steve murray
Well Known Member
I bought an RV10 tail kit from 2nd owner about 9 months ago. There were some blemishes and now I am at the decision point on the Horizontal stabilizer to tear it open or leave it as is.
I have previously built and RV8, I am by no means a show-plane builder but am confident what I build is structurally sound. Reviewing the rivet workmanship on this Horizontal stabilizer has me puzzled. On the AN470 rivets, it appears the mfg head has been flattened and the shop heads are not flattened. Possibly the builder used a squeezer with the cup and flat set reversed. I know on some of the Vertical Stabalizer, it appears he used a -3 cup on the -4 rivets...
Are these rivets structurally unfit? If yes, do I dare try to take it all apart or have a new wall ornament...?
These images are typical of all the AN470 rivets. The AN426 skin rivets look acceptable.
I have previously built and RV8, I am by no means a show-plane builder but am confident what I build is structurally sound. Reviewing the rivet workmanship on this Horizontal stabilizer has me puzzled. On the AN470 rivets, it appears the mfg head has been flattened and the shop heads are not flattened. Possibly the builder used a squeezer with the cup and flat set reversed. I know on some of the Vertical Stabalizer, it appears he used a -3 cup on the -4 rivets...
Are these rivets structurally unfit? If yes, do I dare try to take it all apart or have a new wall ornament...?
These images are typical of all the AN470 rivets. The AN426 skin rivets look acceptable.