Lindy
1/24/2010
The weather was just awful this week with ice, snow, fog, rain...that pretty much limited my time to spend on the airplane because I just didn't want to be out in it after work.
I did confirm with my fellow local RV builders this past week that I had done the control rigging properly, so today I got back to work on finishing up the control surfaces by torque-ing down the hardware. The ailerons were a simple matter of checking the torque on the external hinges...
...and then working thru the inspection panel to finish the bellcrank hardware.
I worked on the left side first, doing the aileron, then the flap, then moved to the right side, then to the tail. The flaps needed the pins secured...instead of making a holder for the pins with a clamp, screw, and nut, or safety wiring them in place, I simply put a dab of RTV over the pins. If and when they need to be removed, it will be a simple matter of using a blade to cut the RTV out.
The elevator hinges were first to get tightened on the tail. There is not really an effective way to torque those down with the limited amount of space to get wrenches in there. I tightened them to about what I think is the correct torque, but I actually think they are a bit tight because I'm not super pleased with how the elevators feel. I'll probably make a small adjustment next time.
The rudder came out fine, but again, unable to truly torque the nut because of limited space.
No pics of any of that.
I ordered a steering link from JD Air Parts on Friday, so that should be in this next week so I can finish attaching all controls soon.
I did do a small amount of work on the empennage fairing today as well, but that just consisted of drilling the screw holes to size for the #6 screws that will be used to attach it. Gotta drill nut plates soon...blegh.
3.5 hours