I know that to some it may seem like we have gotten away from actually “building” the trainer. As much as I hate doing these little things on a plane, I do acknowledge that it's the attention to the little details that make the difference between a “so-so” plane and an outstanding plane. But rest easy, we're going to get back into the meat of the build now. In fact, the next few steps can well be the most important part of building an airplane. We're going to work on putting the tail section of the plane together. I say that it's important because no matter what else you do, if the tail is crooked or out of line the plane just will not fly straight. Yes you can use trim tabs to overcome problems from a crooked tail section but it'll never fly like it's supposed to. But putting a tail section together isn't as difficult as it may seem. It just takes a little patience and attention to detail to ensure that it all goes together correctly. So with that said, let's roll up our sleeves and start to work on the tail section.

As we assembled the tail sections you may have wondered to yourself why we didn't worry about the edges of our assemblies being perfect and square. That's because it's a lot easier to square up your work after you finish it than to build that way. In picture #1 you can see exactly what I am talking about, the edge of our horizontal stabilizer is pretty ragged. So let's get that cleaned up. First thing to do is to mark the straight line that we need to get the surface down to (picture #2). Use a straightedge to mark the edge of the area (picture #3). Once you have that done go ahead and use a large sanding block to sand the edge of the stabilizer straight (pictures #4 and #5). Picture #6 shows the completed edge. Even though I showed only one side being done here you'll want to go through and do all the edges of our tail section the same way. One of the things we will need to do now is to prep the leading edges of the tail sections for being rounded off. While you don't have to do this I find it easier to do if I mark the centerline of the leading edge. Use a ruler and straightedge to mark the centerline (picture #7, #8, and #9). With that done we can move on in getting the tail sections prepped for assembly.



Pictures
1. The edges of our tail surfaces are pretty rough after building them.
2. Use a straightedge to mark the edge of the surface
3. The edge marked and ready to sand.
4. Use a sanding block to sand the surface down to our mark
5. Use a sanding block to sand the surface down to our mark
6. The edge of our surface after sanding straight.
7. Marking the centerline of the leading edge prior to rounding off.
8. Marking the centerline of the leading edge prior to rounding off.
9. Marking the centerline of the leading edge prior to rounding off.

Until next time

Ken