Sunday, April 23, 2023

Finished Stabilator!

 Finished all the assembly of the stabilator! - 4.5 man hours.

Cleco'ed on the left skin.

Half done.
All done!
Flip side of the left skin.

Half done.
All done!

Finishing up the hinge gussets.

Top blind rivets in.

Top AN470 rivets done.

Bottom ones done.

Drilling the safety wire holes for the hinge pins.

Riveting the right side aft holes and the hinge.

Splice plate goes on the inside.

Right side hinge done.

Riveted on the right side trailing edge ribs.

Have to match drill the aft most hole in the ribs.

Left side aft holes and hinges getting riveted.

Left side trailing edge skin going on.

All done!

This thing is the most complex part in the kit so far.  Must take your time and follow the directions.  Part orientation is critical or it won't go together properly.

Another note.  I see tons of blogs, videos and EAA builder sites where people are really skimping on the part edge prep and deburring.  Whether you are priming or not, you should do a good job in this task otherwise you are inviting cracks to destroy your airplane in the future.  Edges should be rounded, shear marks should be removed,  all match drilled holes at a minimum should be deburred/chamfered.  Personally I deburr/chamfer every hole regardless of how it came to be!  I have no idea how some folks just take parts out of the crate and start riveting them together.  Airplanes like that will almost certainly develop cracks in the future.  Many times these cracks are in critical places where it is not so easy to find them.

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