Made Ribblets for elevator tabs... should I wait?

danielhv · #1 07-25-2008, 08:16 PM

Here is the ribblet I made for the elevator tabs... I was getting ready to drill the holes but thought that I should ask this question first... I was originally thinking about just making the rib perfectly flush with the elevator skin edges... Now Im wondering if I should wait until I have the trim tab clecoed on to see how much gap is there, and move the ribblet out to close the gap between the tab and the elevator to an acceptable amount as long as I can stay within edge distance requirements... Thoughts?

newtech · #2 07-25-2008, 10:12 PM

Yours looks exactly like mine, obviously you are a very intelligent person

Ironflight · #3 07-25-2008, 10:29 PM

If it were me, I'd rivet it in, then adjust the trim tab to make everything look perfect (the tab can go fore and aft on the hinge, and left or right a bit as well). This is a bit of a classic dilemma while building - leaving several things undone because they might be dependent on each other. This can drive you to never finish anything! So....fix the variables that you can, thereby simplifying the equation, and allowing you to make progress!

Paul

danielhv · #4 07-25-2008, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ironflight

If it were me, I'd rivet it in, then adjust the trim tab to make everything look perfect (the tab can go fore and aft on the hinge, and left or right a bit as well). This is a bit of a classic dilemma while building - leaving several things undone because they might be dependent on each other. This can drive you to never finish anything! So....fix the variables that you can, thereby simplifying the equation, and allowing you to make progress!

Paul

good deal... does it matter which way it faces? One way the rivets can be squeezed, the other has to be bucked...

osxuser · #5 07-26-2008, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danielhv

good deal... does it matter which way it faces? One way the rivets can be squeezed, the other has to be bucked...

I faced it so it was flush (opposite as yours in the pic), and used pulled rivets, but I left it out initially so I could buck all the rivets in the trim tab spar instead of using pulled ones there

. I like that setup better, and that would be the only reason i'd wait if I were you.

AX-O · #6 07-26-2008, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by osxuser

I faced it so it was flush (opposite as yours in the pic), and used pulled rivets, but I left it out initially so I could buck all the rivets in the trim tab spar instead of using pulled ones there

.

I did the same as above. I figure less chance for turbulent airflow to develop.

Eric · #7 07-26-2008, 10:59 AM

I had to take the same route. Which blind rivets did you use on the riblet and what is the distance between them?

osxuser · #8 07-26-2008, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eric

I had to take the same route. Which blind rivets did you use on the riblet and what is the distance between them?

I think I used the CS4-3 but I'm not really sure, I might have used CherryMax, (have some lying around... being a mech). I was able to do the WHOLE trim tab spar with bucked rivets, which made me happy. I made up a long flat bucking bar for that purpose.