Rudder and VS and the unpleasent truth

The vertical stabilizer and rudder is finished. I washed off the excess zinc chromate with acetone, leaving only zinc chromate at the mating surfaces. I guess a very practical feature with single component primers is that they easely can be washed off, and that is also a bad thing. Single component is nowhere near as tough as epoxy based primers. The rod end bearings must be adjusted, but this job requires two persons. With the VS and rudder finished it is definitely going forward.

But things are also going backward. During the time the HS was in the jig, the wood in the jig changed shape, probably due to changes in temp and moisture with changing seasons. The result is that the hinges on the HS do not line up. The error is approximately 5 mm. To get it right I would have to shim each tip hinge bracket approximately 5 mm out. This is a lot. It will not look good, and it will also mean more forces on the HS spar. I have a set of usable skins, and have decided to replace the skins on the HS. Just to take them off without damaging the skeleton, will take a lot of time. This will be the third time I fit the skin on the HS, and the third pair of skins.