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Art Zemon

art@zemon.name

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Horizontal Stabilator

Assembling the horizontal stabilator. There are captions under all of the photos. Resize your screen so that you can read them.
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I used a couple of scraps of aluminum to make a rough, short pair of static skins to see how it would fit and whether my fabrication ideas would work.
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I used a couple of scraps of aluminum to make a rough, short pair of static skins to see how it would fit and whether my fabrication ideas would work.

2011

  • The hotizontal stabilator is the horizontal part of the tail of the plane.
  • The hotizontal stabilator is the horizontal part of the tail of the plane.
  • The anti-servo tab goes on the back of the horizontal stabilator and hinges up and down.
  • The anti-servo tab goes on the back of the horizontal stabilator and hinges up and down.
  • The anti-servo tab is in the middle of the stabilator. The outer sections will have static (non-moving) sections of skin.
  • Clamp the piano hinge for the trim tab to the rear spar of the stabilator. The hinge is so flexible, and the flanges are only 1/2" wide, that I added a third clamp in the middle to keep it aligned properly.
  • I drilled a hole, inserted a cleco, and repeated the process until the whole hinge was drilled and clecoed.
  • Trim tab hinge riveted in place. Remove a cleco, insert a rivet, repeat....
  • The two halves of the stabilator skin meet but do not overlap so I built a doubler to go underneath them. After cutting the doubler, I marked it's position and the position of the holes. The red line on the doubler shows through the gap between the skins when I have it in the correct position.
  • Holes drilled in the skins and the doubler.
  • Doubler riveted in place.
  • With the trim tab piano hinge riveted to the stabilator, I used the drill guide to drill a set of evenly spaced holes for riveting the trim tab to the hinge.
  • The anti-servo tab (trim tab) clecoed to the piano hinge on the stabilator. The stabilator is upside down in this photo.
  • I used a couple of scraps of aluminum to make a rough, short pair of static skins to see how it would fit and whether my fabrication ideas would work.
  • Two of the HS-8 static skins, starting as flat sheets of aluminum. The blue lines 0.40" from the edge are where I will make bends. The rivets will go in a line 0.20" from the edge.
  • I drilled two holes for the two end rivets, each 0.20" from the edge and 0.20" in from the end. Then I clecoed the drill guide in place.
  • With the drill guide clecoed in place, I drill through every other hole to get a set of neatly spaced, well aligned rivets. No measuring needed!
  • Here is the result: holes!
  • I insert each HS-8 skin into the bending brake, clamping along the blue line. Then I add a very slight bend.
  • Test fitting the pair of static skins to the trailing edge of the stabilator. You can see the trim tab beginning by my left hand.
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