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Rudder trailing edge (revisited)

Robert M

Robert M

Well Known Member
Did a search - can't find any data on the particular subject.

Has anyone ever alternated the rivet direction (every other hole) on the rudder trailing edge? To me it sounds like a lot of extra work but if would it help keep any bends or hooks out of the edge I'd be willing to go the extra mile.
 
You can alternate what side you drive the rivet from to help keep things straight, you don't have to alternate the direction the rivet goes in.

I drive all the rivets a little bit then flip the control surface over. I work back and forth to keep the edge straight. What ever you do don't just drive the rivet all the way right at the beginning. You will hook the edge that way.
 
Thanks Tom.

Working the way you said made a good straight edge. I placed all the rivets in the same direction. I'm happy with the finished results. It seems to me that the instructions were saying the same thing you did but for some reason I understood you better.

Thanks again
 
Hi Robert - I followed the plans carefully and used the back rivet set to "lightly" set the rivets against a big back rivet plate (thanks John!!!). After that, I flipped it over and used a regular flush set to finish the job. I'm happy with the result, pretty straight!
 
Squeezing the T.E. rivets...

I used an idea I first saw on Bill Repucci's (N941WR) web site under ailerons.
I set the rivets half way or less with unmodified sets in the pattern Van's recommends. Then I took a "spare" flush squeezer set and ground a 6 degree slope on it for final setting the rivets. Carefully align the flush and sloped sets with the trailing edge, and use the same pattern. You don't need to flip the surface over, and with care you get excellent results!
My rudder came out great - an even edge and virtually dead straight :). A couple of spots I hadn't held the sloped set in perfect alignment, and got smiles.
Also, we're told to spread the Pro-Seal very thin. Believe it! I used too much Pro-Seal on my elevators, which gave a kind of scalloped look to them :(, but they were straight. I tried to squish out the extra with this same squeezer setup, and the results are structurally sound, but really aren't pretty :mad:. I think with what I know now, my ailerons and flaps will come out nearly perfect!
 
Thanks guys. I had some 30 minute epoxy left over from my R/C days and used it (I thought) very thinly. I did get a tiny little wave between the holes where the cleco grabbed on the opposite side of the aluminum angle. I didn't think it was enough to worry about. Here's a picture of the TE - is that straight enough?

ruddertesmlyz0.jpg
 
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Robert M said:
Thanks guys. I had some 30 minute epoxy left over from my R/C days and used it (I thought) very thinly. I did get a tiny little wave between the holes where the cleco grabbed on the opposite side of the aluminum angle. I didn't think it was enough to worry about. Here's a picture of the TE - is that straight enough?
Click to expand...

It looks real good to me - from my (limited) experience I wouldn't mess with it any more! It won't be a knife-sharp edge anyhow, since there's two layers of sheet and a wedge of aluminum there. I think this is about the best we can do.
However, has anyone tried breaking the edges a little (like when riveting overlapping skins) before dimpling? How did it work out? I might try that on some scrap sometime; my suspicion is that dimpling over a break wouldn't work too well...
 
From the -7's I've seen with the -9 rudder, alternating the direction the rivet goes it as well as the direction of the squeeze LOOKS nicer from the standpoint of workmanship, but doesn't really seem to affect how straight the TE is. I'm planning on doing mine that way, we'll see how it goes, since it's the next thing i'm building.

Interesting to note that you can thin proseal down with MEK, which might help to prevent the scalloping problem and allow a thinner more uniform coat.
 
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