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Matt Dralle
Site Admin
Joined: 08 Nov 2005
Posts: 25203
Location: Livermore CA USA
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 Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 6:26 pm Post subject: Elevator Fiberglass Tip - Now What...? |
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Dear Listers,
First, thank you to everyone that has responded to my inquiry
regarding filling the gaping holes behind the fiberglass tips on the
Fin and Horz Stabs. You guys had some great ideas and I'm going to
try some and see how it goes.
In the meantime, I fit the fiberglass tip on the Right Elevator today
and after notching out the tip to fit around the lead weight and
beveling the outside edge of the tip, I got it to fit on very
nicely. I plan to use the same platenut installation as I did on the
rudder. Frankly, I can't believe that Van's recommends using pop
rivets here since if the screw that holds the lead weight in place
ever becomes loose, you'd have to ruin your paint job to get in and
tighten it. Bah!
Okay, so I got the tip on and then focused my attention to the front
part that goes over the lead weight. Um, what a terrible
design... Surly you don't just leave it like that? Even if I sand
the fiberglass tip down to match the lead weight, there is still the
issue of the "openness" of the tip. There is no way I can sand the
tip and lead weight down to match the counterbalance skin. The
fiberglass tip will be too thin right at the end.
I really don't want to fiberglass all around the lead weight. It
also seems like just about anything I do with respect to the
fiberglass tip and "blending" it into the lead weight is going to
lead to cracking down the road.
I'm am just totally aghast at the "design" here. There just doesn't
seem like an elegant way to finish this off. The proper design would
have been, in my opinion, to make the lead weight smaller or a
slightly different shape such that the fiberglass tip could simply be
formed all the way around the lead weight. Kind of like on the Rudder.
Arg... I just don't know what to do here. I really don't want to
glass in the whole tip, particularly since I want it to be
removable. Do I really just sand the tip down flush with the lead
weight and call it "done"?
You know, it seems ironic that the sheet metal stuff in the
late-model kits is just so awesome. You can build a beautiful,
perfectly straight empennage now in a way that just wasn't possible
in the past. So now I have this awesome looking metal structure that
I have to dork a crappy, poorly formed fiberglass tip to it. Its all
just so disheartening...
Please tell me there's a special trick or maybe a really nice
after-market all metal hydroformed tip I can get to use instead...?
Matt Dralle
RV-8 #82880
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Carl
Joined: 04 May 2007
Posts: 44
Location: Aiken, SC
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flyinwithme99(at)yahoo.co
Guest
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 1:14 pm Post subject: Elevator Fiberglass Tip - Now What...? |
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Carl,
Just an observation that I noted during my visit to Oshkosh this year.....
Of the many RV aircraft I looked at, I noticed cracking and separation where the elevator tip had been faired using a filler of some type. Of course I could not determine if the cracking was happening due to an inferior filler being used, or if it was happening because of the dissimilar expansion and contraction rates of the fiberglass vs. the aluminum skin.
Whatever the case, virtually ALL the elevators....and rudders for that matter, that used a filler in this area were cracking between the fiberglass and aluminum skin.
Most aircraft that did not use a filler in this area, had obviously spent some extra time fitting the tips to the surfaces in order to increase the asthetics of the parting lines in this area, and therefore have achieved a lasting effect...(without the filler).
I agree that the filler makes a better looking installation initially. It will crack later on down the road however, in my estimation....
--- On Mon, 8/11/08, Carl Bell <carlbell(at)gforcecable.com> wrote:
[quote]From: Carl Bell <carlbell(at)gforcecable.com>
Subject: Re: Elevator Fiberglass Tip - Now What...?
To: rv8-list(at)matronics.com
Date: Monday, August 11, 2008, 1:44 PM
[quote]--> RV8-List message posted by: "Carl Bell" <carlbell(at)gforcecable.com> Hi Matt, This is how I did mine and it came out great. I will balance after painting by drilling out some lead on the inside. http://www.mykitlog.com/users/display_log.php?user=carlbell&project=423&category=3014&log=42437&row=1 ---
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