Adding the horizontal stabilizer, vertical stabilizer, elevators, and rudder to the RV-14A for purposes of fitting and fairing fabrication.
Category: Empennage
The long tail
It has been awhile since an update, but steady and slow progress continues. The empennage, or tail, of the plane has quite a few parts and some complexity in assembly. This coupled with other commitments has extended the build time. For the first time I found myself unable to rivet certain assemblies solo. However, I’m getting great riveting assistance from…
Finished Aft Fuselage! (the tail)
It’s been a really, really long time since posting an update. Progress has continued, though it took since January until now (late July) to finish the tail. Had to share, and will circle back with photos chronicling the journey. Wings are next!
Elevators Completed!
Well it took a little longer than expected (about 4 months and 95 hours), but I am pretty happy with the results. The elevators were a jump up in the number of parts, assembly complexity, and a number of firsts. For example, I had to work with Pro-Seal Tank Sealant to install foam ribs in the trailing edges. The Pro-seal…
Elevators, Part 1
Well, it’s been a steady, but slow few months since finishing the horizontal stabilizer in early September. Lot’s going on (all good!) and so I’ve been eking out hours to work through a component that is certainly more complex than those previous. A common theme of the build so far. I’ve begun working on the Elevator, which will attach to…
Horizontal Stabilizer Completed
It took about 7 weeks and 70 hours to finish the Horizontal Stabilizer. Van’s (the kit manufacturer) is quiet clever in ensuring the builder develops the skills needed to tackle more complex sub assemblies as the work progresses. But as the complexity and parts count goes up, so does the time needed to finish each part. This is the third…
Horizontal Stabilizer, Part 1
After finishing up the Rudder, I earnestly began the next section of the empennage, the horizontal stabilizer. It’s pretty tricky as you have to rivet all the spars to the skins without a lot of room to maneuver. What I think will be the hardest tasks of this assembly, the two…
Rudder Completed!
After about 48 hours of labor spanning 7 weeks, the Rudder is now completed! Well, not entirely. The fiberglass tips are missing, but they get installed later in the build. It was a really challenging sub-assembly requiring some unique techniques. Though I was able to practice those techniques, it’s still takes a ton of nerve when doing it for “real”. …
Rudder half-complete
Well, I may be more than half-way done with the rudder. Won’t know until it’s all finished. But the grunt work of separating, deburring, assembling, drilling, dimpling, and riveting the core pieces are all complete. It has been about 29 hours so far and it’s been a fulfilling process interrupted by moments of extreme frustration. I’m reaching out to an…
Making progress on the rudder
