I continued working on fabricating riblets for the elevator closeout next to the trim tab today and also decided to see if I could salvage the trim tab skin that I already started. First I completed the riblet for the elevator closeout. I drilled and match drilled the holes for the rivets. It came out well.
Then I moved on to the trim tab. I cut the bent tabs off of both ends of the trim tab and then filed and smoothed the edges.
Next I fabricated riblets for the trim tab out of E-703 ribs. I cut the tips off the ribs to match the length required for the sections where the closeout tabs would have been on the trim tab. I then finished the edges of the ribs. Next I marked centerlines on the ribs and drew lines on the skin to make sure I had the edge distance required for the rivets. I used a rivet fan to mark the rivet pattern on both sides of the skin. Then I drilled the holes for the rivets in the skin. I then clamped the riblets in to the ends of the trim tab and match drilled the holes. I think they came out really good!
