Question from the Garage...

[SteelMike]

working on my right elevator on a -7, and I'm having trouble with the final assembly - things just aren't lining up right. Some places where there are three layers overlapping, the holes are all out of alignment.

I think its coming from the counterweight. I had to cut the recess out of the back of the counterweight, but the front of the counterweight came already shaped the contour of 713, just like it is shown on the plans. Before I resort to muscle power to get these things to line up, I thought I would ask if maybe I have to shape that counterweight further (?).

You know how the elevator is a "skin" and a "skeleton"? It seems like there's too much "skin" and not enough "skeleton" - whenever I cleco one part down, another part pops up...

This is the other counterweight (the other one is installed in the final assembly). You can see that it's already been shaped even though the picture is terrible:



Here's the "too much skin, not enough skeleton". Notice how it bows out when cleco'ed down.



And here's how the holes don't line up. The flash ruined this photo, but you can see the holes, sorta.



Thanks in advance for the help...

[danielhv]

Do the holes line up without the weight installed? I remember the couterweight skin, elevator skin, and ribs all being a bit tough to get lined up... I ended up using a punch to help align a hole, threw a cleco in it, and went to the next... after about 3 or 4 holes, the rest finally nudged into place. But I'd check and see if removing the weight offers any relief... if so, then you need to find out where the weight is pusing everything out of whack and file it down to fit. Hope this helps.

As far as the bowing of the main skin... it appears that is caused by having the ends clecoed and not the middle along the spar... also, did you bent the trailing edge enough?

[SteelMike]

Hey man - sorry, would've responded earlier but my internet crapped out. I think the elevator is okay. One cleco/rivet at a time and the thing kind of sucks itself together. It's actually looking pretty good, I think. I'm shooting all of these flush head rivets, but it seems like there should be a way to squeeze them. Am I missing something? I haven't had any problems shooting them, but I feel like I'm working harder than I need to...

[danielhv]

Originally Posted by SteelMike

Hey man - sorry, would've responded earlier but my internet crapped out. I think the elevator is okay. One cleco/rivet at a time and the thing kind of sucks itself together. It's actually looking pretty good, I think. I'm shooting all of these flush head rivets, but it seems like there should be a way to squeeze them. Am I missing something? I haven't had any problems shooting them, but I feel like I'm working harder than I need to...

Oh come on, this can't ALL be easy! It's looking good, keep going!

[osxuser]

Yeah, that was a problem for all mine too. Just work with/on it a little, riveting in a particular order will cover a multitude of sins in this area.