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We took Tuesday to regroup and spend a little time in the sky. We enjoyed a quick flight to Simply Suzanne’s, a charming lunch diner at KMTV. You know the saying about how, once you buy a new car, you suddenly see them everywhere? That seems to be happening to us with Vans aircraft—we run into them everywhere we fly now, whereas we used to rarely see them. Regardless, we enjoyed a great conversation with the owners of the RV-9 and RV-9A that also flew in for lunch.
Day One: Getting Back to Work
Day One: Getting Back to Work
After a long hiatus, we finally got back to the hangar and resumed work on the plane. We each focused on finishing up our individual projects we had begun on the Elevator. Sam completed all of the elevator stiffeners, using the Scotch-Brite wheel and comparing them to the full-size printouts he had made. Meanwhile, I worked on removing the blue vinyl strips from the elevator skins.
Since the new R-710 rudder horn brace arrived from Van's, we decided to put the elevator parts back on the shelves and continue work on the rudder. Determined not to make the same mistake twice—where the previous brace had insufficient edge clearance—Sam carefully trimmed some material from the new R-710 and then used the Scotch-Brite wheel to refine it gradually until the rudder horn brace fit perfectly. We match-drilled the holes in the part and then removed it to check edge clearance. This time, the edge clearance exceeded 2.5 times the requirement for a #4 rivet. Woo hoo!
We spent the remainder of the day riveting the rudder skeleton together and attaching the counterbalance rib, skin, and weight. For the counterbalance skin to that rib, we used the Clemson Aeronautic 4" No-Hole yoke, which worked perfectly.
One setback we encountered was that the counterbalance weight did not fit into the counterbalance rib due to the shop heads of the recently placed rivets. Using a file, Sam notched the weight to provide room for the shop heads. After ensuring it fit, we re-primed the weight and installed it. We riveted the nutplates onto the nutplate strip and then screwed all of the pieces together. Finally, we clecoed the rudder skins to the rudder skeleton spar and called it a day.
Before leaving, we also installed the one missing LP4-3 rivet in the horizontal stabilizer (Since we finally received our shipment from Van’s). That means the horizontal stabilizer is officially complete!
Day Two: Riveting the Rudder and Tackling Tight Spaces
Day Two: Riveting the Rudder and Tackling Tight Spaces
Today, we finalized riveting the rudder skins to the rudder skeleton. Using all the yokes in our collection along with the pneumatic squeezer, we riveted almost the entire rudder. The Clemson Aeronautic 4" No-Hole yoke came in handy for several tight spots, allowing us to squeeze rivets directly at the nose of the yoke. For one side of the leading edge, we used the Cleveland Tools Standard 3” Yoke. Lastly, we used our Clemson Aeronautic Longeron yoke to set the rudder horn to the skin—this tool was absolutely invaluable in an otherwise impossible location where we would have had to use blind rivets.
Ultimately, we did resort to pull rivets for the final few spots where there was no easy way to buck them without risking damage to the skin. Given the confined space and limited access, pull rivets provided a secure and practical solution while minimizing the risk of deforming the surrounding material. As suggested in the instructions, we used the optional flat pull rivets in those locations.
The only remaining task was to finish the trailing edge. After checking the depth of the machine countersinks in the AEX wedge, we decided to deepen them slightly to ensure they were deep enough for the skin dimples. We clecoed everything into place to confirm the fit and planned to complete the trailing edge sealing the next day.
Day Three: Sealing the Trailing Edge
Day Three: Sealing the Trailing Edge
After an early morning coffee and a quick visit from our friend Jake at the local aviation maintenance shop, we got to work. We scuffed the inside trailing edge of the skins and the AEX wedge with Scotch-Brite pads, then cleaned everything thoroughly with naphtha. Sam mixed a batch of fuel sealant and spread it on both sides of the wedge—a sticky job that made me very grateful for gloves! We placed the wedge into position and clecoed the trailing edge assembly to an aluminum angle. To prevent sticking later, we dipped each cleco into Boelube before inserting it. After cleaning up the excess sealant, Sam placed a large straight edge along the trailing edge to ensure perfect alignment.
Now, we wait 5 or more days for it to cure!
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