cderk
Well Known Member
I've searched the archives and I've seen a number of posts regarding final bending of the elevator trim tab trailing edges. In my case, I'm working on an RV-10.
Here are some of my observations as well as a few photos.
1. Van's has you build a homemade brake for bending - its detailed in Section 5 of the plans. Basically (2) 2x8s with hinges. I bought pine boards - and maybe that was my first mistake. Maybe I needed the thickness of a 2-by versus a 1-by piece of wood to get decent hinges.
2. Unless you purchase expensive hinges, you cannot really get both boards sandwiched together without a small gap (~1/8") where the hinge pin is.
3. First pass, putting the trim tab between the boards and pushing down pretty darn hard - I wound up with the following results.
In these two, it appears that I still need to get the "crease" tighter. Problem is that I'm clamping down all the way on the brake.
Attempt two, I spun the trim tab around, so the "crease" is not up against the hinges, but at the outside of the brake - I figured the farther away from the hinges, the closer the 1x8s would be. I then put the brake on the ground, and basically walked on top of the trim tab, sandwiched between the two pieces of wood - all 165lbs of me.
I got the following results - much better, however in a few spots, its slightly concave... perhaps 1/32" or 1/16".
Is this something that I should try making better? My wife has accused me of being anal retentive (about everything, not this) and Van's tech support has accused me of being anal retentive...
Thanks
Charlie
Here are some of my observations as well as a few photos.
1. Van's has you build a homemade brake for bending - its detailed in Section 5 of the plans. Basically (2) 2x8s with hinges. I bought pine boards - and maybe that was my first mistake. Maybe I needed the thickness of a 2-by versus a 1-by piece of wood to get decent hinges.
2. Unless you purchase expensive hinges, you cannot really get both boards sandwiched together without a small gap (~1/8") where the hinge pin is.
3. First pass, putting the trim tab between the boards and pushing down pretty darn hard - I wound up with the following results.
In these two, it appears that I still need to get the "crease" tighter. Problem is that I'm clamping down all the way on the brake.
Attempt two, I spun the trim tab around, so the "crease" is not up against the hinges, but at the outside of the brake - I figured the farther away from the hinges, the closer the 1x8s would be. I then put the brake on the ground, and basically walked on top of the trim tab, sandwiched between the two pieces of wood - all 165lbs of me.
I got the following results - much better, however in a few spots, its slightly concave... perhaps 1/32" or 1/16".
Is this something that I should try making better? My wife has accused me of being anal retentive (about everything, not this) and Van's tech support has accused me of being anal retentive...
Thanks
Charlie