ORIGINAL: lamarkeiko
I've completed building my fin and rudder. Prior to gluing parts together, I predrilled my hinge slots on trailing edge fin and leading edge rudder. Then using my router table and a V bit, I made a V on the leading edge of the rudder. This made a perfectly centered V. My concern now is the hinge fit between the fin and rudder. The Dubro large hinges I used have a cotter pin holding the two hinge halves together. I've never used this size and type before, so upon first installing hinges in their slots, there was a very large gap between rudder and fin. I flattened the cotter pin head some and did a small mortice in the hinge slots to make the gap around 3/64" between fin and rudder. Should this gap be made tighter yet, and is this the proper way of going about this type hinge installation? The leading edges of fin and rudder cannot be sanded to final shape unless the gap is correct. Any advice is appreciated.
Lamar
Lamar,
Making a recess in the leading edge of the rudder and bringing the gap to nearly nothing is, I think, the best way.
In full size airplane we ususally see any hinge displacement going into the movable surface.
Take into account the thickness of any covering material.
Do the hinge gluing only after the surfaces are covered.
Just the way I do it. You do the way you prefer.
Zor