S

SvingenB

Well Known Member
Both my hs-406 that came with the kit have wrong curvature at the LE. The curvature ends too fast at the LE, and they are not made according to the drawings. I wonder if someone else have experienced this, or have a chance to check if the curvature of the first half of hs-406 (the curved part) is identical to the curvature of E-403.
 
Svin,

I had identical problems with the stab skins being out of alignment to the point of being untennable (both had to be replaced) and also not being able to fit an 11 inch tip chord to the HS406, no matter what I did. 10-something, instead. At the time I LYSACO'd (lower your standards and carry on) on the advice of Van's, chalked it up to the learning curve, but the final results really bugged me. Now you have me wondering. Let me know what you find out.

Wings in the jigs

Chris
 
I have sent pictures to Van's and explained what is wrong, but somehow it doesn't seem to be acknowledged. I mean, when they are not shaped according to drawings, and does not physically fit, then they cannot be correct.

I have ordered new ones along with new skins, and especially mentioned to double-check the ribs with the drawings. If the new ribs also are wrong, I will modify them by making new tips and splice them on. The length will have to be increased by 1/2 inch, or the with at the tip will have to be widened by 5-7 mm. With the last option they will be according to the drawings.

The answer I got from Van's was that they allways have been that way. That may very well be correct, but then something else must have changed along the way (elevator, skins?) without updating the rib accordingly.
 
Got an answer from Van's today. They trial fitted the skin on a HS-406. What they say was that the front of the flanges did not touch the skins, but concluded that it didn't matter because all the strength comes from the shape of the heavy skin.

I am sure their conclusion is correct, but this also means that if the tip is going to be build according to the drawings, the front of the HS-406 must be modifyed. I will modify mine, even if it would be for no other reason than the fact that it looks better with no loose unriveted flanges.
 
Good on ya. Here's a little video on hammering out HummelBird wing ribs, by the way, posted by someone on another thread. Probably a little overkill just for a couple stab ribs, but the video's fun to watch. Notice how the wing rib comes off the die nice and straight and already fluted? Once you dial in the die, a little hammer work, but no guesswork. Things that make you go hmmmmm......

http://youtube.com/watch?v=HJzFsdFpp7A
 
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