Tail Feathers Covered

In mid December I set a goal to have the tail feathers completely covered before the first of the new year. I just squeaked under the wire, completing the covering at 9:00pm, Dec. 31. This may be the first time I have ever completed a Skyote task on time!









Carbon Fiber trim tab in place.


The following are photos of some of the details.





One side of the rudder covered.


Forming the seam for the second side.




I forgot to get a picture, but when the fabric is shrunk, cuts such as the one around the rudder horn create quite a gap. I used a piece of 0.020" aluminum to create "close out plates" around the horn and hinge.






The aluminum sheet assures a clean, crisp, stable edge around the cut.





This was also done at the elevator and rudder hinge cuts.


The tip of a hot soldering iron was used to trim the fabric to the edge of the aluminum.




The soldering iron was also used to create holes for the rib stitches. Be careful! If you drop the iron it will go right through the fabric! No, it's a miracle, but I didn't do it!












Adding the leading edge perimeter tape to bottom side of the horizontal stab.