Rebuilding elevators

A forum in which to discuss topics specific to the assembly of the RV 4.
User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Rebuilding elevators

Post by svanarts »

Well, I'm almost done rebuilding my elevators. One thing or another has kept me from finishing them but now it's time. The tricky part is going to be fitting a new elevator on an already completed horizontal stab. It's going to be tricky getting the heim bearings in the right spot so that they will mate up with the fittings on the horizontal.

I'm going to remove the existing left elevator tomorrow and test fit my new elevator to see if I can locate the bearings properly. Pray for me. :)

I've also decided to remove my manual trim and replace it with an electric trim. I couldn't figure out how to mount it until I looked at my RV-7 preview plans. I ordered the mounting hardware for an RV-7 from Van's and have found a way to retrofit it to my RV4 elevator. I think it will turn out nicely. I'll try to get the right elevator fitted tomorrow too.

User avatar
JohnR
Class B
Posts: 1081
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:22 pm
Location: Iowa

Post by JohnR »

Good luck! You should post some photos of those shiney new elevators. :)
JohnR
RV-7A - Fuselage - SOLD, just not supposed to be
Numbers 6:24 - The LORD bless thee, and keep thee

User avatar
captain_john
Sparky
Posts: 5880
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 9:17 am
Location: KPYM

Post by captain_john »

Scott, this set was done with 0.020" stock, right?

Don't forget to weight and balance when you are done!!!

:) CJ
RV-7
Garmin G3X with VP-X & a TMX-IO-360 with G3i
It's all over but the flying! 800+ hours in only 3 years!

User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Post by svanarts »

Yep, 020 skins this time. I'm HOPING that by going with electric trim rather than the manual trim cable it will be a wash or at least close to it on the w&b. I took my old elevators off today and made some VERY CAREFUL measurements to try to get the hole drilled for the bearings in the right spot. Looks like I'm darn close. Almost got the left elevator ready to mount. I broght the right elevator home for homework.

My wife LOVES it when I work on elevators on the kitchen table. :)
Scott VanArtsdalen
Token Heretic
Nirvana Rodeo / Dudek Universal
S-6ES N612SV - GONE but not forgotten
RV-4 N311SV - SOLD

User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

UPDATE

Post by svanarts »

Well I have the left elevator mostly done. It was tricky getting the bearings in the exact same spot as the old bearings but I seem to have done it! Now I just need to put some RTV in the trailing edge, give it one more squeeze, and then start riveting the elevator skin to the spar. I'll do this at a friend's house next weekend since my compressor has gone tango uniform. He's got better tools anyway. :thumbsup:

I also got the stiffeners for the righ elevator all cleaned up and ready to dimple. Gott dimple that whole elevator skin too. Looking at probably another three weeks before this plane gets back in the air.

Then after a brief reacquaintance flight, I'll tear into the cracks that have formed on the wing top skin. That's going to be a lot of drilling out rivets.
Scott VanArtsdalen
Token Heretic
Nirvana Rodeo / Dudek Universal
S-6ES N612SV - GONE but not forgotten
RV-4 N311SV - SOLD

User avatar
cjensen
Whiskey Victor
Posts: 5275
Joined: Sat Apr 23, 2005 10:36 pm
Location: Green Bay, WI

Post by cjensen »

Sounds great Scott!! Need some pics! :wink: 8)
Chad Jensen
Missing my RV-7...
Vertical Power support
920.216.3699
http://verticalpower.com

User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Post by svanarts »

Here's a couple of pictures from this morning:

Here is the completed elevator spar:
Image

Here's the bearing in it's final position, a careful eye would notice that it's not centered on the reinforcing plate but it's hidden and plenty strong so not to worry.
Image

Here is the HS. I didn't build these so it's been fun finding some of the easter eggs but nothing too major. I've been happy to find that my workmanship is about average which is better than I'd expected.
Image
Scott VanArtsdalen
Token Heretic
Nirvana Rodeo / Dudek Universal
S-6ES N612SV - GONE but not forgotten
RV-4 N311SV - SOLD

User avatar
Wicked Stick
Class B
Posts: 1000
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 10:00 pm
Location: KEWB

Post by Wicked Stick »

Just curious as to why on the 2nd picture, what looks like the cutout of the rolled leading edges, they look really really horribly chewed up ?
Dave "WS" Rogers
RV-8 (125 hrs & counting)
N173DR

User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Post by svanarts »

Well.... that's because they are horribly chewed up. Now you can tell me I'm ugly and my mother dresses me funny. :) :)

Seriously though, that's a very rough cut just to locate the bearings along the elevator spar. The cutouts will not stay that way. They need to be widened and smothed out obviously. I'll post the final, ready-for-primetime pictures when I'm all done.
Scott VanArtsdalen
Token Heretic
Nirvana Rodeo / Dudek Universal
S-6ES N612SV - GONE but not forgotten
RV-4 N311SV - SOLD

User avatar
captain_john
Sparky
Posts: 5880
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2004 9:17 am
Location: KPYM

Post by captain_john »

Hahahaha...

That just caught me funny...

:lol: CJ
RV-7
Garmin G3X with VP-X & a TMX-IO-360 with G3i
It's all over but the flying! 800+ hours in only 3 years!

User avatar
Wicked Stick
Class B
Posts: 1000
Joined: Wed Feb 09, 2005 10:00 pm
Location: KEWB

Post by Wicked Stick »

svanarts wrote:Well.... that's because they are horribly chewed up. Now you can tell me I'm ugly and my mother dresses me funny. :) :)

Seriously though, that's a very rough cut just to locate the bearings along the elevator spar. The cutouts will not stay that way. They need to be widened and smothed out obviously. I'll post the final, ready-for-primetime pictures when I'm all done.

So I'm gathering then that you the builder have to make those cutouts...hmmm guess the 7 though 10's are pre-cut, but not the 4's ???
Dave "WS" Rogers
RV-8 (125 hrs & counting)
N173DR

User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Post by svanarts »

You got that right. The -4 elevator skins aren't prepunch, precut or pre-anything. So I've roughed out those cutouts for now, they aren't even centered. Now that the bearings are in place, I'm going to start drilling and rolling the leading edge, and then I can clean up and deburr those cutouts properly.

I'm afraid to post any more pictures till I'm done. :mrgreen:
Scott VanArtsdalen
Token Heretic
Nirvana Rodeo / Dudek Universal
S-6ES N612SV - GONE but not forgotten
RV-4 N311SV - SOLD

User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Post by svanarts »

Backriveted the stiffeners to the right hand elevator skin today. In doing so I found out something I never knew. You can do a fine job of back riveting with a claw hammer, a backriveting set, and the backriveting plate on the kitchen table. Two things you have to make sure of first, 1) make sure there is a padded tablecloth on the kitchen table and 2) make sure your wife is away at a conference. Swearing the kids to secrecy is helpful too.
Scott VanArtsdalen
Token Heretic
Nirvana Rodeo / Dudek Universal
S-6ES N612SV - GONE but not forgotten
RV-4 N311SV - SOLD

User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Post by svanarts »

Elevator update on my website. Too tired to post pictures. Have a look if interested. Scroll down a bit. I also posted an RV-7 update. Nite all.

http://airprayer.net

For future searches click on the RV-4 or RV-7 category in the sidebar to see the postings.
Scott VanArtsdalen
Token Heretic
Nirvana Rodeo / Dudek Universal
S-6ES N612SV - GONE but not forgotten
RV-4 N311SV - SOLD

User avatar
JohnR
Class B
Posts: 1081
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2005 3:22 pm
Location: Iowa

Post by JohnR »

svanarts wrote:Backriveted the stiffeners to the right hand elevator skin today. In doing so I found out something I never knew. You can do a fine job of back riveting with a claw hammer, a backriveting set, and the backriveting plate on the kitchen table. Two things you have to make sure of first, 1) make sure there is a padded tablecloth on the kitchen table and 2) make sure your wife is away at a conference. Swearing the kids to secrecy is helpful too.
:o Scott, you realize you just posted this to the web. Someone is bound to point this out to your wife. Karla is a lot smaller than me but I wouldn't mess with her kitchen table! Don't need any turf wars here at home! :P
JohnR
RV-7A - Fuselage - SOLD, just not supposed to be
Numbers 6:24 - The LORD bless thee, and keep thee

User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Post by svanarts »

My wife is a gem and I'm sure that IF I told her that she WOULD be very understanding. But that's a big IF. :)
Scott VanArtsdalen
Token Heretic
Nirvana Rodeo / Dudek Universal
S-6ES N612SV - GONE but not forgotten
RV-4 N311SV - SOLD

User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Post by svanarts »

Hooray, elevator number 1 is finished! The right hand one is done. It came out 1/2 inch shorter than the original elevator. Not sure how that happened but oh well. I'm moving on. I'm almost ready to dimple and the right hand elevator spar and skin. Already have the stiffeners on. Next comes the tricky part where I have to precisely measure for the heim bearings. I'm going to try to finish drilling tomorrow and start dimpling Tuesday. I need to get this bird in the air again!
Scott VanArtsdalen
Token Heretic
Nirvana Rodeo / Dudek Universal
S-6ES N612SV - GONE but not forgotten
RV-4 N311SV - SOLD

Spike
Chief Rivet Banger
Posts: 4013
Joined: Thu Oct 14, 2004 8:40 pm
Location: Baltimore, MD
Contact:

Post by Spike »

Excellent progress!
http://www.rivetbangers.com - Now integrating web and mail!
Current Build: 2 years into a beautiful little girl

User avatar
dons
Class C
Posts: 873
Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 4:28 pm
Location: Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Post by dons »

Sounds good, soon you will be able to spend all your time on that new box of parts for a 7, except when you're 'testing' the elevators of course.
Don Sinclair
CYKF
RV-7A (Fuselage)

User avatar
svanarts
Air Marshall
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:19 pm
Location: Modesto, CA
Contact:

Post by svanarts »

The left elevator is coming right along. The hard part is over which is measuring to place the heim berings accurately so that they fit the existing fittings on the HS. Got that done this morning. I'm looking at maybe two good days of work to get the elevator done. Then I need to build the trim tab, run the cable for the electric trim, mount the switch and the indicator. That would be another good day or two.

I need to take a couple of vacation days to get this thing finished. :-)
Scott VanArtsdalen
Token Heretic
Nirvana Rodeo / Dudek Universal
S-6ES N612SV - GONE but not forgotten
RV-4 N311SV - SOLD

Post Reply