Finished rudder spar

Deburr and priming next, I think.

Rudder spar assembly

Fixed the rudder spar lower assambly. Lots of drilling through lots of pieces. Two holes left in the R405 + the top spar before deburr/prime.

The aluminium was sent from Sweden. Certainly much cheaper than sending from the US, I wonder how long it takes.

Riveting hinge brackets on HS

Hinge brackets are riveted in place. Laid out marks for rivets on the ribs for fluting.

Drilling and riveting the main hinge on HS

Riveting rear spar on HS

Rear spar on the HS is riveted together. Used the squizer. Just placed the hinges for the elevator to see what it will look like, they are next.

Front spar on HS, number 2

This time I got it right with the new parts. The 8 degree bends also became much strighter and at the right place with the small break from Clas Ohlson. Using a mallet to create the bends, as described in the manual, works but is very inaccurate.

Regarding primer, I need some washing/etching thing before applying the WG 6650 wash primer. At Aunes Karosseri they have never heard of such a thing, but another car paint specialist could get some DuPont/Corlar 5717S Metal Conditioner. He could only get 6 l, and I have to purchase all of it because it is something they never use. When reading the technical manual of the 5717S, it is meant to be used on ferrous metals and some other. Aluminum is not mentioned, so I am not sure if this is the right product at all. Monopol in France say I should use something called DERINOXALU, but have not been able to get it yet.

Small problems

Did some mistakes on the front spar of the HS. Three of the holes connecting the spar and HS-410 were too close to the edge (1-2 mm max). Also two of the holes for the rib was drilled in the wrong positions resulting in edge problem. Although not neccesary according to more experienced people than me (including Van's), I decided to re-do the front spar. I am now waiting for new parts.

The priming problem has come back. It turns out that Zinc Chromate is not a legal substance anymore due to toxic reasons, and therefore is nowhere to get hold of. Right now etch primer from a local shop specializing in aluminium constructions is something to be investigated.

The storage room to be used for priming is painted white to get it as light as possible.

Front spar on HS

Front spar on the HS is finished bent to 8 degrees, drilled and deburred.

Forward HS spar ready for drilling

The spars and HS-410 is cut, marked and clamped ready for drilling. Have to figure out which size drill first.

Received a mail from Van's about the rivets in the HS-409. They shall go in aft to fwd.

HS-410

HS-410 is cut to shape and deburred.

Shopped alot of clamps, hand saw, files and some other stuff at Biltema. Received some e-mails from the insurance agency. Still no solution there, but things are moving forward.

Fwd spar on the HS

My tech counsellor couldn't make it this evening, so I did some other stuff. I started on the front spar by drawing the cut lines on the spars and the HS-410. To finish the cuts I need a hand saw. I also need some more clamps and files, so tomorrow I have to go to Biltema - again.

I noticed that nowhere do the drawings or the manual specify that the HS-410 is to be made from the AS3-063X6X12 sheet, this has to be deduces from the available parts. When the house is literally packed with available parts, this should be specified properly. Another thing is that it is not specified if the rivets holding the aft spar and HS-409 together is to be riveted from fwd to aft or the other way around. This may not be important - or - it may be obvious - or - it may be obvious that it is not important... I don't know, so I have sent a mail to Van's.

Horizontal stab spar ready for priming

The parts for the horizontal spar are drilled, trimmed and deburred according to plans/instructions, ready for priming and riveting. This will be done tomorrow (priming at least).

I purchased a new press drill, the one from Biltema didn't really work as there were no way to lower the rpm without also lowering the torque. The new press drill was almost as cheap (probably Chinese made), but a totally different design, and worked very satisfactory for the bars in the horizontal stab.

I allso purchased a bench grinder for the Scotch Brite wheel, this was really usefull as well, several orders of magnitudes faster than sanding by hand.