alpinelakespilot2000
Well Known Member
To anyone who has not yet built their elevators, a lesson learned from experience. (I've gotten a lot of advice from here... time for me to return the favor for later builders!)
Over the past couple days a number on the Yahoo forum have helped me with my question regarding when to attach the elevator counterweight assembly to the spar. The consensus on this list was that it should be attached before the skin (top or bottom) is riveted onto the spar. That is good advice. However, it is not the way Van's instructs to do it, as per my instructions, version 2/27/04.
Quoting from p. 6-7 of the manual, about a third of the way down...
"RIVET THE SPAR ASSEMBLY, E-906 (root) RIB AND WD-605 TOGETHER."
"BACK-RIVET THE SKIN STIFFENERS TO THE UPPER E901 SKIN"
***"RIVET THE E902 SPAR TO THE TOP OF THE SKIN..."***
"RIVET THE STIFFENERS TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SKIN"
***"RIVET THE E903/904/913 (counterweight) ASSEMBLY TO THE E902 SPAR"
(The instructions for the left elevator are basically the same.)
However, if you do it this way, you will be left with some VERY difficult to buck rivets connecting the spar to the inboard tip rib. Even with a homemade bucking bar (end of a socket wrench)and a 5" double offset rivet set in the gun, it lead to an ackward angle shooting the gun, one which resulted in my allowing the set to fall off the rivet head and bang up the spar a little. I eventually got them set, but there is absolutely no reason (my conclusion after having done the left elevator differently) not to attach the counterweight assembly BEFORE attaching the skin to the spar. Incidentally, this is also the method the Orndorff videos show.
A couple of folks mentioned the manual said to do it this way, rather than the way MY version of the manual suggests. If that is the case, that suggests that Van's must have changed something in my version of the manual. If you let me know this is the case, I'll send a message to Van's to point out the problem.
Anyway, I hope this helps someone farther down the line...
Steve
Over the past couple days a number on the Yahoo forum have helped me with my question regarding when to attach the elevator counterweight assembly to the spar. The consensus on this list was that it should be attached before the skin (top or bottom) is riveted onto the spar. That is good advice. However, it is not the way Van's instructs to do it, as per my instructions, version 2/27/04.
Quoting from p. 6-7 of the manual, about a third of the way down...
"RIVET THE SPAR ASSEMBLY, E-906 (root) RIB AND WD-605 TOGETHER."
"BACK-RIVET THE SKIN STIFFENERS TO THE UPPER E901 SKIN"
***"RIVET THE E902 SPAR TO THE TOP OF THE SKIN..."***
"RIVET THE STIFFENERS TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SKIN"
***"RIVET THE E903/904/913 (counterweight) ASSEMBLY TO THE E902 SPAR"
(The instructions for the left elevator are basically the same.)
However, if you do it this way, you will be left with some VERY difficult to buck rivets connecting the spar to the inboard tip rib. Even with a homemade bucking bar (end of a socket wrench)and a 5" double offset rivet set in the gun, it lead to an ackward angle shooting the gun, one which resulted in my allowing the set to fall off the rivet head and bang up the spar a little. I eventually got them set, but there is absolutely no reason (my conclusion after having done the left elevator differently) not to attach the counterweight assembly BEFORE attaching the skin to the spar. Incidentally, this is also the method the Orndorff videos show.
A couple of folks mentioned the manual said to do it this way, rather than the way MY version of the manual suggests. If that is the case, that suggests that Van's must have changed something in my version of the manual. If you let me know this is the case, I'll send a message to Van's to point out the problem.
Anyway, I hope this helps someone farther down the line...
Steve