We started the project with the Tail
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Assembly Test Turtle Deck
Dan assembled the turtle deck to check the fit. Looks Great! Check out those rib rivet hole lines. Return To Fuselage
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Turtle Deck Ribs Finshed
Dan finished up the turtle deck ribs. Some of the flutes are hard to get right. They need to be in the right location to avoid the rivets yet deep enough to make the part flat and the flange at the right angle. The smallest rib, F20-04, was tricky. We have the large red fluting pliers…
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Hardware From Spruce
We have been working on a long list of hardware for the Sonex. We had ordered the tail hardware when we built it but decided to order almost all the rest all at once. We started with a list on the Yahoo Sonextalk fourm and double checked with the lists from Sonex. We padded the bolts…
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Complete Empennage Picture
Finally a complete empennage picture. We have had the parts done for a while and Dan took this great picture. This was a great milestone to see. Return To Empennage
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Spar angle parts
test document
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Completed Horiz Stab
August 6, 2011 The horizontal stabilizer is hung on the wall Looks beautiful to me. Return To Empennage
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Vertical Stab Tip Splice Install
After finishing the horizontal stabilizer we decided to install the custom “splice strip” for the fiberglass tip. The sheetmetal strip slipped easily between the top rib and the skin. The dimples aligned it right in place. Here are the rivets inserted: Return To Empennage
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Horizontal Stabilizer Rivet
Dan finished riveting the frame together. He put the skins on with clecos: Here is a close up of the leading edge, looks really nice. I am glad our tech councilor suggested to get a good bend on the leading edge. Here is the leading edge looking from the outboard side: Here is the…
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Horizontal Stabilizer Spars Assembly
We assembled the complete horizontal stabilizer frame and skins one last time to make sure all the parts were in the right place. We started with the (rear) main spar assembly (SNX-T3-01). The inner rivets are fine, but the outer ones are closer to the flange so you cannot get the rivet gun in there without deflecting…
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Prime Horizontal Stabilizer Parts
Dan primed the horizintal stabilizer parts and skins. We had gotten a gallon of 3M Mar Hyde Self Etch Primer. Dan used his compressed air paint spray gun. He has a lot more control over the spray width and delivery than with the spray cans we’ve used so far. He put a really nice light…