Joshua's RV-9A Project

Primed the trim tab components. The rib locations were masked off so that the adhesive (I will use some epoxy) has a better surface to stick to. From here, it should be a quick job to finish out the tab, and thus, the empennage! (Well, except for the fiberglass…)

The AFS primer/sealer works really nice in weather like this; you can keep moving at a good pace since the light coats dry quickly. (Today: scattered clouds, 86*F, 43% humidity, and a light breeze.) The last priming session wasn’t so much fun, since the humidity was high (90%+) for several weeks, and things were taking forever to dry. I had to touch up a couple spots where fingertips had goofed up the coating. Today, by the time I had sprayed the last pieces, the first pieces were ready for their second coat. I’m quite happy with this stuff.

Finished drilling, dimpling, and etching the trim tab components. Ended up dimpling the hinges rather than countersinking–I goofed on the elevator and dimpled the rear spar, instead of countersinking. I tested the dimples with the excess length of the hinge, and didn’t see any problems at all; no deformation of the eyes, and it nested nicely with the other dimples. Only “problem” is that it may require a longer length rivet than the plans call out, but that’s not really a problem since I have a whole case full of rivets.

Also fabricated the foam ribs, a task made easy by taping tracings of the pattern onto the foam block, rough cutting with a hacksaw, then going to the lines with the disk sander. Masked the rib locations inside the skin so everything’s ready for primer. Will try to pick up some epoxy today, so if I can get things primed tonight, tomorrow’s session should make quick work of the assembly.