Led weight

Made led counter weight from sheet led. These need to be bolted in place, so I need some bolts. Might as well use an bolts. These have to be ordered so I continue with the left elevator next.

Right elevator

Just about finished. I only need to add led weights. That will be made from sheet led.

right elevator leading edge

Bent and drilled the leading edge. Have to do some fine adjustments to the curvature before riveting.

Bending the leading edge right elevator

Riveted the rest of the rivets including the cherrymax. Used my professional cherrymax riveting tool instead of my cheap blind rivet tool, and what a difference! Forgot to stagger the outmost rovets at the trailing edge, so I have to put in a slug there and some reinforcement between the flanges. There is no space for two cherrymax in there. Always something.

Riveting right elevator

Deburred and dimpled all holes, riveted the elevator horn to the skeleton, then inserting everything into the jig and riveted together. A few "stray" rivets still have to be done as well as the cherrymax ones in places I cannot easily get to using normal rivets.

The horn is RTV'ed as well. My counsellor told me to always use RTV between aluminium and steel due to corrosion. I have been a bit sceptical to this because the rivets themselves are connecting the steel and the aluminium in any case (galvanic corrosion), and also I have been a bit sceptical about this "rubber glue", and how it will affect the strength, will it act "spongy" weakening the riveted joint? I tested the RTV on some scrap aluminium, let it cure for a week. The joint is about 2-3 square cm, and now I cannot tear it apart using my hands, so the RTV is certainly not weakening the joint. It also occurred to me that the RTV is not there to prevent the galvanic process, but rather to keep the moisture out of the joint, seal it off completely; no moisture - no corrosion. So, RVT between aluminium and steel is most certainly a very good thing and easy to apply.

Primed elevator counterweight skins

Measured the counterweight skin. The manual is wrong regarding fitting this skin. Again, studying the drawing and planning ahead is the key. Primed both skins.