Rudder Rib and Brace Assembly

 

The aluminum rudder frame has been acetone-cleaned, 80 grit sanded and re-cleaned in preparation for Aeropoxy attachment of ribs and braces. Clear shipping tape was used on the table to prevent sticking, though I've read that two coats of paste wax on the melamine surface will yield the same effect.

Dry fit prior to cleaning

The foam is easily sanded by wrapping sandpaper around a tube to create the groove needed to mate with the rudder torque tube and trailing edge tube.

Rudder Tube Bending

After some small bit of trepidation, I determined to do something I have little experience with; tube bending. I started by making a 1-to-1 scale model in SketchUp (imported the Sandlin plan drawing, B4T1, then scaled it) and printing it out on multiple sheets. Masking tape held the sheets in place to act as a bending guide. Next, two scraps of wood, drywall screwed to the sacrificial table surface, acted as the bender:

Trial and error...

The top half of the rudder trailing edge tube.

Now, more printouts for the bottom part of the rudder trailing edge tube and repeat the process. Finally, I'll be joining the two somewhere in the vertical section.