Stewart 51 Hangar

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Horizontal Stabilizer Hinge Laser Levelling

January 5, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

This work session began with completing the layout on the horizontal stabilizer hinge brackets.  The photo below shows one of the mid-span hinge brackets with the six rivet locations laid out.

Stewart 51 Horizontal Stabilizer Hinge Bracket

The picture below shows the horizontal stabilizer  mid-span hinge assembly drilled, prior to riveting. All this drilling was accomplished using a drill press for accuracy.

 

Stewart 51 Horizontal Stabilizer Mid-Hinge

 

Riveting the hinge.

Stewart 51 Hinge Riveting

The photo below shows the three hinge assemblies in place on the horizontal stabilizer rear spar.

Stewart 51 Horizontal Stab Spar

 

Laser Levelling

Let me also add in a little bit more additional info about how we came to getting these hinges in alignment. We started at the center hinge because it attaches to the elevator bellcrank, which is machined from billet aluminum.  Because the bellcrank is machined and mated to the torque tube that mates the left and right elevators, this is a hard dimension and one that cannot be changed.

Once the center hinge was located, a laser level was used to get the mid-span hinges in alignment (along with the spar centerline (spanwise datum line). The photo below shows the levelling process.

Stewart 51 Horizontal Stabilizer Hinge Leveling

By using the steel rod, we had a good surface for the laser to reflect off.  This worked really well.

S-51 Horizontal Stabilizer Hinge Leveling

The photo below shows our laser level setup, using a bike maintenance stand to support the level at the necessary height.

Stewart 51 Hangar Laser Level

 

Please comment, I love to hear from my readers.  Thanks again for coming along for this ride, you make my work worthwhile.

 

Filed Under: Empennage, Horizontal Stabilizer Tagged With: Empennage, Hinges, Horizontal Stabilizer, Laser Level, Tools

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Profile Photo 1 Hello - My name is Mike and I'm a true believer that if you can imagine something, it's just a matter of bringing it into reality.

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