1/20/08 - riveted on and wiring completed

9/3/05 - here's the completed assembly carefully stored up on the ceiling of my garage. This worked out so well that I put some bubble wrap on top of the stab and placed my completed rudder up there as well. Note the inspection cover for the trim servo is not installed neither is the servo. I'll put these back on later when I run the wiring upon installation to the fuselage.

1/19/08 - finished up the wings recently and while waiting for the fuselage kit to be ready to pick up, I thought I'd install the tail light on the rudder

1/19/08 -marking the bottom of the rudder edge for the cut

1/19/08 - cutout here actually needed to be enlarged toward edge of the rudder to clear the screws that hold on the light glass dome

1/19/08 - correct hole size cut with hole size and trial fit

9/1/05 - another shot of the trim tab

9/2/05 - setting up the trim tab servo which will be mounted on the underside of the top skin. Later I have tested the servo install and trim tab deflection using a 9 volt battery as described in the servo directions. I cut and adjusted the threaded rob for the attachment to the trim tab and servo via the clevis at each end.

9/2/05 - the elevator has been disassembled for deburring and priming of a few parts here. All the ribs and interior of elevator have already received Cortec prior. I bought some zinc oxide primer from Aircraft Spruce that I will probably use from now on. The Cortec stays sticky and picks up shavings like a magnet.

9/2/05 - looks like a pin cushion .. I have clecoed the assembly back together including attaching the stab/elevator hinge to both pieces to test fit again prior to riveting. I am short about 150 A4 rivets that I will see if I can get from ZAC. Mostly for the stab tips which get riveted later and missing some rivets for the bottom skin rib flanges.

9/3/05 - today I have completed the stab and elevator assembly. Just a few rivets outstanding but I will stow this up in the ceiling of my garage and begin the wing rib forming process.

8/27/05 - closeup of the rough cut made with the dremel. I started to finish cut one side with snips but liked the dremel result much better so I cut both sides to near the line and filed the remainder smooth and straight with my vixen file. The dremel did get a little hot at a couple points so I stopped once in a while to let it cool.

8/27/05 - here's the finished rudder cutout on the elevator topside. I have filed and finished the edges at this point and added four relief radii at the corners with a rat tail file. Tomorrow I may start on the trim tab and the elevator cutout required but will probably need to buy some more dremel wheels before I start.

8/28/05 - I've just completed making the cut in the elevator for the trim tab. I've now tilted it on its' side to allow for some easier access to filing both the top and bottom side edges with the vixen file.

8/28/05 - me doing the filing on the trim tab cutout. Noted this afternoon that I was missing the elevator cutout channel 6T6-3/1 and trim tab horn 6T6-6/2 from my tail kit. This had been left out of my tail kit as the new longer recessed tab parts were new and apparently didn't make into my order. I called ZAC on Monday and spoke to Nick who said they'll send them out.

9/1/05 - Missing parts arrived from ZAC promptly and in time for some work this Labor Day weekend. I took Friday off to get a jump start on the weekend. Here the trim tab is all drilled and clecoed up and testing deflection.

8/6/05 - top elevator horn with doubler and doubler rib inside skin (the two clecos below the horn)

8/27/05 - I had a little break in spending time on my project. My wife and recently remodeled our master bath and I installed new sinks and a whirlpool bathtub. I took the day off work today and had fun getting back to work on the plane. Here I have completed more work on the upper and lower elevator horns.

8/27/05 - lower elevator horn work completed with all the A5 rivet holes on and between the center two ribs all drilled and clecoed.

8/27/05 - upper surface of the elevator marked out for cutting the rudder clearance cutout.

8/27/05 - I did all the rough cuts on both sides of the elevator with my dremel and cutting wheel bit. I went thru about four of these wheels doing both sides.

8/6/06 - clearance on the left side of the elevator

8/6/05 - and clearance on the right side of the elevator

8/6/05 - one of first cuts (top and bottom) you need to make to elevator surface is this one (on the bottom side) for the horn doubler. I drilled three holes and used my dremel to cut between the holes.

8/6/05 - checking that the top elevator horn remains square to aft edge for drilling

8/6/05 - another shot of top horn getting drilled and clecoed

7/31/05 - started working on the elevator here. I have built the center rib assembly and inserted it and the other ribs into the preformed elevator. Bottom side has been drilled and clecoed and now working on the top. Note the 2x4's on edge to protect the clecos on bottom.

7/31/05 - ok, so what is this .. a small boat I am laying up? Unfortunately, I trimmed the left fiberglass stab tip a little more than needed. I did not like it's fit to the stab tip and decided to build it back up with fiberglass cloth and re-drill the holes.

7/31/05 - elevator is all drilled at this point

7/31/05 - notice the overlap left on the top side. I trimmed this off with my vixen file. Takes a little longer than cutting but leaves a much nicer edge.

8/6/05 - hey this work is really starting to look like part of an airplane!! Matching the elevator up to the stab to check for clearance. I easily had 2-3 mm on each side of the elevator. I centered it here side to side and marked where the hinge will go on the elevator.

7/20/05 - top and bottom skins of stab now all riveted at this point

7/20/05 - the drilled (on the stab side only at this point) elevator hinge. I went ahead and installed safety wire at both ends to retain the hinge pin. I drilled a 1/16" hole for this after centering the pin along the length of the hinge.

7/23/05 - checking the fiberglass stab tips are square along the back side of the stab. Also began checking I had  at least 205 cm from one tip to the other to provide the proper clearance for the elevator.

7/28/05 - drilling and clecoing the fiberglass tips to the stab ends

7/28/05 - both tips on the bottom side are drilled and clecoed. Tomorrow I'll flip it over and complete the top side of the tips. I read in the instructions that ZAC recommends waiting to rivet these on until the stab is mounted on the fuselage, so I will store the completed stab/elev assy with some clecos in here

7/15/05 - missing pics of the riveting of the bottom skin but that's done at this point and I've flipped the stab over to work on the top skin

7/15/05 - not all the straps are on at this point (I used five) but here's how the top skin with the 1x2's hold the skin down for drilling

7/15/05 - during the process you need to keep checking that there's no twist to the stab and also measure height from table of leading edge all along the table. Since the stab skin is predrilled you need to make sure the predrilled holes line up nicely with your rivet lines on the front spar.

7/17/05 - the top skin is all drilled at this point and I have clamped on and centered the stainless elevator hinge. Holes are marked 40 pitch along the skin and then drilled through the hinge.

7/17/05 - drilling the top skin and elevator hinge

7/10/05 - close up of the rivets in the stab rear spar

7/14/05 - starting to skin the stab. Drilling and clecoing starting at the rear spar

7/14/05 - clecos to rear spar of stab. Rest of skin is hanging off table in front of me.

7/14/05 - before you lay the skin on you need to cut out and file these slots for the front attachments

7/14/05 - rear spar and ribs all drilled

7/6/05 - the stab skeleton.. lots of final drilling at this point of the pre-drilled pilot holes for the A4 and A5 rivets

7/9/05 - the stab spars and ribs disassembled. They've been deburred and at this point I have just completed the priming with Cortec

7/9/05 - this was lots of fun riveting the stab pieces together. Also an occasional picture with me in it to show I'm actually doing the work!

7/10/05 - very rewarding seeing all the completed rivets at this point

7/10/05 - another shot of the stab spar and ribs assembly

7/1/05 - my wife's great-uncle is extremely strong .. he can lift small cars off the ground with my son Mike on the hood!

7/1/05 - actually, something else is lifting the car. This is a 1969 VW Squareback (Type III) that I bought in 1971. I keep passing this down from son to son. We just rolled it out of the barn in the photo where it was for the past year.

7/1/05 - my son is taking up working on this car again after a year break. Unfortunately, it will be competing for space for a while with the airplane project off to the right. At least I will have company in the garage. I'm trying to talk him into putting a Corvair conversion into it!

7/4/05 - the stab skeleton assembly all clecoed together prior to disassembly for deburring

7/4/05 - ends of front and rear stab spars showing L-angle pieces clecoed onto spars

7/1/05 - I made this rivet line drawing tool out of a piece of plastic and a section of hack saw blade. The pen is wrapped in duct tape which tightens up nicely in the slightly oversize hole.

7/1/05 - using my spiffy rivet line marking tool to mark the stab rib rivet center lines

7/1/05 - my buddies in the workshop, Max and Chloe. Both are Weimaraners.

7/1/05 - closeup of Chloe

7/1/05 - today I started drilling and clecoing the fronts of the 6 stab ribs to the front spar. 

6/30/05 - clamping up the spar doublers to the stab rear spar

6/30/05 - all the clamps set up and ready for the undersize drilling & clecoing

7/1/05 - here's the 6T2-3 part that I fabricated from the u-shaped stock included with the tail kit. There was a lot of filing and cutting on the piece and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out considering the effort

7/1/05 - the 6T2-3 part drilled (25 holes) and clecoed to the spar with the shim underneath

7/1/05 - laying the 6 stab ribs with the front edge facing me

6/24/05 - drilling and clecoing the rudder skin to the spar and ribs

6/24/05 - riveting the rudder skin onto the spar and ribs

6/24/05 - the completed 601XL rudder. Wow, it even looks like it could be part of the completed aircraft!

6/25/05 - tail kit parts laid out so I can inventory them against the parts list. Horiz stab and elevator skins (predrilled!) are in the box to the right

6/25/05 - drilled and clecoed the horiz stab doublers to the front spar.

6/23/05 - Zenith Aircraft  workshop in Mexico, MO. That's Sebastian Heintz, Zenith company President, in the center facing the camera. He was extremely helpful and a pleasure to meet.

6/23/05 - clamping the rudder spar and ribs

6/23/05 - clecoing the assembly of the rudder

6/23/05 - completed rudder spar and rib assembly

6/24/05 - trimming the rudder skin