I found this small crack in my -7A rudder skin during a recent preflight inspection. I both called and emailed Vans to inquire about the appropriate degree of concern and a fix procedure, so got responses from two different people. The two responses were consistent in that neither believed it was of any serious concern, with no fix even being necessary, although one indicated I could stop drill and try and hide it with some proseal/micro as desired. Regarding the cause, the first response indicated such small cracks were not uncommon and likely due to prop blasts against the rudder, with the tear occuring where the relatively rigid structure of the rudder leading edge transitions to the remaining portion of the rudder that is relatively flexible. My email responder indicated the crack was likely due to insufficient rolling of the leading edge skin during the build.
Didnt recall seeing this type of crack before on the forum so thought I would pass the info along in light of the the recent SBs.
erich
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