I was doing a final review of the drawings for the HS, I will be ready to rivet it all together soon and I wanted to see if I missed anything. Well on the exploded view on DWG 3, there is a shaded area with a note. The note says that you “MAY” have to cut out some of the lower part of the rear spar in the center so that the elevator control horn can hit the elevator control stop. It refers you to DWG 78 which is the drawing that deals with attaching and rigging the vertical and horizontal stabilizers.
I reread the instructions for the HS but nothing mentions this cut, and the drawing just tells you some may need to be cut but not how much. I was puzzled so I called Van’s and they were sort of well you could cut some now or just leave it until you attach the HS and cut what you need to then. It seemed to be that cutting these parts before you rivet them together would be easier; the guy at Van’s said I could cut just up to the radius in the spar and then see how things fit when it was attached to the fuselage. I thought this was over kill, why cut more than was required. Then it dawns on me why the instructions are the way they are. The directions are set up for slow builders which we all are on the tail sections but we Quick Builders (QB) have the luxury of having the fuselage already or at least in my case. I am able to lay the spar on the fuselage and mark off what needs to be trimmed. For me it will be about a 3/8 inch deep notch. So if you are quick building then you might want to get your fuselage in hand to mark and cut this notch. I don’t think it is a big deal to wait but since I have the rear spar in two pieces it will make this cut easier, I can do it on the bench instead of having to use a cutting wheel or something after the HS is all together. Just another one of those experience things the instructions don’t tell you about. They say the tail instructions are the most comprehensive and the other sections are less detailed and you are on your own more. I think this is because you get
