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Proseal on Rudder

F

findane

Active Member
I'm getting ready to rivet the trailing edge of my RV9A rudder. I thought I read somewhere in the forum to run a bead of proseal on both sides of the center strip. Is this a good idea?
 
proseal on rudder

Yes, just don't get carried away. This is a flying surface which will require balancing before flight and again after it's painted. Also, some apply a very thin coating to stiffeners of the rudder prior to riveting. I didn't and have one instance of skin cracking along edge of stiffener.
As always, ymmv.
 
Proseal

N282S said:
Yes, just don't get carried away. This is a flying surface which will require balancing before flight and again after it's painted. Also, some apply a very thin coating to stiffeners of the rudder prior to riveting. I didn't and have one instance of skin cracking along edge of stiffener.
As always, ymmv.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Rough both surfaces with scotchbrite. Apply a thin coating to the surfaces and a dollop at each stiffener intersection. Cleko to a stiff, straight surface like a 2" aluminum angle. Leave it for a week then rivet.
 
Careful

Just don't assume that the proseal will make it invulnerable to careless riveting. You still need to set the rivets part way first, then set them all the way, checking for straightness the whole while.
 
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