1024- Rudder- p.7-11 step 1-6 & p.7-12 step 1-5

Rudder - 4 hrs 32 mins (Rudder 27:16, Empennage 54:49, Total 68:45)

Rivet count: 104 (Total 896)

Part 2 for the night. After dinner, I went on a rampage of work. I really didn't intend to work this long, but then again I did want to finish up. At 2:30 in the morning, I was all done, and am posting this a day later.

I started off by riveting the trailing edge of the rudder. Double flush rivets are definitely not my strong point. There are all kinds of dents and marks, but since I am not polishing the plane, they will all be filled and painted over, so I really don't mind. It will likely be the same for the elevators when I do them. Unfortunately, I bought aluminum angle instead of angle iron or steel, so it is all bent and deformed and can't be used again.

Then came the fun task of bending the leading edges. I really hated that, and I am not looking forward to doing the elevators. It took a few attempts to get the two skins to match up and making the bent edge smooth against the bottom edge. 

Last, was attaching the counterbalance weight and bending the metal at an angle to fit snug. At over an hour to get three holes to match up, it took entirely way too long. Twelve little rivets later, the rudder was complete! -M

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

1023- Rudder- p.7-10 step 1-7

Rudder - 2 hrs 2 mins (Rudder 22:44, Empennage 50:17, Total 64:13)

Rivet count: 163 (Total 792)

First day working on the plane in the last 6. Unfortunately, it's going to get worse before it gets better. This past weekend was event filled, to include turning my girlfriend into my fiancee! Needless to say, there was no work done. I spent the past two nights catching up on Master's degree work from the weekend, and starting tomorrow, I am out of town for Turkey day, and then out of town on business for two weeks. The next time I build will be 16 December at the earliest.

I got home from work early today and set my sights on getting the rudder done before this long hiatus. Not only is it a major milestone, but all the build is fresh in my mind, and it saves me from having to relearn some things. In part one of the night, I worked on the spar before hunger took control. I simply needed to blind rivet the spar to the clips. On the last rivet, it didn't seat all the way. I went to drill it out, but all it did was bend the shear clip. I had to drill out all of the blind rivets to fix the clip and then start over. Not very pleased about that. After getting the spar to the clips then came time to rivet the skins to the spar. the overhang for the leading edge was too much to use the squeezer so bucking time it was. last was squeezing the counterbalance rib to the skin. Easy work (albeit frustrating at times) for the before-dinner work. -M

1022.1- Rudder- p.7-9 step 2-8

Rudder - 1 hr 46 mins (Rudder 20:42, Empennage 48:15, Total 62:11)

Rivet count: 33 (Total 629)

-E came over tonight and helped to get the rudder trailing edge sealed, cleco'd, and blind-riveted. That was a tremendous help. You really do need two people to build this monster. No video unfortunately, but there is a picture. I figured out early that I ordered the 3.5 oz from Van's instead of the 1oz. Quick cost analysis was that it was easier to use the tube and waste some than to wait around for new one and far better than overnight shipping cost. Positive news despite the waste is that I learned to use the tube early for repeat use on elevators in a few months. 

I went to rivet the bottom spar and was perplexed about how to buck the narrow parts, only to discover I had a tool (squeezer set borrowed from -B) that I had been ignoring. The other night I "butchered" one side of the rudder, and today the other side went like cake. Go figure. At least that is one lesson learned early for later use. Squeezing rivets is far easier than bucking. 

Tomorrow I'll work ahead on the H.Stab since the rudder needs to sit until Saturday at least. I'm finally in town for a weekend, but with an excessive amount of chores mounting, I may not get a lot done even with the extra time. As much as I enjoy building, the outside of the house is starting to slum up, and that needs immediate attention. -L, hope you're ready for yardwork. Maybe a bonfire is in order with the cold weather too. -M

1022- Rudder- p.7-8 step 1-3 & p.7-9 step 1

Workshop - 30 mins (Workshop 13:56)

Rudder - 1 hr 24 mins (Rudder 18:56, Empennage 46:29, Total 60:25)
Rivet count: 48 (Total 596)

Steady progress on the rudder. Attached top and bottom ribs to the skins, and then the shear clips to the stiffeners. First blind rivets of the project today.

Also spent a little time getting the angle ready for the back riveting of the rudder this weekend. Tomorrow, I will hopefully dive into the proseal goo and get the trailing edge done. That will rest all day Friday to hopefully get the rudder done between Saturday and Sunday. -M

1021- Rudder- p.7-7 step 1-5

Rudder - 1 hr 28 mins (Rudder 17:32, Empennage 45:05, Total 58:31)
Rivet count: 157 (Total 548)

Very productive night! Started riveting of the rudder, first by putting together the lower rib and rudder horn, then putting together the rudder spar and reinforcement plates. All assemblies required a platenut to be attached and I think I checked and verified the orientation of them about 17 times each. I was really paranoid about making a mistake there. It all worked out.

Then I back riveted all the stiffeners to the skins. It turns out as I suspected, that back riveting is not only really easy, but also very fun. Not to mention it is about 3 times more time efficient than bucking. I did the second skin, 63 rivets, in about 20 minutes. Tomorrow night should be a relatively short night of normal bucking, and then Thursday night may be time to bust out the tank sealant for the trailing edge assembly. -M

1020- V.Stab- p.6-6 step 8-9

Vertical Stabilizer - 33 mins (V.S. 22:11, Empennage 43:37, Total 57:03)
Rivet count: 66 (Total 391)

Short video tonight, but the Vert Stab is complete!! Rudder riveting starts on Monday.... -M

1019- V.Stab- p.6-6 step 5-8

Vertical Stabilizer - 2 hr 3 mins (V.S. 21:38, Empennage 43:04, Total 56:30)
Rivet count: 154 (Total 325)

Holy rivets Batman. This is just the V.Stab... 300 down ~13,000+ to go... 

Nearly complete. So close. -M

1018- V.Stab- p.6-5 step 3 & p.6-6 step 1-5

Vertical Stabilizer - 2 hr 15 mins (V.S. 19:35, Empennage 41:01, Total 54:27)
Rivet count: 81 (Total 171)

All-out riveting tonight. Unfortunately, not as productive as last night with pieces close together. Working with a larger piece, it was one rivet at a time, and having to blindly reach in many times. I can see how a rivet-buddy in the future will come in handy. (I hope you're ready, -L!)

I assembled the skeleton and then cleco'd the skin on. Riveted the middle inspar rib, about half of the front spar, and all the nose ribs to the skin. I expect about two more hours of work on the VS tomorrow and then I'll be complete with chapter 6 of the plans. Adios and goodnight. -M

1017- V.Stab- p.6-4 step 7 & p.6-5 step 1-2

Vertical Stabilizer - 1 hr 59 mins (V.S. 17:20, Empennage 38:46, Total 52:12)
Rivet count: 84 (Total 90)

Assembled the rear spar pieces, and then attached the doublers to the rear and front spars. The riveting was slow at first as I was taking my time, but it sped up significantly as the night went on. I'll need to stay focused so I don't repeat the same mistakes from the practice kit due to going fast. 

Glad to see progress being made, and tomorrow the pieces will start taking on a shape!

I figured out that in my first month (four weeks), I worked ~37 hrs. This was a low number from my desired pacing, but I'm satisfied, given I didn't have a single weekend to utilize for long hours. Overall I'm happy with the progress, but I know that heading into Nov and Dec, the holidays and work travel are going to seriously hamper progress (I'll be out of town a total of three weeks in December alone!) I'll make up for it in 2014... -M

1016.5- V.Stab- p.6-4 step 6

Vertical Stabilizer - 20 mins (V.S. 15:21, Empennage 36:47, Total 50:13)
Rivet count: 6

The first rivets have been set!

I got home from work and noticed the primer had dried nicely. A few notes: 
The garage still reeked-- I'm spraying outside only from now on.
The smell is nauseating-- That filter I bought and used earlier is awesome. (HF special)
There was a thin coating of primer in dust form on the floor and I had to clean that up too-- ditto.
The use of a screen door to hold drying pieces works far better than a solid surface-- Thrift shop!

I also clecod the VS spar together and taped off holes that won't get a rivet. For now, the project goes on hold for the 3-day weekend. Thank a veteran this weekend... -M

1016.3- V.Stab p.6-4.5, Rudder p.7-6.13, H.Stab p.8-2.4 Part 2

Vertical Stabilizer - 1 hr (V.S. 15:01)
Rudder - 1 hr (Rudder 16:04)
Horizontal Stabilizer - 15 mins (H.S. 2:41, Empennage 36:27, Total 49:53)

I've eclipsed the two day mark. 7 minutes short of 50 hrs, which for a nominal 2,500 hour build means I'm 2% complete! (I'm sure it will be less in the long run, but time will tell)

I was going to prime last night, but I ran into a few logistical issues with setting up the HVLP gun. I primed this morning instead and I'm glad I did. I originally mixed up two cups of primer for the batch, and that got me about half way through the parts. A second batch of primer was necessary. 

The first thing I primed was one of the skins and I made it "orange peel." I was using way too much primer. I adjusted it a little better, and did the rest of the project but as look back on it now, I still used way too much primer. I need to figure out a better way to evenly distribute the paint. I'll keep searching the forums.

In the mean time, it's a trip to the Outer Banks for the holiday weekend, so the riveting will begin in earnest next week. Maybe I'll sneak in a rivet or two tomorrow just because. I started the build with 30 mins of work the day before a trip, and here will be 28 days later before a trip. It's only fair! -M

1016.1- V.Stab p.6-4.5, Rudder p.7-6.13, H.Stab p.8-2.4

Workshop- 30 min (Workshop 13:26)
Vertical Stabilizer - 1 hr 30 mins (V.S. 14:01)
Rudder - 1 hrs 30 mins (Rudder 15:04)
Horizontal Stabilizer - 30 mins (H.S. 2:26, Empennage 34:12, Total 47:38)

I built a long dunk tank for the HS spar out of 12 ft. 2x4 and spare pieces and ply from the crate from Van's. Glad that is done!

Massive night of work with alumiprep and alodine. All the pieces that were sitting around are complete. Part of me is glad I did everything at once to save on the set-up and clean up (about 45 min total), but wow is it tiring...

Either way, the parts came out really nice.... Priming tomorrow! -M

1016- H.Stab- p.8-2 step 1-4

Workshop- 36 min (Workshop 12:56)
Horizontal Stabilizer - 1 hrs 56 mins (H.S. 1:56, Empennage 30:42, Total 43:38)

So I thought I was going to have time this weekend to do some priming, but I was out of town. Same goes for next weekend. Mid-week it will be. Tonight I started the Horizontal Stab. Cleco the rear spar and doubler together and match-drill and countersink. Also match drill the 8 hinge brackets to the spar. Deburr, Scuff, and set aside. First batch of the H.S. is ready for priming.

I finally got around to set up my drying rack: Simple construction out of PVC pipe, L's, and T's. I also got some 16 gauge wire and tested the concept by hanging the pieces of the V.Stab on one of the racks. Even was able to hang some pieces off other pieces. Success. For long pieces like the H.S. spars, I'll have to hang one end off each rack.

Tomorrow will consist of making the dunk tank for the H.S. and hopefully start the alodine process on  as many pieces as I can. You can see the dip tanks and distilled water hanging out in the back of the last few videos. -M