[Rick of Austin]

On my -9 the straight trailing edge of the rudder built with the AEX wedge was somehting I was proud of, I also used it on the -9 trim tab.
Now that I am starting to build a -7, (this will be my third RV) I am wanting to use that technique on the elevators also.
has anyone done it before?
I dont expect to gain much except not having folded over trailing edges but I like the look and the precision of the AEX wedge.
Thanks much in advance.
Rick

Are the -7 elevators already designed with the AEX wedge? It seems from other posts they might be.

 

[sgordon]

Nope, they are a bent trailing edge. The factory puts most of the bend in the piece and the builder finishes the bend with a makeshift bending brake made out of some 2x10s and door hinges.

http://www.rv7factory.com/log/050821.html

I've read that some builders have ended up with an uneven bend, usually too much on the ends and not enough in the middle, but I'm pretty happy with mine.

 

[rvbuilder2002]

On my -9 the straight trailing edge of the rudder built with the AEX wedge was somehting I was proud of, I also used it on the -9 trim tab.
Now that I am starting to build a -7, (this will be my third RV) I am wanting to use that technique on the elevators also.
has anyone done it before?
I dont expect to gain much except not having folded over trailing edges but I like the look and the precision of the AEX wedge.
Thanks much in advance.
Rick

Are the -7 elevators already designed with the AEX wedge? It seems from other posts they might be.

Be aware that it will have some effect on the elevator control forces when compared to other RV-7's. How much? Don't know but I think it will feel at least a bit stiffer. The 9 was purposely designed to have slightly higher forces but I think the 7 would be even more so.
The supplied skin could not be used because it would be too short after cutting it. The current skin has a T.E. bend that is 1/8" in inside diam. The thickness of the AEX wedge is much less than that so the skins would have to pull in from a flat profile to lay on the wedge. Wouldn't look very good in my opinion but if you already did it on your 9's trim maybe you were abl;t o make it look ok.