Today I got more elevator riveting done. I think it should take one more session.
Started with back-riveting the remaining elevator ribs Then I riveted the rear spar of both elevators using this 'special' bucking bar that I bought from Cleveland Tools. It's specifically design for this step in the RV-14. It made bucking the rivets in this location possible. Without it it would have been a tough day.
Tonight I continued riveting the elevators together.
Riveting the rear spar to the top left skin Back-riveting the lower rib halves to the top left skin. It's nice having the steal table. I can just back rivet directly on it, no need to use a back riveting plate. Lower right elevator skin with the bottom ribs riveted on Back-riveting the bottom halves of the ribs onto the lower left elevator skin The trim reinforcement double and brace riveted to the bottom left elevator skin
Today I got all the parts for both the left and right elevators primed. Then I started the process of riveting the elevators together.
Elevator skin primed Spars and other parts primed Riveting the counterbalance ribs together using the c-frame. Elevator spar and ribs riveted together Counterbalance skins riveted on Elevator horns riveted on.
Today I spent the entire day in the shop trying to make up for all the time I’ve been spending on Wendy’s barn, 10 hours today. Below is a list of stuff I got done:
Dimpled Elevator skins Dimpled, Primed and Did some riveting on the trim servo reinforcement plate Countersunk/Dimpled the elevator spars Dimpled the elevator ribs Primed and Riveted the Elevator Trim Pushrod Dimpled, Countersunk and Primed the trim tab spar Dimpled and Primed the trim tab skins Bonded the trim tab foam ribs with Fuselage Sealant Riveted the trim tab together I got so busy I forgot to take pictures till the end when I was riveting the trim tab together
Today was a short day. I spent most of the day installing fence for Wendy’s barn. I did manage to get some work done on the elevators. Most of the work was around trimming and countersinking the trailing edges. Also did a bunch of countersinking on the spars. Unfortunately I only took one picture :(
Back drilling the trim tab hinges.
Tonight I continued work on the Elevators. First I had to trim some of the material off the trim tab skins. Then I made the bends in the left elevator skins, where they overlap near the trim tab. Only I bent both skins in the wrong direction…so I had to take my time and fix that before moving on. Then I finished off the night with clecoing both the elevators together to be setup for the next steps tomorrow.
Tonight I started work on the Elevators. There was a lot of prep work on small parts tonight. First I had to cut and separate the forward elevator rib halves. Then I cut and separated the rib shear clips. Finally I cut and sanded the foam aft elevator ribs.
The forward elevator ribs before being cut and deburred. Notice the black pen lines, they indicate where the ribs need to be separated The rib shear clips, ready to be separated and trimmed The shear clips after being cut and separated Foam block with the paper template for some of the aft elevator ribs glued on with spray adhesive The foam ribs, but out on the bandsaw and sanded, using the paper template as a guide
Today I finished riveting the Horizontal Stabilizer. Zak came out and hung out for a few hours and tried his hand at riveting. Today became one of those trying days when missing a simple detail in the instructions results in almost two hours of rework. I ended up riveting the rear spar in upside, and caught after setting the 200 rivets that hold it in…so it was a nice long session of drilling out rivets before re-riveting the rear spar back in, this time in the correct orientation.
Today I countersunk the Horizontal Stabilizer spars. 200 holes each, for a total of 400 countersunk holes. Then I got started on riveting the Horizontal Stab together. I ran out of steam about half way through. I should be able to wrap up the riveting tomorrow.
The rib and spar structure riveted together The Horizontal Stab in the cradles I built. The riveting is about half way done at this point.
Today I dimpled and primed the Horizontal Stabilizer skins. I also primed the remaining ribs. A little more countersinking and I’ll be ready to rivet everything together.
Wendy came down tonight and helped me dimple the skins. It's much easier with a second person.