I am almost wrapping up the empenage kit and put the fiberglass tip on the rudder this evening to see how it fit. Had to shave some off to get it to drop into the rib down to the seating line. When I push it over to the one side, there is a 1/4 inch gap on the other. How do you pop rivet this thing on when it is squeezed together like this? Is there a trick to spreading it open enough for rivets to work? Does a person even put them on permanently now or wait till later? I don't know much about fiberglassing but I guess I will shortly. Any pointers on how to attach them and when the best time to do it will be appreciated.
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fiberglass tips on empenage
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sportpilot
Well Known Member
drilling holes
To make the tips fit snug, we stuffed it full of paper to make it expand to fit the VS. Then you can drill your rivet holes and cleco the tip in place. Some sanding, filing, may be necessary to get a good fit. After drilling take the paper out and cleco it back in place
To make the tips fit snug, we stuffed it full of paper to make it expand to fit the VS. Then you can drill your rivet holes and cleco the tip in place. Some sanding, filing, may be necessary to get a good fit. After drilling take the paper out and cleco it back in place
rph142
Well Known Member
I have a detailed paragraph and some pics about how I installed the tips on my rv-3. See www.myrv3.com, click on empennage and scroll to the bottom.
robertahegy
Moderator/Tech Counselor
Pop rivets work fine for attaching. Fill the holes with filler if you want. Leave the lower rudder tip off, and don't fit it up, until you fit the emp to the fuselage. That way you can set the proper level to line it up to the fuselage bottom.
I only made the wing tips removable.
Roberta
I only made the wing tips removable.
Roberta
So the riveting part is coming along just fine and even made the trim tab on the elevator today in one try. Friend who built an 6 said you'll never get it in one try and just accept that. Well I did it and it turned out excellent. I am, however not to knowledgeable about fiberglass. Seen it done but don't know what you need. Where can I find what you need as far as the basics. Hardener, epoxy, cloth. Don't want to buy a whole bunch of stuff I don't need. If I could get a list of what you need and where to get it, I assume spruce, and a quick step by step on how to do it, I think I can probably just learn it as I go. I tried to check the archives but not much info on step by step. If there is a link or something on how to do it or if someone out there is a little bored now and wants to give me a quick run down, I would appreciate it.
