Empennage - Fiberglass

2003-10-18 - Work on Right Elevator Fiberglass Tip (4.0 Hrs).

10/18/03-10/26/03 - I spent an hour here and there working on the fiberglass tip for the right elevator and horizontal stabilizer. There are no instructions for what has to be done, so it is just a matter of making things match up and closing off the ends of the tips.

You start with a nicely formed fiberglass tip (E-612), with an open end. Then you file the edge down to make it fit in the end of the elevator.

Next you have to fiberglass the end to keep it from scooping up a bunch of air and ripping it off the airplane. This took one piece of fiberglass and about 10 coats of epoxy glue to get a good finish on the outside and a nice rounded radius on the inside.

You need to match-drill the tip to the end of the elevator and you need to add some sort of backing to the inside of the tip. Without the backing, the pop rivets would probably crack the fiberglass and pull out. I decided to use washers and epoxy one to each hole. It remains to be seen whether this is easier than cutting an aluminum strip, deburring it and gluing it to the backside of the fiberglass.

The fiberglass tip has to be countersunk and the elevator needs to be dimpled. Note, that the part looks painted because I really did not take the pictures today, I took them next week.

Here's the before and the after. Painting is next month.

You need to do the same for the small E-615 fiberglass tip that attaches to the side of the horizontal stabilizer. In addition, you need to cut the end off of E-615 to match up with the E-612 elevator tip. This part needs to be closed-off on the end, just like E-612. I use the foam to help spread out the fiberglass edges so they will hold up against the edge of the HS. You also need to do this so that when you fiberglass the end, it has the correct shape.

	You start with a nicely formed fiberglass tip (E-612), with an open end. Then you file the edge down to make it fit in the end of the elevator.
	Next you have to fiberglass the end to keep it from scooping up a bunch of air and ripping it off the airplane. This took one piece of fiberglass and about 10 coats of epoxy glue to get a good finish on the outside and a nice rounded radius on the inside.
	You need to match-drill the tip to the end of the elevator and you need to add some sort of backing to the inside of the tip. Without the backing, the pop rivets would probably crack the fiberglass and pull out. I decided to use washers and epoxy one to each hole. It remains to be seen whether this is easier than cutting an aluminum strip, deburring it and gluing it to the backside of the fiberglass.
	The fiberglass tip has to be countersunk and the elevator needs to be dimpled. Note, that the part looks painted because I really did not take the pictures today, I took them next week.
	Here's the before and the after. Painting is next month.
	You need to do the same for the small E-615 fiberglass tip that attaches to the side of the horizontal stabilizer. In addition, you need to cut the end off of E-615 to match up with the E-612 elevator tip. This part needs to be closed-off on the end, just like E-612. I use the foam to help spread out the fiberglass edges so they will hold up against the edge of the HS. You also need to do this so that when you fiberglass the end, it has the correct shape.