Horizontal stab

[Ron]

While working on my horiz stab i have found some thing's you need to look for. First is the rivets called for in the plans for the main bearing assembly, they are to short. Use those gauge's through out assembly! The next thing to check is the hs 710 reinforcing angle for the front spar. Some kits from Vans were shipped with an incorrect part. The flange should taper all the way to the bend line. The correct part should be about 10 inches, the wrong one is only about 8.

[captain_john]

YES! They ARE TOO SHORT!

The deal is, the planes are over riveted for this reason. Van takes inexperience into account and tends to keep them on the short side. This assures the novice builder of a typically better shop formed head.

The amount of rivets is increased throughout the kit to account for flubbed up rivets. It is said that a messed up rivet still has 80% of it's intended strength.

This increased rivet frequency combined with occasional correct length rivets creates an acceptable average strength of the entire assembly that a novice can accomplish.

I am not saying to install the shorter rivets. I install the correct ones myself.

It is just going to come out "that" much better with a little bit more knowledge and skill.

The problem is, is you don't gain that knowledge or skill until just after you need it!

Have fun building!

CJ