2.8.3 Rudder Installation

This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series 02 - Wing / Winglets

Now that the rudders have been mounted, the stops need to be defined. This is what determines the “rest” position of the rudders. The stops are the outside trailing edge of the wing.

This is a picture of the pilot side wing at the bottom of the rudder cutout. The red circled area will be the stop. The other opening at the bottom has since been filled with foam and 1 layer of fine BID.

Normally, foam is inserted into the opening and a couple layers of BID are applied. but in my case, it was going to be a LOT more work. Seems the wing was cut back much too far. So here’s what we did.

First, the opening was trued up. The existing line was very ragged and uneven. Then we shaped foam for the opening and used micro to bond it in place. (In this picture, you can see where the opening on the bottom has already been filled.)

Then, the foam is trimmed back to be flush with the opening.

Two layers of thin duct tape are applied to the rudder where it will meet the wing and masking tape is applied to the surrounding area. Then the fiberglass starts getting applied. On the copilot side, we ended up with FIVE layers of triax and 2 layers of BID while on the pilot side we only needed 1 layer of tirax and 2 layers of BID.

Here’s the co-pliot side with the fiberglass in place and the rudder held in position.

Once the epoxy cured, the rudder is removed.

Then the glass was trimmed and sanded to create an extension of the wing.

Series Navigation2.8.5 Rudder Return Spring >>