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  #41  
Old 09-09-2013, 05:52 PM
alexe alexe is offline
 
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Location: Temecula, CA
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I sent you a PM Roger.
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  #42  
Old 09-09-2013, 07:49 PM
alexe alexe is offline
 
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Hi Roger,
I sent you a PM and an email, but have not heard back from you. Please consider the HS Tips sold. I live just a few miles from you, and can pick them up and pay you at your convenience. Sorry to the group since I know this conversation should be on classifieds, not here.
Alex
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  #43  
Old 09-15-2013, 04:41 PM
NASA515 NASA515 is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Hansville, Washington
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I installed the tips and have made about 50+ flights with them - I notice no difference in handling or performance but a BIG improvement in looks! Here's a picture as you requested.



Bob Bogash
N737G
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  #44  
Old 09-15-2013, 09:22 PM
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txaviator txaviator is offline
 
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Bob,
How much final fitting did you have to do? I'm still sanding and trimming quite a bit for a flush fit to the stab surface. Edge thickness of the ABS on mine varied quite a bit- especially at the trailing edge.
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Last edited by txaviator : 09-15-2013 at 09:28 PM.
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  #45  
Old 09-15-2013, 10:23 PM
NASA515 NASA515 is offline
 
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Location: Hansville, Washington
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Less fitting than I'm sure you would do, Gary!

I found the support brackets kind of needed some more work. I added a few rivets to the stab end rib - it was too flexible otherwise. Those bend-over brackets had a lot of tolerance for positioning (incorrectly.) Lining up and drilling the holes was an opportunity to get it wrong.

Some people say they did it in 20 minutes, or an hour.
They're the same ones who did the landing gear mod in 4 hours. Call me Neanderthal Bob.......

My next set will be a better install.....

I have a "Rework the stab tips" on my winter-time To-Do List - but who knows if I'll get around to it (that's the other half of the To-Do List.

All in all, though - I'm quite pleased with the caps and recommend them to others.

Bob Bogash
N737G
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  #46  
Old 09-20-2013, 08:33 AM
stabilizer tips stabilizer tips is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: bulverde , texas
Posts: 37
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Bob,
Thanks for the picture and your honest opinion The installation looks great from here, good job!!
I designed the mounting plate tabs with a little flexibility because the stabilizer is not exactly the same on all builds, Also, Some people want to use rivets, others use the screws provided in the kit. Depending on which method the buyer decides to go with directly affects where the mounting tabs need to be bent. I used a light aluminum mounting plate designed so that the user could install the tips without drilling several holes in the stabilizer rib. I figured if the buyer wanted more rivets they could put more my inclination was to use all the existing holes and I only put 2 more on the center section where there is no existing holes to mount the plate.
Yes, The thickness of the plastic varies slightly because the tip is tapered, the plastic at the leading edge stretches more than the trailing edge.
I have the mold going to a point. I can not make them any different without the plastic webbing out (folding onto itself) at the end of the point. I have tried several different methods but with it going to such a sharp point it really limits my options.

Sanding does not take long if you bent the tabs in the correct place.
"TIP: Start with a lower grit paper and finish off with a higher grit."
I realize I built the tips but I can easily install and sand them to a finish ready for paint in 20 to 30 minutes. Yes, it will take much longer if I completed all the fitment with 180 or 220 grit paper. Start with 50 or 80 grit and get it real close then step up to 180 or 220.
This will help installation time tremendously!
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  #47  
Old 09-20-2013, 10:15 AM
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DonFromTX DonFromTX is offline
 
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Location: La Feria Texas
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I have not yet installed mine, but are you saying that one can sand the tips to match the contour of the stabilator after they are installed?
Quote:
Originally Posted by stabilizer tips View Post
Bob,
Thanks for the picture and your honest opinion The installation looks great from here, good job!!
I designed the mounting plate tabs with a little flexibility because the stabilizer is not exactly the same on all builds, Also, Some people want to use rivets, others use the screws provided in the kit. Depending on which method the buyer decides to go with directly affects where the mounting tabs need to be bent. I used a light aluminum mounting plate designed so that the user could install the tips without drilling several holes in the stabilizer rib. I figured if the buyer wanted more rivets they could put more my inclination was to use all the existing holes and I only put 2 more on the center section where there is no existing holes to mount the plate.
Yes, The thickness of the plastic varies slightly because the tip is tapered, the plastic at the leading edge stretches more than the trailing edge.
I have the mold going to a point. I can not make them any different without the plastic webbing out (folding onto itself) at the end of the point. I have tried several different methods but with it going to such a sharp point it really limits my options.

Sanding does not take long if you bent the tabs in the correct place.
"TIP: Start with a lower grit paper and finish off with a higher grit."
I realize I built the tips but I can easily install and sand them to a finish ready for paint in 20 to 30 minutes. Yes, it will take much longer if I completed all the fitment with 180 or 220 grit paper. Start with 50 or 80 grit and get it real close then step up to 180 or 220.
This will help installation time tremendously!
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  #48  
Old 09-20-2013, 12:42 PM
NASA515 NASA515 is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Hansville, Washington
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I didn't try to sand the tips to match the contour of the stab (horrors!) They fit pretty close right out of the box and that's the way they pretty much stayed.

I sanded them for finishing - sanded, primed, and then several top coats. I liked the virgin plastic black color on my airplane - although I hadn't planned to make them that color - so I painted them gloss black. Sanding, cleaning, priming and painting several coats is a multi-day job.

I found without additional rivets, the kit rib could move away from the stab end rib too much for my liking, and so added a few more rivets.

The most time consuming part was aligning the holes on the tabs to drill the tips. I did that first by measuring, as per the plans, and then by using a hole-finder that worked quite well. After drilling each tip hole, I would cleco it to the tab. It was still quite a chore - especially for the bottom set of holes (on a finished airplane.)

The tips are held on my sheet metal screws that are secured by clip-on sheet metal nutplates. There are 10 of them. Slipping the tip on with those nutplates floating loosely is an exercise in self restrait (I ain't got much...) I would up gluing them on. After installation, I found there was a bit of pillowing between fasteners and a little more gap than I wanted - which I sealed (horrors!)

Like I said before, someday I may actually get around to pulling them off and improving the installation. Or, maybe I won't. I lot of people (including Joe Blank from Vans) have looked at them admiringly, so maybe I'm too picky (but not too ambitious.) I'd prefer flying.

Roger - don't take my comments negatively - like a baseball umpire - "I just calls 'em like I see 'em." I think they are a very nice addition to the airplane, and Vans should offer them (or include them in the kit.) The existing end rib with its empty holes, etc. (trailer comments not-withstanding) is pretty, er, "rough" and negatively impacts the appearance of the airplane. It's pretty bad when you show the airplane to someone who knows nothing about airplanes and they ask "What attaches here?"

Bob Bogash
N737G
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  #49  
Old 09-20-2013, 12:52 PM
NASA515 NASA515 is offline
 
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Location: Hansville, Washington
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sorry I called you Roger, Gary - maybe there's a Roger somewhere in this thread - and then again, maybe not.

Roger that!

Here's a pic of clecoed tips.



Bob bogash
N737G
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  #50  
Old 09-20-2013, 02:37 PM
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txaviator txaviator is offline
 
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Location: Arlington, TX (DFW)
Posts: 1,164
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NASA515 View Post
sorry I called you Roger, Gary - maybe there's a Roger somewhere in this thread - and then again, maybe not.

Roger that!

Here's a pic of clecoed tips.



Bob bogash
N737G
Bob,
Thanks for the write-up. Have I missed a photo of your painted plane somewhere? I'm seeing a lot of red, and I don't recall seeing a painted pic? To keep the thread on track, let's see your entire red airplane WITH the tips attached ???
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