Brief Description: Prepared and primed Elevator Skins and Stiffeners
Deburred and smoothed all edges of all Stiffeners and both Elevator Skins. Dimpled all holes as required including the 7 #6 holes for the Trim Access Reinforcement platenuts. I dimpled the platenuts and the Reinforcement Plate. Used the shaved #3 dimple set so that it didn't hit the chamfer on the #6 hole. Worked well.
Looked ahead at the Electric Elevator kit to get a good understanding of how it goes together. Also, looked at all the various parts of both elevators to help understand the path forward and if I will need any additional gadgets or tools.
Went to Home Depot and bought the closet rod and 7/8" sockets (1/2" drive"). Had to order the 1/2" Male to 3/8" Female socket adapters online since I couldn't find them at Home Depot. Strange. Cut the pipe to 22" and roughed up the insides and cleaned with alcohol. Roughed up the outside of each socket and JB Welded them into each end. Rotated throughout the day to try to keep them centered and the epoxy even around the socket. So far so good. Thanks to Eric at Vans for the tip. Let's see how it works out.
Primed both Elevator Skins and all related stiffeners and Elevator Trim Reinforcement Plate.
Spoke with Bud Smith. He's going skiing and has been busy. So hopefully in 2-3 weeks he can swing by for an informal inspection. He also let me know that the EAA Club meets at F45 the second Saturday of every month. I'll be out of town skiing this weekend, but hopefully get to meet with the club in March.
May order the remaining kits soon, but haven't heard back from Vans about the price and lead time. Stock Market has been HORRIBLE the last couple of days, which is where I pulling the money from. May hold off till it improves a bit so I don't take such a hit... Don't want this plane to cost more than it already will! lol
