BUILDING STAB AND ELEVATOR IN HALVES

I just recently started doing something that one of the guys in the Maryland club just outside D.C. showed me and so far it seems to work. I can't say ii completely works because I haven't flown the plane as of yet.

He took two 1/8 inch sheets and cut equal copies of the stab and elevators out of them. Next he glued a strip of 1/32 inch wood to the hinge line on one of the sheets leaving gaps for his nylon hinges to sit in. He matched stab to elevator as well.

He then glued the 2nd 1/8 inch sheet onto the first one, trapping the 1/32 inch wood in between the sheets. the nylon hinges fit into their slots perfectly and matched on both the stab and elevator.
Way cool I thought, beats the he*&*( out of trying to slot 1/4 inch wood.

This is far to easy and should be made illegal! There doesn't seem to be enough suffering involved.

Hmmmm. Seems like it would be easier to use a 1/32" sheet the full size of the stab/elev and cut out notches for the hinges. Leaving just a strip at the edges seems like there is going to be a gap between the two main sheets at the inner edge that will keep them apart some distance away from the strip. It might not be a structural issue since glue would fill the small gap to some extent but it might give an uneven bond. If you used very light wood, minimal glue, and a full center sheet that stab would be one stiff puppy. Love the concept and the fact that with this trick the hinges couldn't help but be perfectly centered. Hogging out hinge slots is my least favorite task when building.--Mark

>Hmmmm. Seems like it would
>be easier to use a
>1/32" sheet the full size
>of the stab/elev and cut
>out notches for the hinges.
> Leaving just a strip
>at the edges seems like
>there is going to be
>a gap between the two
>main sheets at the inner
>edge that will keep them
>apart some distance away from

Rather than fill whole thing, you could put a 1/32 x 1/4 strip around the outside of the surface, and every two or so inches put a 1/32 x 1/4 inch strip running widthwise, diagonally, or as a warren truss truss. Then, just glue the outer surface, press, and you have it.

What interests me with this is in built up tail surfaces and flaps. This could be used to make the hinged surfaces for builtup elevator/stab assemblies and flaps.

This could
>be used to make the
>hinged surfaces for builtup
>elevator/stab assemblies and flaps.
>
>
>
>Regards - Bob Kruger

In addition it would give a good visual centerline for referencing the taper on flaps & elevators.---Mark

Running the 1/32 strip all around the stab (or using a full 1/32 sheet with hinge cutouts) will also help avoid accidental stab incidence when installing the stab that might result from the bulge at the TE using the TE-strip-only method. There have been several posts on the serious effects of even tiny stab incidence errors.

What brand of hinges are you using? Does the 1/32 gap give you a fairly loose hinge fit?

Kim Mortimore

"Just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they aren't following you."

I use a variety of hinges, usually dubro and I have tried some cheapy ones that I got from somewhere. They don't save you anything because you have to use twice as many. The 1/32 is a pretty loose fit. there is just enough snug to keep the hinge in place.
The gentleman who showed mre this also showed me a 1/2 a stab and elevator where he had used a clothe/nylon hinge glued to a 1/16 inch sheet with the 1/16 sheet glued on top. it was a gapless hinge line and looked pretty clean. My attempts to get this one to work on larger .35 size stabs and elevators didn't work out that well. I had too much gap. but with a little practice I'm sure this could be mastered