After detaching the rudder and vertical stabilizer (hopefully for the last time before final assembly), I started to comply with SB 18-03-30. As previously mentioned, the elevators were at the high end of the required travel range (at 30˚ up, with the required range between 25˚-30˚), but at that position they weren't being stopped by the flanges of the horns, making compliance required:
Filed-down elevator stop angle in an attempt to comply with the SB
I measured, and if only the elevator stop angles hadn't been filed down to give the full range, then the horns would still touch them at the flange, and the movement would only be down to 28˚ up, still within the allowed range, so I removed the elevator stop angle and replaced it with a new but equal (just unfiled) part:
Removing the elevator stop angle
New unfiled elevator stop angle clecoed in place
New elevator stop angle riveted in place
I also opened up a bit of the rudder's leading edge to give room for the grounding strap without interfering with the attachment:
Grounding strap hidden behind the leading edge
Leading edge after removing additional material
New leading edge gap exposing the ground strap attachment point
Grounding strap attached to the rudder
Finally, I 3D printed the template to adjust the elevator pushrods:
3D printed elevator pushrod template with holes for clamping
Elevator pushrod template clamped in place
With this, the last steps on section 11 are now left for the final assembly at the airport.
Ok, if I said that section 32 was complete before, I lied: there were two dimpling steps left - the top tailcone bulkhead and the corresponding skin holes - which are now also done.
I epoxied the magnets inside the door latch pins (and later carefully cleaned up the threads):
Door latch pins with magnets epoxied inside
I had to try a few different sensor positions to get the right sensitivity - in the end, attaching to the top screw worked well:
Attempted reed sensor position that didn't work
Reed sensor position that worked properly
Testing the door sensor
I then started the work to close up the hinge pockets, so that the McMaster seal can seal that part of the door. I made 4-layer fiber "plaques", trimmed them to fit just slightly inside the hinge pockets, then attached them with two more layers underneath (grabbing the sides of the pockets), and two layers on top (to make a smooth transition, and also to follow the cranial cavity curve):
Laying up a flat plaque for closing the door hinge pockets
Sanded hinge pockets for attaching the covers
Hinge pocket cover plaques marked up for trimming
Hinge pocket cover plaque held in place
Hinge pocket cover plaque held in place
I used some 2x4s (on top of peel ply) to keep the layup on the same plane as the original door surface:
2x4 block "press" to keep hinge pocket covers flat with door surface
Hinge pocket cover fiber layup inside the pockets
Hinge cover layup in place
After a lot of sanding and filling to make it smooth again, I applied a coat of primer, and this is now ready to fit back:
Hinge pocket covers after sanding
Filling holes in the hinge pocket covers
Hinge pocket covers with primer applied
With this done, I can finish fitting the McMaster seal, position the gas strut bracket and drill the door to attach it.
We finished filling and sanding the rudder fairings and their gaps:
Bottom rudder fairing with a huge gap to the rudder
Bottom rudder fairing after a lot of filling and sanding
Top rudder fairing after filling and sanding
and finally covered them with primer (which I have to say ended up being less smooth than the sanded surface :) but it's only temporary until paint anyway):
Top rudder fairing with primer applied
Bottom rudder fairing with primer applied
The only empennage fairing left now is the top VS fairing, which has a huge gap to be filled in the forward portion.
Section 20, Bottom wing skins, is finally complete! It mostly went smoothly, and I even managed to do a lot of it solo this time, partly by riveting all but the last bay top-to-bottom rather than leaving the last 3 bays for later. The last bay is pretty easy to reach (compared to the others) through the rib holes.
Completed right wing
While technically part of this section, I'm not actually attaching the pitot tube now - I'll leave that out until after the wing is attached to the fuselage to make it easier to handle.
I'm done riveting...the first wing :) The lower (forward) half was significantly easier and could be mostly done solo and in some cases even using the squeezer, but it's still significantly slower than "regular" riveting where you can see the shop head without taking pictures or using a mirror. I also saw no reason why the two outboard bays are riveted differently, so on the other wing I may just do it all the same way:
Left wing bottom skin fully riveted
Rivets inside the left wing
I also attached the backing plate for the Gretz Pitot mount to the skin, spar and rib:
Gretz pitot mount base plate riveted to the skin and rib through an angle
Lots of blind riveting! And by blind I'm not referring to pop rivets, unfortunately, but riveting without seeing your bucking bar. Phone cameras were infinitely helpful to see what the heck we had done:
Rivets inside the wing
Most of them were ok, but there were more than a few that had to be replaced, too:
Bad rivets that needed replacing
Some also required a bit of contortionism to buck:
Wife performing contortionism to bucket a rivet behind and above her without seeing it
After a LOT of sanding and filling, I got OK results (i.e. good enough that the paint shop can fix the rest :) ) on the horizontal stabilizer and elevator fairings, and primed them:
Sanding the elevator fairing gap
Horizontal stabilizer and elevator fairings with primer applied
Horizontal stabilizer and elevator fairings with primer applied
I also riveted the bottom rudder fairing on, and now the sanding and filling for the rudder fairings will start.
I didn't quite like the metal cover that most people use for the rudder cables - mainly, because they're too small and tight around the cable sleeve, and they're too short to stop water from getting inside the tailcone, so we used those as a rough model to make our own from fiberglass:
Molds for layup, made from the smaller metal cable covers
Molds, fiberglass and peel ply ready for layup
Laying fiber for the cable covers
Applying peel ply while keeping the layup shape
After cutting, the general shape was good, but the cable was still a bit too close to the aft portion in its extreme position:
Cable covers after initial layup and cutting
Cable coming out of the cable cover
Cable sitting pretty close to the cover in its extreme position
so in order to be able to sand the inside of that aft portion, we added another couple layers of fiber to the outside:
Laying up additional fiber layers on the outside of the cable covers
Added few holes, countersunk them, adjusted the angle so the cable goes right down its center, and it sits perfectly:
Cable covers with countersunk holes for attachment
Left cable cover clecoed to the tailcone, with cable running down its center
Right cable cover clecoed to the tailcone, with cable running down its center
After that was the usual finishing work - fill, sand, fill, sand:
Cable covers with a resin layer for filling holes
Cable covers after fine sanding
Once it was smooth enough, I finally primed it (and the portion of the tailcone where it sits) and riveted it in place:
