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RV9A Bill

Well Known Member
What have you done about removing lead to balance the elevators if you were not having the airplane painted till after you fly?
RV9A Bill
 
I left mine weighted in the forward part of the envelop range. I don't remember how much if any change there was after painting, but they were still OK, no weight change needed.
 
I think it will somewhat depend on the type of paint used. I left mine (RV7) a bit trailing edge light in the hopes of the paint would compensate for that and balance it. After paint (base/clear coat) I had to add 5.5 oz of lead to make it perfectly balanced.
 
I balanced each elevator separately during my phase 1 flying without paint and then rebalanced them again individually after painting. Yes, you need to add more lead back into the painted elevators. It was simple and straight forward and never a question of inbalance in flight. One piece of advice if you remove lead prior to painting. Before I drilled out the lead make sure that (if you have not yet riveted the elevator tips in place) you only do a very few holes on the elevator tip side lead that will be covered by the tips. You will not be able to get to them again onece riveted. Also, when drilling the holes in the lead, do not drill all the way through the lead and create a hole to the rib. You will need to pour lead back into the hole when rebalancing and you do not want that molten lead running out the bottom before it cools. Fill any remianing holes with feather fill to give it a smooth surface. Good luck.

Steve
RV9A
370 hrs
 
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