Rudder Delay - Starting on the Horizontal Stabilizer

Indeed yesterday was one of the most perfect days to fly yet this year. We took the 172 up for a few hours, visited some friends up at KIIB and did some t&g's to try and brush some of the winter rust off... I haven't flown nearly enough these past couple months. It felt great to be in the air on such a beautiful day though, it reminded me why I'm doing this project in the first place!

I started out today by inspecting the Proseal on the rudder since it's been two days, only to discover it was still quite wet. This concerned me at first, but then I went online and did some research to discover the stuff I had bought from Aircraft Spruce was actually of the "B2" classification (see this helpful link) and needed at least 4.5 days to cure in ideal conditions (not two as mentioned in Van's plans). Anecdotally, there are a number of posts online that indicate it can sometimes take a lot longer if the temperatures aren't warm enough, and since it's been fairly cool/cold here in the garage when the furnace isn't on, it will likely need even longer than specified. So I re-clamped the whole thing back together and brought it all down into the basement where it's out of the way and warmer than the garage. Looks like I'll be giving it at least a week or so down there to make sure it's cured... so in the meantime, on to the Horizontal Stabilizer!

No pictures from today-- lots of deburring/prep work but no real visible progress worth taking pictures of. Finished section 8-2 steps 1-4, which was mostly just the initial prep work on the HS rear spar and doubler: match-drilling, countersinking, and deburring as specified. I plan on holding off on the riveting portions for now, so that I can assemble a pile of parts to scuff, acetone, and prime all in one sitting. Lots more to do on the HS!