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Elevator Tips and Covering the Lead

kjowen

Well Known Member
Whoo hoo! RV-8 empennage finished except for fiberglass... (and balancing and paint and ....) a few questions on the next steps...

1) filling the gap between the tips and the aluminum structure (elevator, currently). I was going to butter the tip before riveting with flox (or micro?) to ooze some into the gap for a smooth transition. I was thinking flox since it is structural. Do I need to also cover the joint with a layer of cloth on the surface?

Just curious, if you add the cloth and want a polished (non-painted) surface, does the cloth obscure the joint delineation?

2) covering the lead. Using Dan H’s suggestion, do you cloth the forward facing aluminum member adjacent and inboard to the lead, or just cover with micro?

Pictures to follow.
Thanks,
 
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Tips

Whoo hoo! RV-8 empennage finished except for fiberglass... (and balancing and paint and ....) a few questions on the next steps...

1) filling the gap between the tips and the aluminum structure (elevator, currently). I was going to butter the tip before riveting with flox (or micro?) to ooze some into the gap for a smooth transition. I was thinking flox since it is structural. Do I need to also cover the joint with a layer of cloth on the surface?

Just curious, if you add the cloth and want a polished (non-painted) surface, does the cloth obscure the joint delineation?

2) covering the lead. Using Dan H’s suggestion, do you cloth the forward facing aluminum member adjacent and inboard to the lead, or just cover with micro?

Pictures to follow.
Thanks,

So many ways. I'm sure my method is wrong but it came out nice.
1. I do recommend strips of aluminum bonded to the inside of the tip flange to provide extra structure for the rivets.
If paint is planned, I would span the joint with a layer to keep the paint from cracking but I know others who didn't.
I floxed the tips in place with West G-Flex but mine were done differently. I plan to vinyl right up to the edge. I added cloth to cover the arm. See photo.
2. I wouldn't use only micro. A few layers of cloth would be better. I used a cap made from four layers of cloth. A 12 x 12 was layed up for use on all the tips. I cut a plug the shape of the cap and sanded it to fit inside the edge of the tip. The reason is it gives a tiny bit extra material at the seam so sanding doesn't break through.

20200824_085830.jpg
 
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