My Kis Cruiser - Elevator

N247BR
ELEVATOR

The KIS Cruiser Kit, like many other homebuilt aircraft kits, can be started with the horizontal stabilizer and elevator kit. Often this portion of the kit can be purchased separately and used as a test kit to determine if you are really interested in, and have what it takes to build an airplane. It also provides an opportunity to see if you are going to feel comfortable with the construction techniques. The elevator top and bottom are molded together with the stabilizer. They must be cut into separate pieces along scribe lines formed into the molded parts. The details of this process are outlined in the first part of the section on the Horizontal Stabilizer.

The Horizontal Stabilizer and Elevator come as two molded parts, an upper skin and a lower skin. There are score lines on the parts that identify the separation lines for separating the elevator from the horizontal stabilizer parts.

The separated parts identify the separation points for the division of the elevator into two parts between the rudder section.

The elevator is prepared by mounting the top to a flat surface using bondo or 5-minute epoxy.
The elevator spar and ribs are prepared and bonded and glassed in place.

The basic spars for the trim tab are also put into place. (Those of you who have completed their elevators will notice a major mistake in the size and position of the trim tab on the this photo. I read the instructions wrong and the trim tab is much larger than it should be. I caught the mistake after I had closed out the elevator but before cutting the trim tab out. I went ahead and cut it to the correct size and made the subsequent repairs.)

This photo shows a slight modification I made to the instructions. I closed out the end of the counter weight before closing the elevator. This gave a very secure chamber for holding the counterweight lead. I then shaped the end of the counter weight with foam and glassed it over with two ply bid. Worked very well.

The above photos and left show the horizontal and vertical stabilizer both ready for closeout.

This photo, and the one on the right show the space
in the prepreg and trailing edge of the elevator filled with epoxy-flox. I smoothed out epoxy-flox to form a uniform bede and closed out the elevator.

A lot of weight,(a bundle of shingles is very heavy) clecos, a few shims, clamps and a lot of patience and the elevator and horizontal stabilizer are close out. (Notice how neat, clean and uncluttered my workshop is. It may look bad, but it works OK.)

This view shows the shape of the elevator counter weight during initial shaping. Some additional shaping was done prior to final glassing. The result is very narrow gaps and a very clean look. The trim tab shown with the full elevator. This is the correct size and spacing for the trim tab. I used a full width piano hinge to join the trim tab to the elevator. I also used pop rivets centered on each hinge tab to join the tab. This was taken just before separating the two halves of the elevator.

The inside edges of the trim tab had to be reinforced with a layer or two of glass to provide for mounting the hinge for the trim tab.

I wasn't sure but decided to make a layup over some 3 inch PVC pipe and see if I could make it work. I also thought that this would make a good cover for the flap control tube. Both worked.

Using the good old trusty duct tape, I put several lengths down the PVC pipe and covered with a length of prepreg glass. A little peel-ply, some time and I had some nice curved sections of fiberglass.

I made two length of the curved glass. I cut one of them lenghwise into strips about two and 1/2 inches wide. The photo shows the strip after I bonded into place using the clecos to hold in place. After bonding, I filled the edge in, sanded and added a single ply of glass to blend and add strength. The surface was very smooth and worked out very well.

The curved edge is bonded into place and can be seen in these two photos. The cleco holes were filled and a final layer of glass added to give a smooth edge.

Once the curved edge was finished, I checked for proper elevator travel and found that I had to sand the edge down some to get the required down travel. I also found that the edge now gave a positive control stop.
This photo shows the opening for the trim servo and the fairing for the servo controls.

The completed elevator sides have been primed and ready for painting. They have been balanced with the trim servo installed and should be very close to a perfect balance once painted.

The elevator has been completed, painted and installed. The control movement is very smooth and light. The trim tab can just barely be seen. The hinges are installed with the screw heads recessed and glassed over to produce a clean surface between the horizontal stabilizer and the elevator. Extra layers of glass were installed on the hinge pads to account for the recessed screws.

The KIS Cruiser Kit, like many other homebuilt aircraft kits, can be started with the horizontal stabilizer and elevator kit. Often this portion of the kit can be purchased separately and used as a test kit to determine if you are really interested in, and have what it takes to build an airplane. It also provides an opportunity to see if you are going to feel comfortable with the construction techniques. The elevator top and bottom are molded together with the stabilizer. They must be cut into separate pieces along scribe lines formed into the molded parts. The details of this process are outlined in the first part of the section on the Horizontal Stabilizer.

	The Horizontal Stabilizer and Elevator come as two molded parts, an upper skin and a lower skin. There are score lines on the parts that identify the separation lines for separating the elevator from the horizontal stabilizer parts.
	The separated parts identify the separation points for the division of the elevator into two parts between the rudder section.
	The elevator is prepared by mounting the top to a flat surface using bondo or 5-minute epoxy. The elevator spar and ribs are prepared and bonded and glassed in place.
	The basic spars for the trim tab are also put into place. (Those of you who have completed their elevators will notice a major mistake in the size and position of the trim tab on the this photo. I read the instructions wrong and the trim tab is much larger than it should be. I caught the mistake after I had closed out the elevator but before cutting the trim tab out. I went ahead and cut it to the correct size and made the subsequent repairs.)
	This photo shows a slight modification I made to the instructions. I closed out the end of the counter weight before closing the elevator. This gave a very secure chamber for holding the counterweight lead. I then shaped the end of the counter weight with foam and glassed it over with two ply bid. Worked very well.

	The above photos and left show the horizontal and vertical stabilizer both ready for closeout.
This photo, and the one on the right show the space in the prepreg and trailing edge of the elevator filled with epoxy-flox. I smoothed out epoxy-flox to form a uniform bede and closed out the elevator.
	A lot of weight,(a bundle of shingles is very heavy) clecos, a few shims, clamps and a lot of patience and the elevator and horizontal stabilizer are close out. (Notice how neat, clean and uncluttered my workshop is. It may look bad, but it works OK.)

This view shows the shape of the elevator counter weight during initial shaping. Some additional shaping was done prior to final glassing. The result is very narrow gaps and a very clean look.	The trim tab shown with the full elevator. This is the correct size and spacing for the trim tab. I used a full width piano hinge to join the trim tab to the elevator. I also used pop rivets centered on each hinge tab to join the tab. This was taken just before separating the two halves of the elevator.

	The inside edges of the trim tab had to be reinforced with a layer or two of glass to provide for mounting the hinge for the trim tab.
	I wasn't sure but decided to make a layup over some 3 inch PVC pipe and see if I could make it work. I also thought that this would make a good cover for the flap control tube. Both worked. Using the good old trusty duct tape, I put several lengths down the PVC pipe and covered with a length of prepreg glass. A little peel-ply, some time and I had some nice curved sections of fiberglass.
	I made two length of the curved glass. I cut one of them lenghwise into strips about two and 1/2 inches wide. The photo shows the strip after I bonded into place using the clecos to hold in place. After bonding, I filled the edge in, sanded and added a single ply of glass to blend and add strength. The surface was very smooth and worked out very well.
The curved edge is bonded into place and can be seen in these two photos. The cleco holes were filled and a final layer of glass added to give a smooth edge.
	Once the curved edge was finished, I checked for proper elevator travel and found that I had to sand the edge down some to get the required down travel. I also found that the edge now gave a positive control stop. This photo shows the opening for the trim servo and the fairing for the servo controls.
	The completed elevator sides have been primed and ready for painting. They have been balanced with the trim servo installed and should be very close to a perfect balance once painted.
	The elevator has been completed, painted and installed. The control movement is very smooth and light. The trim tab can just barely be seen. The hinges are installed with the screw heads recessed and glassed over to produce a clean surface between the horizontal stabilizer and the elevator. Extra layers of glass were installed on the hinge pads to account for the recessed screws.