Yearly Archives: 2012

Horizontal Stab 4 (0 hrs)

This entry was posted in Empennage Horizontal Stab and tagged mistakes on by

I emailed the bill of sale to Van’s Aircraft a few days ago along with my order for a new HS-810. They emailed me back some legal waivers that they require before shipping parts etc. I was able to return that paperwork, after it was notarized, yesterday. Within two hours I had the UPS shipping notification and tracking number. Pretty good customer service! Anticipated delivery of 1/3/2013… It will be waiting for me when I get home from Slovakia.

As soon as I get back I will make a trip to harbor freight and get working.

Horizontal Stab 3 (0 hrs)

This entry was posted in Construction Empennage Horizontal Stab and tagged mistakes van's airforce on by

While I was at work today, I decided to post a picture of the hole I had drilled in the forward spar reinforcement just as a sanity check on the work.  The hole is fine.

Fortunately, another member on Van’s Airforce noticed that the upper reinforcement angle was installed upside down.  Yikes!  So now I have my first part order from Van’s!  Thank goodness they caught the mistake, I hadn’t even given note to the orientation of the piece beyond the alignment of the holes.

Here’s a link to the thread on Van’s Airforce.

Starting a project like this can be a pretty emotional experience.  Its like anything I guess.  When you start something new there is a lot of apprehension.

Horizontal Stab 2 (1 hr)

This entry was posted in Construction Empennage Horizontal Stab on by

Tonight I managed to spend an hour working on the kit. In that time, I managed to stare at the plans, drill two holes, become crestfallen because one hole was not centered, and finally feel jubilation upon realizing the hole was not supposed to be centered! The instructions and plans are still a little overwhelming, but I’m sure my confidence and understanding will improve.

The time was not wasted as I did a number of minor tasks in the workshop. I also put together a shopping list for tools I need. Primarily I need deburring and scratch removal items. A number of sharpie markers wouldn’t hurt either.

With the exception of drilling the left forward center rib, the majority of the drilling is complete. I can soon move to deburring, priming and riveting.

I’m still undecided on the method I’m going to use for priming. I’m leaning towards a middle of the road approach, but I may go all in for the empennage as its been sitting for a few years already.

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