RV-7 N890GF

I spent some time working on the underside fairing for the tail. I decided to go with the standard Van’s design using the aluminum close out and the rubber seals. It needed some trimming to get a consistent gap along the bottom of the horizontal stab, but once it was in place, I then installed the rubber fairing and attached it with some glue.

I’ll remove these and reinforce the rubber attachment to the aluminum with some stronger glue or epoxy.

I also needed to redo the vertical stabilizer top fairing. After the epoxy cured and everything was sanded, the rudder and the fairing were slightly misaligned. I removed the fiberglass gap fairing and re-did the layup, clamping the rudder and the fairing together to ensure proper alignment.

Up until now I had decided to not use a keyed ignition system, However I was talking to a hangar neighbor about avionics and panels and after talking with him for a while, I changed my mind and decided to add a key in line with the engine start button. The key is a 2 pole switch that essentially enables the engine start button to prevent accidentally engaging the engine starter. I’ve got some additional panel labels on order for the key and some other items that I have since added.

Also in this picture is the Rudder Trim knob I got from Aerosport Products. I hooked it up to the rudder pedals via the provided springs and checked the tension to ensure it was working properly. Whats nice about this approach to rudder trim is that it also provides a steady back pressure on the rudder pedals (via the springs). I’ve read that some mechanical yaw damping is nice to have, and this achieves that without having to keep feet on the pedals the entire time.