Chapter 11 - Step 6

This step involves adding the counterbalance weights to the elevators.

Fitting Outboard Weights November 22, 2001. First thing I did was wrap a piece of sand paper around the leading edge of the elevator, then I sanded a piece of foam to contour. With the foam in place, I used the "J" jig to position the lead weight in place and marked where to cut the foam to size. I sanded the foam to the 0.8" thickness. Finally the foam and lead were glued (5-minute epoxy) in place. Once dry I sanded a nice transition in the foam from the elevator to the lead weight. Lastly I added two layers of UNI and peel plied.

Weights Glassed in Place November 22, 2001. Here are the two elevators propped up so I could add the UNI strips to the weights.

Nose Heavy Elevators - Yeah! November 22, 2001. After attaching the other lead weights to the inboard offsets I did the big balance test. I attached the offset to the elevator, added the hinge pin and set it down on a pair of blocks. Sure enough the elevator was quite nose heavy. I even pushed the trailing edge down quite far and when I let go the elevator swung around to the nose down position.

Pitch Trim Belcrank November 22, 2001. Here is the belcrank riveted into position. Six rivets each end.

Mass Balance Cutout November 23, 2001. This is one of those things that takes a while for the first one and just a few minutes for the second. Making this cutout requires some trial and error (hopefully little error). Eventually I realized I had to remove foam all the way down to the top surface glass. I did a last test and confirmed I still had -15° and +30° elevator movement.

Exposed Foam Glassed November 23, 2001. The last thing to do is glass the cutout. I also glassed the exposed canard tip foam. For both I made a small flox corner. The cutout was covered with a single piece of BID. There is no radius though on the inside corners. This is just to protect the foam, not to provide any strength.

Canard in the Rafters November 25, 2001. Here is the canard's home for a while - hanging from the rafters of the garage. I'm skipping chapter 12 until I have the space to do it.