April 26, 2008

I haven't been around as much lately so progress has been slow. I tried to work on a couple more odds and ends this weekend. I came up with a solution for the bolts that go through the rudder stop. The rivets on either side, being in different locations, did not allow room for the wide bolt and washer heads to sit flush against the hinges. The rudder stop extends a little higher though so I just moved the holes up a bit and took out a little material from the riveted angle to provide clearance for the bolts to sit flush.

If you're wondering how I drilled that out, I just clamped some same-thickness aluminum right next to where I needed to remove material, and drilled the hole just up to the underlying plate. This way the bit had material all around to cut, allowing it to stay on track. The brad point bit made it easy to stop at just the right point.

I also drilled the notch for the tail light wires out of the lower rudder hinge. As you can see, I did mangle this side a little bit. I still have to smooth that out and prime over it.

And finally, I started working on the elevator balance weight assembly. Only the initial steps for now. I cut out and riveted the spacers to the inside of the balance weight arms. After it was riveted, I sanded the spacers down to match the arms. I still need to smooth those edges out.

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