Vertical Stabilizer Construction

12/20/2014
Today I was able to cleco up the VS skeleton after deburring and smoothing up all the parts.  Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to get it all drilled out and then try on the skin.  Woohoo!

Okay, shop is now functional and I'm starting to build.  I built a tool cart as per the Van's Air Force recommendation, and two benches per the EAA site.  Extremely happy with the functionality  of the tool cart and stability of the benches.  Morgan Rodney says I have to be able to eat off the floor, so I am trying to keep it swept daily.  (Not eating off of it)

 

Working on the vertical stabilizer rear spar.  I have the spar caps and doublers in place, along with the hinge brackets that will support the rudder hinges.

So far I am impressed with the details of the plans and accuracy of the parts.  Haven't made any big bonehead errors (yet).

12/27/2014
Merry Christmas to all.  And to those offended by Christmas.......please leave my blog.

Here is the VS skinned up.

I was able to get the VS skinned up without too much trouble.  The nose ribs were difficult to radius properly and avoid getting any tiny dents near the leading edge of the skin.  I was warned by other builders, so I was for the most part able to avoid the uglies.  But it was challenging, and there are a couple small spots that I am sure will only bug me.

Next is match drill all up and then remove, prime, dimple and rivet up!

I wish everyone a Happy New Year!

1/2/2015

It has been over a week since I have been able to work on the RV.  Trying to finish up the master bathroom remodel, which was part of the plane "deal".  I must honor my word, lest Julie renig on the plane deal of the century.

I have dismantled the entire VS in preparation for deburring, priming, dimpling and the re-assembly.

However, I have found an error.  I countersunk some holes too deep on the VS-1008 doubler.  Sorry for any of the fuzzy pics.  Trying to figure out how to take macro shots with my iphone.

  I wasn't sure if it was significant, so I set a flush rivet in a similar hole on a test piece.  The rivet raises up out of the countersink until it is flush with the surface of the material.  No good.  So I ordered a new part for $15.  If that is the worse I do I am OK.  Probably could have drilled out to the next size rivet, but not ready to start doing "fixes" yet.  Especially when it can be avoided for $15.

This is the VS_1008 doubler. 

Here is the test piece, with a rivet passively placed.

Hard to see here, but with the rivet now set, it has popped up to surface level.

The above rivet has popped up and none of the countersunk head touches the hole.  Not a good way to connect a part.  So a new part is ordered and will be here in a couple of days.  A good learning experience that cost me $15.  Oops.

1/17/2015 Movin' along!  The weather finally warmed up and I decided it was time to face the dreaded primer spraying. I started by scrubbing down my parts with Prekote.  It was relatively simple, non-toxic and went fast.  I was rather wet and dirty, so no pics on that yet. Here is the spray gun I got for Christmas from my lovely bride......

It is a DeVilbiss FinishLine4 HVLP gun, recommendations were to run it at 30-40 PSI.  The plastic cups are disposable and come in a few handy sizes.  Very slick and easy to set up, and cleanup took about 5 minutes.  And I even had a great result first time spraying my AKZO epoxy primer.  Went on smooth and easy.  Tried to keep it light so my plane doesn't weigh an extra 50 lbs.

And here I am suited up and almost ready to spray.  (No gloves yet).  

And the first batch of primed parts. Woohoo!  I will try and shoot the inside of the skin and then I can begin the nervous task of riveting.  I have been practicing, not totally confident yet. Will get there.

Saturday I got some good work in.  Was able to get my skin primed (inside) and all parts dimpled and ready to rivet.  Even did my very first riveting.

Here is the Vertical Stabilizer scuffed and treated with Prekote.  Drying in the nice weather.

And below is after a spray of primer.

This is dimpling with my big C-frame dimpler.  Awesome tool, very easy to control.

Also used my pneumatic riveting tool to dimple, especially in tight places.  Here is a pic of the moment before hitting the trigger......

And the trigger depressed......

And the finished dimple.  Simple and perfect.

1/18/2015

And here are my first rivets.  They are not perfect, but pretty darn good.  I was pleased, and they are incredibly strong.

And the factory heads are in good shape, no smileys from off angle setting.  The pneumatic riveter helps a LOT.

1/22/2015
So I finally arrived at the point of putting the vertical stabilizer together.  All parts drilled, deburred, countersunk, scuffed, prepped with Prekote, sprayed with AKZO primer, dimpled, fluted and ready to go.  Lots of steps!

Here is the VS main spar all riveted up with a doubler for strength.  I had to re-do a lot of these rivets, probably because I'm a newbie with a rivet gun.  I had rivets not set flush, over-driven, and tails bent over.  Got a lot of practice drilling out rivets.  

I'm pretty good now drilling out rivet heads, and then punching out the tails.  Dubious talent.  But I am now happy with the resulting rivets.

And here are all the skeleton parts ready to cleco together and rivet......

And the skeleton/frame ready for the skin.  Hopefully get it riveted on and finished this weekend!

1/25/2015

I have finally finished my Vertical Stabilizer.  I am generally very happy with it.  There are a few minor blems, strictly cosmetic.  Structurally it is solid and all rivets are very good.

Here is the finished VS.  It will take a close eye to find the blems that I have.  I do believe it will fly.

And here is my first smiley rivet.  What happens when the hand/eye coordination get screwed up.  It was a very easy drill out and fix.

And here is a video of my pneumatic squeezer in action.  Julie was kind enough to video this, I just had to promise not to smash any fingers during the process.

 It is really a lifesaver.  Bucking rivets by hand is where strange things can happen for me.  Off to the rudder!