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Serenity
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Date: 10-2-2006
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Number of Hours: 1.50
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: rudder skeleton assembly
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Started assembly of the rudder skeleton. After fabricating a .032 thick shim that fits behind the rudder horn and rounding the top of the horn for better fit under the rib, I clecoed everything together. After re-reading Van's instructions a number of times, it seemed redundant and confusing. I studied the drawings, and decided to drill everything in assembly in one step. Van's has it broken down in a couple steps, but I noticed other builders had confusion with this, also. Anyway, the horn/shim/rib flange/spar/reinforcing plate were all drilled together, with perfect results.(For the non-builders, this spar will be the front of the rudder that hinges on the rear of the VS, and the rib you see sticking up in pic 1 is the bottom rib. The duller aluminum bracket that you see sticking out laterally is the rudder horn, which is the attachment for the rudder cables that come from the fuselage and rudder pedals).A note on part fabrication - it is now very fast with the following preferred sequernce: Lay out lines, cut slightly over with bandsaw and 24tpi blade (like butter!) or use snips, sand to line with Delta 6 inch disc (which leaves perfectly straight edge) and 1 inch belt sander, then final debur and polish with Scotchbrite wheel on bench grinder. The shim and earlier stiffners only needed a few minutes tops to do each.Looking ahead, Van's confirmed my wing order, with a ship date mid November. I've also started reading the Sky Ranch Engineering Manual on aircraft engines (performance, operation, repair, failure), and will attend a 1.5 day seminar here in town next month by Bob Nuckolls, homebuilt a/c electrical systems/wiring guru. His 'Aeroelectric Connection' is probably the most used reference for this topic in the US.
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rear spar and bottom rib
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close-up showing rudder horn to spar/rib attachment
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