Woketman,


He's referring to carbon roving that's glued to the inside of the verticals where the two molded sides are glued together. When you're drilling for the rudder hinges, you'll be drilling through it. If you don't expect it, you could have a problem like the one Strato is talking about where the bit gets deflected away, and you have a messed-up hole. Anywhere you see a line, and the line is black, there's carbon behind it. Start with a small bit and slowly graduate up.

I don't think the issue with pitch problems from the speedbrake is going to be common. If it is, then we're going to have to come up with Plan B.

As far as getting the rudder hinges in, it's always a pain with F-16 fin/rudder assemblies. Here's my method: First of all, I use Aeropoxy to do all hinging. Reason? I don't have to mix anything or suck up any glue in syringe (sp?) or straw to apply to the hole. I use the mix/applicator tips and just shove the tip into the hole and squeeze in some glue. After the hinge point is oiled in the center, I insert the hinge into the hole and take my sweet time to position it in the RUDDER FIRST. I do all the hinges at the same time for the control surfaces (takes about 20 seconds per hinge) and let them cure overnight. The next day, I 'crack' them loose, and carefully remove any excess glue with an exacto, then get ready to do the other side. In the case of F-16 verticals with that severe sweep back and a base to impede you, I squeeze the Aeropoxy into the hinge holes, wipe away any excess, then shove the rudder on. When you line it up, the holes are going to be far away from the actual hinge sticking out due to the angles, but I just take the very tip of the hinge and bend it down until it reaches the hole, then push! It sounds silly, maybe, but it works. The hinges that come with the kit are flexible enough to be bent like that for a few seconds without anything bad happening, and I've found this method to be easier than trying to coax and fiddle all day. This method has survived the test of time (and turbine full-throttle diving low-passes) for me.

Keep up the good work, and the very nice (and helpful) photos!