[marchudson]

The attached picture is from the trailing edge of the rudder looking forward. The leading edge fiberglass fairing on top of the vertical stabilizer is just a little wider in the center than the fairing on the rudder. After the airplane is painted will it be noticed all that much. Probably not at 200mph but on the ground, I'm not sure how well this will look.

In order to fix this, I would have to lay up a couple of layers of glass then micro on top of the counter weight where it is a little thinner.

Opinions greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[N941WR]

Are you building a show plane or a go plane?

If show plane, fix it. If go plane, pound on. You will never notice that in flight.

 

[bsacks05]

I wouldn't bother with it. But that's just me. Probably the only thing to be gained from trying to fix it would be some unnecessary weight.
Build on!

 

[BoilermakerRV]

You asked!

You asked for opinions, so that's exactly what this is. Take it for what it's worth. I am a first time builder having not even started on my empennage.

If it were a question of ordering new, expensive parts from Van's, I would agree with just pressing on. However, for me, I plan on a high level of "quality" or "attention to detail" in my build. Since it seems a simple, all be it weight adding solution, I would fix it.

The fact alone that you are asking, is evidence to me that you strive for a higher degree of quality in your finished product.

Again, this "advice" comes from a first time builder who hasn't even gotten started. YMMV.

Best of luck,
M

 

[Rick6a]

Its Your Call

..The fact alone that you are asking, is evidence...you strive for a higher degree of quality in your finished product...

All you can expect to hear from others on this subject is personal opinion and opinion always runs the gamut from "build on!" and
"good enough" to "nothing less than perfection will do." Opinions really tend to say more about where the opiner is coming from
than anything else. Most builders find a place somewhere between the two extremes of perspective.

Fact is, it is your airplane and this non-critical issue is really a personal one for you to decide. Are you willing to settle...or not?

 

[roee]

...In order to fix this, I would have to lay up a couple of layers of glass then micro on top of the counter weight where it is a little thinner.

That's more of a band-aid than a fix. The rudder is the reference structure, and there's nothing wrong with it. It's the VS tip that isn't contoured quite right to match the rudder, and it's the VS tip that you should fix if you so choose. The fiberglass tips are quite floppy until you bond in an end cap, and you can significantly alter the contour of the tip by how you shape the end cap. That would be the "right" solution.

And in general, bonding fiberglass and fillers over aluminum structure is possible (we do it for the canopy), but it's better avoided when possible, in my opinion. It's prone to future cracking and separation.

...Probably the only thing to be gained from trying to fix it would be some unnecessary weight. ...

Actually, I have to point out that added weight would not be a factor in this case. The fix Marc proposed would add weight to the end of the counterbalance arm. So if you were really worried about those few grams, you could drill out the equivalent amount from the lead brick, thereby restoring the original weight and balance of the rudder.

Still, I would agree (yes, just my opinion...) in this particular case forget about it and build on. It's no worse than half the RV's out there, and there are plenty of other more important things to worry about. You can spend as much or as little time as you want to get things a little bit closer to perfect, but since you never reach perfection, prioritization is the key. Very high priorities (things that can kill you): aerodynamic, mechanical, and structural integrity of the airplane. Medium high priorities: weight reduction, drag reduction, maintainability, etc. Somewhere waaaay lower on the ladder: minor cosmetic imperfections.

But I will say this about this particular problem, and in general: if you do decide to take action, do it right. No short cuts, no band aids.

 

[E. D. Eliot]

Yes

I am a novice here but I know that every time that I looked at it (preflight), I would wish that I had fixed it 'right' (whatever that turns out to be). You have noticed it and know that it's not 'right' - find out what is wrong and fix it right. You won't be sorry that you took the time to correct it - even if it is only 'cosmetic'. Looks are important IMHO.

 

[DeltaRomeo]

After 5 years of flying you'll have enough hangar rash on the rudder that you'll start thinking about building a new one. Fix it then, IMHO <g>.

b,
d

 

[rbibb]

From the picture the third rivet head from the rear attaching the tip seems to be protruding 0.001 more than those on either side. Simply won't do. Might cause a local disturbance of the airflow leading to an out of trim condition. Scrap the whole assembly and start over.

Never let the perfect become the enemy of the good. Build on.

 

[marchudson]

Good one

Thanks Richard that was really funny. I laughed for quite a while this morning.

Thanks everyone for the all the input.

I think I'll wait for the "hanger rash" to develop as Doug put it.

 

[rv72004]

FWIW it would bother me and I would fix it. Not a big issue to get right.

 

[SmittysRV]

If it bothers you, fix it. Although, I will say that there have been a number of things that bothered me along the way in the building process that I said "I'll fix that later", and I never went back and fixed. Now I can't remember what those things were...

 

[Scott Hersha]

Although I agree with most of the 'build on' guys, I think you would be happier at this early stage with everything being perfect. Here's what I would do: Take my belt sander or hand sanding block to the sides of the fiberglass VS tip and grind it down to flush with the rudder counterweight (about 3-4 minutes if doing it by hand). It looks like there's foam on the inside of the fiberglass tip, but if not, just put some in. If you don't have any, go to Michael's and get some of the green stuff they use to make flower arrangements and fit some in - it's very easy to sand to the shape you want - you can hot glue it in place if you want. Then cut 4 pieces of 9 oz. cloth to the size you need, which is a little larger that what's necessary to cover the opening and glass it in place. Sand/fill/sand/fill a couple times and it will be perfect and when painted it will look like a race plane.... which is what you want, right? This will add virtually no weight, not take much time - except waiting for the epoxy to cure, will give you confidence in dealing with future more important fiberglass issues, and make your plane the perfect one you wanted in the first place.

Scott

 

[jsharkey]

Did you plug the end of the VS tip cap?

If I remember the tip fairings are very flexible and their open edges will conform to any shape that they are held to.

From the picture (I finally "got my head around it" ) it looks as if a foam plug is defining the shape of the aft end of the VS fairing. Before hacking into plies I'd remove the foam block and make a new one that allows the fairing to conform to the shape that you need. That's for when you finally decide to do something at all

As an aside - and as an aerospace and composites engineer - I have a pet peeve with using fiberglass buildups or cosmetic filler anywhere on a metal aircraft. It adds weight, time and expense, is prone to cracking, could promote corrosion if moisture finds its way under it and makes it impossible to spot cracks or other problems with the metal under it. A metal aircraft is meant to look like a metal aircraft - neat joint and rivet lines are all part of it.

I'm OK with surface filler on composites to fill pin holes before prime and paint
But I have spent lots of time professionally on ways to eliminate the pin holes during molding - the industry is close for some applications but we're not there yet.

Jim Sharkey