Empennage - February 2005

41 Hours Spent in February
 
 2/8/2005 1h I took a late lunch and picked up my kit from Van's today. Drove down there and made it in just after 4:00, spoke with Ken Scott. I paid for a boxed Empennage Kit, with an electric trim option and threw it in the back of the Expedition. I put the kit in the garage, and opened up the preview plans to start reading.

 2/9/2005

 1h More reading of the preview plans. Started looking at doing the kit inventory, but the garage was just too cold this evening. If it's not warmer tomorrow, I'll just bring the boxes inside and do it in the house. Can't wait for the weather to warm up.

 
 2/10/2005 Some time working on the web page, nothing spent with the kit tonight. I need to get some containers to sort all the rivets and small parts into. I suppose it's time to pay the home depot tax.
   
2/11/2005  Reading. I also picked up some bins to put all the little parts into, and a few more incidentals from Home Depot.
   
 2/12/2005 4h Inventory and reading. I spent about four hours off an on labeling and putting each part into a drawer. Went through the whole checklist, though I did just count the pieces in a couple of subkits.
 
2/13/2005 Reading. Trying to get over the first nervous "hump" and put some metal to the grinder. Spent time I should have been working on my project reading about other's on the web. I also put together a list of items that I need to order. Specifically some primer, that nifty deburring screwdriver from Avery, and a few other small things.
   
 2/15/2005 1h Deburred the aluminum VS 609(?) reinforcement parts today. Took a little while to get the hang of it. I also picked up some NAPA 7220 self etching primer at the local auto parts store since I'll need to prime at least one small part in the next couple sessions..
   
 2/18/2005 3h Some deburring, I also match drilled most everything. for the rear spar. I also learned that the silver clecos are for the #40 holes, not the #30. Today took some time getting the regulator and fittings set up for the air system. I'm going to have to make another run to Home Depot to get some more fittings, as I didn't have enough male fittings to attach the filter. I also want to get a shorter hose to go from the compressor to the external setup. All together a pretty good day.
    
 2/19/2005  6h Spent a great deal of time today on various tasks. Started out with the weekend tax to Home Depot. I picked up several more air fittings, a Dremel, sand paper and fine steel wool for polishing, along with several other odds and ends. I also picked up an inch lbs torque wrench from Sears. Boy that was more expensive then I was expecting. 

As for actual work on the plane... I set my first rivets on the plane today! Just six on the attach point from the vertical stabilizer to the elevator. I also primed just those three parts prior to riveting. Spent some more quality time with the Scotchbrite wheel putting a proper edge, and finish on the reinforcement pieces. Still a little more to do.

After a number of other little tasks, I ran into a wall when I realized that I did not have the #12 bit to drill the holes for the bolts. Neither Sears, nor Home Depot have the drill bit sizes I need, and Harbor Freight doesn't open until 9:00 in the morning. 

Next up I need to deburr all of the matched holes, but I'm waiting for the Avery tool that I ordered, rather than just trying to do it by hand with the countersink bit.

   

 2/20/2005 6h Completed the Rear Spar on the Horizontal Stabilizer! I learned a few things today. First, even with the Model-22, rivet squeezing is hard. Second, deburring by hand using the countersink bit is hard. Still waiting for that tool. I whipped out the deburring tool that came with the Cleveland kit, and I broke off the rotary part in a hole. No fun. Third, my priming technique needs a little work. 

I discovered Harbor Freight today. This was mainly to get a #12 drill bit, but I ended up with much more... I'm glad I picked up the respirator. Makes spraying the primer work well. Even outside, with just the flimsy mask you can smell it.

I also learned that even with a hand squeezer, you can still put a smiley on a rivet. =( No problem though. Drilling it out was easier than expected, though I now recognize the need for a good center point punch. In the end, I couldn't help myself from signing the Rear spar. For the last couple, you can almost imagine it flying. =)
 

 

2/22/2005 0:45h  Didn't spend too much time today, though I did lay out the front spar, and angle that connects them. I also measured and marked off the taper on the angles, but did not yet cut them. I clecoed it up and match drilled the inboard holes as per plans.
 
2/23/2005 1h First good screw up today. Started out good. Trimmed the angle reinforcements HS-710 and HS-714, bent them according to the plans, but then as I was setting up to trim the flange for HS-702, I screwed up. Read the plans wrong. That's what I get for using the small ones with the preview set rather than the large ones. The bend line is 5 and 3/8th, not 6 inches. I ended up with a scrap 702 and a cut right through where the rib would have attached. I'll call Van's tomorrow and see if I can't pick up a new one over lunch.
 
2/25/2005 3h Picked up a replacement HS-702 for $16 at Vans today over lunch. At least they are close by. Since the HS-710 and HS-714 reinforcements were already bent, I was not able to match drill the holes until I had it bent. Measured trimmed and bent both pieces. I also deburred and countersunk the holes.
 
2/26/2005  8h Busy day today. Started out priming the front spar. Realized I had missed deburring a few of the holes on the reinforcement bars. Did those, and then back to the priming. After that was all dry, I started riveting those that I could get to with the hand squeezer. Not too many that way. All of the ones on the main center piece I ended up doing with the rivet gun. First one went great. Second one I ended up drilling out three times. The flush rivets went off without a hitch, though I think I countersunk a little too deep. After all of the moving around, I had to hit it with a little more primer to touch up some places that got scratched. Started prep work on the ribs for the horizontal stabilizer. notched off the bits as per the plans to fit on the nose rib over the reinforcement angle. I used the Dremel to cut some of the aluminum, but I also put a deep scratch in a piece. I've got to be careful with that. I also realized today that I really needed a longer work surface, so I build another table. This one is mostly out of scrap wood, but it'll do the job. I moved one of the good ones out to the center of the garage. Last picture is the front and rear spar connected with the end ribs. Almost looks like an airplane part. 
 

 

 

2/27/2005 6h More time than I was planning today. I was just going to get the horizontal stabilizer frame set up, but I got into it towards the end of the day. I started out deburring and prepping all of the ribs. Power went out for our neighborhood, so it was all via the sunshine of the day. I took them outside and primed them, again using the NAPA 7220 spray cans. I'll avoid the joke about good primed rib. I didn't do a good enough job drying them, and left a few water spots. What a mess. My priming technique is improving a little, though I still need a lot of work. Specifically, I learned that I need to let the parts dry for longer, even though they look and feel ready. I clecoed the frame together then took a nap. Following that, I put the #40 pilot holes into the HS-405 inner most ribs by putting a notch in the particle board and clamping it down. I was moving along so well that I couldn't help myself from pulling out the skins. Ground down the tip of my soldering iron and took off strips of the blue stuff along the hole lines. Not quite as easy as I had expected, but not too bad. To end the evening, I couldn't resist putting the skin in place. Now it's really looking like an airplane part. Next up is to make a few of the "clothespins" out of some particle board and set the structure upright on the makeshift frame. I'll use this when drilling out the holes.