Trim Tab Trailing End Not Aligning

[Fearless]

I see on the plans that the trailing edge on the trim tab should be aligned with the trailing edge of the elevator. After I have drilled the holes on the hinge for both sides, mine seems to go a little beyond the elevator trailing edge. Is this going to cause me a big problem? I aligned the edges on the spar/trim tab to the notch part/teeth of the hinge on both sides thinking this should be correct. Sorry don't have the plans in front of me to use proper terminology.

Thanks in advance for replies

 

[Brantel]

Not a problem but looks bad

This is not a problem other than the looks. I had the same exact situation. I could not stand to look at it so I ordered a new hinge and placed the holes a little closer toward the pivot point of the hinge. Worked great.

 

[N916K]

There is one other option. I purchased a sheet of .016 and a few feet of trailing edge wedge material and made a trim tab that looks like the other trailing edges on the 9. I used the Vans part as a template. It's a pretty common mod for 9's and 10's.

Vans doesn't endorse this, so I wouldn't do it if I where you.

 

[alpinelakespilot2000]

My trim tab extends about 1/32 beyond the elevator trailing edge as well because I too tried to align the hinge the way it looked on the plans. I bet that, if your's is like mine, you'd be the only one to notice it though.

The trick is to get the hinge further under the flange of the trim tab spar so that only the eyelets are sticking out. I'll live with mine for now. Maybe build another one some day.

 

[Fearless]

Probably leave as is

I talked with another local builder and he suggested that I might align the AEX on the elevator trailing edge with the trim tab. I haven't closed up the elevator yet so I might try that to see what that looks like. If that doesn't look very good I'll probably just hold off until I get closer to final assembly then just redo. I haven't riveted the piano hinge in place yet so I may just order a new one the next time I have to get something from Vans.

I must be progressing okay on the build because it seems I haven't invented any new screw ups that someone hasn't done already.

Thanks

 

[dhusk]

I ran into the same problem with my trim tab. Since I messed up the tab and it came out warped I ordered new parts. They should be here today and I'll start putting it together. I plan on moving it a little closer to the elevator so it aligns better. The parts only set me back about $40, so it wasn't too expensive a mistake.