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Derek & Kims RV-9A Build Log
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Date: 5-20-2012
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Number of Hours: 8.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Fiberglass Stabilizer Tips
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Finished all the fiberglass fitting, with the exception of the two pieces that will be installed with removable hardare (Rudder bottom and Vert. Stabilizer top)
The most tedious was the tips of the horizontal stabilizer, which are open on the aft side and need to be closed off. Pretty sure this day and age there is a much simpler, faster , cheaper way to issue these prefabricated to spare the builder a couple days of agony... but any way. Theres multiple ways to do this with epoxy, balsa, foam, etc. but the method i chose, ala Bruce Hill's recomendations on his website was to use aluminum.
First I fitted and shaped the fiberglass tips with their open ends to the horizontal stabilizer and elevator counterbalance arms. Next I took some spare aluminum sheet and traced the shape of the tip onto it. i cut this out on the band saw and then starting working it on the bench grinder deburring wheel until the aluminum sheet fit precisely into the aft side of each tip, recessed about 1/8"
Next i epoxied the aluminum into postion and backed it up with some epoxy/flox fillets. After that I filled the 1/8" recess with epoxy/microlight filler and let this cure. Next I took to it with a combination of hand, belt and orbital sanders until i was happy with it.
After each individual tip is complete they were riveted onto the forward corners of the horizontal stabilizer using CS4-4 blind rivets.
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Aluminum backer plate fit into position
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Aft side of tip filled and sanded, fit into place
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Stabilizer and elevator tip alignment
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