Carlson Skunk Works

Well, the pile of elevator parts that were in the picture in my last post are now looking more like an elevator. It is not done, but it is well on its way.

Here is a look at it as is being assembled. I used my bench sander to sand the lower end of each of the ribs to a 30 degree angle. It was an average angle based on the measurements on the plans. Then I hand fitted each rib into position and dry stapled it in place. This held things while I fitted the next rib. Once all the ribs were fitted I mixed up a batch of T-88 and proceeded to glue things in place.

The lower ends of the ribs fit together quite nicely.

And so did the upper ends. However, the upper ends did not fit quite as nicely as the lower ends.

With the two end ribs glued into position I placed the trailing edge plywood into the slots at each end and drew a line along it to show where the tips of the ribs should come to. As I fitted the ribs I would cut them to length as needed.

The elevator horn will attach through these holes. Actually, I will make two pieces of aluminum angle that will fit these holes and the elevator horn will bolt between the pieces of angle. Notice that the elevator horn is a bit off center. This is per the plans. The top leg of the horn will be bent so that it will be in line with the center. The cable that goes to the top horn leg will go over the pulley mounted near the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer. The cable going to the lower horn leg has to cross the other cable, so having one leg offset a bit will keep them from rubbing.

The finished elevator will have to allow the rudder to move back and forth. Therefore, the elevator has two sides and an open area between them. However, while I am assembling the elevator I have run the trailing edge web all the way across to provide a bit of extra stability and ensure proper alignment of the two sides. This web will be removed once the skins are in place.

Since there needs to be a trailing edge on both sides of the web, I couldn’t simply glue and staple like I do with most of the parts. This time I needed to use my clamps. Two of my clamps have been used to the point that they have fallen apart, but the rest are still doing OK. I suppose I will need to invest in a few more clamps before this project is done.

The “intercostal” was fun to make. Essentially it is a cover over the elevator horn mount. Once everything is sanded and the skins are glued in place these will help to provide torsional stiffness to the elevator spar.

This is what things look like when viewed directly from the back of the elevator. The trailing edge will be shaped and sanded, then the web will be partially removed to help lighten things up. When that is done I will need to install the hinges and attach it to the horizontal stabilizer. Then I can fit the end caps to the elevator and shape the trailing edges of the horizontal stabilizer end caps to make a good fit.

Speaking of installing the hinges, here is one of the hinges. Notice how close the hinge is to the bolt. I had to use the Dremel Tool to grind away a bit of the plastic to allow things to move freely. It didn’t take much and I am sure that I left more plastic than was required when I originally cut the plastic block.

Now to order more plywood and glue and bolts and steel tube …

We have encountered quite a few interruptions to the Sawdust project since the last post. However, I have made some progress by taking advantage of bits and pieces of time and am pleased to report that the horizontal stabilizer is now complete and the elevator is making progress.

I have the horizontal stabilizer hanging in the basement workshop waiting for the elevator and elevator hinges to be completed and attached.

The stabilizer end caps were made from a nice piece of basswood that I got from Patrick Schutt at Schutt Log Homes. Patrick has his own sawmill and produces lumber from trees near his home in Missouri. He is also building a Maranda, and is using wood that he has cut locally. Anyway, the wood that I got from him was very nice to work with, was nearly as light as balsa and is a bit firmer than balsa.

Here are the pieces that will become the elevator. At the time of this post things have progressed farther than what it appears. All of the elevator ribs have been completed, sanded and the gusset slot cut in the trailing edge. The two end ribs have been glued in place and are awaiting the removal of the staples that have held them in place while the T-88 cured.

I am taking a bit of a departure from the plans in that my gussets and trailing edge will be done a bit differently. I am using a piece of 1.5mm plywood 80mm wide that runs the full length of the elevator in place of the gussets. This plywood will have a wedge of wood glued to it to form the trailing edge of the elevator. I used this same idea on the trailing edge of the wings and it worked really well. I will be taking more pictures of the build process and expect to post them in a couple of weeks.

EAA Chapter 1091 will be helping with the first fly-in of the season in Cambridge, NE. Breakfast will be served and our chapter will be helping with Young Eagles flights and we will have the Plane-Train giving rides. Later this summer we will be doing the breakfast for the Holdrege, NE fly-in and airshow which will be part of Holdrege’s annual Swedish Days celebration.

One of the interruptions that delayed this post was to drive to Dallas to see our grandson. He took us to the Frontiers of Flight museum at Love Field.

This is well worth the time to stop and see if you are ever in the area. This is the only place where I have seen the Flying Pancake.