Nicholas,

 

I used the same layout as Mike E below, using the aluminum panels provided in my kit. I then used the aluminum plate as a pattern to make substitute covers out of carbon/fiberglass. The aileron inspection covers on the bottoms of the wing are made this way. The composite plates can be made to any thickness desired but three bid is sufficient if you'll add a bit of Clark foam in the center of the panels to stiffen them. The advantage of the composite covers is that they can be filled and contour sanded with the rest of the vertical tail. These look pretty good when painted with the rest of the airplane.

 

Bob

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Lancair Mailing List [mailto:lml@lancaironline.net]On Behalf Of MikeEasley@aol.com
Sent: Thursday, August 17, 2006 1:20 PM
To: Lancair Mailing List
Subject: [LML] Re: LIV - Elevator Inspection Panels

 

Nicholas,

 

I centered the curve of the inspection plates around the elevator torque tubes and made the tops level.  Marking, drilling, de-coring, layups, nutplates.  I remember having pretty scratched up hands by the time I was done.

 

One thing I really screwed up was I countersunk the holes in the plates.  Not enough material left to hold the screw heads.  I had to make new plates from sheet aluminum, matching all my holes.  The second time I used a dimple die to create the countersinks in the plates.   It shouldn't be a problem to locate the dimple dies, just find an RV builder.

 

Getting the micro right isn't that bad except you can really trash the plates when you're sanding.

 

I don't have any finished photos except my finished, painted airplane, sorry.

 

Mike Easley