Brief Description: Elev Tips: Cut to size, test fitted and drilled to
Fiberglass work is *completely* new to me so I am moving ahead with this fairly slowly and carefully with a lot of reading/research in between.
I thought that since the whole H-Stab and elevators were already on my workbench, I may as well start there which is exactly what I did.
Starting with the right tip, I sanded the raised seams in the gel coat of fairly roughly with a rotary sanding wheel on the Dremel tool concentrating specifically on the trailing edge tip to ensure that it seated flush inside the skin. Then, making sure it was pushed snugly into the trailing edge, I marked and cut out tabs where the counterweight interfered with the tips (as per the plans).
I then measured the distance from the outboard edge of the tip rib to the outboard edge of the skin and marked this off on the fiberglass tip (measuring the recessed flange on the fiberglass tip from recess lip inboard. I cut off the excess from the recessed lip, test fitted to the elvator and trimmed further as required until I had as snug a fit as I could get from the part in its current state.
I then match drilled (#40) the tip to the elevator using the pilot holes in the skin as a guide and cleco'ing the tip into position as I progressed.
Shampoo, rinse and repeat on left elevator.
I have not yet trimmed the forward edge of the tip where it goes over the countersink as I'm not really one hundred percent sure what or how to do it. I'm also concerned about access to the counterweight to facilitate the balancing of the elevators subsequent painting!
Enough for tonight though!
Right elevator tip with tabs removed for counterweight. Measured and marked for trimming along recess
Right elevator tip trimmed, drilled and Cleco'ed into position
Left elevator tip trimmed, drilled and Cleco'ed into position
