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xblueh2o

Well Known Member
As I was finishing up my horizontal stab today I stepped back to have a look and was envisioning it attached to a mostly completed airframe when it hit me. How would the empennage fairing attach to the horizontal stab? I read the rest of the directions for the empennage section but didn't really see it mentioned. I scanned way forward in my plan set and found mention of screwing them into holes taped to accept them. I just can't bring myself to do that. I would really rather screw into a nut plate. I searched around some of the recommended build sites and while I see screws and clecos holding the fairings on nobody really talks about how they attached and if they went nut plates etc. Here is my ultimate question. Do I need to install these nut plates now or are they positioned such that I can easily install them three years (or more) down the road after the horizontal stab is totally riveted?

As always, thanks for the input.
Sam.

Questions, I got questions.
 
Wait until later. With the empennage mounted and the fairing in place, you drill the attach holes. It is no problem to install nutplates with it mounted.
 
Wade is right - you will do this much later. It will be a combination of nutplates and some tapped holes in the longeron....but if you do a nice job fitting the fairing, you can get by with very few attaching screws. I did my -8 per plans, and it probably has 40 screws holding it on. The -3 fairing has eight - four on each side.

Paul
 
Ironflight said:
....if you do a nice job fitting the fairing, you can get by with very few attaching screws.
Click to expand...

Listen to Paul.

This one is 4 plies of 8.9 oz 8-harness cloth plus some additional thickness due to the micro. It's probably a little stiffer than the stock fairing. It would be easy to stiffen the stock fairing with a few extra cloth plies on the outside or a few plies of tape on the inside of the edges. Scarf a "hook" to lock around the leading edge. Screw count (each side) is a #8 tapped into the longeron at the front and two #6's in nutplates at the rear, total six screws. Service access aside, the appearance bonus is no puckers along the edges.

 
Excellent.
Thank you all.
Off to the airport to take it all apart for dressing and de-burring etc.

Sam.
 
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