ZNLine Factory Enigma Build by Mark Novack

Well, after my day job I could not wait to get back into the factory and get my hands into some balsa. Before I get to the wing, I am going to go ahead and get the stab started. I want it ready so that after the wing is mounted I can get right into mounting the stab.
The stab comes ready to install the stab socket. The socket is a loose fit into the the stab, however, it fits into a precisely placed balsa block which is captured tightly in the foam and under the sheeting. Very strong. We will use fiberglass sockets and carbon stab tubes on these airplanes. Again, the stab comes ready to accept the socket. All we need to do is cap our socket with balsa to keep the epoxy from getting inside, mix our epoxy, pour some into the wing tube socket hole, insert our socket, align the stabs properly while they dry and they are almost ready to mount onto the fuselage.  As I wrote, the sockets fit loosely into the stab, so let's take a look at the alignment procedure we use.  Our jig is a chunk of nylon that has been carefully machined to the the tube hole is perfectly parallel to the bottom surface. This holds our tube absolutely parallel to the table. The bottom stab saddles properly set the dihedral (none), and the elevator cutouts align the relative root angles. If this sounds complicated, it is not. Look at the photos. If you have any questions, then please ask.
 

This photo is from the front of the jigged assembly. The tube is installed into the sockets, the stabs are weighted in their saddles, and when the glue dries, the will be ready for the incidence adjusting plate, the incidence adjusters, the root rib and then mounting.

This photo should have the ruler, but you will see that in the next photo. Notice the elevator cutouts form a straight line. The ensures that the stabs will mate with little to no gap when placed onto the fuselage. This is easily checked with a straight edge that you will see in the next photo.

This last photo should have been taken from behind, but I think the idea is clear. We lined the ruler up with the elevator cutouts, adjusted the stabs until perfectly aligned, and layed these lead weights on each stab half. In 24 hours I can remove this from the table and finish up the root areas.

I have back tracked a little bit to show the root as received. Here after the sockets are installed we shall install the capping for the incidence adjuster. Root photo.

Here are the incidence caps installed and then a picture of the incidence adjuster installed. The stab will get a hole on top and on the bottom just big enough for the allen wrench to stick into to turn the adjusters. Some people like to finish the hole after covering with a brass servo grommet sleeve

And this finishes up the basic stab, ready for mounting onto the fuselage.

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