My buddy Andre stopped by tonight to help me rivet the trailing edge. It turned out great.
Here you can see that it’s completely straight. One of the things Van’s really cautions you about is that setting these rivets can cause a hook in the trailing edge. Using the sealant helps ensure this won’t happen. I did get some very slight puckering between the rivets, probably due to slightly overdriving them.
We also got the leading edge rolled and riveted. This was probably by far the hardest part of the rudder. Despite how thin the skins are, these things are a bitch to roll.
I also got the rudder hinges installed. Van’s uses rod end bearings for hinges on the elevator and rudders. These are just screwed in to a specified distance from the spar web (or reinforcing plate in this photo).
