Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Pivot tube mounted on the rudder sleeve

Getting the pivot tube attached to the rudder sleeve requires that a spacer plate be carefully cut and joined to the tube and the case.    I found myself using some of the trimmed off material (layers of s-glass) from the wingnet rail.   The pieces cut away on the wingnet rail for lightening purposes were just the right length for this spacer plate.  I glued two pieces together to get the correct thickness.

I just used a high density putty (cabosil and resin) and the best judgement of my  eyes to glue the spacer plate normal and parallel to the fiberglass tube.

In a similar fashion I glued the pivot tube to the rudder sleeve case.  I did not need any special clamping to keep the tube in place while it was curing.  Again I trusted my eye to get the part aligned.

The plans call for some extra carbon fiber to strengthen the tube at the top.

Then in the areas where the tube will be cut away to fit the rudder gudgeons a very high density putty (cabosil, resin and chopped up s-glass cloth) was used to build up the gap.  The middle area will be filled with a low density fairing putty and then the assembly will be ready for the final layers of carbon fiber.

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