9/23/2007
Well, I thought I had the rudder finished yesterday. Not so. My rudder stop was about 3/16" short. My fault for not setting the rod end bearings properly.
I started out by clamping the rudder stop in place, then drilling the holes thru the lower bracket only. Then I installed the bolts and nuts, and sealed 'em.
Then the rudder was adjusted. I bet I had that stupid thing off and back on at LEAST 15 times to get those rod end bearings adjusted properly to get 35 degrees of swing, and get the spar to hit the stop. I do have a slight bit more travel to the right, but it's only a couple of degrees to about 38. The left travel is right on the money, and that is set by measuring 1 1/8" to the elevator trailing edge.
The other side measured about 7/8" of an inch. I am going to make a 35 degree template to be sure...it could be a difference that I'm not seeing, so I want to know for sure what I have.
Here's the rudder stop showing full left deflection.
The tail is complete!
I do plan to disassemble the tail tomorrow to deburr all the holes, and then put everything back in storage to make things easier to work around in the garage.
2.25 hours