Preparing for VOR Antenna in VS1

I finally ran out of excuses to not work on the V. Stab. and got to work.

TIME: 2 hrs

The first task was to test fit the assembly. Two things of note: 1) Some of the rib flanges didn't align well with the rear and front spars, so some work with a hand seamer will be necessary; 2) The bottom ribs (1 & 5) require riveting through 4 layers, which usually means alignment challenges.

I asked for a VOR doubler plate from the factory. The doubler plate is cut to fit inside rib 4 and follows the contours of an airfoil. However, rather than nicely rounded edges, it's a series of straight segments that are rather unappealing.

The image below really demonstrates the awkward outline segments. 

I believed that is was just shotty work and I would clean it up myself. Unfortunately, I don't have a bench sander, so away I go with the file.

 

The final result above looks nicer, even though this plate will never be visible when the skins are closed out.

Consequently, I took a closer look at the VS1 diagram and realized the double plate is actually designed with the straight segments. It was, in fact, cut in accordance to the design. I don't understand why it was done that way, but it apparently makes no difference.

As usual, the rib flanges have sharp corners, and sharp corners a bad. They all need to be rounded, but I started with rib 4 in order to complete the VOR antenna assembly.

About 75% complete with rounding the corners. Need to knock down burrs too. This is a lot of work and I don't get excited about it. I like to believe that it makes a big difference, though.

Next Steps...

1. Finish prepping rib 4
2. Match drill and mate VOR doubler plate
3. Attach VOR antenna
4. Complete V. Stab.