Rudder Faring Bottom - Part 4

The D-nose was riveted to the spar at this time but the taper created by the assembly technique for the D-Nose was discovered at the first trail fitting of the bottom faring. If correctly shaped it would have fitted as neatly as the top fairing. 

Options: The first choice was to install it as is but the rudder would have looked like it was bashed with an ugly stick. The other was to modify to achieve the best fit bearing in mind that ongoing modification is the bastard child of change but change it had to be.

Faring Attachment
The start was to install the faring attachment with it running the perimeter of the rudder. This was fabricated from 0.012"" x 2024-T3 to provide addition stiffness. It was installed using the same techniques outlined in the blog on the top faring - click here


To maintain the support at the D-Nose meant that the rudder cable mounting plate would have to be modified. It was decided to move the front edge back to create two horns for the cable to attach too at each side. The front of the faring attachment was pin drilled and file-ed to create a slot for the horns to project through.

Rudder Attachment

Horn attachment

The bracket supplied had three [3] mounting holes at the rear and one at the front however the mounting required the attachment to sit on the two [2] pop rivets securing the lower rib to the spar. 

It was decided to duplicate the mounting holes onto the rudder attachment. A piece of paper was attached to the lower rib and the two rivet heads located. This pattern was then transferred to the rudder attachment and new holes added. These holes were enlarged to 4 mm to ensure a accuracy at the point of attachment. 

The horn was inserted then pop riveted as shown with the front attachment requiring a 5 mm pop rivet [not supplied with kit]

Marking rudder attachment

Capturing Centers

Finished faring and rudder attachment

Note: The faring strip was created in separate components with the joint at the rear. This was not a good idea as it made fitting of the faring difficult as it caught on assembly. It would be better located at the front. 

Faring Installation
The faring was slotted using a 5/32'' chain file as shown to create additional flexibility necessary to align the front edge to the faring attachment. It will be fixed with 1/8'' pop rivets at the front as required to hold the front flange in the correct location. The faring will be fixed as described in the blog on the top faring installation - click here

At the time of installation the slots will be covered with 100 mm wide self adhesive tape.

Lower faring final fit-up
Note: Drain hole located at the base to prevent water buildup