Wendell Folks RV-8 Project - Page 6.

November 4, 2005:  The left elevator new skin was installed on the skeleton, then the leading edge was rolled and blind-riveted.   This was the first time the left elevator had the rod-end bearings installed and was bolted to the left side of the horizontal stabilizer.  When I saw the skin overlap with the counterweight arm, I checked the print and found something I had not seen before.  It is obvious there is some aluminum to be trimmed away to allow for elevator operation.  It also changes the cut to be made to the fiberglass tips of the horizontal stabilizer.

I just had to stand back and take this picture to show these pieces joined for the first time.

The photo below shows the elevator movement range after the overlapping portion of the horizontal stabilizer has been cleared from the path of the elevator counter-balance arm.  The leading edge curve of the elevator skin does not rub against the rear spar of the horizontal stabilizer.  That proves the rod-end bearings are close to their final settings.  I had Wendell to remove all the plastic to show him how close the LEFT elevator and trim tab would come to being balanced on the bolts that hold it to the horizontal stabilizer.  He learned the technique of rolling the leading edge of the elevator skin today.

November 5, 2005:  I got a call from Wendell late in the afternoon telling me had finished the RIGHT elevator and hung it on the horizontal stabilizer in the manner shown in the photo above.  He trimmed the extra aluminum off the right end of the horizontal stabilizer to allow free movement of the elevator.  He reported that it was "nose heavy" since there is no trim tab on the right elevator.  I reminded him that when BOTH of the elevators are bolted together and tied to the elevator push-rod, the overall balance should still be slightly nose-heavy to offset the weight of the paint when it is applied at the finish of the project.

Wendell said he would not being working on the elevators again until I am with him.  We want to avoid the mis-drilled torque arms that I had on my elevators.   In our next session, the clearance of the center pivot bolt at the center bearing will be confirmed.  If any further adjustment of the rod-end bearings is required, it will be done before the torque arms are drilled through the center bearing.

November 7, 2005:  Monday always gets me out to the shop with Wendell to get things going again and to see if he did any work on the previous Saturday.  He had rolled the leading edge of the right elevator and closed it with blind rivets on Saturday.  He also trimmed the excess aluminum from the right horizontal stabilizer to allow free movement of the elevator counterbalance arm.  My instruction for him today was the correct way to install the rod end bearings on the elevator spars to secure the elevators to the horizontal stabilizer halves.  It was during that process that I discovered that Wendell had overlapped the skins the wrong way at the front of the right elevator.  When I pointed out how rain could go down inside the elevator due to the wrong overlap, he wanted to immediately remove and replace the blind rivets with the skin overlapped properly.   When all these steps were completed, the pivot holes were drilled through the elevator control horns and they were bolted together.

As a pair, the elevators were balanced when they were bolted together at the center bearing with the appropriate stacks of spacer washers on each side of the center bearing.  Since there is no paint on them at this time, it was obvious that additional weight will be needed on the counterbalance arms when the elevators are finally painted.  I later showed Wendell how we could install a 3/16" plate nut on each counterbalance arm using the existing tooling holes for passage of the bolt through the arms.  The purpose was to provide a place on the forward portion of the arms for the installation of some additional lead weight or washers to balance the elevators after painting them.  The tooling holes are located just to the right of the hand-written words "right out" in the photo below.  Both elevators got a plate nut riveted in at that location.

After checking the range of motion of the elevators, I got out my hand nibbling tool and introduced it to Wendell for the first time.  It was also the first time he had seen my angle finder tool.  Van's instruction book talked about cutting away a portion of the lower edges of the aft spar to allow the control arms the clearance needed for proper elevator movement up and down.

Here is a closeup view of the bolt going through the center bearing and both elevator control horns.  One of the hand-nibbled notches in the aft spar is visible after Wendell deburred the edges and rounded the corners of the cuts.  After the trouble I had when I drilled these holes at the wrong location, I was not about to allow Wendell to put his holes in the wrong locations.  The head of the bolt and the nut were both well clear of the round steel tubes of the torque arms.