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RV-9A: Left Elevator - 2/5/2006
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Started work on scuffing the Trim Tab skin for the foam wedgesStarted work on scuffing the Trim Tab skin for the foam wedges
It was little tough trying to figure out exactly where to draw the lines for the scuffing of the trim tab interior for the foam wedge attachment, but I think I got right. I used my framing square against the back bend of the trim tab to assure straight lines for the markings for the scuffing.
Taped around the scuff markings and scuffed awayTaped around the scuff markings and scuffed away
I used 150 sandpaper and scuffed it good, in all directions, to assure a good seal when the foam gets bonded in. The blue painters tape works good for this and is easy to remove later. I have to say I don't know why this damn tape is so expensive.
Cut out the foam wedgesCut out the foam wedges
I cut out the wedge pattern from the plans and placed it one side of the foam black. I drew a line around the pattern with a fine point sharpie and cut the foam blocks out with my band saw. then I finished them off with my table top sander.
Modify the trim tab horns for manual trimModify the trim tab horns for manual trim
Okay, I can hear the other builders already. Wah, wah, wah... why aren't you going with electric trim? My Cessna has manual trim and I'm used to it. I want to be able to transfer from aircraft to the other with as little thought required as possible. The avionics will be setup with same idea in mind. Here I clecoed the 2 trim tab horn parts together and then made the first rough cut with the band saw. Then I put a Dremmel sanding wheel in the band saw and finished it off. The (very small) drawing shows two straight cuts, one straight up and then an abrupt right turn out to the end where the cable attachment hole is. Somehow that doesn't seem like a good idea to me. A rounded inner edge is more sturdy and looks better. It may bite me in the butt later, but I don't think so.
Update 9/24/2010: Well, time for me to eat crow on this one. Now that I'm installing the cable for the trim tab, it has turned out to be a big pain in butt to install. I wish now (a-hem) that I had gotten the electric trim.
The Dremmel sanding wheel in the drill pressThe Dremmel sanding wheel in the drill press
This really works great. I'm going to buy some more sanding wheels of all sizes for rounding off any inside corners I come across later in the project.
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