Week 23 - Rudder, Rear wing rib and Bell crank covers

Hours to date: 247.75

Well it turns out that I was making a mountain out of a mole hill with the bell crank bearing.

I thought I would have to take out the entire bearing which was going to be a real mission as it is hard to get to and I would have been working blind. It ended up being a simple case of turning the inner part of the bearing through 90 degrees and then pulling it out with a set of pilers. So I just have to replace the inner (light coloured) part and it will be all fixed.

The dumb thing I did was Dremel the edge so I could get the bell crank to slide in easier - the actual fault was that the hole on the wing was not large enough and so the bearing was not able to rotate fully - seems silly now, but should be an easy fix.

Onto the bell crank hole covers now. It is a metal plate that the factory supply with small self taping screws to fit but Pete does his a different way and I decided to follow that route. So I have drilled out the holes and then tapped a thread into them. Also made the holes countersunk on the metal plate to accept countersunk head machine screws. It feels a little more permanent than the self tappers.

I also started on the Rudder. There is not too much I can do to it without the fuselage, but I have put the counterweight in place. This involves drilling a hole as shown in the photos - then pouring 100grams of resin and 250grams of lead shot into the front part of the rudder. I sealed up the hole afterwards with a carbon washer filed to a neat fit and flocked in place.

Finally I have decided to do what Pete does with the rear wing spar and reinforce on the inside as well as the outside. Imagine working blindfolded with wet spaghetti in a confined space that your arm just fits through and you will get a feeling for what this job was like. I just stayed as 'Zen' as possible and took my time - seemed to work out okay.

I still have to put some carbon tape on the root rib, plus reinforce the rear with glass tape and flock in the rear pin support - will most likely do those jobs this week as well as reinforce the seams on the rudder.

Bell crank bearing comes out at 90 degrees.

Bell crank hole cover with countersunk screw holes

Hole in rudder for counterweight

Lead shot and resin in the front of the rudder.

Hole covered with carbon washer and flocked in place.