be able to easily verify that the drill was level. This is easier to do with the smaller, lighter air drill. ONly problem is that it lacks torque for drilling into steel, so drilling the pilot holes took forever, but it eventually worked.

The left elevator is removed from the HS so that you can get the drill in position to drill the pilot hole for the right side. the HS/elevator is turned upside down, and the counterbalance arm is clamped flush with the HS skin. ONce the pilot hole is drilled you remove the elevator from the HS, and reclamp the HS to the table to finish drilling the hole to the proper size.

Here is the pilot hole for the right elevator. Also note the clamps on both ends of the table.

My drill sequence turned out as follows:

#27 (pilot hole)
#12
Letter A
Letter C
1/4 inch reamer for the final hole.

Here is the hole after using my electric drill to upsize the hole with the bits specified above:

The air drill just does not have enough torque to upsize a hole in the steel control horns, so I switched to my electric drill, which worked out much better, I also oiled the drill bits periodically. This is necessary, and all I used is 3 in 1 oil to lubricate the bit a couple of times until the hole was drilled. In the above pic you can also see one of the many concerns about about getting this hole drilled correctly.

You need to have enough clearance from the welded joint for the shaft and the plate for the bolt head on one side and the lock nut on the other. Both of these have dimensions as follows: 7/16 inches from side to side, and 1/2 inch from point to point. Some people seem to have issues with this clearance, but it does not seem to pose a problem for me on either elevator. Plently of room for the bolt head, assuming my holes are drilled correctly, of course.

Oh yeah, if you look closely you can see that part of the weld appears to be missing. I ahve verified twice now with Vans that this is by design. Some folks on VAF from a few years ago were adamant that this was a defect in the part, and that it needed to be replaced. this small opening is provided as a relief area for the weld, as well as ensuring that there is enough room for the bolt head and the nut to sit flat against the plate of the control horn.

And here is the electric drill I used to upsize the hole.

And here is a better shot of the right elevator clamped into position for final drilling:

And here is the upsized hole for the left elevator after having removed the right elevator from the HS, reinstalling the left elevator on the HS, clamping it in its neutral position, drilling the pilot hole, removing the left elevator from the HS, and reclamping the elevator to the table for final drilling. Like I said, musical elevators.......

This one is a bit blurry but I should still have enough clearance for the bolt head or nut on this side as well.

And finally here are the drill bits I used with the aluminum drill guide/bushing:

So no clearance problems to speak of, just need to verify that the elevators will still be as closely aligned as they were before I drilled thise holes. If they are off even just a little bit I will not be happy. I'll have to wait until I get the reamer in the mail to finish the hole so I can reinstall both elevators and the bolt assembly to see how it turns out. Sure wish I would have purchased that darn 1/4 inch reamer when I bought a whole bunch of other ones a while back. I would either be crying in my beer by now for screwing up, or jumping up and down with joy shouting I AM DONE WITH THE EMPENNAGE at the top of my lungs.

Sounds like a good time to clean up the shop and finalize my plans for the wing jigs and stands.

460.5 Elevator alignment - laser level style!!

In a very short amount of time I was able to pretty much confirm that my elevators are in what I would refer to as an "acceptable" alignment with each other and with the HS, without the need for any other adjustments. I now feel pretty good about proceeding with the drilling of the holes in the control horns for the center bearing bolt attachment, and will proceed with that task tomorrow or Tuesday of this week.

Today's tasks were simply to try out a techique for the elevator alignment process that was suggested on several posts I found on VAF. THis involves using a laser level such as those found in most home improvement stores these days. Fact of the matter is I own a very good laser level that my wonderful wife had given me as a gift many years ago, which I had seldom had the opportunity to use for much of anything. In fact, I almost sold it in a garage sale a couple of years ago, and now I am glad I hung on to it.

Following are some very cool pics that frankly I was not sure would turn out very well, given the frequency spectrum of the laser light from my laser level. Turns out that most of them came out great, and I hope you think they are cool as I do. The bottom line is that this process proved beyond a shadow of a doubt to me that my elevator trailing edges are just about perfectly aligned with each other, which was a nice thing to see after applying such a precise method of alignment.

The laser level is a Laser Track from Craftsman tools. It came in a nice case, complete with two difference mounting bases for wall or free standing alignment applications, adn some funky, red colored procetive workshop-looking glasses used to enhance the laser light track in areas with high levels of normal lighting.
 I used the 3-point adjustable base shown in the pic below:

I waited until the evening hours to do this to help darken everything enought to be able to clearly see the laser light. I set the level on a card table, and moved the table with the HS and elevators closer to the garage door, which also shows the laser line quite well. With the garage door closed I started with the laser line clearly displayed on the garage, and then I slowly moved the lone down until it started to intersect with the HS. Then I made fine tuning adjustments with the adjusters in both sides of the rear of the level, until the laser line was displayed across the trailing edge of both elevators.

Here is the setup with the lights still on and the garage door closed:

And next with the laser level in position on the card table:

And next is the proof that things seem to be pretty well aligned. Here is a shot from the center (Remember to click on these pics to blow them up a bit bigger to see the details):

Next one is taken from the right side. The laser runs down the entire length of each trailing edge

And finally from the left side:

It was a little tricky getting the laser dialed in to the right spot, but once I figured out how to manipulate the adjusters I was able to get it zeroed in on the trailing edges rather well. The laser lightens up just a bit at both tips, and I actually expected this, sicne the elevators are tapered. As far as I am concerned, this process confirms what I was seeing with my manual measurements, that both elevators are actually quite well aligned, and I am happy with leaving the counter balance arms on the tips completely flush with the HS skins and leaving the control horms in their respective positions to drill the center bearing bolt attachment holes.

I spent this afternoon visiting my good friend adn fell ow builder (RV10) Mike Rettig. He is about done with his tail kit as well. Was good to talk shop and Oshkosh with someone again. He is coming along nicely on his build as well. Yes, Airventure 2012 is just around the corner! Have you made your travel plans yet?? Rest assured, just I have for the past three years, I will be there for my forth. I can hardly wait.

460 hours - finish trimming excess HS skin and check elevator alignment

Every so often during the build, probably more frequently than I am willing to admit, I have an episode of utter stupidity. Such an episode was experienced when I was trying to perform a preliminary alignment check of the elevators the other night as I described in my previous post. Short story is that I think everything is alright now, and my elevators may only be off by about 1/16 of an inch or so. So it is not as bad as I made it out to be in my previous post, and I will explain why as I work through the pics from today's activities.

I may wait to drill the center bearing hole in the control horns  until the tech counselor comes over to inspect my work, to see if I should go ahead and ajust one of the elevators to ensure that the trailing edges are completely aligned with each other.

I have a feeling that this is one of the things that may cause what some people end up describing as a heavy wing on their first flights - misaligned control surfaces or stabilizers, or both. This can result in differential lift between the two surfaces, and the plane will react to that condition accordingly. The question that I must eventually answer for myself is if a 1/16 inch difference is enough to warrant the adjustment, or if I can proceed "as is" with little or no potential impact? I am not after perfection, but I also know that misalignments ultimately result in increased drag as a result of the counter measures that are required to correct them. This, then, will also affect the overall performance of the aircraft.

So with that, here we go with today's exciting adventure....

First pic is of the elevator/HS assembly on the table. I got rid of the foam underneath, replaced that with my drill board, put  a couple of rubber tool box liners on the board, and then set the HS on top of that. I then put another piece of tool box liner over the top of the HS, followed by a long 2x4. Then it just worked out that one of my 4x4 padded blocks, standing on its end, was just about the right size to allow me to clamp it in place to keep the HS from flipping over backward.

Remember that you can click on the pic to make it bigger to see more of the details. So why did I need to do all this special clamping? Well, previously I had the HS turned upside down. The control horns are facing up in this case, making it easier to work with the entire assembly on the table without worrying about everything tipping over. Unfortunately, when everything is turned right side up, the control horns are now facing down. This makes it somewhat difficult to safely position the HS so that both elevators can swing  up and down freely, which is what I needed to do today.

You have to allow the HS trailing edge to hang over the edge of the table or bench, to allow the control horns of the elevators to acheive their entire range of motion. The elevators are then mounted completely off of the table. This raises concern that the weight of the elevators may cause the whole thing to come sliding off of the table, so I wanted to be sure to prevent that from happening.

The above pic also shows the top edge of the HS skin at the tip where the counter balance arm of the elevator is located. So I marked and drilled and cut the same way that I did for the bottom skins, and now the elevators can swing freely through their entire range of motion, limited only by the orientation of my temporary hinge pin placement (top or bottom):

The first pic above shows the completed trimming of the right side top HS skin. The clearance with the counterbalance arm per the plans is a minimum of 1/8 inches. The second pic above shows the 1/4 inch hole drilled on the left side, just prior to using the dremel cutoff wheel to cut the excess aluminum away. This pic is also a bit deceiving, because the elevator is actually in the up position, and therefore the counterbalance in the pic is tipped downward toward the floor.

The elevators are actually overbalanced right now because there is no primer, paint, or clearcoat applied, and the fiberglass tips and hardware to attach them are also not present. This actually made it easier for me to finish the top side trimming of the excess HS skin near each counter balance arm, because it kept the counterbalance arm out of the way without having to remove the elevators, like I hd to do the first time a couple of days ago, because the excess skin was still on both sides of each arm.

And another pic showing the clamping arrangement of the HS. The only other thing I still need to do to make this work perfectly is to clamp some additional blockes to the leading edge tips of each side of the HS to keep it from sliding to one side of the other while mounting the elevators. It takes a small amount of initial force to get the bearings to slide in between the hinge brackets, and this can be just enough to cause the HS to move with my current clamping arrangement.

Next are some pics that show what I needed to do to get the elevators to balance themselves in the almost "in trail" position with the counterbalance arms. I used a screw driver and a punch as counterweights and played around with the location on each elevator until they balanced.

Next is a shot of my digital smart level I used to check the range of motion on each elevator

Results from the top side were that I have plenty of range both up and down on both elevators. Plans state that the max travel is 30 degrees up and 25 degrees down. I found that the elevators would travel as far as about 35 degrees up, and I have clearance for about 32 degrees of down before the horns hit the edge of the trimmed bottom flange of the rear HS spar. At about 35 degrees up you encounter a bit of rubbing on the inboard LE of the elevator skin against the extended portion of the HS skin edge. This serves as a gap seal and seems to be quite effective, but the tolerances are very close between the HS skin and the elevator LE, so this needs to be carefully checked and adjusted if necessary.

While checking the elevator LEs during the range of motion tests, you can also see how well your elevator LE rolling exercise worked out by checking the gap line between the extended HS skin edges and the LE of each elevator. It's not very appealing seeing all the uneven bend lines in the elevator compared with the straight line of the extended HS skins. But what is important here is the freedom of movement of the control surface and clearance between all the skins, regardless of how ugly or non-linear the lines might be.

If you have achieved that, but the elevator LE roll has left some uneven or unsymetrical lines, I read a post that suggests that you can take a rubber mallet or perhaps a wood dowel and continue to reform the closed LEs enough to correct the uneven appearance. As far as I am concerned, both elevators swing freely with no binding or resistance. So unless someone more knowledgible than me tells me that I should try to "pretty up" the uneven LE rolls in a couple of places, I will probably keep them as is for now.

I was quite pleased with the movement of each elevator - very smooth and quiet and solid, with no play or slop in the hinges at all.

Next are some shots of attempting to place the elevators "in trail" by clamping the now freely moving counterbalance arms flush with the HS top and bottom skins. This was the first step in checking the alignment of the elevators.

The next step was to take something rather long that is truly straight, and lay it across both elevators, and then measure the angle or gap between the elevator skin that the bottom of the straight edge. This is done on both elevators. Then you compare the measurements. If they match, then you are golden. If not, then one elevator is not aligned with the other one, and you have some decisions to make.

Here is the pic of a piece of angle that used that is 36 inches long x 1/8 inch thick x 2 inch sides. I confirmed that this piece of aluminum is absolutely straight and true. I drew a center line on the angle, and lined it up with the cetner bearing on the HS. Note the gaps between the ends of the angle and the elevator skins on both sides.

And from the front:

This is where I got confused the other night. I originally thought that the straight edge was supposed to sit flat across both elevators. So when I saw the gap on one side, and pushed down on that side of the straight edge, I ended up with about a 1/2 inch gap on the other side, and completely freaked out, because for some stupid reason I was expecting the traight edge to lay flat across both elevators.

So, stupid me has since realized that the elevators are tapered, being wider at the root end and narrower at the tip end. So of course a straight edge is not going to lay flat across both elevators. DUH! Once I got that sorted out in my head, I took the correct measurements,and determined that I am only about 1/16 of an inch out of alignment, depending on where you place the straight edge. That may be acceptable or it may not, so we'll see.

Next is a pic of the control horns. One elevator is balanced and the other is not, which is why the horns appear to be out of alignment. I took the bolt that is supposed to be used to attach the horns to the center bearing once the holes are drilled, and laid it across the top of each horn. I am concerned that this bolt may not be quite long enough to cover the distance between the two horns,esecially after all the required washers are added to it. I believe I have also read some posts from other builders about this problem as well, so I may need to do some research to find out how to handle this one.

And lastly is a pic of the elevators in their overbalanced condition. It is really cool to see this assembly in place and moving as expected. So things are not quite as bad as I made them out to be the other night. Just another day on the build......

I will make a few more checks for alignment, and record my findings and specfic measurements. I also need to flip it over and perform the same checks from the bottom side. One note about the Avery tools temprorary hinge pins: I had to take them out and reposition them from the bottom in order to check the range of motion for the UP position. This is because the threads of the hinge pins are still a bit too long for the opening in the elevator at the tip to allow for full range of movement both up and down. The one at the root is almost completely underneath the HS and elevator skins when installed, but the one at the tip still sticks out a bit far to allow movement of the control surface on the side where the threads of the pins are sticking up.

So your choices are to grind or cut off the excess threads, or to take them out and reinstall them on the other side of the elevator to allow free movement of the surface in the opposite direction.

All for now...