3.2 hrs, 67 rivets.
Clean, MEK, and prime stiffener, skin, and trim servo attach and cover.

Rivet elevator hinge reinforcement plates to spar.
Rivet spar and root rib.
Match drill, debur, and rivet elevator horn to spar/ribs.
Rivet counterbalance ribs together.

Realized I was forgetting the trim servo. So opened up the kit and got out the instructions to do the research. There are two brackets that attach the trim servo inside the left elevator, so need to figure out how and where they attach. That adds just a bit more prep work to do before finishing the left elevator.

1 hr

Dimple most of left skin except trim tab spar holes and the #30s.
Drill 4 #30 holes for narrow part of tip atttach.
Then realized that I forgot to deburr before dimpling the skin.

So started deburring skin.

Oh. And I went to a EAA meeting last night, the chapter 187 meeting.

1 hr.
Dimple left elevator stiffeners.
Clean gummy edges of skin.
Start dimpling left elevator skin.

.7 hrs
Cleaned left elevator parts with MEK and then primed.

Had to dimple a few last holes before priming, just places forgotten during the first pass, for instance the leading edges of the counterbalance ribs.

3.2 hrs.
Match drill left elevator skin. I've read that it's a good idea to have pictures of yourself doing the work to meet the 51% rules. So the girls were put to work with the camera while I was doing a few tasks. They don't seem to stay interested nearly as long as I can!

Match drilling on the left elevator.

Bottom of left elevator match drilled.

Disassembled and deburred all interior parts.
Dimpled the spars and ribs.
Countersink top of trim tab spar.

Countersinking the trim tab spar.

That really is me doing the countersinking.

Wash spars/ribs in prep for priming.

Left elevator skeleton

1.8 hours.
Countersink right elevator trailing edge wedge. Used a chisel to build a simple jig to hold the wedge during countersinking. Just cut a channel the same shape as the wedge in a small piece of 2x4. The upper surface of the wedge now sits flush to the 2x4 surface, so controlling the countersink is a piece of cake. A small hole in the middle allows room for the countersink guide.

Having trouble gauging the correct countersink depth. A flush fit for a rivet is probably about right, but it does enlarge the hole in the wedge. Going deep enough for the skin dimples to properly fit makes it even worse. Going shallow enough to not enlarge the hole makes the trailing edge look terrible.

Edit (4/13/2009): There is actually a note about this in the aileron instructions. It would have been nice if they had included that for the rudder and elevator instructions. Bottom line, it's OK for the countersinks to overlap, which enlarges the hole. Getting the depth right on both sides is the most important metric.

I think I need to join EAA and find some builders to talk to.

Dimple right elevator trailing edge.

Started the left elevator skeleton by
clecoing the spar and root rib to the skin, and the trim tab attach spar.

Also clecoed the counterbalance assembly together and then fitted to the elevator assembly.

.8 hrs
Finish match drilling trailing edge.
Deburred the skin and started dimpling. I'll save the wedge countersinking until the left elevator is in the same state.