Empennage

Empennage Attach ( 1 hr )

Attached LH and RH Elevators to H.S, and re-measured full Up and full Down.   Some extra clearance needed at Aft Fuselage to Elev Horns in order to provide full 30deg Up, and 25deg Down.  Van's has told me about 25deg Up and 20deg Down would be sufficient ( I'm limited now to about 26 Up, and 22 Down -- but instructions call for 30/25....so I'm planning to gain a few more degrees).  Seems some builders have had similar results, so not surprised.

Checked Rudder clearance to Elevator, and both directions meet 19mm required.  Thus no change to Stops needed (yeah!).

Installed Rudder Cables, but needed to reverse so mounted under Rudder Horn to clear Rudder Stops. I have inquiry to Van's since my cable end is not a clevis, but a simple end.
UPDATE: Van's confirmed I installed Rudder Cables backwards.  So in process to reverse front to back, so expected clevis end is at Rudder Horn.   Carefully drilled out blind rivets holding plastic guides, tied string to cable end, and pulled out.  Simple to use same string to pull back through fuselage now attached to correct end.   Note: Instructions only tell you to check plastic sleeve is at forward end...and mine was supplied with the plastic sleeve slipped onto wrong end, so I proceeded to install reversed.  Diagrams are subtle, but closer inspection does show the rudder attachment via clevis end...which is how I originally thought they should attach.

Not right...drat!   Determined Rudder Cables in reverse Fore/Aft  

Corrected Rudder Cable installation - clevis end for Rudder Horn !
(Aug 15: carefully drilled out 4 blind rivets per side, replaced)

Empennage

Empennage Attach ( 2 hrs )

Sect 11-07 & -08 mounted Vert Stab to Fuselage (temporary  - so delayed adding Ring Terminal to ground wire - until much later at Sect 36).   Then mounted Rudder per Sect 11-08 & -09;  each rod end bearing set as specified...and all 3 fit really well - NO binding or need to adjust middle one as noted in instructions.   Plenty of clearance to rolled leading edge of Rudder (vs tight with Elevator).

 

 

Empennage

Empennage Attach (4 hrs )

Drilled opposite Elev Horn using Drill Guide Block.  Checked T.E. alignment:  close but not perfect (I jigged with straight edges to hold TE in alignment, so surprised wasn't dead on)   So I contacted Van's builder support, and discussed with Scott Risan.  He advised A-OK, within normal range.   Good news because difficult to modify now !

Sect 11-05 to Position and bolt on Horiz Stab to Aft Fuselage.  Drilled four 1/4" holes through Rear Spar of HS, and bolted on Vert Stab Bracket.    The mounting hole for V.S. is off-center slightly to left about 5 mm...as noted in instructions.  (offsets left turning from engine and prop torques.  This is a clever way to do it, and was probably easily adjusted in prototypes built to allow for revision)

drill guide block used at Elev Horn

Note off center hole for VS mounting

Empennage

Empennage Attach (2  hrs)

Sect 11-02 and -03 today...matched drilled #30 then step drilled to 1/4" LH, then RH Elevator Horns for Steps 4-6.   Re-assembled with AN4-13A bolt and specified washers.   Rotation of Elevators feels great...no slop or drag.   Proceeded with Steps 8-10 setting up T.E. to be perfectly aligned, drilling 1st #40 hole, then #12 in first horn.  Note: Van's confirmed this was priority vs both Elevators held in "trail" position at their counterweights (ie flush w/ elevator at end).    Mine are slightly off one end vs other when T.E. is aligned....but so was the RV14a at Oshkosh...about same amount.  hmmmm?

temp nut on AN4-13A bolt at inboard hinge.  Yeah !

jigged TE to be aligned  (elevators upside down to access last holes to drill )

Empennage

Empennage Attach ( 1 hr )

Back from 2 days at AirVenture (& 3 days in Door County).    Learned a few vital details from Van's crew, plus valuable time exploring Dynon and Garmin for avionic options.  While not planning to purchase until much later in build, I needed to start clarifying and comparing (kind of mind boggling at first...but I'm starting to know what questions to ask !)  

Rec'd confirmation from Van's Product Support on Mon, July 25 A-OK with elevator set up...so ready to proceed.   Had to drill out E-bushing from .120" diameter hole to fit #30 drill (about .006" larger)...which was not mentioned in instructions.  Clamped a 7.1mm wood spacer between Elev Horn and Inboard Hinge Bracket, then drilled hole in Horn per Step 4.  Ready to repeat for RH side and enlarge both to 1/4", but our swimming pool was calling !

Empennage

Empennage Attach  (1.5 hrs)

LH Elevator attached to rod end bearings (i.e. hinges).   When assembled, determined center rivets along spar rubbing rolled leading edge of elevator in up position.  Also measured only 40.3 mm reference Fig 2 at Sect 10-3 clearance to Elevator Horn, vs 41.3 expected.    So, disassembled to revise rod end bearings to 21.6mm vs 20.6 (13/16") originally.  Did both LH and RH elevator to maintain consistency/alignment.   Also gently revised shape of rolled leading edge...less "flat" at center, more peaked toward center to better clear when raised or lowered.

Re-assembled, and no contact at max 30 deg up,  or as lowered.   However, can't reach full 25 deg down due to interference with Elevator Horn and lower flange on HS spar.  This area is "notched" for clearance, but need to trim ~ 2 mm to allow full down travel to 25 deg.  Want to wait until RH is installed to do both Elevator Horn clearances at same time.

Also used drill press and small file to reduce diameter of E-bushing so slides into VA-146A per instructions.  Ready to drill horn next.

Empennage

Empennage Attach  ( 1 hr )

New Section 11, Empennage Attach started with installation of 4 rod bearings in Elevator ( 2 each LH and RH).  Instructions state 13/16" from spar surface to hole center - which is kinda tricky to measure - but confident got them consistently all at 13/16". (Van's instructions:  "as close as possible" does leave tolerance up to builder - so 'eye ball exact' was my criteria)

From straight above, and w/ swivel centered, does measure 13/16"