It's still amazing to me (not in a good way) how a simple, straight-forward job can evolve into a 2 hour ordeal and then have a less-than-desired outcome. I decided that I had to do *something* so I chose to put the ASTs on the stabilator. First, I cut one of the hinge pins too long. OK, that was fixable. Cutting that steel is much harder than the aluminum, but I managed to get it done after changing the blade on the bandsaw. OK, got the hinge pins made.
Threading the pins requires that they be perfectly aligned, which wouldn't be a problem except for the opposite AST hinge is in the way. Yes, that little deviation makes a difference. When I finally got the 2nd pin in place, I couldn't rotate the bent portion to be down so it could be safetied. I had to remove the 1st hinge (Left — for some reason it's a bit easier to install than the right) install the R hinge, and then re-install the Left. Getting the safety wire pliers to latch required using a pair of pliers to squeeze it enough to latch. I ended up safety tying on the outside, instead of the inside, of the stabilator. (Not as pretty.)
Lastly, when I put the bolt through the ears of the ASTs, I discovered that there's about an 1/8"th difference in the trailing edges. I think that the fix will be to remove the 8-32 bolt and hold the edges exactly even to each other and match drill a #10 hole instead. I'm not going to do that now. It's 1:30 PM, but that's my equivalent of 1:30 AM! I'll send this, and a few other less-than-inspiring photos to Rick and get his feedback.
On the other hand, it feels good to make some progress. It's very curious, but I found that I was avoiding even this simple page while I was in waiting-limbo regarding the wing kit. Now that I know it's in progress, I'm all gung-ho to get going again.
Horizontal stabilator with AST surfaces in place. 
View from aft looking forward. Note the 1/8" discrepancy between the trailing edges of the ASTs.
No comments:
Post a Comment