Aileron and Flap Stiffeners - Pro-Seal?

I used tank sealant to glue the stiffeners to the elevators and rudder (yes, I riveted them, too) because they are in the slipstream. I plan to do that for the flaps as well.

Should I also do it for the ailerons? They aren't in the slipstream. But they .016 thick.

Thanks,
Dave

No.....

It is not necessary and just adds unnecessary weight to control surfaces.

I don't advise doing it on the elevators and rudder either, especially on the -3 where the surfaces are not balanced.

All of the control surfaces on my -6 are .016". No proseal or other additions and no cracks after over 22 years of flying.

Hi Dave

The cracking in the surfaces, IIRC, was in the last rivet of stiffeners? Various remedies have been offered:

1. Correctly bend the TE
2. Add a dab of pro-seal / RTV between end of each stiffener and TE
3. Use Pro-Seal / RTV along whole stiffener

Personally I suspect item 1 was the root cause of the cracking (not bent adequately so bend was being made by the stiffener end), albeit we did item 2 as well on the 3 & 8. Used minimal RTV rather than Pro-Seal due lighter / easier to apply in moderation. As Mel says, adding any weight to RV-3 empennage TE not great idea due lack of balance.