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Build Diary

Horizontal Stabiliser

 


After reading the plans for an hour or so, I was all pumped and ready to fabricate my first larger structures – the horizontal stabiliser front and rear spars. That was until I realised that both these parts are already fabricated as part of the kit. BONUS!! My perceived workload just got easier.

However, there is still a fair bit of fabrication involved, with two lots of ribs, and the main and forward spar channels to cut and shape from the channel stock.   There are also a few clips to make out of angle and aluminium sheet.  The angle requires a 10 degree offset, which is quite easy to do using a bench vice and rubber mallet. 

Although the main and forward spars come pre-made, they still require finishing.  They have a lot of fabrication marks that need to be smoothed out – the pictures below show what I mean.  I used some aluminium oxide sandpaper (80, 120 and 280 grit), which worked out pretty well.
 

 

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