Elevator, Day 1

Yesterday, we started on the Elevators. Cutting the stiffeners to size and then match drilling to the Skin. Having two people do this was much easier as the skins for both the top and bottom are one and already formed to shape. We used a bit of tape to assist holding open one side of it then we drilled directly into the board underneath and this held down the opposite side to the table. It worked out pretty well and didn't take too much time at all.
Tad also deburred all the edges of the Right skin while I was cutting out the stiffeners and cleaning up one end of them.
We also matched-drilled the nut-plate reinforcements E910 on the spar and match drilled the counter-balance skins/ribs. Tad did the Fluting on those ribs and got them nice and straight.

Tad has taken the stiffeners to sheer the angle on the one end. They still need to be deburred and primed.

Next we'll do some match drilling of the spar to the skin.

From Pete and Tad's RV-9a Build

From Pete and Tad's RV-9a Build

From Pete and Tad's RV-9a Build

From Pete and Tad's RV-9a Build

Rudder Progress...

Well, we are still working on the RV... just been a little slow lately because of work mainly. Both Tad and I have been pretty busy but that is a good thing because we are raising $$$ for the next part of the project. WINGS! That will be expensive and the way the exchange is looking, it isn't getting better.
So, we have most of the Rudder ready for inspection...just have a few rivets to get right near the trailing edge of the top rib. Tad is making us a nice custom bucking bar for that.
Folks, you should see Tad's custom tooling he's done already. We had to Dimple a bigger hole for the counter-weight and didn't have one. Tad majically arrived at the next building session with a beautiful dimple die he made at his shop. I was pretty impressed with that and of course it did a perfect dimple! Way to go Tad!
A good airplane building partner is a rare thing i think.

Tad made a nice Back-riveting plate...

From Pete and Tad's RV-9a Build

From Pete and Tad's RV-9a Build

and of course our modification to reach some particularly difficult rivets!

From Pete and Tad's RV-9a Build