Today’s work was focused on the rudder fairing and tail strobe light installation. When the fairing is shipped from Van’s it comes with about ½” of extra material around the edges…but with a nice line scribed all the way around to indicate where to cut. Odd that they wouldn’t just make that piece to fit like they do all of the other control tips. Using the concept of “trust but verify”, I temporarily installed the tip on the rudder to ensure that it really did need to be cut, and when sure, I broke out the Dremel and made the cuts. A little sanding on the belt sander and then back to the rudder to fit, measure and drill.
Once fitted, I then began the process of running the wiring to the tail strobe. I had intentionally left plenty of wire to reach the end of the rudder, and since I anticipate the rudder coming off (at least once for painting) elected to install it with the supplied Molex connector. The wiring was simple enough, but the most challenging part was figuring out how to run it from the aft fuselage into the fairing. I finally used a Unibit to open a hole in the front that gives the rudder free movement and still allows the wire to make the transition up into the fairing without causing friction. I will probably put a grommet in the hole once installed to minimize any chance of chafing.
The final step was to open a hole in the aft part of the fairing to allow the light to install. I still need to fabricate a bracket that will also provide a location for either nut plates or tapped holes for installing the 4-40 screws used on the tail strobe. That is going to take some thought since the real estate is extremely limited and access from the inside will be impossible once the fairing is installed.
Initial cutting
Fairing fitted and ready for light install
Electrical work is finished, still need bracket for light
