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I just ordered my tail kit and am wondering if there are concerns I should be aware of regarding leaving some of it unriveted because I'll need something open during later construction steps (installing nav lights comes to mind as an example). The tail kit plans sub-set may address this, but my kit doesn't arrive until next week.

Hi,
On the plans they clearly spell out what should not be riveted yet. You just have to read all the notes carefully. If I was planning nav lights, I would do whatever I needed to for later, like run wires. If you were going to get lights later, then I would probably leave off the fiberglass tips. Easy enough to rivet them on later, and that is where the light would go.

Thanks, Bryan. I was expecting that to be the case. I have previous experience with Sonex plans. I own the plans for Sonex 470, but earlier health issues interrupted that build. I was scratch building and it proved too much for me...hoping going the smaller kit route will be a success.

Good advice above but when you get ready to do the elevators, give me a call (703-869-4009). I can possibly save you some later pain.

Tom Jones
ONEX Plans 0133
Trigear
Aerovee Turbo

Good advice to call Tom about the horizontal assembly. Don't ask how I know, but I know!

Thanks, David. I will give Tom a call (makes me curious why you guys are so circumspect about the topic, though).

rslskd wrote:Thanks, David. I will give Tom a call (makes me curious why you guys are so circumspect about the topic, though).

Yep, makes me curious too. When you find out, let us know :)

As for leaving parts unriveted, I didn't see anything in the vert stab plans about leaving an option to add nav lights later, though I could have missed a note somewhere. I think some of those notes only show up after you needed to read them :-)

I think you're going to be pretty much own your own to leave access to any portion that you might need later, so you should probably firm up a plan for what you plan to install. I personally won't be installing anything in the tail, so I'm not leaving any access, or wiring runs. With the availability of 3 in 1 nav/strobe/position lights for the wingtips, I wouldn't consider installing any lighting in the tail. If you want an electric elevator trim servo, that would be something to consider, but you'll really be on your own for that mod.

For future upgrades you might want, just try to leave a way to install them easier. For example, I don't plan to have any lights initially, though I might add them later. When I build the wings, I'll drill holes in the ribs for the wiring runs to the wingtips, and install thin corrugated conduit with a pull string. Of course the Onex wing sections are so short that it's not as critical as with other planes.

Worst case, the rivets are pretty easy to drill out :)

Cheers,
Rusty

My issue with the tail assmbly was related to the elevator travel and the elevator horn assembly. Just take special care when you install the ribs over the horn assembly. Both Tom and I have had some discusion as to the up travel for the elevator and the degrees we achieved. I think my travel was around 19 degrees of up. It has been a while and i dont recall the exact amount of travel. It worked out to be plenty of up. I will find out when i do my first flight in the spring.
Happy building.

I remember that elevator travel thread. This is a good reminder to take another look prior to assembling the elevator.

Thanks,
Rusty

After about a year and a half of life getting in the way, I just finished my tail kit over the Christmas break. Took 3 practice elevators to get it right, but I got it. Botched a hinge location on one & mislocated rib holes on two...

Biggest advise I'd offer is to make your inner cuts, the angled ones on the elevators a smidge longer than what the plans call for. Get each elevator fabbed & clecoed but for the elevator horn rib holes in either the skins or the ribs.

Hang one side on, and slide the elevator horn assembly into position as you hang the second elevator onto the horizontal. With both elevators attached & the horn assembly free floating inside them, you can center the horn on the assembly, clamp in place and draw the exact lines that the elevators should be cut down to as an installed assembly. Pop them back off, trim, deburr, mark rivet locations on the freshly trimmed inner edges (don't forget that the most aft rivet hole is spaced different than the other 8...), reinstall and drill the pilot holes with the assembly clamped together again. For this process, I bought some mini 1/8" clecos for the hinges so hinge clecos they don't get in the way too much.

Perhaps my elevator horn warped during the weld assembly, but with my elevator skins cut to the plans, the trailing edge of each horn rib was recessed into the skin about 1/4" instead of being flush with the edge. Doubt it is a big deal, but if I would have drilled those horn rib locating holes when I did everything else, I'd have been doing something all over again then as well.