sbalmos
Well Known Member
It's a setback, but probably more so a learning experience to really take your time. I've decided that, eventually, I will rebuild my rudder and right elevator. The trailing edges on both, frankly, look like **** compared to the pictures of other builders'.
The rudder's trailing edge is straight. But the skins, in hindsight, don't lay to the wedge very well. You can separately see, and feel, the right and left skin edges and the AEX wedge. Plus the leading edge had to be rolled twice, so it's not great in its own right. This was before I learned of the gem of an edge rolling tool. And for whatever reason, as I did with the right elevator, I wasn't using an angle to hold everything together, or proseal (just some standard RTV sealant I picked up at Autozone).
When countersinking the right elevator's AEX, I determine I way over-countersinked the one side. Start to countersink the other side, and between the pilot wobbling and such, the holes themselves get opened up to more than #30(!!!). Oops rivets wouldn't even fill these. Start to rivet it onto the skin, and needless to say things just don't lay flush like they should. Oh, they were fine during fitting and drilling. But after drilling out 2-3x, the skin holes are pretty much at edge tolerance, and beyond my personal "looks like ****" threshold.
Lessons learned: 1) Use the rigid angle when drilling the trailing edges, no matter what. I think it's both to give the straightness to the edge, and also for the clecos something more to bite in, for more compressive hold. 2) Use more clamps! Clecos aren't enough on this one, I don't think. 3) Use proseal. Or at least put a heck of a lot more sealant on, so it's actually really sticks. I think I was being a bit stingy, just because it was so **** hard to squeeze the tube (that stuff's thick!) . 4) Don't over-countersink the AEX, even if you're trying to follow that "countersink a little bit more than the rivet head, to give the skin dimple somewhere to sit" rule. 5) There's probably enough to make lessons #5 - 10 on this, but it's lunch time.
Needless to say, it was a comparatively bad weekend... Best part is, I'm not really *that* bummed. Finishing work on the left elevator, which oddly I feel better about now, my wing kit's inventoried, other accessories are on their way, etc. I've got more than enough to keep busy. And in the grand scheme, the couple hundred bucks for a new rudder and right elevator is not that big a deal. A few hours' worth of rental in a Cirrus lost.
Okay, lesson learned / vent session over. Building onward...
P.S. For those who edge roll the skin trailing edge, I've read that you just edge roll the very bottom edge, right below the rivet holes for the AEX. Others say above the holes (so the rivet hole is on the bent edge). Which should I use, for practicing (and probably eventual usage on the left elevator)?
The rudder's trailing edge is straight. But the skins, in hindsight, don't lay to the wedge very well. You can separately see, and feel, the right and left skin edges and the AEX wedge. Plus the leading edge had to be rolled twice, so it's not great in its own right. This was before I learned of the gem of an edge rolling tool. And for whatever reason, as I did with the right elevator, I wasn't using an angle to hold everything together, or proseal (just some standard RTV sealant I picked up at Autozone).
When countersinking the right elevator's AEX, I determine I way over-countersinked the one side. Start to countersink the other side, and between the pilot wobbling and such, the holes themselves get opened up to more than #30(!!!). Oops rivets wouldn't even fill these. Start to rivet it onto the skin, and needless to say things just don't lay flush like they should. Oh, they were fine during fitting and drilling. But after drilling out 2-3x, the skin holes are pretty much at edge tolerance, and beyond my personal "looks like ****" threshold.
Lessons learned: 1) Use the rigid angle when drilling the trailing edges, no matter what. I think it's both to give the straightness to the edge, and also for the clecos something more to bite in, for more compressive hold. 2) Use more clamps! Clecos aren't enough on this one, I don't think. 3) Use proseal. Or at least put a heck of a lot more sealant on, so it's actually really sticks. I think I was being a bit stingy, just because it was so **** hard to squeeze the tube (that stuff's thick!) . 4) Don't over-countersink the AEX, even if you're trying to follow that "countersink a little bit more than the rivet head, to give the skin dimple somewhere to sit" rule. 5) There's probably enough to make lessons #5 - 10 on this, but it's lunch time.
Needless to say, it was a comparatively bad weekend... Best part is, I'm not really *that* bummed. Finishing work on the left elevator, which oddly I feel better about now, my wing kit's inventoried, other accessories are on their way, etc. I've got more than enough to keep busy. And in the grand scheme, the couple hundred bucks for a new rudder and right elevator is not that big a deal. A few hours' worth of rental in a Cirrus lost.
Okay, lesson learned / vent session over. Building onward...
P.S. For those who edge roll the skin trailing edge, I've read that you just edge roll the very bottom edge, right below the rivet holes for the AEX. Others say above the holes (so the rivet hole is on the bent edge). Which should I use, for practicing (and probably eventual usage on the left elevator)?