The Rudder is complete. There was really only one challenge in completing the Rudder assembly. The area where the upper hinge brackets mount to the rudder spar is assembled using some larger solid (squeezed) rivets. The lengths are longer than the smaller solid rivets used up until this point. While trying to squeeze these rivets, the shop head side (the side that does not have the factory finished head) kept squeezing off the the side. I probably had to drill out 10 solid rivets before I recalled reading a post on the Vans Airforce website a few months ago that appeared to apply to my situation. That evening I spent some time relocating the forum post and the next day I went to the hardware store and purchase some 1/8" inside diameter clear plastic tubing; the kind you might see as fuel line for a remote controlled airplane engine. By placing a small section of the tubing (slightly longer that the shop head side of the rivet that protrudes through the material to be riveted) over the shop head side of the rivet, the rivet shank it held on center when the rivet is squeezed together. Additionally, the rivet tool surface contacts the tubing prior the the shop head of the rivet and when squeezed applies pressure to the the base of the materials to be riveted together; thus ensuring a tight contact point of the pieces prior to expansion of the rivet. Thanks the Lord for engineering type guys that have built aircraft before me. This simple modification of the process is something I would have never figured out myself.
Some pictures of the rudder.
The Anti-Servo Tab(s)
An anti-servo tab, or anti-balance tab, works in the opposite way to a servo tab. It deploys in the same direction as the control surface, making the movement of the control surface more difficult and requires more force applied to the controls by the pilot. (source wiki)
Basically, the anti-servo tab(s) moves in the opposite direction of the elevator in order to balance the control forces when pulling the nose of the aircraft up or pushing it down. My Cessna does not utilize this counterbalancing system for the elevator control. It instead uses a section of the elevator that is controlled by a trim wheel. Without the use of the trim wheel, the control forces required to make elevator inputs can be substantial. My guess is the use of the anti-servo tab(s) aids in the balanced feel of flying the Vans RV-12.
There are two tabs (a left and right). They are mirror images of each other. I have completed the left and am in the process of the right. Picture below.
Spring has sprung!
The shop is getting a bit warmer. In a month or so, the temps will begin to become an issue. I need to explore ways to cool things down before summer arrives. Mackenzie and Allia don't seem to mind the warmer weather though.
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