Worked on a few different aspects of the tail. I did not like the shim I fabricated for the forward spar of the vertical stabilizer. I made a new one and got it installed.
Next up was working on closing in the forward portion of the rudder bottom fairing. I had glued in a slice of foam a few days ago. Today I covered the top with 3 oz cloth. After it cures I will cover the bottom of the foam with some heavier cloth. That will give the forward edge some additional strength. It is not visible in the photo but there is a slot cut in the forward face for the aft light wiring. So the fairing needs some strength.
Last task was determining how to afix the aft strobe / position light to the bottom of the fairing. I have research the web for different solutions, there were not many choices. One that I considered was to rivet the sides of a mounting ring to the fiberglass fairing. But after opening the fairng just enough for the light body there is not sufficient edge distance on the sides for rivets. Another solution was to rivet the top and bottom of the mounting ring with blind rivets, drive out the mandrel and tap the inside of the rivet for the mounting screw. That plan will work.
First step was to fabricate a mounting ring which you can see in image three. I drilled a hole in a piece of .063 sheet to match the light body, then traced the outside shape. Using my band saw and grinder I finished the mounting ring. I drilled the initial rivet holes .40 so there was room to move them slightly if necessary, final size is .30 Ran out of time today, but the next step is finish preping the end of the fairing, drill the holes to final size and countersink.
I plan on mixing some epoxy, coating the faring and mounting ring and then riveting it together. For additional strength I will place a small washer on the back of the rivet before setting them. This should build a strong mounting point for the light.
