Brief Description: Final emp attach/balance; final rudder attach
Finished left wing root leading edge nutplate installation left over from yesterday,
Put in elevater to horiz stabilizer emp rod-end bearing bolts, 2x each side. Torqued inboard pair with long extension from the center. Torqued outboard pair with a 3/8 open/box wrench attached (at the open end) at 90 degrees to the 3/8 drive of the torque wrench.
Left elevator was in perfect balance. No movement from any position. Needed to hog out a lot of lead on right elevator until it balanced. Connected the two elevator halves to the elevator pushrod and torqued the connecting bolt (previously loosened for independent left/right balancing) at the center pivot.
Attached rudder and secured the plastic-corrugated conduit containing the tail light/strobe cable to the fiberglass rudder bottom. Makes the cable form an upside-down "U" that puts twisting forces on the cable, not bending, as the rudder pivots back and forth. Installed tail/strobe light; the 4-40 Torx screws treated with blue loctite. Installed 3x rudder bolts. Rod end bearings flushed with LPA and exercised. Torqued rudder bolts, painted them with yellow nail polish. Attached rudder cables and cotter-pinned the bolts. Brakes are firm. No "catching" as the forward rudder cable swaged clevises move in and out of the first bulkhead bushing.
Polished up the inboard edges of the flaps where I had trimmed them for clearance with respect to the rear spar stubs.
